Overwhelmed, Surrendered and Mobilized
We in ACTS XXIX often reference Monsignor James Shea and the voices that put together From Christendom to Apostolic Mission: Pastoral Strategies for an Apostolic Age. This insightful, extended essay says, “In an apostolic time [like the one we’re living in], those who present the Gospel, whether to their parishes or to their families, should assume that the majority of their hearers are unconverted or half-converted in mind and imagination and have embraced to some degree the dominant non-Christian vision. The new evangelization,” it goes on to say, “aims at the renewal of the mind, because it recognizes that people’s minds have been barraged by a daily onslaught of false gospels, leading to confusion…” (66).
We share this sentiment and likewise agree that the main evangelistic task in a time like ours is a compelling proclamation of the gospel that not only tells the Christian story in an attractive — and concentrated — way, but also offers people an alternate way of seeing reality and of making sense of the world, history and my life. Until this happens, the Christian faith is often experienced as a mere set of rules and disciplines, and simply growing up Catholic or going to Church isn’t likely to lead a person to embark on the great adventure that is following Jesus and continuing His mission of the rescuing of this world.
We in ACTS XXIX have had the blessing of bringing more than 2500 priests on retreat the past three years, and hundreds of lay men and women too. Those retreats vary, but at the heart of them is a proclamation of the gospel in the manner the Holy Spirit has inspired us to preach it. The content isn’t new, of course, but we pray it is new in “ardor, method and expression,” as St. John Paul II encouraged us with regards to the new evangelization. Upon finishing these retreats we often hear things like this: “Why have I never heard this before?” “That’s not the God I knew growing up.” And “If I had heard that fifty years ago my whole priesthood might have been different.”
Inspired by the feedback we have received from bishops, priests and men and women around the country, and because of the urgent need for a compelling proclamation of the gospel, we have created an eight week video experience called The Rescue Project. We partnered with 4PM Media, creators of “The Wild Goose” and “Metanoia,” with Fr. Dave Pivonka from Franciscan University. We have recently completed the editing of this experience, and are running a small number of pilot launches in different parts of the country. Thanks be to God, the feedback has been most encouraging. We will be releasing this video experience nationally in late summer at rescueproject.us, together with companion resources for both facilitators and participants. And it will all be available for free.
The Rescue Project is ideally run in small groups, whether in a parish, men’s or women’s groups, RCIA, homes, restaurants, the workplace, schools, dorms and even prisons. In short, it could be run anywhere and everywhere. And the audience is anyone and everyone. It appeals to those who have been walking with Jesus for years, as well as those for whom Jesus is only a figure in ancient history. The intention behind The Rescue Project is simple and straightforward. We pray that people will be overwhelmed by the gospel, moved to surrender their lives to Jesus in faith, and be mobilized for mission — the mission Jesus began on Easter Sunday.
We invite you to watch the trailer and pass it along to your pastor, other priests, bishops, school principals, co-workers, friends and family. We want to get the gospel out as far and wide as we can, for ours is a culture and world increasingly filled with fear, anxiety and despair — all flowing from the false gospels the world proclaims. But the gospel of Jesus Christ brings trust, confidence and hope!
P.S. If you happen to be near Columbus, Ohio, on June 18, we invite you to come to the first ever Rescue Project Live! — and encourage you to invite a friend or two. More information on this one day Catholic revival is available at rescueproject.us and stgabrielradio.com.
