About Us

About Our Name

PALADIN (dictionary.com)

• Any one of the 12 legendary peers or knightly champions in attendance on Charlemagne.
• Any knightly or heroic champion.
• Any determined advocate or defender of a noble cause.

I see in the Paladin name loyal defenders of a holy cause, a name resurrected from history to defend the Church and boldly remain loyal to Christ and the faith. A name associated with a small group of comrades (originally twelve). A name bearing mystery and romance. A name distancing itself from any and every modern connection. A name honoring the glorious past of our beloved church. A name that rolls off the tongue with honor and conviction.

About Our Purpose

There is a mass exodus of folks leaving the Church. Catholic culture and familial influences are largely ineffective in forming faithful, committed Catholics. Attending weekend Mass and catechism have proven entirely inept as well. Even attending Catholic schools and involvement with youth groups have proven to have no effect on retaining Catholics. The call for a new evangelization within the Church went out, but nothing really changed in most places. Most dioceses and parishes neither understand the new evangelism nor make it a priority. Indeed, most grassroots movements to respond to the call are either ignored or even quashed.

Of course, there are effective exceptions. Good work is being done in many places. There are resources. An impassioned pastor can do wonders. Some programs are powerful as well. But most parishes don’t have such a pastor, and most programs aren’t meant to maintain long-term formation and support for living, growing disciples.

I have struggled with this issue for many years. Thirty-five years of prayer and study have brought me to the conclusion that small church communities are the best means of forming living, growing disciples and offering ongoing formation and support for them. Of course, these small church communities must be faithful to Christ and his Church, and they must focus on forming disciples and their ongoing, lifelong formation. These small church communities need a vision and a mission beyond themselves. Such a vision is what this website seeks to share.

I hope this website will become a small church community co-op where SCC leaders can find mutual support and share discussion guides and other materials. Potential SCC leaders who adopt our vision and seek to participate in the exchange of ideas and material may apply for membership. The three basic requirements of a Paladin SCC leader are as follows:

1. A Paladin SCC Leader must be a living, growing disciple.
2. A Paladin SCC Leader must be a faithful Roman Catholic.
3. A Paladin SCC Leader must read and follow our guidelines.

There is no cost for membership or exchanged materials (unless materials are printed or materials are actual books). We will post more materials as more folks show an interest.

As time goes on, our blog and videos may somewhat draw our focus from small church communities; however, our overall emphasis will remain on the following three areas:

• The Christian Family
• Small Church Communities
• The New Evangelization

About Our Status

We are just getting started. We started our first Paladin small church community on March 1, 2023. We have completed both a spring and fall discussion series. These were very successful; this first group has 12 members now. (Eight to ten is the target size.) We will begin our third discussion series in March (2024). We will discuss the Gospel of Matthew based on the Word on Fire Bible (with commentary by Bishop Baron and others). I’m working on the discussion questions for that one at this time. I am also hoping to dive into 60 Days to Becoming a Missionary Disciple by Fr. John Bartunek. The basic guide is written; I didn’t really have to do much for this one, as it has good questions included (though I may add some later). We will split this book into two discussion series. I also have beta versions for three Thomas Dubay books that only need minor tweaking. And there’s plenty more books I am interest in creating discussion guides for.

Everything needed to lead an orientation night and the first two discussion series has been uploaded. If you would rather start with something different, I might be able to help you.

I’m pretty much a one-man army at this time. I am torn between working at starting new groups locally and everything I am already working on. I believe I have a good approach and that it’s easily duplicated. Feel free to contact me with any thought, suggestions, or questions.

About VW Malzahn

In 1986, God used an argument with a Christian fundamentalist to propel me on a quest to discover the true nature of salvation. I discovered that salvation is knowing God and that our life is meant to be a journey to God. This journey to God was meant to be so much more than a habitual Mass attendance and a minimalist following of church rules; this journey was meant to thoroughly transform us into children of God by truly and intimately knowing God and continually growing closer to him throughout our lives. Upon grasping the truth of this journey, I dubbed it “Our Forgotten Journey to God,” as so few modern folks clearly perceive it.

I have prayerful studied the Catholic faith with a special focus on the new evangelization, small church communities, and the domestic church. I have belonged to and led many small church communities since 1986. I now work to hone and promote a new vision for small church communities and assist in the formation of such communities. I also expresses my faith through my zealous yet ecumenical writing; I write for this website, and I am working on Catholic nonfiction books as well.

I live with my wife and daughter in the Yakima Valley, Washington State. I designed this website in 2022. I am the webmaster and primary contributor.

-VW Malzahn

+ TOP +