Becoming a Parish of Intentional Disciples

by Sherry A. Weddell

"It is not the same thing to have known Jesus as not to have known him, not the same thing to walk with him as to walk blindly, not the same thing to hear his word as not to know it…. We know that with Jesus life becomes richer."-Pope Francis, The Joy of the Gospel

In her first book, Forming Intentional The Path to Knowing and Following Jesus, Sherry Weddell, cofounder of the Catherine of Siena Institute, captured the attention of Catholics across the globe as she uncovered the life-changing power that accompanies the conscious decision to follow Jesus as his disciple.

Now, in the groundbreaking Becoming a Parish of Intentional Disciples, she has gathered together experienced leaders and collaborators whose exceptional field-tested wisdom and enthusiasm for transforming Catholic parishes into centers of discipleship and apostolic outreach is both inspiring and practical.

The authors

The role of intercessory prayer in parish transformationHow "fireside chats" can help a pastor connect with his parishioners and call them to personal discipleship and missionThe co-responsibility of lay people andpastors in the work of making disciplesThe revolutionary impact of a discipleship approach to youth ministryHow one parish successfully fostered a culture of intentional discipleship, and much more

As Sherry asks in her own chapter, "Are we willing to answer the call and pay the price necessary to become a new generation of saints through which God can do extraordinary things in our time?"

Genres: Catholic, Leadership, Discipleship

138 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 15, 2015

About the author

Sherry Anne Weddell created the first charism discernment process specifically designed for Catholics in 1993. In 1997, she co-founded the Catherine of Siena Institute, an affiliated international ministry of the Western Dominican Province, and currently serves as Co-Director.

Sherry has developed numerous unique formation resources that are used around the world and trained and helps lead an international team who have worked directly with over 100,000 lay, religious, and ordained Catholics in hundreds of parishes in 137 (arch)dioceses on 5 continents.

When not hanging around airports, Sherry enjoys tending her high altitude Tuscan garden in the Colorado Rockies.

Reviews

[Irene · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a collection of reports from the trenches of parish ministry. Each chapter is authored by a different priest or lay minister who has experienced success in some area of parish revitalization. I really appreciated the practical nature of this slim volume. Far too often, we are told what is not working and given great goals wrapped in lovely sounding jargon, but not given any road map to traverse the distance from what is to what should be. Although these are not one-size-fits-all instructions, we are given real life accounts from which other parish communities can extrapolate.

[Tara Lauderdale · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mostly just picked this book up because it’s been sitting on my shelf for awhile. Its series of essays on evangelization by varying authors. I’ve read a lot about evangelization, and typically when a piece of writing is hitting my heart and inspiring my mind, that means it’s a good one. Unfortunately this book didn’t do that for me. I imagine it would be helpful for others, but it didn’t necessarily inspire me, though it gave me a few things to think about.

[A.K. Frailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very informative with a lot of excellent information. Though some of the insight is a little out of date considering recent events both inside and outside the Catholic Church. But the core ideas remain true. To be a disciple of Christ, one must first have an ever-deepening, personal relationship with Him.

[Ann Yeong · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are saturated from trying to understand Intentional Discipleship and the New Evangelisation at the conceptual level and have been asking, “Yes, but WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE?”, this is the book for you!

In Sherry Weddell’s first book, “Forming Intentional Disciples: The Path to Knowing and Following Jesus,” Sherry laid out for us why Intentional Discipleship makes a crucial difference in the lives of Catholics and gave us a map of what the ‘developmental path’ to Intentional Discipleship looked like. Sherry also shared how parishes can start the process to become an evangelising parish that is effective in making intentional disciples.

In this much awaited sequel to Forming Intentional Disciples, readers are given the privilege of hearing from seasoned evangelisers who have been applying the principles of Forming Intentional Disciples in pastoral ministry for years and whose parishes are already seeing disciple-bearing fruits.

The writers range from the lay to the ordained and include parish priests/formators to lay pastoral workers and a youth minister with experiences spanning from the local parish to the regional and national level in the USA.

These pages tell the stories of how dedicated intentional disciples can become highly creative and unique instruments of the Holy Spirit in making passionate disciples through different ways. Though not explicitly stated, each of the ‘success stories’ told here are coloured by the different charisms of the main evangelists in each context - evangelism, intercessory prayer, leadership, administration, knowledge and teaching are just a few that leap from the pages.

You will read about re-imagining the Parish Pastoral Council (Chapter 3: Co-Responsible for the Mission of Christ), creative intercessory prayer (Chapter 2: Praying It Forward), ‘disciple-shaped youth ministry’ (Chapter 7: Rethinking Youth Ministry), spiritual conversation and accompaniment (Chapter 6: “Fireside Chats” and the Formation of the Laity), and transformation from a maintenance-oriented parish to a mission-oriented one (Chapter 4: Intentional Disciples - Bearing Spiritual Fruit That Sustains). Framing these chapters and setting them into context is Sherry Weddell’s thought-provoking and inspiring introductory chapter, “The Generation of Saints.”

This book is highly-recommended for all Catholics, and especially more so for those who are at the spearhead of the New Evangelisation in their parishes and communities.

[Matthew Green · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of good practical advice following up the first book forming intentional disciples. Part of me wishes they put out a step by step manual for shifting to a parish of intentional disciples but this is about as close as I think we'll get

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s a Yes for me. Such a useful resource, compiling stories of missionary Discipleship lived out at a parish level. The chapter on youth ministry was a breath of fresh air!

[Ruth Lucy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another gem from the “Forming Intentional Disciples” series. Initial chapter on 17th-Century French spirituality was particularly inspiring.

[Mary Cushing · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very practical follow up to Forming Intentional Disciples, an important read for parish workers and pastors.

[Joyce Donahue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Real life examples of parishes making disciples

This follow-up book to "Forming Intentional Disciples" features stories of parishes that are making disciple-making work. There is hope and these examples prove it. Great read!

[Jeff Gallagher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book to get some understanding what is working in our parishes to make them on fire for Jesus. If only we had more pastors and leaders within parishes that would buy into this new evangelization, we might become the church that Christ wanted.

[Jeff Pattison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Practical stuff. For those who are serious about making a difference in their parish community- great read.