Jesus announced the coming of the kingdom. The kingdom is present already, but not yet fully. Jesus created the church as both sign and agent of the kingdom. The church is a servant-steward of the mission of God. This presentation (1) reviews the creation of the ecclesia, its empowerment during the apostolic era, and the diaspora; (2) assesses how the community was accepted in the post-Constantinian era, then reflects how stewardship of the mission of God was perverted; and (3) seeks for a collaborative way for the covenant community to function more effectively as stewards of the mission — locally and globally.
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