Table of Contents
Frequently Cited Sources xi
Introduction 1
1 The Mission Has a Church
An Invitation to the Dance 9
God Is a Verb 9
God Is Mission 10
The Mission Has a Church 13
The Mission Has Us 15
Do You Want to Dance? 17
2 "We Were Gentle among You"
Christian Mission as Dialogue 19
Dialogue as Spirituality 21
Trinitarian Foundations 24
The Scope of Dialogue 27
Characteristics of Dialogue 29
Images of Mission as Dialogue 31
Inspirations for Mission as Dialogue 34
Mission as Prophetic Dialogue 38
Conclusion 38
3 "I Am Not Ashamed of the Gospel"
Mission as Prophecy 40
The Nature of Prophecy 42
Mission as Prophecy 43
Images of Mission as Prophecy 48
Inspirations for Mission as Prophecy 52
Conclusion: Mission as Prophetic Dialogue 54
4 Mission in the Twenty-first Century
Prophetic Dialogue and Contextual Theology 56
Mission as Prophetic Dialogue 59
Prophetic Dialogue and Contextual Theology 62
Conclusion 63
5 Unraveling a "Complex Reality"
Six Elements of Mission 64
Witness and Proclamation 65
Liturgy, Prayer, and Contemplation 66
Justice, Peace, and the Integrity of Creation 67
Interreligious / Secular Dialogue 68
Inculturation 69
Reconciliation 70
Conclusion 71
6 Entering Someone Else's Garden
Intercultural Mission/Ministry 72
Introducing the Image of the Garden 73
Why Are You Entering Someone's Garden? 74
How Do You Enter Someone's Garden for the First Time? 6
What Do You "Do" in Someone's Garden? 78
What Happens in Your Own Garden? 84
Conclusion 86
7 Letting Go and Speaking Out
Prophetic Dialogue and the Spirituality of Inculturation 88
Letting Go: The Spirituality of the Outsider 90
Speaking Out: The Spirituality of the Insider 95
Conclusion: Letting Go and Speaking Out 99
8 Table Fellowship
Mission in the Areopagus of Today 101
God's Mission, the Church, and the Second Vatican Council 101
Jesus Christ, the Reign of God, and Table Fellowship 103
Acts of the Apostles, Table Fellowship, and the Areopagus 105
Mission, Table Fellowship, and the Areopagus of Today 108
Table Fellowship and the Spirituality of Prophetic Dialogue 111
Conclusion 113
9 A Short History of the Church's Mission
Prophetic Dialogue through the Ages 115
The Mission of Jesus Creates the Church 116
Paul and the New Testament Church 118
Gossiping the Gospel 119
Mission and Monasticism 120
Mission and the Mendicant Movement 124
Mission in the Sixteenth Century and the Rise of the Jesuits 127
The "Great Century" of Christian Mission and the Society Model of Mission 131
Twentieth Century into the Twenty-First 134
Conclusion 137
10 Church Teaching, Mission, and Prophetic Dialogue
Ad Gentes, Evangelii Nuntiandi, Redemptoris Missio, and Dialogue and Proclamation 138
Ad Gentes (1965) 138
Evangelii Nuntiandi (1975) 143
Redemptoris Missio (1990) 147
Dialogue and Proclamation (1991) 152
Conclusion: From Dialogue and Proclamation to the Present 154
Conclusion 156
Notes 157
Select Bibliography 175
Index 185
