The Adult Catechumenate and Christian Formation: Forming Pastoral Candidates
As the baptismal season of Lent reaches its culmination in Holy Week and the Great Triduum, so we’ll transition our blog into a series of reflection on teaching the catechumenate. I (Kent) will start my 7 week half-semester course on the adult catechumenate and Christian formation at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis. This is now the fourth time I have taught this course, itself a fruit of Dr. Schuler’s and my work on the catechumenate. It will be the first time I have used our book, Journey to Jesus, as part of the course. Here in the blog I intend to reflect on the questions, observations, and issues posed, addressed, and critiqued in our class of eighteen students. This time they all come from our residential pastoral formation program, both post-internship and pre-internship students, and some international students.
With this being the fourth time I have taught the course, I think I have developed some measure of pedagogical wisdom in terms of how I teach it, although I am sure the students will teach me more this time around as well. I have realized that exposure to the experiential elements of the catechumenate—especially the rites of acceptance, election, and baptismal remembrance and the Bible study methods often employed in the catechumenate—need to be a formative pedagogical experience in the course. To provide a glimpse of the structure of the course, here is the course outline:
Unit #1: The Structure, Rituals, and Rites of the Catechumenate
Course Introduction and the Ritual Context for Baptism and Conversion
The Modern RCIA and the Lutheran Equivalent Welcome to Christ
A Holistic Congregational Model: The Road to the Catechumenate
Experiencing the Rite of Enrollment
The Catechumenal Journey
Visit to RC Easter Vigil
The Catechumenal Journey
Experiencing the African Bible Study Method
Reflecting on Ritual and the Catechumenate
Unit #2: History of the Catechumenate
History of Baptism and The Historical Contours of Conversion until Constantine
Experiencing the Rite of Election
The Historical Contours of Conversion through the development of Christendom
The Historical Contours of Conversion: Reformation to the Present
Experiencing the Luther 4-Strand Bible Study Method
Unit #3: Adult Faith Formation
The Theology of Conversion
Experiencing the Rite of Election
The Shape of Conversion
Experiencing the Rite of Affirmation of Baptism
Personal and Congregational Transformation through the Catechumenate
Unit #4: The Future of Adult Faith Formation
Issues in Adult Faith Formation: Catechesis, Mystagogy, and Congregational
Education
Experiencing the Visualization Bible Study Method
Issues in Adult Faith Formation: Mission, Vocation and Hospitality
Planning a Catechumenate
If you are interested in seeing the entire syllabus I’m happy to share it. Email me at
burresonk@csl.edu.