The Thing About Salt...

May 19, 2022.There have been lulls in my ministry when I was tired or my leadership was stuck in a fog bank. When we get in these places we need a new anointing, a new clarity, and a new boldness. But how do we get that? Prayer certainly helps, but there is another answer that is somewhat under practiced.#JesusStories: Mark 9 ends with Jesus asking an interesting question: "If salt no longer tastes like salt, how can it be made salty again?" Researcher and historian Valeriy Alikin helps us understand this statement: salt was one of the typical menu items at a first century meal, along with fish, bread, vegetables, wine, oil, and cheese. I doubt many of us would imagine that a bowl of salt would be considered a food group, but it was common faire in those days. In fact, it became a meaningful metaphor for the First Church. One of the Clementine homilies reports that Peter once broke the bread at a dinner gathering, put salt on it and gave it to his table companions as an expression of deep love. Salt was an emblem of their koininia (deep fellowship). The meaning of sprinkling salt on a brothers or sisters food is rather obvious: just as salt seasons bland food and makes it enjoyable, so warm Christian love season's our tiredness and makes our lives compelling again. It is the miracle of koininia, and it is something table churches can do with great fervor, favor, and flavor. So yes, in response to Jesus question - we can be made salty again. We can raise up dinner churches that pour wonderful Christian love over everyone in the room; old and new; young and old; leader and guest; saint and sinner. This is our heritage, our calling, and our anointing.#DinnerChurchQuotes: Because there were communities of mercy and help, Christians did have longer, better lives. This was apparent and must have been extremely appealing. (Rodney stark)#PracticalStuff: How are the evangelists doing in your dinner rooms? Paul talked to Timothy as doing the work of an evangelist, not as a matter of gifting but of calling. Christlikeness includes doing the work of an evangelist - i.e. being a witness to the life stories about Jesus. And every Dinner Church needs a room full of people who are buzzing about these Jesus Stories and how they have changed their life. Do you need to remind your team and volunteers about this calling? Do you need to pray over them for a new anointing to excitedly tell and retell the Jesus Stories like evangelists do? This is the repeating practice that turns a feed into a compelling great commission church. Lets go populate heaven this week!Blessings & Boldness,Verlon