| Are We Salty Servants? |
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| Written by Pam Reed |
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The image of being a “salty servant” comes from Jesus in Matthew 5:13. “‘Let me tell you why you are here. You’re here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You’ve lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage.’” (The Message) There are many ways to be a ‘salty servant’ and we want to know when you have served God in salty service. Each week when you come to worship, if you would like to indicate to God that you have spent at least one hour in “Salty Service” beyond our local church, please take one of the Salty Servant cards and place it in the offering plate (for Contemporary service located at the back of the Sanctuary and for Traditional Service in the offering plate during service). We will count the number of cards after worship on Sunday and record that as the number of Salty Servants from our congregation. This is a weekly “self-reporting” effort; if you are going to miss a Sunday just double up the following week. We are not counting the hours, but the number of “Salty Servants.” Here are some examples of ‘salty service’: A Salty Servant ministers to persons outside their church family. For Jesus, the neighbor we should love is anyone in need; and so, we are sent out into the world as agents of the Kingdom which God desires to give to all his creatures. A Salty Servant ministers for at least one hour. Admittedly, it is an arbitrary time period. The point is that being a Salty Servant involves more of an investment of our time than just smiling nicely at a stranger. Salty Service is not always convenient or quick. The hope is that making time in our busy schedules to serve others will become something that we keep choosing week after week, until it becomes a habit in our lives and a Christ-like part of our character. A Salty Servant can be involved in hands-on mercy ministry alleviating the suffering of others. Christ’s compassion carries us into needy, painful places to join Him where He is already at work: soup kitchens, neighborhoods, jailhouses, clinics, construction sites, class rooms, court rooms and living rooms. A Salty Servant can be involved in justice ministry addressing systems that cause suffering. Justice ministries address the social, cultural, economic or legal causes of human suffering as an expression of God’s common grace, God’s love for all persons. Working to establish a shelter for homeless families, becoming a guardian ad litem or taking in foster children, speaking out against racial, cultural or religious discrimination is justice ministry. |
