Community of Missionary Disciples: The Continuing Creation of the Church

In this comprehensive ecclesiology through a missionary lens Stephen Bevans unpacks the profound Catholic conviction that the church is missionary by its very nature as he considers what it means for the church to be on mission, in community, and together in discipleship.

Contents

1 Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and the Foundation of the Church

2 The Spirit of Christ and the Birth of the Church

3 The Future that Calls Forth the Church: The Reign of God and the Church

4 The Mission that Calls Forth the Church: A Single, Complex Reality

5 The Dialogue that Calls Forth the Church: The Practice of Prophetic Dialogue

6 The Church as the People of God: Called to be a Blessing for All Nations

7 The Church as the Body of Christ: Sharing and Continuing the Mission of Jesus

8 The Church as the Creation of the Spirit: Presence, Challenge, Surprises

9 Dimensions of the Missionary Church I: Apostolicity and Catholicity

10 Dimensions of the Missionary Church II: Holiness and Unity

11 Baptismal Missionary Discipleship

12 Leadership for a Missionary Church

13 Ministerial Missionary Discipleship

14 Ordained Missionary Discipleship I: (Ordained) Ministry in History and Context

15 Ordained Missionary Discipleship II: A Theology of Ordained Ministry in a Missionary Church

Stephen B. Bevans, SVD, is professor emeritus of mission and culture at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, and he serves as the faculty advisor for the CTU program, ＂Catholics on Call.＂ He is a commissioner on the World Council of Churches’ Commission on World Mission and Evangelism, a member of the Society of the Divine Word’s Arnold Janssen Spirituality Team, and a member of his SVD Chicago Province’s Provincial Council. He is an editor of the Brill series ＂Theology of Mission in Global Christianity＂ and on the editorial board of the International Review of Mission. His current work includes research into Pope Francis’s thinking on inculturation and on Francis’s signature phrase, ＂the culture of encounter.＂