Salt and Light by W. Scott Brown

How Christians quietly transform culture for good.

“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” 

Eph. 2:10

What is the story of Christian influence in today’s world?

It is the quiet story of Christians doing “good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

This transformational cultural influence reminds me of Frank Capra’s 1946 Christmas classic, “It’s a Wonderful Life.” In it, George Bailey, played by Jimmy Stewart, miraculously learns what his hometown of Bedford Falls would have been like had it not been for his faithful life of humble influence. The contrast is stark. Had he not lived, his hometown would have been a place of hopelessness, despair, and exploitation. However, because of Bailey’s “wonderful life” of sacrificial community care, it was a place of flourishing and hope.

Likewise, our world is transformed through humble, often unmarked, efforts of faithful Christians.

Our Kingdom Mission

Our influence is rooted in our identity. In his Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5), Jesus reminds us we are “the salt of the earth” and “the light of the world.”

The Great Commandment and the Great Commission describe our salt and light mission.

• The Great Commandment: “Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself'” (Matt. 22:37-39).
• The Great Commission: “Then Jesus, came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age“ (Matt. 28:18-20).

We exert kingdom influence by sharing the gospel, making disciples, and exhibiting a Good Samaritan’s impulse to heal our neighbor’s wounds (Luke 10:29-37).

We display God’s kingdom when we embody the Great Commandment. God’s kingdom grows when we fulfill the Great Commission.

Dr. John Stott’s Christian Mission in the Modern World (IVP, 2016), updated/expanded by Dr. Christopher J.H. Wright, reminds us: “Of course, we must give earnest attention to the hunger, poverty, and injustices of the world. But we cannot fail to have comparable concern or compassion for people’s spiritual hunger, or fail to care about the millions who are perishing without Christ.”

Our mission is to reach hearts for eternity and restore lives in today’s world.

Alliance Kingdom Influence

Christian Leadership Alliance members influence culture for good, day by day, and life on life.

Rescue missions offer hope to the homeless and recovery for the addicted. Pregnancy centers give concerned mothers a loving path to life. Churches and gospel-advancing mission agencies transform hearts. Christian schools and colleges equip future leaders with minds. Foster care and orphan care ministries rescue the vulnerable. Christian relief and development agencies offer life-sustaining assistance in the world’s most desolate corners.

Salt and Light

The Lord’s Prayer says in part: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt. 6:9-10). 

Just as George Bailey’s quiet life of good works transformed Bedford Falls, faithful salt-and-light obedience of Christians doing God’s will on earth as it is in heaven transforms our world today.

Together, let’s be salt and light today.

W. Scott Brown, CCNL, is the Vice President for Leadership Experiences and Resources for Christian Leadership Alliance. He is passionate about the Alliance’s mission to equip and unite leaders to transform the world for Christ. Scott holds an M.A. degree from The American University and St. John’s College.

Excerpted by permission from the article “Kingdom Influence,” which appeared in the Fall 2024 edition of Christian Leadership Alliance’s Outcomes magazine.

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