How to be a Paid Catholic Speaker

By: Justin Fatica

When I was 17, I had a teacher, Fr. Larry Richards, who was and still is an evangelist. He would travel and speak at parish missions and men’s conferences. What was most attractive about how he lived his life was that the same passion he gave at his events, he would give in the classroom. Before I had a personal relationship with Jesus, this was something that bothered me about him. Why is he so excited about a God in the sky? Why is he so passionate about a church that hasn’t really done much for me? Why does he believe with such conviction?

When I got in trouble in my own personal life, I asked myself these three questions. What was my mission in life? What was my purpose? What was my goal in life? These three questions became my understanding of life and I needed to answer them. Then I made a big mistake, and I didn’t have time to think about them. I needed to act quickly.

I found that my mission in life became following the way of Jesus Christ. My purpose in life became loving others like Jesus. My goal in life became everything that I have, own and do is worthless without heaven. This priest became my lifeline to that and we are still close. In my first two years of living for Christ I was a disciple of Fr. Larry Richards.

I also became a disciple of Greg and Stephanie Schlueter. One day in the summer I was listening to Tupac in my Jeep Wrangler, with my rag top down, and Stephanie asked me what I was listening to. I said “I love Tupac.” “Why?” She asked. I told her it was because it made me think about life. As we got into a conversation, she made me realize that Tupac spoke one thing but lived another. He was passionate about not being judged, but he would talk junk about people. It made me realize that I needed to change the music I listened to. Back when I came to Jesus there were very few Christian artists. I got hooked on Rich Mullins and Michael W. Smith.

Greg shared with me the importance of being authentic - the importance of letting not just your lifestyle be Christian, but your entire life. If you hung out with Fr. Larry, Greg or Stephanie you would realize very quickly that my Christian walk is part of each of them. To be a paid Catholic speaker is not the goal. The goal is to be a disciple of Jesus Christ.

I will give you 5 practical ways that this can happen.

1. Hang out with someone who preaches the gospel and is a disciple of Jesus Christ.
Spend time with them and if God opens the door follow their way of life.

2. Travel with them.
Find a way to go on one or two trips with them. Be a part of their life. St. Paul was a part of Timothy’s life and that is how he became one of the greatest evangelists of all time. Paul traveled over 10,000 miles proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ. His journeys on land and sea took him primarily through present day Israel, Syria, Turkey, and Greece. Paul walked the roads built by the Romans to facilitate their control over their Empire. Travelers took to the roads in as large a group as they could find. There was constant danger of bandits. They hurried to get to the next wayside inn for shelter and whatever food might be available.

Traveling by sea was not comfortable. There were no cabins for travelers. They had to find a place on the deck exposed to sun, winds, and rain. Paul’s trade as a tentmaker probably held him in good stead, as he could fashion shelter for himself and his companions on the deck.

In 2 Corinthians 11: 25 – 27, Paul describes some of the dangers of traveling.

“Three times I was shipwrecked, I passed a night and a day on the deep; on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my own race, dangers from Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers at sea, in toil in hardship, through many sleepless nights, through hunger and thirst, through frequent fastings, through cold and exposure.”

3. Find out how they made a living serving God.
Many people who see people on stage living for God think it is glorious. They fly on a plane, or for myself travel on a tour bus, and think it’s so easy. It is important to understand that as glorious as it looks from that 1-hour talk, the cross it is daily to get there is not easy on anyone. Find out what the cross has been for them. Find out how many hours they have put into serving God in speaking, and what did they have to do with the rest of their time. Most speakers have two jobs like St. Paul did. He was a tentmaker and a speaker/writer. This shows you it is a call, not a job. The ones that do it full time have to manage a staff and put a lot of work into that.

If you read about Paul and his journeys it will help you understand this is a call and not a job. Barnabas and Paul separated over a disagreement (Acts 15: 36 – 40). Barnabas returned to Cyprus. From Jerusalem, Paul went overland to revisit the churches in Lystra and Iconium. On this trip, Paul had a dream calling him to bring the gospel to Macedonia. He crossed the Aegean Sea to present-day Greece. He traveled down the east coast of Greece. Stopping in Athens, Paul attempted to proclaim the gospel in Athens, where he was met with polite indifference (Acts 17: 16 – 32). He then went to Corinth where he established a church that would give him both great joy and pain (see 1 and 2 Corinthians). Traveling back through Ephesus where his successful teaching won many to Christ to the annoyance of the local charm dealers (Acts 19: 21 – 40). Paul returned to Antioch by way of Jerusalem.

4. Pray, pray, and pray that you do not get in the way.
Ask God for the grace to stay humble and not get in the way of God is calling you to do. You may be called to support a speaker for 20 years. You may be called to do business for our Lord and learn how to be a disciple. The goal is not to be a speaker, the goal is to be a disciple. Find ways to be a great disciple and God will lead you to the right place at the right time.

5. Be confident
that if He puts a desire in your heart than God could be calling you. The desire that God put in your heart is important. Take that desire and ask how it can become real. If he is calling for it to become real then Praise God. God wants to give you what is best for you. If it is what is best for you it will make you a great disciple. Remember no matter what job we have our most important duty is to become a disciple of Jesus Christ.