Lessons from a Megachurch: Jake Brown

Freelance filmmaker Jake Brown joins Anthony on the podcast to explain how college party marketing and megachurch video production led him to where he is today. As he tells his story, Jake shares the lessons he learned from Protestant churches that use their services to make every second meaningful. He also reflects on the process of deciding to enter RCIA—while still allowing for the room to doubt, change, and keep learning.

As always, thank you to our Patreon sponsors who make this podcast possible.

Love, the Master Communicator: David Calavitta

This week, David Calavitta shares his thoughts on creativity and communication. As Life Teen’s Director of Design and Marketing, he has learned how to take every opportunity to communicate a message and make it extraordinary. David tells the story of his encounter with excellent design that taught him the value of intentionality in messaging. He and Marcellino also discuss what makes parish communication effective, which is the main subject of Life Teen’s upcoming Horizon conference. And, bonus, podcast listeners can get $30 off their registration for Horizon by using the code CCPodcast at checkout!

Thanks as always to our Patreon sponsors who make this podcast possible.

Bringing Humanity Back to Marketing: Dave Plisky

This week we chat with Dave Plisky, the Director of Marketing and Digital at DeSales Media Group who thought marketing was kind of bogus back in college. Along with stories of his forays into Quidditch and flute playing, he tells us how a good mentor, authenticity, and a little bit of Seth Godin helped him see how meaningful marketing can be. The same principles that altered his professional life have impacted his faith, too; he shares the way authentic relationships brought him to a deeper relationship with Christ.

Thank you to our Patreon sponsors for making this podcast possible.

A Beautiful Rebellion: Dr. Johannes Hartl

Dr. Johannes Hartl, founder of the 24/7 prayer house Gebetshaus, breaks all the stereotypes: he grew up as a hippie/punk who admired the Church’s beauty; he’s a Catholic creating prayer experiences in ecumenical spaces; and he makes a German accent sound really nice. In this episode, he tells Marcellino about his first personal experience of God, which forever shaped his approach to religion, trust in providence, and prayer (he’s written two books about it!). He offers powerful insight into the role art plays in drawing people to God, as well as the way Gebetshaus has fostered unity among Christians through beautiful prayer.

Thank you to our Patreon sponsors for making this podcast possible.

Catholic Indiana Jones: Ryan Thomas

Meet the guy who recorded a ten-minute voice memo describing his work for his mom. And, despite his best efforts, she’s still a little confused. Ryan Thomas describes the basketball camp conversion that set him on his life’s course, which included being inspired by St. Ignatius of Loyola to discern religious life and having Archbishop Chaput as his spiritual director (nbd). These experiences created the foundation he works from—mentorship, interiority, and letting his faith permeate his work. Ryan is now working on a Blockchain-based payment and donation system and has a book about Our Lady of Guadalupe in the works.

Thank you to our Patreon sponsors for making this podcast possible.

Living Undivided: Jeff Schiefelbein

Jeff Schiefelbein and Marcellino talk about Jeff’s life of business building, risk taking, and culture shaping. His life is story-worthy: not only is he currently the Chief Culture Officer of 5, an energy advisory firm, but he’s also started a few bands, danced off-Broadway without formal training, and founded a safe ride initiative at Texas A&M. As he shares these and many other stories, Jeff delves into the guiding principles behind his life, most especially the fearlessness to embrace awkwardness and create a life worth living.

Thank you to our Patreon sponsors for making this podcast possible.

Live in the Light: Anna Carter

Anna Carter, co-founder of the Eden Invitation, talks with Marcellino about the sense of adventure and community that defined her childhood—through books, family life, and her home parish—and has accompanied her throughout her journey. This “pilgrim faith” set Anna on a course of continual discovery; she tells the story of coming to understand her gender and sexuality, and how vulnerability about her same-sex attraction created even deeper relationships. She offers wisdom on everything from creating Trinitarian communities to living like you’re in Narnia.

Thank you to our Patreon sponsors for making this podcast possible.

Business as Ministry: Tony Vasinda

In this episode, Tony Vasinda of Project YM tells Anthony the origin stories of Catholic Beard Balm and his up-and-coming card game Brandstanding. Tony explores the common threads uniting all of his projects and work: doing God’s will—and having fun doing it—while creating opportunities for people to be together. He shares his thoughts on supporting fellow artists (do it), meganspeaks.com (visit it), and detachment from finances (it’s the only way to live).

Thank you to our Patreon sponsors for making this podcast possible.

Unleash the Edmundo: Edmundo Reyes

This week, Anthony sits down with Edmundo Reyes, the Director of Communications for the Archdiocese of Detroit, and (with some fancy microphones) they chat about Edmundo’s missionary enthusiasm. They talk about the retreat during his time in college that set Edmundo on a path to God and solidified the calling on his heart to be a missionary in whatever capacity the Lord wanted. This call guides his life; he discusses how God’s will fuels him as he pioneers the Unleash the Gospel campaign in his archdiocese, encourages the Church to be innovative and collaborative, and brings revival to Detroit. All of this, he explains, because he has “Christian FOMO”—he fears missing out on any part of God’s plan.

Thank you to our Patreon sponsors for making this podcast possible.

From Costco to The Convo: Ian Cabrera

In this episode, Ian Cabrera shares how he went from A/V club dweeb to communications freelancer and host of The Convo podcast...so, like, still kind of an A/V club dweeb. Ian and Marcellino talk about the great and terrifying switch to freelance work—how it is freeing, exciting, scary, and kind of weird at times. They also delve into the time in Ian’s life when he was working at Costco and engaging in a nine-month Ignatian formation, a trying time that taught him to trust, wait, and beg God for help. Ian pulls back the curtain on why The Convo is a narrative-driven podcast, and shares his favorite stories from his time producing it.

Thank you to our Patreon sponsors for making this podcast possible.

The Ecosystems We Thrive In: Angela Schnieders

This week, we talk with Angela Schnieders, a senior partner with Mission Advancement Partners, the director of mission advancement with ENDOW, a former FOCUS missionary and staff member, and all-around breath of fresh air. Angela dives right in, exposing the heart behind her work—a heart that’s seen the darkest nights and still seeks the magic of relationship. The cross of mental health difficulties has taught her what a full life looks like, and she delves into the ways that sharing deep, intentional life with others creates purpose. She shares wisdom on unhealthy cultural ecosystems, the necessity of presence in the body and mind, and the beauty of her recent marriage to Bill Schnieders. She brings practical tips to her deep, rich view of human nature.

Thank you to our Patreon sponsors for making this podcast possible.

Inventions Begin with Ridicule: Dominic Ismert

This week’s podcast is a conversation with Dominic Ismert, a father of six children, an inventor and patent-holder for multiple products, and the founder of four companies (yeah, you read that right). Dominic delves into how he “does it all” by admitting he doesn’t do as much as it seems—he lets God take the lead. He shares the story of how an idea from God became a reality through persistence, and the frustrations that led him to create the crowdfunding site WonderWe. He offers insight into the fact that creativity flows from God’s abundance and the desire to create an ecosystem of support for the Catholic and Christian world.

Thank you to our Patreon sponsors for making this podcast possible.

Put Down the Sword and Love: Joe Klinker

Today, we talk with Joe Klinker, a father of three, the creator of Tiny Saints, and a seminary dropout turned Coast Guard communications director. Joe and Marcellino dive right in, talking about the move away from perfectionism into true expression and freedom, in both art and faith. Joe tells the heartbreaking, powerful story of how Tiny Saints came to be—and all the risks and joys of starting the business. He offers insight into what our art and faith need: wrestling, learning, humility, a search for truth that isn’t stifling or destructive to others. His journey away from a heavily apologetics-based faith life culminates in a profound story about learning to love his LGBT neighbors.

Thank you to our Patreon sponsors for making this podcast possible.

Entrepreneurship Meets Evangelization: Scott Williams

This week we speak with Scott Williams, co-founder of Sock Religious and the Director of Youth Ministry for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis. Marcellino and Scott chat about the ridiculous ways people come to know Jesus better—cake, beard destruction, and of course, pope socks. Scott shares the ups and downs of running a small business, including his efforts to find balance as he raises his three-month-old son and build a company without letting it take him away from his primary vocation. He offers insight into entrepreneurial courage, especially the humility it takes to let others do what you can’t in order to be your best.

Thank you to our Patreon sponsors for making this podcast possible.

Creating Home Through Music: Mike Mangione

This week we speak with Mike Mangione, father of three, professional musician, and co-founder of The Cor Project. In this podcast, Anthony and Mike discuss the relationship between vulnerability and music. Mike shares about his experience with Peter Gabriel’s music as a young boy, he talks about the role of music in his Theology of the Body ministry with Christopher West, and he explains how he uses suffering and pain to play music out of a place of vulnerability.

Thank you to our Patreon sponsors for making this podcast possible.

The Island of the Misfit Activist: Destiny Herndon-De La Rosa

This week we speak with Destiny Herndon-De La Rosa, national speaker, hardcore pro-life activist, and founder of New Wave Feminists. In this podcast, Anthony and Destiny discuss how rejection, suffering, and doubt have played a role in Destiny’s journey as an activist.  Destiny talks about her insecurities as a public figure and how she’s adopted the role of misfit throughout her life. Anthony and Destiny both share about moments when they’ve encountered God during their darkest hours, and how their spiritual journeys have been shaped by both moments of serious faith and serious doubt. Destiny isn’t afraid to get real and also shares about her experience of God as an agnostic and about her struggle with alcoholism.

Thank you to our Patreon sponsors for making this podcast possible.

Made for Eden: Michelle Benzinger

This week we speak with Michelle Benzinger, mother of six, speaker, entrepreneur, and Creative Director of Meaningful Market. In this podcast, Marcellino and Michelle talk about how we are called as creatives to champion each other’s dreams. Marcellino and Michelle each share stories from their own lives of times when the body of Christ poured into them and encouraged them to dream. They discuss the importance of being rooted in your identity instead of your gifts, the risk of choosing to play as an adult when our culture places so much emphasis on performance and achievement, and how we were originally created to live in a garden. They tell us that if we want to create great art, we need to find ways to pour into each other.

Thank you to our Patreon sponsors for making this podcast possible.

Ridding the World of Button Pushers: Cory Heimann

As the 2018 Summit gets even closer, we wanted to share with you another talk from last year’s summit. This breakout session was given by Cory Heimann, founder and Creative Director of Likable Art, father of 3, and all around awesome creative. In this talk, Cory discusses how we as Catholic creatives are set apart and are called to present Christ as irresistible to the world. He talks about the responsibility we have as the artists through whom many major projects the Church is working on are funneled through.  He explains how we as Catholics are set apart from other creatives, and describes what unique opportunities our Catholic heritage presents to us as storytellers and artists. Cory also challenges us to think about how we live out our personal values in our work and how we encourage those we work for to move their own missions forward as well.

Thank you to our Patreon sponsors for making this podcast possible.

Don’t Change Culture, Change Yourself: TJ Berden

This week we speak with TJ Berden, filmmaker and producer of Paul, Apostle of Christ and Full of Grace. In this podcast, Anthony and TJ talk about TJ’s journey living in LA and working on bigger budget productions. TJ talks about how he moved to LA brandishing the Catholic sword with a desire to change culture, but learned upon arriving that change first needed to come from within. He shares about the impact Tree of Life had on him as an artist and speaks about how relationships with certain groups of people sparked within him a passion for life and a love of beauty. TJ speaks about his time working on Paul, Apostle of Christ and how diving into the humanity and emotional drama of Paul’s life were some of the most self transformative parts of the movie-making process for him. Anthony and TJ also talk about the importance of community as creatives, and how great work and great beauty can come from intimate and personal friendships.

Thank you to our Patreon sponsors for making this podcast possible.

The New Renaissance: Matt Meeks

This week we’re doing something a little different. With the 2018 Catholic Creatives Summit only one month away, we decided to bring back the keynote talk from last year’s summit. We really want everyone to hear this talk because the New Renaissance is what we’re about.

The Catholic Creatives’ Why is:

"Setting creatives free so that they can unleash a new renaissance."

This is why Catholic Creatives exists. And this is why this talk is so important for everyone to listen to. What is a renaissance? What are examples of past renaissances? What does a new renaissance look like? What is it going to take for that to happen? Matt Meek’s talk at the summit last year was a prophetic answer to these questions.

Also, feel free to check out Courtney Kiolbassa's blog post where she shares her thoughts from meditating on what the New Renaissance really means.

Thank you to our Patreon sponsors for making this podcast possible.