The Practice of Accompaniment with Josh Packard

QUICK SUMMARY

What if listening to someone isn’t just a bridge to telling them something, but is itself a formative, sacred act? Sociologist and researcher Josh Packard returns to Religion to Reality to unpack groundbreaking data on the intersection of faith and listening, challenge Catholics to truly live out the concept of accompaniment, and offer an honest outside-in assessment of where the Church is falling short, and where it’s quietly thriving.

IN THIS EPISODE, WE EXPLORE

• Why two-thirds of people say listening shaped their faith, but the Church has invested almost nothing in ministries of listening

• The difference between knowing the Catholic concept of accompaniment and actually doing it

• How over-professionalized youth ministry has quietly outsourced the most important relationships

• Why the digital missionary space may be the most significant untapped opportunity in Catholic outreach

• What “cultural Catholics” might actually be getting right that formal church structures are missing

ABOUT JOSH PACKARD

Josh Packard is a sociologist of religion and the founder of Future of Faith, a research and consulting organization helping churches move from institutional ministry to relational ministry at scale. He is a former sociology professor and co-founder of Springtide Research Institute, and has also served at the National Catholic Educational Association. His work includes the Sacred Listening Study, to his knowledge, the only research in the world examining the intersection of faith formation and listening, as well as the recently released book Faithful Futures. Josh is a Lutheran who has built his career crossing denominational boundaries to serve Catholic, Protestant, and ecumenical audiences alike.

MEMORABLE QUOTE

“I don’t think you can understand what we mean when we say listening is sacred if you do not feel like you have a God who has listened to you, and that you’ve also listened to.” — Josh Packard

RESOURCES MENTIONED

• Future of Faith — futureoffaith.org

• Relational Discipleship White Paper — futureoffaith.org/relationaldiscipleship

• Sacred Listening Tools (free download) — available at futureoffaith.org

• Book: Faithful Futures by Josh Packard

• Every Student Sent — ministry connecting high school graduates to campus believers in their first week of college (based in Texas)

• Springtide Research Institute — springtideresearch.org

• Religion to Reality Season 1 with Josh Packard — available in the back catalog and as a bonus episode

• John Gribowich’s Substack: Going Analog — johngribowich.substack.com