Every parish thinks their team is too small. I met some folks from a Texas megaparish that has 35 people on their RCIA team. They think their team is too small. The smallest team I have served with is three — me and two others. Jesus started with one and maxed out at 12. And […]
Help! My RCIA team is too small
Most RCIA team members know that, for the purposes of the rite, an “adult” is anyone who has reached catechetical age.* That means that if an unbaptized child who has reached catechetical age wishes to be baptized, he or she is also confirmed and receives first communion at the moment of baptism. It also means
Misunderstandings about the age of confirmation
This article is focused on influencing the pastor because that is how the question is most often asked of us here at TeamRCIA. How do I get my pastor to do X? If you are a pastor, I know your concern is the reverse. How do I get my RCIA team to do X? I
If I said that through baptism, a person is made one with Christ, we would all agree to that. If I said that a person who is baptized outside of the Catholic Church is made one with Christ, there might be some resistance. We would want to know who baptized the person, how the baptism
Does your RCIA teach one baptism — in both words and actions?
Elon Musk, founder of Tesla Motors, had an audacious goal. He planned to deliver 500,000 electric cars to waiting consumers by 2020. He set this goal despite the fact that no one has created a successful new car company in the United States in over 50 years — much less one that sells electric cars.
Plan for an audaciously better RCIA…and change the universe
For year and years, I kept a hand-written to-do list that looked like this. At any given time, it had maybe 50-100 items on it. That’s crazy. If you make lists like that, stop. Long lists like that are depressing. They never end, and you’re never done. It is impossible to complete a list like
How to keep track of everything and not go crazy: a primer for RCIA teams
In a previous post (“How long does RCIA take?”), I wrote about the initial discernment process and said: “If you find out you are dealing with a biblical scholar who has been living as a faithful Lutheran for 40 years, the training process can be very brief.” That prompted a reader to e-mail me with
Should we stop calling ourselves “RCIA” teams?
Human beings are bad at making estimates. How long will it take to shop for groceries? How long will the meeting last? I’ll just check Facebook for a minute or two. We are just plain awful at giving accurate answers about time. So when someone asks us, “How long does RCIA take?” what should we
On April 15, 2016, more than 150 people from all over Montana and beyond had the opportunity to do just that at the “Making Disciples Institute” sponsored by the Diocese of Helena. That night, all of us gathered in the community room at Blessed Trinity Church in Missoula, Montana, to hear Bishop George Leo Thomas
What if you could ask your bishop what he thought was important in the RCIA?
Dear readers: This article is longer than usual. It is an important summary of what Pope Francis is asking of us as catechists. If you can take a few extra minutes to read it, you will come away with a clear understanding of what the pope expects us to teach in the RCIA. Thanks for
The nine most important steps for making disciples
