At Divine Renovation, we lean heavily into teams. In fact, we don’t think that a parish can move from maintenance to mission without building strong leadership teams. This week on the podcast, join Mike Tanner, Ron Huntley, Dan O’Rourke, and Rob McDowell as they come together to share their thoughts on why teams are so important and how parishes ca…

THIS EPISODE WAS RECORDED PRIOR TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC. Life is hard for young adults and it's even harder for those that wish to pursue a relationship with Jesus Christ. Christian ideals are constantly under attack from the media and aggressively secular culture. Domenic Inneo of Souled Out Ministry joins us for part two of our conversation on h…

This week on the podcast is our conversation with the Domenic Inneo of Renewal Ministries and Souled Out Ministries. Domenic shares with us his faith story, how he found himself involved in youth ministry, and why he’s so focused on helping young people develop a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Whether you’re a parent, a pastor, or a youth…

THIS PODCAST WAS RECORDED SEVERAL WEEKS AGO BEFORE TEAMS BEGAN SOCIAL DISTANCING AND REMOTE WORK Rob McDowell and Father James Mallon come together with Dan O’Rourke to dig into sacramental theology. The team works through some of the mistakes that we’ve made in the way we’ve handled sacraments in the history of the Church. Many show up for sacrame…

This week is a practical conversation for today's situation. This is a very good time for churches to be thinking more deeply about how they use digital tools to help with the mission of the Church. Join Father James Mallon, Rob McDowell, Mike Tanner, and Dan O'Rourke as we discuss websites, live streams, and a host of other tools that we can use i…

This week on the podcast things get exciting as Dan O'Rourke, Father James Mallon, and Rob McDowell discuss the evangelization efforts of parishes and whether those systems are fruitful or ill-fated. We'll dig into a discussion on what evangelization could or should look like and what it looks like far too often in the Catholic Church and the team …

This week on the podcast we’re talking one of our favourite topics; conferences. Father James Mallon, Dan O’Rourke, Ron Huntley, and Mike Tanner speak into the events that have helped form them, and why conferences are important aspects of team forming.. Whether you’ve been to previous Divine Renovation Conferences or are curious about what happens…

This week on the podcast it’s all about fun…because it’s all about icebreakers. Join Rob McDowell, Ron Huntley, Dan O’Rourke, and Mike Tanner in a fun conversation on why we do icebreakers and when and why we should stop. How can we reduce the cringe factor and increase the relationship factor through activities that bring people together? Do you k…

This week on the podcast we have the second half of our conversation with Sister Nuala Kenny. Sr. Nuala is a pediatrician, bioethicist, and professor emeritus who has spent her life working on the issue of abuse within the Church. This week we discuss the underlying issues that have led to this crisis and how the Church can move forward in an effor…

This week on the podcast we're joined by pediatrician, bioethicist and professor emeritus Sister Nuala Kenny to discuss a very important and very difficult topic; the sexual abuse crisis in the Church. Sr. Kenny joins Dan O'Rourke, Ron Huntley and Father James Mallon to discuss both the history of abuse as well as the underlying and often untended …

What does giving have to do with mission? This week on the podcast, join Dan O’Rourke, Father Simon Lobo, Rob McDowell, and Mike Tanner in a conversation on the topic of giving and how money is tied to mission. Whether you are a pastor trying to grow giving in your parish or a parishioner trying to understand the need for giving in the church this …

This probably isn't the first time that you've heard someone ask this question. What do you think? Are leaders born with some innate ability that allows them to lead? Is leadership a learned response? How does this question impact parish renewal? This week on the podcast, join Dan O'Rourke, Ron Huntley and Father James Mallon as they shed some ligh…

This week on the Divine Renovation Podcast, Dan O’Rourke is joined by Ron Huntley and Father James Mallon to talk about how consumerism impacts our understanding of what it looks like to be a parishioner? Too often we treat Mass or the sacraments like spiritual fast food. How has the shift to a secular world focused on “things” impacted our experie…

What does mission really look like? This week on the podcast we're joined by Father Michael Mitchell, chaplain for Mission Youth and author of the book I Saw His Face, as well as Stephen Auth, author of The Missionary of Wall Street. Both men are involved in the Regnum Christi movement and both have travelled the world in an effort to bring people …

This week on the podcast Mike Tanner is joined by Rob McDowell, Ron Huntley and Dan O'Rourke to discuss what it means to lead like Jesus? From the servant\leader shift to understanding who it is we're serving, we visit Jesus' example of what leadership looks like. Is that the best way to lead your church? Is it possible? What are the struggles we f…

If Jesus talks about money so much then why are we so uncomfortable talking about money as leaders in the Church. This week on the podcast, Dan O'Rourke is joined by Father Simon Lobo, Father James Mallon, and Rob McDowell to discuss the obstacles to financial conversations in the church and how we can overcome them. The team discusses how we tie g…

Everyone hates to be told no. So why is it so important to say no when you're leading a church from maintenance to mission? This week Dan O'Rourke sits down with Father James Mallon and Ron Huntley to ask why no is such a bad word in the church? The team discusses why sometimes you need to say no to seemingly good ideas and why good leaders have to…

This week on the podcast the team takes on the topic of how to recruit and raise up leaders for ministry. Ron, Rob, Dan, and Mike have a wonderful conversation around the steps that are necessary to take someone from a casual observer and help them achieve greatness for their parish. How do you know if someone is the right person for a leadership r…

Leadership is about doing the right thing, and leadership is about doing things right. Or is it? This week the DR team has a conversation about the difference between good management and good leadership. It's not about either/or, it's about both/and.

This week on the podcast is the return of Daniel Im. In this episode Daniel helps us break down the micro shifts that help us move from maintenance to mission. We dig deeply into the tactical things you can do as a leader in your parish to make mission the mission. Join Dan O'Rourke, Ron Huntley and Father James Mallon as they share in this powerfu…

This week on the podcast we’re joined by pastor, author, and speaker Daniel Im. Daniel joins us to discuss how we can normalize mission. Dan O’Rourke, Ron Huntley, and Father James Mallon join together with Daniel to discuss the ways in which we can make mission the focus of our churches. This is an incredibly powerful tactical conversation on how …

This week on the podcast Dan O'Rourke asks Father James Mallon and Eric Myatt if it's time to change the music? Music ministry can have a polarizing effect on a parish. What sorts of instruments should be played and what songs should be sung can have a great impact and in this week's episode the team talks about when change is good, when change is …

We believe that the power of the Holy Spirit is one of the three keys to parish renewal. This week on the podcast we dig deeper into this topic by asking; how do we know that we're being guided by God? How can we discern what God is calling us to do in a sea of personal and professional demands? Ron, Rob, and Father James walk us through their own …

This week on the podcast we welcome back Gabriel and Chris from WorshipNOW. They discuss how we can meet parishes where they are with music ministry and how their hymnal can make great music accessible to parishes in ways they've never even considered. Sometimes it's hard to know how to balance modern music with an understanding of the liturgy and …

This week Dan O'Rourke, Father James Mallon, and Eric Myatt are joined by Gabriel Wanous and Chris Nolin of WorshipNOW. WorshipNOW provide parishes with support in pursuing music that inspires parishioners to sing praise to God. We know that music can have a huge impact on lives and yet we often fail to push ourselves in music ministry. The team fr…

This is the question that Ron Huntley, Rob McDowell, and Father James Mallon seek to answer this week. Scripture is one of the most powerful tools that we have access to within our parishes and this week the team speaks into how to get people to recognize this gift. We discuss why reading Scripture is so important and some ways to get people more e…

We're joined once again by Tanya Noye from Saint Benedict Parish to chat about why it's so hard to invite people to your church. Tanya opens up about some of the reasons that Catholics struggle with invitation and why it's so important. There are some incredible personal stories in this week's podcast including the story of Tanya's husband acceptin…

This week on the podcast we're joined by Tanya Noye who works with Alpha and Engagement with Saint Benedict Parish for a discussion on evangelization. Tanya shares the story of how she fell away from the Church and why she returned. She shares with us the story of how Alpha has impacted her family's life and why she believes that invitation is so k…

In case you missed our Facebook Live, join the Divine Renovation team as we announce details and open registration for DR20, and share with you what we've got coming up in the future!

This week on Summer Shorts we’re very grateful to look back on our conversation with author Steve Foran. His book, “Surviving to Thriving: The Ten Laws of Grateful Leadership” help shine a light on some of the characteristics of great leaders that we may not have previously considered. We talk with Steve about his own story of becoming a grateful l…

Hospitality is something we take very seriously at Divine Renovation. It’s a ministry that we always recommend investing heavily in but sometimes the view from the inside is different than the view from the outside. Melanie Smollen of Faith Perceptions joins us on this episode of Summer Shorts to discuss “mystery shopping” at churches. What Melanie…

This week on our Summer Shorts series we speak with someone who has had an enormous impact on our work at Divine Renovation. Brent Dolfo is a world-renowned leader in the field of pastoral leadership. This discussion with him about the early days of Divine Renovation, what he sees working and not working for pastors worldwide is wonderful. Brent of…

Most people know that we have invested heavily in Alpha at Divine Renovation. We do so because we have found it to be the most effective tool for evangelization. This week we call on our conversation with the National Director for Catholic Context at Alpha USA, Josh Danis. Josh shares his insights on the state of the church in the United States. We…

We get to talk to a large number of pastors on the podcast but it’s always interesting to hear the perspective of a few bishops. This week on Summer Shorts we talk with Bishop Thomas Dowd about some topics that most wouldn’t expect a Bishop to be talking about. Bishop Dowd speaks about social media, how he came to discern his calling, and what life…

We’re never going to move forward unless we start moving forward and this week on the podcast we talk with an organization helping churches make that happen. Tithe.ly builds custom applications for parishes that help them connect with their parishioners, support prayer life, and increase giving. In this Summer Short we learn more about how Tithe.ly…

Truly great leaders don’t create great followers, they raise up great, new leaders. This week on Summer Shorts we talk to Catholic Christian Outreach President Jeff Lockert about why lifting up leaders on campuses is so important and what it means for the future of the Catholic Church. Jeff’s working knowledge of mission and leadership, especially …

This week on Summer Shorts, we’re heading across the Atlantic. 2019 saw incredible growth and development in our UK parishes and an incredible experience of community at DR19UK. Leading up to the event, we were joined by Hannah Vaughan-Spruce to discuss the state of the Catholic Church in the UK. Through her work at Divine Renovation, she has seen …

This week on our Summer Shorts series we had our work cut out for us. How do you trim down so many incredible insights on leadership and relationships? Our team has taken the very best from our conversation with Brett Powell and created 10 minutes of thought-provoking, actionable conversation on Jesus and how we can balance ferocity and tenderness …

This week we put on our Summer Shorts, a series of podcasts cut down to highlight the best discussions from our last season. These are a great way to catch up on old episodes or be reminded of some of the great insights that have happened around the podcast table. This time we're looking back at the Facebook Live event that launched our latest book…

We’re so happy to have you join us for our last podcast episode of the season. Dan O’Rourke, Ron Huntley, and Father James Mallon sit down and reflect on the amazing guests and some of the highlights they’ve shared during this past season. The team focuses on the insights from our wonderful guests and take the time to delve into these topics a litt…

On our second last podcast of the season we’re joined by someone that's been integral in the development of our ministry. Church Consultant Brent Dolfo joins Dan O’Rourke, Father James Mallon, and Rob Currie to discuss how to help people move forward and survive the difficult and important path of parish renewal. Director of the Leadership, Brent w…

This week on the podcast, Dan O’Rourke leads a conversation with Ron Huntley and Father James Mallon on the topic of leadership, especially as it relates to ministries within the parish. The team explains the surprising reasons that delegation might not always be the best thing for a parish team and how to make sure you’ve got the right people in t…

This week Dan O'Rourke, Rob McDowell and Father Simon Lobo are joined by the founder of the Havard Virtuous Leadership Institute, Alexandre Havard. Alexandre's books, “Virtuous Leadership”, “Created for Greatness” and “From Temperament to Character” have been translated into 20 languages and he brings this wealth of knowledge to the podcast in a ca…

This week on the podcast, Dan O'Rourke is joined by Father James Mallon and Ron Huntley to take a closer look at leadership through the lens of virtues. They talk about why being told you're doing a bad job is a gift if you look at it the right way. If you want to know what driving a low to the ground car on a country road has to do with leadership…

This week on the podcast Dan, Rob, and Mike are joined by Steve Foran, author of "Surviving to Thriving: The Ten Laws of Grateful Leadership". Steve answers last week's question, "what is the opposite of gratitude", while helping the team understand the importance of gratitude. From personal stories of growth and development to successes in practic…

This week we're minding on our manners. Dan O’Rourke, Rob McDowell, and Mike Tanner take a few moments to talk gratitude. The team tries to recognize the things they are grateful for and explain why a focus on gratitude is so important? If you’ve ever held the door and had trouble holding your tongue when no one says thank you, this is a good conve…

This week on the podcast, we’re joined by Jeff Lockert, the President of Catholic Christian Outreach, a university missionary organization. Jeff shares the story of how he discerned his calling with CCO and what it’s meant in his life. Jeff unpacks the reasons that university campuses are one of the most important places for us to undertake mission…

This week on the podcast Father James Mallon, Ron Huntley, and Mike Tanner do some idea pruning and planting around leadership. The team talks about the new logo and what each of the keys mean as it relates to parish renewal. They discuss icebergs, cornerstones, and trees in an effort to get to the root of their understanding of leadership principl…

Why are rinks full and churches empty and does one have anything to do with the other? This week Ron Huntley, Mike Tanner and Matt Vaughan are joined by Andrew Pepper, a Hockey Ministries International Chaplain with the Halifax Mooseheads. Andrew shares the mission and the impact of HMI and digs into what he’s seen change in these young men through…

This week on the podcast we get a little social. We’re joined by Mike Tanner, Communications and Digital Marketing Specialist for Divine Renovation. We dig into how parishes can use digital marketing as a means to move forward in mission. We also talk about the ways in which the church has directly been called by The Vatican to use things like soci…