Forte Catholic Podcast: Making Catholicism Fun Again

Last week, in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, we talked about big time suffering and how faith can help us in those situations. This week, we are talking about small sufferings, otherwise known as first world problems. I talk about silly things like losing my iPhone charger to not as silly things like my transmission going out in my car. I share how what we talked about last week helped me react better to these little sufferings than I would have before. In the second segment, I get to talk with the two ladies who host the dating podcast "Fishers of Men." Find me a better name for a podcast online. I dare you! We talk about modern day dating and what women want in a man. In the final segment, I share my experience of terrible music at Church this past weekend and what that has to do with the Body of Christ.

Such a pleasure to be invited back on to the Jennifer Fulwiler Show on Sirius XM 129 The Catholic Channel(thecatholicchannel.org). This time, we recapped the hilarious story about how I got on her show in the first place. We also talk about my work as a missionary with Ablaze, the power of music, and Jen calls me a "brilliant theologian" which makes everyone bellow a good hearty laugh. We also discuss what true joy is and the wake of Hurricane Harvey.

This episode aired just days after Hurricane Harvey devastated the coastline of Texas. Our prayers are with our friends, family and neighbors who have been affected by this tragedy. In the first segment, we talk about the aftermath of the hurricane: the stories of people hurting, the community rising together to help and try to make some kind of sense out of this tragedy and what can help us get through it. We look at two stories from Scripture that share about suffering to guide our conversation. In the second segment, I am joined by author Eric Sammons about his new book "The Profession." It is a work of fiction that tells the story of an American Catholic in 2049 living in a Muslim run country. We talk about the power of telling stories to spark ideas, conversation and conversion. In the final segment, we talk about the power of stories to lift us up, inspire us, help us relax and take us to new worlds. In the wake of the hurricane, I was reminded of the impact that good story telling can have to relax and

In the first segment of this week's show, we talk about the solar eclipse that came and went the day before. I asked listeners on social media to make connections between the eclipse and faith and we started off the show with a "Forte Five" countdown segment of the five best submissions. In segment two, I was privileged to interview author Fr. Terry Ehrman on his book "Man of God: Lessons To Young Men About Life, Sex, Friendship, Vocation, and Loving With The Heart of Christ" published by Catholic Answers. We discussed how his vocation came about and the importance of spiritual direction. For those who may have never heard of spiritual direction or have but have questions about it, this is the podcast for you. In the final segment, Taylor reinstates producer Jake's talking privileges as he is interview on his final segment with the show before leaving for college. We discuss the path God has led him on, play corny songs in Jake's honor and laugh....a lot.

In today's first segment, I explain some crazy things that happened right before the show and share some of the key points from a cool devotional I just finished on the Youversion Bible App. In the second segment, I interview Toni Hendricks about the RCIA. This is the process of becoming Catholic so whether you are a Catholic and want to learn more about this treasure of the Church and how you can help or if you aren't Catholic and have questions about the faith and want to know more about the Church, this is the interview for you. In the final segment, I am joined by Christopher Dowling to talk about the Young Adult Listening Session he and I both attended with both of Austin's Bishops. This was a tremendous opportunity the Bishops held to know how to best serve the young Church.

What an episode! In the first segment, I share from my heart some really powerful things that God has done for me in the past couple of weeks. After a long period of spiritual dryness, I have had some huge prayers answered! In the second and third segment, I interview Carlos Zamora; a man with an incredible story of conversion from gangster to passionate Catholic hip-hop artist and speaker. We talk about his life pre-conversion, how God changed his life in a huge way and what has happened since. This is one of the most powerful conversion stories I have ever heard. He uses his passion for hip-hop and the Church to build the Kingdom of God. I pray that as you listen, his story and music will inspire you to take the next step in growing closer to Christ. If you like the show, please subscribe and rate the show in iTunes as it helps tremendously to help the show reach more people. Thank you!

My good ol' pal and youth ministry buddy Joe Mastrangelo drove up from Houston to join me for this whole episode. We chatted about his ministry, how his parish is doing something very different in order to evangelize their young people and what we can learn from thinking outside the box in the Church. We also were pitted in a vicious youth minister vs. youth minister trivia game with a perfect balance of questions about Catholicism and Pop Culture in the second segment. In the final segment, I asked Joe what he is passionate about and he answered coffee, so that's what we talked about. He compares coffee to evangelization about how a familial and home-y atmosphere can do a lot for a Church community.

We had a Forte Catholic record 9 people in studio for the recording of this episode! Last month, Ablaze Ministries took Junior High students to camp. Here, I interview 3 campers, two of their parents and a high school counselor on the impact camp and youth ministry have had on their lives from each of their unique perspectives. I also pit the youth vs. the parents in an epic trivia game called "Taylor Swift or Lamentations"(DownloadYouthMinistry.com) where I read a line and they have to guess who said it. Hilarity ensued. If you are in ministry, love youth ministry, have kids or have fond memories of your time as a young person in the Church, you will enjoy this episode. As always, please subscribe to the show and rate in on iTunes. Thanks!

In this week's show, I continue answering listener submitted questions. This week, I tackle two questions about leading young people to Christ, especially when they don't seem to enjoy church. I also want to equip parents with the tools they need to speak with their children about faith. For more, visit beyondthepew.org. In the second segment, Trent Horn returns to the show to talk about his new book "Why We're Catholic." This book is flying off the shelves due to its non-confrontational style to urge people to grow in their faith instead of trying to win them over simply through argument. In the final segment, we play a rapid fire question and answer game with those in studio. This is to help get across the point that building trust and getting to know who people are is the necessary first step in evangelization.

What an unbelievable opportunity I had to be a guest on the Jennifer Fulwiler show on Sirius XM's The Catholic Channel! (TheCatholicChannel.org) I had so much fun on the air with Jen! I wrote her a song about her show, we talk about how the only reason I got on the show is because of the combination of twitter and wine, and then discuss topics like worship, youth ministry and complacency. I had so much fun and I look forward to being back on her show on September 1st at 1:20pm Central!

In the first segment, I begin answering questions and topics posed by listeners of the show on social media. The first few questions are all about Church politics/bureaucracy and how we can respond to that. In the second segment, I am joined by my long-time friend Brother Sean Stilson of the Brothers of the Beloved Disciple. We talk about what the life of a brother/seminarian looks like, what the role of a priest is supposed to be and what we can learn from that truth as lay people. In the final segment, I continue to discuss suggested listener topics like "I'm not getting anything out of Mass", how to get started in being able to defend your faith and of course the classic question of whether I wear boxers or briefs. I hope you enjoy this episode! If you haven't done so already, please subscribe and rate the show and then share it with your compadres. Thanks!

Happy 4th of July! This episode aired live on Independence Day so we HAD to talk about freedom in the first and third segments of the show. We talk about how so many of us live in guilt and shame instead of walking in the power of the resurrected Christ. He came to set us free! In the second segment, I am joined by old friend Marcus Guevara, the founder of Thirsting for Truth to talk about his ministry and how technology, math, philosophy and theology all mix to reveal God. As always, please like, rate, comment and subscribe!

My mom came to the studio! We had a lot of fun talking about how I didn't turn out thaaaat bad because of her billions of hours of prayer for me. We then play the game "Prescription Drug of Biblical King" which was a hoot! In the first segment, I intro the discussion on prayer by looking at the Old Testament story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. In the third segment, we discuss the importance of taking a Sabbath. So many in our fast paced world, including myself, find it difficult so we look at what the Bible and Catechism have to say to challenge us to do what God knows is best for us.

The show was pre-recorded this week as I am currently leading a Junior High Summer Camp! In the spirit of summer camp, we talked pre-evangelization, what fun has to do with faith and how events like this can really be an avenue to bring people to Christ. So often, we try to catechize people who haven't been evangelized and evangelize people without making a human connection with them first. In this episode we explore how we can bring Christ to others no matter where they are in their journey with him. I am also joined by Vern Laborde from Deer Creek Camp to hear how they impact the lives of young people in a huge way each summer! Hear her stories, insights and her love for camp! In the final segment, we dive a little deeper into the topic of prayer. So many of us struggle with prayer and I will walk through two stories from Scripture that can help us when we don't feel like praying.

In this episode, Taylor is joined by the beauty of a man Marcel LeJeune, who enlightens us with his brilliance :) Marcel is an awesome dude with a ton of experience ministering to college students. In his interview, we will talk about bridging the gap between millennials and the older generations of the Church. (second segment) In the first segment, we play the Scripture trivia game "Worship Song or Love Song" where Taylor faces off against producer Jake and Kyle "the heathen" Turner. SPOILER: Taylor isn't good at this game. In the final segment, Taylor shares how an R&B love song and reading the Song of Songs caused a huge breakthrough in his spiritual life. As always, please like/share/rate the podcast in your podcasting app of choice to help build the show's community!

The highlight of this episode was our interview in the second segment with Tommy Tighe, the Catholic Hipster. Tommy is a master at using social media and the interwebs(that's what hipsters call it, right?) to build community and share his authentic love for the Catholic Faith. He has multiple projects including podcasts, blogs, a book coming soon and a tremendous presence on Twitter. He is an interesting dude and has a lot of wisdom to share with us on how we can use social media to build the Kingdom. In the first and third segments, I share some insights into two Scripture stories that connected for me in a big way at my yearly retreat. We will dive in to the story of Lazarus being brought back to life and the Anointing at Bethany story through a new lens. As always, please like/rate/share the show. You rock!

On this episode of Forte Catholic, the Director of Resource Development at Lifeteen and author of "True North: A roadmap for discernment" Joel Stepanek joins the show for the whole hour! During our quite enjoyable time together, we get to know Joel and he enlightens us with the knowledge and practical advice on discernment that he has learned throughout his experience and study in preparing to write the book. He dispels a few myths about discernment, explains that it is a vital part of the Christian life and not just for the "big decision" of our primary vocation. He also explains what discernment looks like with guidance from a spiritual master, St. Ignatius. Tune in and if you like it, please subscribe to the show, like, rate and share with your social media followers.

In the first and third segment of this week's show, we find out how to be "after God's heart" from David in the Old Testament. We look at how David sought God's will, even through trials, and did not hold back in his worship of the Father. In the second segment, I was pleased to be joined by Catholic Answers author Eric Sammons on his book "The Old Evangelization." He shares how we need to get back to the basics of sharing the Good News the way Jesus did. Please subscribe to the channel, like, rate, and share this show with your friends. I would be ever grateful!

This week, we continue the conversation on signs and wonders! So often in the Scriptures, we see miracles preceding people turning to the Lord. Tune in as we explore what that means for our walk with Christ and especially our prayer this week! Segment 1-Bible Trivia Game w/Sam and Kyle. I quiz this dynamic duo on their knowledge of the Ten Commandments (Hint: It was pretty brutal) Segment 2-Ashley Breland Interview. A local student at St. Joseph Catholic school, Ashley has had an amazing experience in her life of prayer this semester. So many huge things she has prayed for have had tremendous results! Tune in to hear her story and how it has impacted so many! Segment 3-Signs and Wonders in the Acts of the Apostles. This is the book that the Church reads at daily Mass throughout the Easter Season. There are 18 accounts of miracles in Acts alone! We will discover what we can learn from these stories to improve our prayer and evangelization.

It's good to be back! After missing a week due to illness, I am back at it with full force with a great episode consisting of big show announcements(possibly including an addition to my family), a great interview with the Catholic Drinkie and a fun Bible Trivia Game with some hooligans in the studio. Tune in for a good mix of games, faith, mixed drinks and scripture! Only on a Catholic podcast!