Description

In this bonus episode Pete shares with Ryan about his new book, as well as the experience of giving a keynote to 20,000 people at SEEK 2026.

Link to his book: https://www.amazon.com/Man-Purpose-Rules-Faithful-Father/dp/1646804414

Link to SEEK Keynote: https://seekreplay.com/video/471

Hit me up on Instagram @betterpreach or on my website www.ryanohara.org/betterpreach - there’s a contact form there.

Also, if you want to connect with Pete online, check out www.renewalministries.net

Pete Burak is the vice president of Renewal Ministries, a ministry dedicated to Catholic renewal and evangelization around the world. He is a graduate of Franciscan University of Steubenville and has a master’s degree in theology from Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit, Michigan. Pete is a frequent speaker on discipleship and evangelization and the co-director of Pine Hills Boys’ Camp. He is a monthly columnist for Faith Magazine and the host of two podcasts: Spirit-filled Leadership and The Hour. Pete and his wife, Cait, have five children.

Links

For more information about the Better Preach Podcast visit: www.ryanohara.org/betterpreach

Better Preach Podcast is now on YouTube. Here’s a link to the channel.

Check out Ryan’s FREE course on “sharing your faith as a Catholic.”

Follow Ryan on Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, or Facebook

Join the Better Preach email list.

Description

It is an incredible honor to be invited to a Parish or a Conference or a Retreat Center to give a talk (or multiples talks) to a Catholic audience. Whether it is across town or across the country, it is a privilege that should never be taken for granted. And along the way - the more times you are entrusted with a microphone and a message - the more opportunities you have to level up, or better yet to be humbled, to learn, and to grow.

And today is an episode to celebrate some of those unusual, hard, and/or joyful milestones along the journey. Merit Badges for Catholic Speakers - the brain child of my guest today Pete Burak. He and I share our Top 5 Merit Badges for Catholic Speakers and stick around to the end for a couple doozy Honorable Mentions.

As Pete says in the episode - we are just making stuff up here, but all of it is “based on a true story”, if you know what I mean.

And we want to hear from you - What Merit Badges have you earned? Which obvious ones (or not so obvious ones) did we miss?

Hit me up on Instagram @betterpreach or on my website www.ryanohara.org/betterpreach - there’s a contact form there.

Also, if you want to connect with Pete online, check out www.renewalministries.net

Pete Burak is the vice president of Renewal Ministries, a ministry dedicated to Catholic renewal and evangelization around the world. He is a graduate of Franciscan University of Steubenville and has a master’s degree in theology from Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit, Michigan. Pete is a frequent speaker on discipleship and evangelization and the co-director of Pine Hills Boys’ Camp. He is a monthly columnist for Faith Magazine and the host of two podcasts: Spirit-filled Leadership and The Hour. Pete and his wife, Cait, have five children.

Links

For more information about the Better Preach Podcast visit: www.ryanohara.org/betterpreach

Better Preach Podcast is now on YouTube. Here’s a link to the channel.

Check out Ryan’s FREE course on “sharing your faith as a Catholic.”

Follow Ryan on Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, or Facebook

Join the Better Preach email list.

Description

In honor of Pentecost that launched some of the greatest preaching this world has ever seen, would you agree with me that the Holy Spirit has something to say And if the Holy Spirit, as the Church says, is the principal agent of evangelization, It would stand to reason that the Holy Spirit wants to speak through you more than you want the Holy Spirit to do that.

So today I wanna share five attributes of Spirit-led speaking that I think can help you evaluate your talks, as well as beg the Holy Spirit to do these things in the midst of your speaking whenever you are entrusted with a microphone. Happy Pentecost, folks. I'm so excited to share this incredible moment in the church, uh, this year with you 

If you have thoughts on the show or just want to stop by and say “hi”, please fill out the contact form at www.ryanohara.org/betterpreach

Links

For more information about the Better Preach Podcast visit: www.ryanohara.org/betterpreach

Better Preach Podcast is now on YouTube. Here’s a link to the channel.

Check out Ryan’s FREE course on “sharing your faith as a Catholic.”

Follow Ryan on Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, or Facebook

Join the Better Preach email list.

Description

 Preaching can set the stage for the healing process to begin, to continue, and to accelerate.

In my conversation with Heather Khym today, we go deep on how and why people are seeking and experiencing more healing in their lives today, how preaching helps or hinders that, the finicky interior lives of speakers and how can you share about the power of healing if you haven't had a profound experience of healing yourself.

Heather Khym is a Catholic speaker, author, and ministry leader with more than three decades of experience accompanying people toward healing, renewal, and authentic discipleship. She is the co-host of the Abiding Together podcast and serves as Assistant Director of Evangelization at Franciscan University of Steubenville. Heather is the author of Abide and the award-winning Encountering Emmanuel. Known for her pastoral presence, she invites others to open their lives more fully to the work of the Holy Spirit and the transforming love of God.

Please reach out on ryanohara.org/betterpreach. Would love to connect.

Links

For more information about the Better Preach Podcast visit: www.ryanohara.org/betterpreach

Better Preach Podcast is now on YouTube. Here’s a link to the channel.

Check out Ryan’s FREE course on “sharing your faith as a Catholic.”

Follow Ryan on Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, or Facebook

Join the Better Preach email list.

Description

 In this episode I share an upcoming highlight - speaking at SEEK 2026 - as well as four of my favorite podcast moments from 2025, as well as a few things to come in 2026.

Here are the three questions I asked:

Which episode in Season 5 (2025) resonated most with you and why?

Who should I interview in 2026? And do you have an “in” with any of the following ‘dream guests’ (Sr. Miriam Heidland, Bishop Barron, Msgr Shea, Andy Stanley, Francis Chan, or Louis Giglio)

What do you think about the idea of me sharing some “Daily Reading Reflections”, occasionally, in the Better Preach Podcast feed?

If you have thoughts on one or more of the above, please fill out the contact form at www.ryanohara.org/betterpreach

Links

For more information about the Better Preach Podcast visit: www.ryanohara.org/betterpreach

Better Preach Podcast is now on YouTube. Here’s a link to the channel.

Check out Ryan’s FREE course on “sharing your faith as a Catholic.”

Follow Ryan on Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, or Facebook

Join the Better Preach email list.

Description

 Everybody rambles, all of us do. Run on sentences, tream of consciousness, and too much information. We all do it. Whether you're new to speaking or you're OG, it plagues us all. And the trick though, is recognizing it. You know when it happens, exploring the possible root causes and then figuring out what you can do to fix it.

And in today's episode, we're gonna look at each of those three things: what it is, why we do it, and what we can do about it.

Links

For more information about the Better Preach Podcast visit: www.ryanohara.org/betterpreach

Better Preach Podcast is now on YouTube. Here’s a link to the channel.

Check out Ryan’s FREE course on “sharing your faith as a Catholic.”

Follow Ryan on Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, or Facebook

Join the Better Preach email list.

Description

True confession - I am often in search of the perfect talk. Like Bigfoot, I know it’s out there, I catch a glimpse every once in a while, but just when I think I’m hot on the trail and figuring it out - it eludes me.

But is that what we are really after? The perfect talk? Not only is there likely no such thing, but even if there was - what if told you that that brief prayer time at the end of your talk might be what REALLY matters. And this isn’t something we have a whole lot of experience with, but based on this conversation today with Megan Copeland - committing to praying towards encounter with your audience MIGHT be a game changer we’ve too often overlooked or taken for granted.

Megan Copeland is a Catholic Speaker in Austin, TX and the host of the His Beloved Catholic Podcast. She is also a wife and mom of four kids. Megan has a heart for revival and a mission to invite each person she speaks to into a lasting encounter with Jesus.

Megan’s Website >
https://www.hisbelovedcatholic.com/

His Beloved Podcast > https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/his-beloved-catholic-podcast/id1533376324

Girls Arise Podcast >

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/girls-arise-a-podcast-for-catholic-girls/id1612089855

Links

For more information about the Better Preach Podcast visit: www.ryanohara.org/betterpreach

Better Preach Podcast is now on YouTube. Here’s a link to the channel.

Check out Ryan’s FREE course on “sharing your faith as a Catholic.”

Follow Ryan on Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, or Facebook

Join the Better Preach email list.

Description

 Today is a unique episode. I wanna share a talk that I gave from the SEEK 2025 conference, an Impact Session, during those days in Salt Lake City.

The Grace of Praise? We don't often think of it that way, that the church in her Scriptures and in particular in her liturgy, remind us, of course, that we have a command, a duty to praise the Lord, but why? Is it good for God? Well, the liturgy kind of answers that question, and I share that today. I'll leave that as a little bit of a cliffhanger.

It's good for us.

And in this talk today, I share three ways that praise is God's gift to us and for our lives.

Big shout out of thanks to FOCUS and the SEEK team for allowing me to republish this talk on my podcast feed. Please go check out all of the talks from Seek and other podcasts and videos and YouTube sorts of things from focus on seekreplay.com. The other thing to note is that at the end of the talk I allude to a Litany of Praise, and this was a Litany of Praise that I wrote and that I'd love to share with you.

Most of us would love to grow in this gift of praise. We just don't have the vocabulary always, or the repetition or even the impetus or the encouragement to do it. Today would be that day. Praise is one of God's greatest gifts to you.

- SEEK Replay - seekreplay.com

- Litany of Praise - Get it here!

Links

For more information about the Better Preach Podcast visit: www.ryanohara.org/betterpreach

Better Preach Podcast is now on YouTube. Here’s a link to the channel.

Check out Ryan’s FREE course on “sharing your faith as a Catholic.”

Follow Ryan on Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, or Facebook

Join the Better Preach email list.