tips | cruxchfaithformation

Tips for sharing, discussing and defending your faith...

ALL Catholcs are called to participate in the New Evangelization. Again, ALL CATHOLICS are called to evangelize. This doesn't necessarily mean going door to door, Bible in one hand and a Catechism in the other. While this can be done in an infinite number of ways, mediums and capacities, there are some foundational principles that always apply.

Meet people where they are...

Most people are not going to be ready to hear every reason why the Church is right (and they are wrong) about "moral issue a" or "theological issue b".
Sometimes the best way to share the message is to share your time and presence with another person.
To be sure, there will be a "necessary" time to "use words" as the famous misquotation of St. Francis goes, but sometimes the only way we can get to that point is to first just be there.
Many will argue that the most powerful aspect of Christ's ministry was not the physcial miracles of healing, but the sense of value He instilled on everyone with whom He interacted.
If we are not blessed with the gift of healing, the way we can be Christ in the world is to do just that.

Don't get defensive, or be offensive...

It is posible, and most likely, that you are going to face resistance in trying to evangelize. Any potential progress made on your part will be lost
Though perhaps a cliche, it would be prudent to remember that one catches more flies than honey
Sharing, discussing and defending your faith is NOT proselytizing if you follow the next step...

Do more listening than talking...

When one is excited about sharing the faith, it is extremely tempting to do most of the talking, especially since we are the ones with the "pearl of great price".
However, failure to include the other in the conversation makes the experience less of a conversation at all and more of a sermon, which no one asked for.
Remember, the whole reason of evangelization is to share the faith, which involves the active participation of the other person (when you were a kid, it didn't count as "sharing" for your friend to watch you play with the toy).
A great way to accomplish this to make an effort to ask more questions than you make statements. Yes, there will be a time when you will have to explain your side of an issue, but always be sure to ask the other side as well. We must seek to understand and be understood, as the Prayer of St. Francis says.

Define your terms...

The fastest way for a discussion to deteriorate, especially one of the religious persuasion, is when the words are not used in the same way by both in the discussion.
Words not only tend to have multiple meanings depending on the context, but will also tend to have different associations to different people, which creates difficulties and misunderstandings as well.
The best way to stop his problem before it starts is to simply ask, "what do you mean by _____?," when a word is used that you believe might be amibiguous, or when you use a word that might be, say, "what I mean when I say _____ is..."
This, of course, won't prove any argument, but will prevent a lot of problems before they occur.

Keep the message simple, but keep the message...

As Shakespeare said, "Brevity is the soul of wit." This should be kept in mind when evangelizing.
Any message, religious or otherwise, is always communicated more effectively when done quickly and simply.
This does not mean one must "dumb down" the Gospel message. A dumbed down message is an uninspiring one and will end up having worse consequences than if nothing was shared.
Though the life and teachings of Christ are of the greatest profundity, they can still be presented simply. While this does take great skill and practice, it is not an impossible task and is one that grows easier as it is practiced.

Stay on issue...

While it is very tempting to take the bait when one is presented with some outragous claim about Jesus, the Catholic Church or fellow Catholics, this comletely distracts you both from the original intention, to discover the faith.
If something like the above occurs, always try to redirect the conversation back to the topic at hand ("I understand you might have other questions/concerns, but let's finish discussing this one first").
This is not avoiding the issue, just taking them one at a time.
Maintining focus on a single issue also keeps the other person honest in the discussion, as a common deflection for a lack of argument is to throw "red herrings" or intentional, irrelevant diversion from the real argument.

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Don't be afraid to admit when you don't know something...

The Cathoic Church's rich history and Tradition is over 2,000 years old (if you go back to the ancient Israelites of the Old Testament) and its teachings permeate every aspect of human life. It would be unreasonable to expect a person to have memorized every minute detail.
No one can know it all, and, thankfully, no one is expected to.
What is more important, and more feasible, is to know where to find the answers.
Fortunately, because of our long histoy and Tradition, it is likely that some expert at some point has written on whatever subject in question.
A great, centralized, place to find Catholic Church-aproved answers to your faith questions is the Catechism of the Catholic Church. A digital, searchable, version of the Catechism can be found here.

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Leave with at least one take-away from your interaction...

It is important to always stay humble and remember that we get as much from evangelizing as the person with whom were sharing the faith.
A great way to do this is to try to learn from every experience you have in the faith.
Some examples of "take-aways" include:
- a new question you hadn't heard before.
- a different perspective on an issue you knew.
- a particular point you could have communicated more clearly, so that you do the next opportunity.
The purpose is to think about and improve our faith as well as others.