respect

Ahhhhh, another SALT original, "Twelve Ways to Respect Other Religions!"  

Print them up, memorize them, live them, love them, give them out at church on Sunday, give them out on street corner on Monday, retweet, repost, or pin them up on Pinterest.  Love and respect are what we are called to do as Christians - let's get the word out and get to work!

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A big SALT "thank you" to Lance Salemo, our in-house graphic designer extraordinaire, for creating this sunny, smart printable!

LOVE146

Give me one hundred people who fear nothing but sin and desire nothing but God, and I care not whether they be clergy people or lay people, they alone will shake the gates of Hell and set up the kingdom of Heaven upon the earth.  + John Wesley

Pentecost, that lovely, red-colored holiday that comes fifty days after Easter, is coming!  Soon we will celebrate the descent of God’s sweet Spirit upon the followers of God’s strong son and, in doing so, the church will be born again (or so we hope and pray!).

In Italy, rose petals will be dropped from the ceilings of cathedrals to recall the tongues of fire.  In France, trumpets will sound to evoke the mighty wind, and in churches all around America, women and men will wear red and children will hand out crimson carnations.  

But, given the radical, subversive, and quasi-apocalyptic nature of this holiday, shouldn't our churches do more than just hand out carnations?  It seems to us here at SALT that Pentecost might be a perfect day to let our sons and daughters prophesy, our young men and women see visions, and our elders dream dreams.  

Pentecost is a day to remind everyone in the pews that "even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy" (Acts 2:18). 

That's why we love thinking about LOVE146 as we anticipate this firery day.  Simply put, LOVE146 is committed to not only combating child sex slavery and exploitation, but also to the restoration of survivors.

Our prayer this week is that God's Spirit will dive deeply into this world where two children are sold into slavery every sixty seconds, and that God's church will be born again and strengthened to help abolish hurt and pain around the world, and in our own backyards.

Together with the power of the Holy Spirit, we will shake the gates of Hell and do our part to build up the kingdom of Heaven upon the earth...

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If your faith community would like to join hands with LOVE146 to work for the abolition of child sex slavery and exploitation, click here for more information.

"house party kit" giveaway extravaganza

Okay, we couldn't wait until Monday!  We put all of the names that you submitted into a hat, and instead of  picking just three, we decided to draw them all right back out again!  Which means we're giving everyone who added a comment to the last post one of our brand-spankin' new "House Party Kits," complete with a step-by-step "how-to" guide, Baptism (one of our signature short films), a small group discussion guide, and resources for taking action.

So, sometime this weekend, send your snail mail address to Garrett over at: community@saltproject.org

After we receive your information, we'll send out a kit as soon as possible.  Again, thanks for all your support and for being a part of the SALT Community!

"house party kit" giveaway

It’s May and newness of life is in the air!  In honor of God's resurrection springing up all around us – we are giving away three "House Party Kits," complete with step-by-step "how-to" guide, Baptism (one of our signature short films), a small group discussion guide, and resources for taking action!

SALT is working hard to encourage individuals and church communities to join with groups across the country (and around the world!) who are gathering together for home viewing parties.  Our house party initiative hopes to build communities of conversation and resource-sharing that, like salt itself, preserve and season the best and most beautiful of the Christian tradition.

So, just leave a comment below (no muss, no fuss!).  We’ll draw a name out of a hat this weekend and post the winners on Monday morning.

Good luck!

psalm 23

 

The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want.  + Psalm 23:1

The abundance of sheep and shepherds that walked through Sunday’s readings inspired us to create the image collage above.  The SALTy twist, however, is that almost all the photos were taken in Afghanistan, a country full of shepherds, mountain tops, and dark valleys full of violence and pain.

Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff - they comfort me.  + Psalm 23:4

How, as pastors and as people of faith, do we proclaim peace and comfort in the midst of ongoing war and violence?  Afghan photographer, Massoud Hossaini, was just awarded the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for breaking-news photography.  He is perhaps most famous for his photograph of a young girl, dressed in emerald green, standing in the midst of the shadow of death and injury, her blood-stained hands opened as if crying out to God and to all who will listen, “Why?” 

In her face, we see the anguish of Psalm 22 and the need to hold God accountable to her promise of comfort and protection in Psalm 23.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD my whole life long.  + Psalm 23:6

In the midst of pain and violence, around the world and in our own backyards, can the church be a place of shelter full of goodness and mercy?  

That’s the word we're going to keep coming back to this week: shelter.  God’s promise in this psalm is shelter, even and especially in the presence of the enemy.  With this word in mind, we found many, many architects and designers who are building sustainable, eco-friendly shelters for our brothers and sisters in developing nations.

We’re particularily smitten with Mohammed Rezwan’s work in the low-lying areas of Bangladesh, one of the most densely populated areas in the world and extremely vulnerable to frequent flooding.  When monsoon season comes, children cannot attend classes, families are displaced, and basic community needs become impossible to meet.  So, working with local boat builders, Rezwan modified the area’s common, flat-bottom riverboats into floating schools, libraries, health clinics, community meeting spaces, and homes.    

See for yourself (Noah's Arc meets Psalm 23 - God is good!): 

God’s shelter comes to us in all shapes and sizes.  It comes in the form of an embrace, a favorite hymn, a floating school, a casserole, a food pantry, a kind word, a cool cup of water.  

This good news makes us want to lift voices and join all the people from Long Street, Cape Town, South Africa as they proclaim the deep truth embedded in Sunday's psalm: God's shelter, in all it's various shapes and sizes, finds us all in one way or another.  It also makes us want to go to church next Sunday so we can give thanks to a God who is and continues to be our strength and our shelter.

Now, it's your turn.  Tell us where God's shelter finds you?  Or, where you've seen God's strength and comfort in the world?

Peace,

The SALT Team

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Thanks to Afghanistan Matters for capturing this wise shepherd travelling with his flock through a tank graveyard on the outskirts of Kabul; to James Gordon for this young shepherd in Hindu Kush; to Ewok Jorduman for the soft sheep; and to Kyle Steed for such beautiful caligraphy seen here and here.