News

By Owen Phelps, Ph.D. Director, Yeshua Institute In the process of preparing for a small group discussion series in our parish this summer on Bishop Robert Barron’s new book Letter to a Suffering Church: A Bishop Speaks on the Sexual Abuse Crisis, my thoughts drifted back to a year ago w...

Read More >

By Owen Phelps, Ph.D. Director, Yeshua Institute A recent NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll finds huge differences between what Americans value today and what they valued in 1998, just 21 years ago. While “hard work” led the list of values in both 1998 and 2019, after that the d...

Read More >

“Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.” So began a brief talk by Dr. Owen Phelps at the first Benefactors Mass & Brunch for the Yeshua Catholic International Leadership Institute on Saturday, Aug. 10, at St. James Parish in Rockford, IL. His words echoed those of Dick Kunnert, a Yes...

Read More >

(Lord) when did we see you … in prison, and visit you? (Matt 25:39) Maybe it’s hard to picture a county jail as God’s vineyard. But a team of Lead Like Jesus Facilitators in Rockford, IL, will tell you that’s exactly what it is – and that it inevitably yields a r...

Read More >

Whenever people interact, some conflict is inevitable. We can’t avoid it. In fact, trying to avoid all conflict can be a trap that impedes the development of healthy organizations – including parishes. When handled well, conflict can actually become an opportunity for greater parish g...

Read More >

One of our friends and advocates, Father Mike Mendl, SDB, recently referred us to a concise article about three leadership styles: Dictator; Best friend; and, Ghost. The first two styles are self-explanatory. To learn more about the third, you’ll have to read the article –...

Read More >

The Yeshua Institute’s first Benefactors Mass & Brunch, scheduled Saturday, Aug. 10, at St. James Parish in Rockford, IL, will feature Javis Mugagga, our Catholic Vision for Leading Like Jesus Master Facilitator from Uganda. Mugagga oversees Encounters and special programs for seminaria...

Read More >

‘Offering advice is a sign of good leadership, and asking for advice is a sign of intelligence. If the exchange goes well, both parties benefit.’ By Owen Phelps, Ph.D. Director, Yeshua Institute By now we should all know that how we do things is at least as important as what ...

Read More >

There are two kinds of change: technical and adaptive. As a rule, the former is easy and the latter is complex and difficult. But adaptive change is the kind of change we need in our parishes today. And it’s also the kind of change Pope Francis is constantly calling us to. Dr. Dan Ebe...

Read More >

As the nation – indeed, the world – celebrates the 50th anniversary of a “small step for man, a giant leap for mankind,” Yeshua Facilitator David Coe shares the story of another kind of small step that turned out to be a great leap both for a single man and for many of his ne...

Read More >