Nick Wagner is the cofounder and codirector of Team Initiation.
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
We wish you a blessed and prayerful Holy Week. Please enjoy these powerful reflections from Rita Ferrone. Spy Wednesday Holy Thursday Good Friday Holy Saturday The Easter Vigil
Free download: Some dos and dont’s in the rite of acceptance into the order of catechumens
As Easter draws closer, we tend to get a flurry of questions at TeamRCIA. Many of the e-mails and voice mails have a tinge of panic about them. So the answer to every question is, don’t panic. Even if you’ve overlooked something huge, no one’s eternal salvation is at risk. No matter how big a
When Apple founder Steve Jobs and the team that developed the Macintosh computer completed the final design, they signed it. Inside every Macintosh that shipped in 1984 are the signatures of each of the 46 members of the team. As Jobs explained to them, “Real artists sign their work.” St. Augustine said something similar to
RCIA catechesis is performance art
In an earlier blog post, I wrote about how RCIA team members never seem to have enough time. Some of us are doing more than just RCIA, and juggling all the balls is more than a fulltime job. Days are blurs of activity that fly by. For busy people, there is a strong temptation to
Sleep your way to better RCIA ministry
Mary Birmingham and I just finished a TeamRCIA Catechist School. At the event, I asked the participants what their number-one roadblock to their ministry was. Overwhelmingly, they said they didn’t have enough time. Time is the one thing you cannot make more of. You can make more cookies or music or money, but you cannot
Do you have the time for RCIA ministry?
