Is your RCIA process a little drunk?

"Pentecost" by Glenda Dietrich | glendadietrich.com

4 thoughts on “Is your RCIA process a little drunk?”

  1. That’s interesting. I learned a similar process from FOCUS missionaries to develop your testimony (the story of how you found or re-found Jesus) based on Paul’s story in Acts 26. It seems appropriate that his story is toward the end of Acts whereas Peter’s declaration is toward the beginning.

  2. Nick
    This post is a bit like your postings on creating a mystagogical experience through the dismissal discussion ( (1) What did you see, (2) what did you hear and (3) the so what? How does this apply today to me?).
    In this case we could make it a mystagogical experience for the listener by
    (1) opening with the brief happy/peaceful/life-changing/hopeful story of God acting in our life,
    (2) linking my story experience to a story or action of Jesus in the Gospels,
    (3) asking the listener if they have had an experience when they felt God (or Jesus) was doing something in their life, and
    (4) the “so what” part – by listening to their response to hear clues/comments/descriptions that will enable the conversation to keep going. “How did you feel when . . . happened?” “What change did . . . . bring about for you?” “How does that experience affect you today?”
    Even if the “God” experience was a negative for them, such as blaming God for something that happened, it gives the opportunity of extending the conversation further/deeper. Perhaps our role in this type of experience is to let the disappointment/hurt come to the surface and the start of a healing process.
    This conversation extender opens the door for continued dialog, either right now or the opportunity to meet again and keep the conversation going.
    So (5) becomes: “when can we meet again and spend some more time sharing about Jesus in our lives”?
    In an earlier work-like I was involved in sales. We were taught some key points that are relevant here.
    (1) always book a meeting from a meeting to keep the dialog going until the desired outcome (point 5 above), and,
    (2) when a bad or negative experience was presented, always acknowledge it and never dismiss it as unimportant – “I can appreciate that you feel that way” asking why they feel that way about the experience (listen with both ears, this will be the clues to keep the conversation going) and then link that experience to a positive or desired outcome.
    In our case it could be to give an example of someone in the Gospels having a bad experience and the consequences of letting Jesus get involved – e.g. Martha and Mary and their disappointment on the death of Lazarus, the disciples on the road to Emmaus, etc.
    By the way, my experience in sales was not one that I liked and I was glad when I moved onto something more stimulating, however a lot of what I learned in my earlier work career(s) is now coming back to help me in RCIA.
    Max

    1. Hi Max. Thanks for your as-usual great insights. I don’t have any formal background in sales, but I had to learn some things in order to get TeamRCIA up and running. Like you, I find a lot of business and sales ideas apply very effectively to initiation ministry. We are, after all, trying to convince people about the value of the good news. I’m happy to sell that.

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