Key Bible Verse: "You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor?" (Matthew 5:13). Bonus Reading: Genesis 13:12-13; 19:9, 14

Ten years ago I challenged a downtown congregation to change the blighted neighborhood around its church. Members moved in and took seriously the command to love their neighbors as themselves.

Last month I was invited back. The pastor's son, now an associate, showed me a city map with a blue dot where each church family lived. The blocks around the church were nearly solid blue. "How many members live here now?" I asked, amazed.

"Nearly 250!" he smiled. He had bought a home here. So had his dad and several staff.

"So what's happened in the community?" I asked eagerly. They'd started an after-school tutoring program, summer camp, ESL classes, a counseling ministry to single moms, he told me. They'd formed a community development corporation and hired a director.

"But has crime gone down?" I persisted. "Has drug trafficking dried up? Has prostitution left? Has education in the schools improved?"

"No," the young pastor admitted, "not really."

"Is there a vision for the community?" I pressed. The question drew puzzled looks and more talk of evangelism and getting people into the church. [continued 7/6]

—Robert Lupton in Renewing the City

My Response: Does my church fill a role in my community beyond evangelism?

Thought to Apply: The church is the only cooperative society in the world that exists for the benefit of its nonmembers.—William Temple (English diplomat & author)

Adapted from Renewing the City (InterVarsity, 2005) by permission.

Prayer for the Week

Lord, You warned us about being flavorless salt or concealed light. Help us penetrate our communities with Your love and justice.

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