The Three Conversations: An Invitation To Intentional Discipleship

In 1992, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops composed Stewardship: A Disciple’s Response, a pastoral letter on stewardship. The introduction of this document served as a wonderful description of stewardship as an intentional life of discipleship:

“Stewardship is an expression of discipleship, with the power to change how we understand and live out our lives. Disciples who practice stewardship recognize God as the origin of life, the giver of freedom, the source of all they have and are and will be.”

Here at Saint Michael Parish, our mission is to deepen the culture of discipleship in our faith community.

What does it mean to be “a disciple of Christ”? From Scripture, we know that the earliest disciples had some qualities in common — they supported and prayed for one another, they spread the Good News by sharing their experiences with others, and they had a strong sense of mission. These qualities of discipleship are still alive and well in many of our parishioners today! To help our faith family nurture this understanding of discipleship, SMP has introduced the Three Conversations to our staff and small-group facilitators.

“The Three Conversations is all a part of deepening a sense of discipleship and what that means,” says Jackie Shirley, SMP Steward for Faith Formation. “The first conversation is all about prayer and praying with each other, so we share our prayer intentions and then pray for each other. The second is faith sharing — sharing your faith journey. This could be sharing your entire journey or one particular moment when you saw God in your life. The third is looking at how you see yourself living out the mission of Christ, such as volunteering or raising a family.”

Last fall, our parish staff went through the Three Conversations model together. Then, they invited 100 parishioners to join two staff members for the process. The program was such a success that our staff then provided a two-hour retreat on the Three Conversations for the leaders of our parish’s 43 faith-sharing groups. These facilitators are entrusted with bringing the Three Conversations to the close to 500 parishioners who participate in small groups.

Jackie loves the way the Three Conversations gives us the tools and confidence to enter into prayer for and with one another, and she is always deeply moved by the faithsharing time.

“For thousands of years, our faith has been spread by people sharing their faith journey and what God has done in their lives,” she says. “Seeing what Jesus has done in someone’s life and wanting that for your own life is what brings about real conversion. And it doesn’t have to be a big thing — some of the most beautiful journeys are about how God has always been there for someone.”

Saint Michael Parish parishioners film a short video on the Three Conversations that was shown during Masses in April. The video can still be viewed at the following link — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPKhjHHdKI0.

By praying for one another, sharing stories of faith, and looking to build the Kingdom of God here on earth together, participants in the Three Conversations often form a special bond.

“You’re able to pray with people and be vulnerable with them and share how God is moving in your life, and that is community building,” Jackie says. “You feel connected to people in your group, but also as a whole to our community and to the Body of Christ. We are all struggling in this world and trying to live out that mission and go out and make disciples. So we are called to pray for each other, love each other, and see others as Christ sees us.”

With the Three Conversations, members of our faith family gain a deeper understanding of what it means to work toward the SMP mission to place God first in all things, to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and to grow in holiness through prayer, sacraments and service. While “proclaiming the Gospel” may sound intimidating to some, the Three Conversations brings this important aspect of the mission within our grasp.

“I think people hear ‘evangelization’ and it’s sometimes a scary word,” says our Pastoral Assistant for Administration, Chris Peterson. “They have images of people on the street, but evangelization can really be very simple — it’s praying for people and sharing what God has done in your life so people can be inspired and see that they are important in the mission, in moving this forward.”

With this in mind, the parish is asking those who have experienced the Three Conversations to find ways to carry these conversations

into their everyday lives. This may mean going through a formal or informal version of the model with one’s family or friends. Not long after the staff went through the Three Conversations together, Chris went home and did the same with his wife and children. They all found the experience deeply rewarding.

As more and more of our parishioners experience the Three Conversations — whether on a SMP retreat, through a faith-sharing group, or simply in the home with family, friends or neighbors — our community is sure to grow in faith, mission and intentional discipleship.

“We want SMP to be a place where people know each other, know what prayers are needed, and actually pray for each other — a culture where you hear the name of Jesus spoken and hear what He is doing in people’s lives, and where people see themselves as moving the mission forward and building the Kingdom of God,” Chris says.

Parishioners film a short video on the Three Conversations, which was shown during Masses in April.