Called to Be Sent: Co-Missioned As Disciples Today

by Anthony J. Gittins

The gospel tells us to look into other people's eyes as we search for an image of God to help us work for healing justice amid the rubble and the memories that litter our lives, to rebuild a human world on the debris of broken dreams, and to commit ourselves--as God does--to restoring communities, so that there will be no more estrangement, no more strangers, and no more aliens. It is only a little less than impossible, and the only way we can do it is to learn to love the world as God already does. It's simply not possible to love in theory; we must go further than that. We must love in practice. We must practice in love. That is the disciple's call. Called to Be Sent develops and completes the theology of discipleship introduced in the author's previous books. This new volume focuses on ""sending forth,"" the phase that follows our radical encounter with humanity. Here we find the hope and strength to move from an understanding of mission to actually being commissioned by Jesus. In short, as Christians we are ""gathered for scattering"" and ""called to be sent,"" and this book provides much direction. Anthony J. Gittins, CSSp, is professor of mission and culture at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. Born in Manchester, England, he earned an MA and PhD from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. He was ordained a priest in 1967 and is an internationally recognized lecturer and retreat master. Father Gittins is the author of fifteen books, including two previous works on the theology of discipleship: Encountering Jesus: How People Come to Faith and Discover Discipleship and A Presence That Disturbs: A Call to Radical Discipleship.

222 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2008

About the author

Fr. Anthony Gittins, C.S.Sp., M.A., Ph.D., is a widely experienced missionary pastor and Professor of Theology and Culture at The Catholic Theological Union since 1984. He held the Bishop Ford Chair of Mission Theology from 1999–2008. Born in Manchester, England, and ordained in 1967, he earned M.A.s in Theoretical Linguistics and Social Anthropology and a Ph.D. in Social Anthropology from the University of Edinburgh. He later pursued post-doctoral research at the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge.

He is the author of fourteen books on theology, anthropology, mission, and spirituality, including Ministry At The Margins: Strategy and Spirituality for Mission (Orbis, 2002), Come, Follow Me: The Commandments of Jesus (Liguori, 2004), Where There’s Hope, There’s Life: Women’s Stories and Practical Theology (Liguori, 2006), and Called to be Sent: Co-Missioned as Disciples Today (Liguori, 2008).

A member of the Congregation of the Holy Ghost, Fr. Gittins has taught, offered workshops, and given retreats in more than 35 countries. From 1972–1980 he worked among the Mende people of Sierra Leone as a missionary pastor, linguist, and ethnographer, and from 1980–1984 he was Formation Director in London, where he also lectured at the Missionary Institute. He has also has worked for almost 30 years with homeless women on the streets of Chicago.