"Christians are like dung", says Andy Hawthorne of the The Message, "too long together and they smell but spread them out and they fertilise society". Andy can speak with some authority after 20 years working in Manchester helping young people hear about the love of God. Francis Chan is the same - in 2010 he left his 6,000 strong church in California to work amongst the poor of San Francisco. Sounds familiar too after I heard Bob Roberts, from Northwood Church Dallas, in Turkey speaking of releasing and encouraging folks in the church to "go" where ever God has placed them to take the Kingdom of God with confidence - the workplace, school, college, down the street. I love Andy's radical edge when he says: "We just need people who are willing to say, stuff it, I'm going to to go and live alongside the poor".
Rather than the dung analogy, Jesus uses the salt and light metaphor - encouraging us to be like preservative in society and bringers of light in the darkness - where ever we live or spend our day.
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