At Burning Hearts Disciples, we exist to walk with leaders like you — those who care deeply about helping others encounter Jesus in the midst of ordinary life.

Lent has a way of arriving with pressure:  programming to plan, sacrifices to choose, intentions to declare. But readiness doesn’t come from urgency. It comes from honesty. This month, we want to offer something quieter: clarity before commitment.

Before You Decide What to "Do" for Lent 

‍Lent doesn't fix what clarity avoids.

Many are feeling it right now... the subtle scramble:  What will I give up?  What will our parish focus on?  What needs to improve?

But Lent is not about spiritual productivity.
It is about repentance.

If the Gospel is assumed, Lent won’t recover it.  If exhaustion is unnamed, Lent won’t heal it.  If mission is unclear, more practices won’t clarify it.

The kerygma is the core proclamation of the Gospel: who Jesus Christ is, what He has done for us, and the invitation to respond to Him.  Lent can only bear fruit when that invitation is clear.

What Lent Requires of Leaders 

Lent calls us to repentance.

Repentance requires something many of us resist:  slowing down.

There is pressure right now – to finalize plans, launch initiatives, choose themes, improve engagement.  But repentance does not happen at speed. It requires space to tell the truth.  

‍This season does not ask us for vague improvement or better execution.  Reptenance requires harder questions than, "What are we doing this year."

Where has the Gospel become assumed in my preaching?

Where have I relied on strategy more than surrender?
Where has fatigue shaped my tone?
Where have I avoided naming what is no longer bearing fruit?

Lent will not answer questions we refuse to ask.  
If we rush, we will simply manage Lent.
If we pause and open our hearts to truth, we may actually receive it.

For those who lead, work, and serve in parishes and dioceses, maybe that means slowing down long enough to examine our own hearts as evangelizers.

We've created an Examination of Conscience for Evangelizers to help you do exactly that. 
 

Burning Hearts in the Field

‍‍Upcoming Invitations

March 17-18:  Lent Retreat, Fully Alive in Jesus, Oshkosh, WI

March 2:  PATHWAYS Advisory Board Meeting, Viterbo University

April 28 - May 5:  Alpha Leadership Tour, London England

May 21:  Mareda Catechetical Leaders Retreat, Holy Hill Basillica 

‍Formation Deepening 

‍This spring, our Executive Director Krisitn Bird will complete training in charism discernment coaching & presentations through Many Parts Ministries. 

This will allow us to more intentionally integrate charism discernment into our leadership retreats, parish and team formation, clergy and deacon gatherings, and our ongoing accompaniment and coaching conversations.  

Looking Ahead:  Beyond Lent
After Lent, What Needs Strengthening?

Lent calls us to repentance.  Easter sends us back into mission.  Summer forms leaders with space to think and rebuild.  Fall aligns teams before another year begins.

If your parish or diocese is already thinking ahead, we are beginning conversations for:

✝️ Easter parish missions

👩🏻‍🏫 Summer leadership workshops

📚 Catechist formation days

⛪ Fall clergy convocations

🛐 Deacon retreats

Not to add more events – but to serve what God is already stirring.

🔗 Book a Speaker »

As you accompany those entrusted to your care this Lent, may you resist the pressure to perform and choose instead the slower work of repentance and clarity.  Renewal begins there. 

The Burning Hearts Disciples Team

 Were not our hearts burning within us while he spoke to us...? Luke 24:32

Want to talk about how we can walk with your parish of school?
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