The Jeff Cavins Show (Your Catholic Bible Study Podcast) - Wisdom for Catholic Entrepreneurs (Part 2)

Episode Date: November 21, 2025

Don’t let comparison kill your calling. In part two of this series for Catholic entrepreneurs, Jeff shares five more principles for building a ministry, apostolate, or starting a business. From keeping the Gospel at the center to avoiding envy and protecting your family, learn how to thrive as a Catholic entrepreneur. Email us with comments or questions at [e-mail]. Text “jeffcavins” to 33-777 to subscribe and get Jeff’s shownotes delivered straight to your email! Or visit https://media.ascensionpress.com/?s=&page=2&category%5B0%5D=Ascension%20Podcasts&category%5B1%5D=The%20Jeff%20Cavins%20Show for full shownotes!

This podcast is brought to you by Ascension. To discover even more free Catholic podcasts, videos, and resources, to help you live your faith every day, visit ascensionpress.com. Welcome to the Jeff Kaven Show, where we talk about the Bible, discipleship, and evangelization, putting it all together in living as activated disciples. This is show 457, Wisdom for Catholic Entrepreneurs, Part 2. Welcome. I'm Jeff Kavens. Thank you for joining me this week. All right. So you got an idea. You want to do something. Let's talk about it. We're going to be talking today about Wisdom for Catholic Entrepreneurs Part 2. And by the way, thank you so much for your comments. Last week, we were talking about some of the first five points, actually, of things to remember, some wise points, some things not to do. to do regarding being a Catholic entrepreneur, and that is someone who is interested in writing or speaking or starting a ministry of some type, maybe a podcast or a YouTube channel, whatever it might be. There are some things that you can learn ahead of time that will help you

not to go through and make mistakes. That's what I'm saying. So by the way, if you want the show notes today. All you got to do is text my name, Jeff Kavens, and text it to the number. You'll like this. It's a biblical number. 3-3-777. 3-3-7-7, and we'll get you the show notes in perpetuity. Not only this show, but all the shows in the future. You can cancel it any time, of course. So I want to continue on this week. And by the way, thank you for your comments. I got some really good feedback from some young Catholic entrepreneurs who were saying, man, I needed to hear that. And I don't want to make the mistakes.

You know, when I started doing this in Catholic circles, it was 1995. That was 30 years ago. At that point in 1995, I already had 13 years of experience in teaching scripture. And I was a pastor for 12 years before I came back to the Catholic Church. but I was involved in television, involved in radio and other things, prior to the Catholic endeavors starting in 95. And I can tell you that back in 1995, Scott Hahn and I did a lot of work together and Steve Wood and there were a few others, but we really didn't have a lot of mentors. There weren't a lot of people to go to, you know, to talk to about this. And what do I do

concerning radio? There wasn't podcasts at all back then. But what do? do I do with radio? What do I do with television? Writing a book? Where would I go? What do I do? Are there mistakes that people make? And so I think that the deeper and the wider that this beautiful movement in the Catholic Church, this new evangelization, the deeper and wider that it gets, there's going to be more mentors that will be able to not dictate, but share, right, to freely, as I'm doing today, just freely share with you some insights that I learned over the years, sometimes the hard way. And then other times just through repetition and observation, you kind of figure out, you kind of figure out some things. And so I'm going to continue on with my list of 10. Now last week, I covered five.

I'll review those in just a moment here. But let me reiterate one thing that I said last week, that if you are a Catholic entrepreneur of some kind, and, you know, my word, you could do anything. You can do anything out there to start something that's going to be a blessing to the Lord. It's going to be a blessing to fellow believers. And certainly it's going to be an extension of life to the world, hopefully. And, you know, there's so many things that you can do. But I wanted to reiterate, my dear friend, particularly young Catholic entrepreneurs, you are needed more than ever right now. You really are. You know, I remember back in, I think it was the 80s that Pope John Paul the second said to the priests, you are needed more than ever because Christ is needed more than

ever. And he was focusing on the Eucharist. But I would say to you, if you're not a priest, you too are needed more than ever. There's a laity shortage out there. People talk about a priest shortage. There's a laity shortage out there of good lay people and marriages and families that are doing the work. We need you. You need the movement. You need the church. You need the sacraments in the Word of God. So you're needed more than ever. And you are gifted in many ways. And I love your enthusiasm. You have a technical ability that previous generations didn't even conceive of. Maximilian Colby probably never even thought of podcasting or what we're doing today. And look at you. You're doing it. You know, YouTube channels or writing books or whatever it might be, seminars online.

feeding the poor and using technology to do it in a real fabulous way. And there are sources for information available that there wasn't 30 years ago. Now, with that also comes a responsibility to make sure that we're doing it right. We're with the church. We're not just giving our own opinions. It's not about us. It's not about all the likes for us at all. That isn't what this is about, which is something that I mentioned last week.

And I'm going to reiterate that. you have another advantage that previous generations didn't have mine included do you know do you know that before i was 20 i'll say 22 23 years old i don't have a video of me not one video nothing now emily my wife she has some videos because her dad he was a tech a little bit of a texter you know and he he had video of the kids growing up I don't have anything, but you, you are used to being filmed almost daily and recorded. There's good sides and bad sides to all that, of course. So, now, the advice that I started with last week, I mentioned to you, that these points are said with love, with a lot of experience, and I'm not your pastor, I'm not your bishop, I'm your brother, and I have 48 years of ministry experience, and I have made a lot of mistakes.

and I'm not joking about that I have. But I've also learned a lot, and I wish I had this list that I'm sharing with you. I wish I had it 48 years ago. Now, last week I talked about the first five, and that was that you have to remember you're created for love. Don't settle for likes. It's not what the game is about. Not about likes. It is about the love of God.

Number two, find what God wants you to do, what he wants you to say, to write to sing, whatever it might be. and go after it and go deep and perfect it and become, become very, very conversant in that particular area. I think that if we had more people who are specific about tasks and solving problems rather than generalists, we may be ahead of the game a little bit. Number three, do not believe that the number of likes or publishing a book or being a so-called influencer results in success. It does not. Be the kind of influencer that Jesus was, and that is he was always pointing to the father. Do not always point to yourself, point to Jesus, right? Number four, have a deep, deep prayer life. I cannot emphasize that enough. And number five, get to know salvation history,

get to know the basic story of the Bible. My word, this, no, God's word. This is the story that everything launches from why do people go about trying to share something with the world from a basis of ignorance and not even knowing the basic story of salvation history now you can do that i encourage you look at the show notes the great adventure the new ones out and it is very beautiful. Videography from all around the world. We go through the Bible, 24 lessons, through the Bible, the great adventure, get some. Okay, so this week I got six through ten. Let's go through that now. Number six, this is advice for young entrepreneurs or entrepreneurs of any ilk. Learn what the proclamation of the gospel is. This is another one. You know, number five last week about

salvation history, I don't know how people launch ministries without knowing the story or not going after it. Number six is, I don't know how people go about the business of evangelization without knowing the basic message, the corigma, the proclamation of the gospel. God loves you and has a plan for your life. Number one, sin has ruined this plan. Number two, Jesus died for your sins. number three, he is calling you to repent or to radically reorient your life to him. That's number four. He's calling you to baptism and confirmation to be filled with the spirit. That's number five. Number six, he is calling you to be a part of this amazing family, the sacramental life, the community. And number seven, you eventually are going to go and make disciples in the world.

That, my friend, is the gospel. That is the corigma, the proclamation. Every Catholic entrepreneur on the planet. Every Catholic entrepreneur on the planet should know the story and know what the gospel is. And I'll say this in love. If you don't, get on it. Seriously, get on it. This is a priority. This is not one thing on the checklist. You don't have all these other things on the checklist. And one is, well, I should probably we learn the gospel. The gospel is the introduction. The story is the foundation on which all this springs from. Get some. Number seven, oh, is this an important one? You want to see a ministry killer? Do you want to see the destruction of a pastor, a priest, a religious, a deacon, a marriage, or your life, you want to know? Avoid envy. It'll kill you. That's why it's called a deadly sin. it's not called a bothersome sin you know it's not called a sidetracking type of sin it's it's not called a bad day kind of sin it is a deadly sin that means that the goal of that sin of envy is to kill you

and if it kills you of course it kills your your ministry but if you don't deal with envy then you are open to attack now let's look at that to just a moment here what are we talking about well envy is different than jealousy. Jealousy is I want what you have. Now, let's just do this. Let's have two, we'll do two men's ministries out there, okay? We've got Joe and John, which I'm just making those names up. Joe has a men's ministry.

John has a men's ministry, right? Joe is just beginning. John's been doing this for 10 years. He seems to be quite successful. He's got a couple books out there. He's doing conferences, a pilgrimage. Joe's just getting going. He's got a website, and he's starting a podcast, and he says,

man, I'm so jealous of what John is doing. It's so great. There's nothing wrong with using the word that way. It just means that you want what they have. And if it's positive, holy, beneficial, uplifting, that's fine. But jealousy can also be sin. All right.

Now, the difference between jealousy, and envy is that you're looking, Joe's looking at John's ministry and saying, oh, I'm jealous of that. He's got such great organization. Fine. Yay. But if he says, I'm envious of John, what's the difference?

Again, to be jealous is, I want what they have. To be envious is I don't want John to have what he has. Ooh, ouch. That is deadly. Because now Joe is going to think about John, and every time John has any kind of notoriety, any kind of success, any kind of advancement in his ministry, it's going to drive Joe nuts. That is wrong.

That is destructive. That is injurious. That is contagious. That is a deadly sin. You've got to get on top of that. And the way you get on top of that is you have to cultivate thankfulness and you have to begin to thank God for John. Joe, you got to start thanking God for John. And you need to go to the Lord, Joe, and you need to say, you're enough for me, you're enough for me. I'm going to pay

attention to my vineyard and what you've called me to. And I'm going to pray for John that you would even make him more successful for you in the kingdom of God. Listen, if you don't get on top of this, you might as well mark this episode, 457. Because if you fall to envy, I'm going to bring you right back to 4.57 and say, I told you, it is not worth fooling with. If it's even a little bit going on, you know, in your heart, nail it, grab it, go to confession. I'm struggling with envy, father. It's sin. You've got to deal with that. You are kidding yourself if you think that it'll just go away. Be okay with what the Lord is doing with you. Don't compare. Please don't compare. You're going to be.

be in the emergency room. And we're going to have to come in there and put you back together. Okay, I've got number 8, 9, 10, and that's coming up. But first, we're going to take a break. You're listening to the Jeff Kaven show. Hi, my name's Father Mike Schmitz, and I'm excited to announce my latest project, a new Advent series coming out in the ascension app called Waiting Well. Here's the thing.

The stats show that we spend up to several years of our lives waiting. Waiting in line, waiting at red light, waiting while friends and family get ready. we're just constantly waiting. And instead of embracing those times of waiting, what do we do? We worry, we get anxious, and maybe most of all, we check out, and we just get lost in scrolling on our phones. But there is a spiritual importance to waiting that we cannot miss. In fact, waiting is so important that God gives us entire seasons of waiting,

Lent and Advent, as a way to help shape us and help us realize where in our lives we're still waiting to let Jesus in. In order to be truly open to God in this way, we have to learn to embrace times of waiting. Most of all, we have to acknowledge, accept, and then live out the deep truth that this moment and every moment of our lives actually matters. If this resonates with you, if you feel something stirring deep down in your soul, then join me this advent for Waiting Well, exclusively in the Ascension app. You can download the free prayer plan by signing up for the wait list in the Ascension app on your mobile device, or by visiting ascensionpress.com slash father mike advent what are you waiting for see what i did there god bless welcome back okay isn't this good it is good actually because if you put these things into practice it's going to help

your apostolate it's going to be really good you know that book the soul of the apostolate get some of that too okay so number eight put god and family first you say, duh, put God and family first. Well, you might say, duh, but I can show you in my life the times where I didn't where I put ministry, the apostolate, evangelization, I put it all first, and I put my family second, and you'll pay a price for that. And I would change this if I were to start over. I would trade the last, if I was to do the last 48 hours of public ministry, Apostle at work,

I would, if I was to start over, this would be one of the things that I would change. I wouldn't put that first. I'd put my family first. And I did many times. I did for most of the time, I'd say, but there are seasons that I didn't, you know. And there are times where you just, you do have to attend to what God has given you to do. and you know so listen to this billy graham was interviewed and this was towards the end of his life and they asked him second i'm having a sip of amazing japanese green tea at the moment as i'm out here

deep in the woods of minnesota the leaves are off the trees we see the deer coming out about 5 o'clock in the evening, but I digress. Billy Graham, towards the end of his ministry, was interviewed, and they asked him the question, if you were to go back and start over again, what would you do different? You know what he said? Without even a beat, missing a beat. He said, oh, he said, I'd spend more time with my family and less time in ministry. He said it right away.

He said, that would be number one. Number one. Learn from Billy. Learn from me. Learn from others. Don't gain followers and lose your family. Don't be a King David. King David was a marvelous king.

Yay. Lousy father. Go read about what Absalom did. And all the things that happened in the family that really go back to David. And David didn't take care of it. He didn't teach his kids. Great king. Lousy father.

Number nine. Live, number one, live, this is number nine, primarily live not as a businessman or woman, but as a disciple. Everything flows from being a disciple in your apostolate. Everything. You are linked to Jesus. He is in you. He has given you his agenda, his will, his worldview. He expects you to walk with him, to listen to him, and carry out everything he taught you, period.

Everything else that you're doing, scrap it. And if it doesn't come under the banner of, I'm a disciple of Jesus, scrap it, shred it, 86 it. That was it, the number they used? Yeah. And start over and say, Lord, I'm yours. I'm with you. I want to hear your voice.

What do you want me to do? Now, put everything under that banner, a disciple. And this goes with it. and I cannot emphasize this one enough. Resist the rock star mentality. Resist it. It is not helpful. It is not healthy.

It is not biblical. And there's no room in the kingdom. There's only one rock star. And his name is Jesus. There's no other name given to man. by which we must be saved other than Jesus. He is the rock star. We are all in the band with him. We are the supporting actors. But he's the deal. He's the deal. If your apostolate is reflecting that you're the deal, repent, turn, reorient your life. You're not out,

you're not only out in left field. You're in the concession stand in the upper deck of of left field if you think this is about you being a rock star. God doesn't need rock stars today. God needs disciples. Be relatable. Tell a story. As a friend of mine often says, you're not all that in a bag of chips.

Don't relate from a pedestal. Relate as a brother, as a sister who walks along with others. Man, I'll tell you what. Point nine right there, that can be a whole show. Now, here's something to keep in mind. When it comes to photos, videos, and the like, you don't have a best side. It's all you.

Live with it. Accept it. We see it all. We see all of you. You might think you have a best side, but we see all of you. You can't hide. So you don't like your voice. Live with it.

We hear it all the time. You don't like the way you look. Live with it. We see you all. all the time. I think we should long for the words, long for the words, my friend, well done, good and faithful servant. Imagine going to heaven, standing there at the pearly gates and Peter's going to take your

picture for your ID card and you say, oh, take it from the left. That's my best side. No, not going to happen. So, live like a disciple. And number 10, this is all, you know, I don't even know how I'd put these in order because they're all just so good. And I've learned such lessons over the years and continue to, by the way. It's not something that I've necessarily, you know, mastered.

But I long to master these things. Number 10, seek wisdom. Oh, is this good. Young entrepreneur, where are you looking for wisdom? right now. Who are you talking to? Who are you looking up? Who are you emulating? What books are you reading? What podcasts are you watching? Is there anything about that podcast that speaks of the wisdom of God and the kingdom of God? Or is it just good business skills? I would contend that the wisdom of Jesus trumps business skills any day. And I think that the best business skills

probably have some strain of Jesus' teaching in him. So ask, James says, ask for wisdom, seek wisdom, find wise people in your life. You know, Father Bear was a great priest in the Twin Cities he has since passed on, died rather young. And I remember we were out to lunch one time and he said, Jeff, he said, let me give you a bit of advice on the saints. said all right he said when it comes to the saints don't go wide and shallow go narrow and deep get to know a few of them get to know them really really well walk with them their family they're your friends that is what i have done that call it my posse ask for wisdom look at the lives of some of these saints gather wisdom be a collector of wisdom some people collect shells some people collect stamps some people

collect guns, some people collect cars. We should always be ones who collect wisdom. Be an innovator. Solve problems. And in everything you do, pray that Jesus will be seen and loved. To do that, you're going to need wisdom, right? You're going to need wisdom. Well, there it is. Who knows? It might come back in the future with 11 through 20. We might do that. Who knows? but I'll tell you what, these top 10 for me right now, that's what I wanted to share with you, and I hope that it is a blessing to you. If it is, let me know.

My email is The Jeff Kaven Show at ascensionpress.com. Appreciate you sharing this with others who may need to, they may need to know some of these things. So, I love you, and I pray for you, and I'm asking you to pray for me. Shall we pray? In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, Lord, I lift up my brothers and sisters to you. Lord, we all are your

disciples and we are trying to hear your voice and figure out what you've called us to in our lives. Lord, help us to gain clarity on what you are asking of each one of us. Give us the wisdom to proceed and Lord, give us the humility that would take all the attention off of us and put it on to you. May we truly be seen as your disciples, those who are our, are, our sharing the good news and living from the basic story that you have laid down for us. Lord, we love you. And we ask you, Lord Jesus, to continue to lead and guide us. In your name, we pray. Amen. Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen. I love you. And I hope you have a great week.