When we set out to teach inquirers and catechumens about faith, we sometimes get caught in a worry-trap that we may not be giving them enough doctrine. When you think about how Jesus taught, you’ll notice that he delivered a lot of “doctrine,” but he didn’t worry about it too much. What he focused on […]
Wow! Build anticipation in your RCIA process—without walking on water
Michael Hyatt, chairman of Thomas Nelson Books, has written a lot about creating “wow” experiences. I think we can learn some things from him and apply his “wow” principles to our RCIA processes. The first step, as I wrote about here, is to identify the wow experiences in our own lives. Then, Hyatt says, we
Wow! The importance of “surprise” in the RCIA
If you can stand one more reference to Steve Jobs, I’d like say a word or two. Steve Jobs was great at many things, but I think what he was best at was selling stuff. He did not invent the Mac, or the iPod, or the iPhone, or the i-anything. What he did was figure
Wow! What RCIA teams can learn from Steve Jobs
We get a lot of questions at TeamRCIA, but one question we never get is, “How can our team be better at evangelization?” If you think about it though, shouldn’t this be the burning question for every RCIA team? The first stage of the catechumenate is named the “Period of Evangelization.” Everything else we do
Set the stage for effective evangelization
I am the proud owner of a series of four catechumenate books in Swahili. They were given to me by a religious Sister from Congo who attended a workshop I gave a couple of years ago in the Bronx. My Swahili is basically non-existent, yet I love these books. Part of what attracts me are
“In our own languages we hear them speaking”
In a previous post, I said that reevangelization might be easier for us than evangelization because when we are evangelizing, we have to spend more time and energy talking about why we believe in Jesus as opposed to what we believe about Jesus. We have to say more about how Jesus answers our deepest longings
If Jesus is the answer, what is the question?
In a previous post, I laid out a challenge for well-established RCIA teams to look at what it is they are spending most of their time and energy on. I suggested that if they are not already doing so, they should shift their efforts to be primarily focused on evangelization and conversion. Good news: a
Evangelization vs. reevangelization in an RCIA process
I have a challenge for you and your team—especially if you have been together for a while and have mastered the basics. (If you are a new or reconstituting team, you can find some help with the basics here.) My challenge is for your and your team to take a next step in your efforts
A challenge for established RCIA teams
Most initiation ministers don’t think of the greeters for Sunday liturgy as being on the RCIA team. Perhaps we should. Let me tell you about my experience as an inquirer this summer. Because of my travel schedule, I was in a different parish almost every Sunday in July and August. No one said hello to
End of summer greet-off challenge
A blog post at Whispers in the Loggia drew my attention to Cardinal Peter Turkson of Ghana. I had never heard of him, but I’m glad now that I have. Turkson is Ghana’s first cardinal and was the spokesman for October’s Synod of Bishops for Africa. He may soon be heading up the Vatican congregation
Notional Christianity vs. radical conversion
