Introducing Salt and Light Stories
Clapham Principal Mark Rodgers introduces a new creative project: Salt and Light Stories, a substack mini-comic that explores the stories of saints who have lived as salt and light in the world.
Salt and Light Stories, Illustrated by Wade McComas
The Clapham Group is getting into comics, and we would like to draw you into them with us!
In “The Hidden Tribes of America” the bridging organization More in Common defined “the exhausted majority” as “fed up by America’s polarization.”
The report goes on to say that, “They know we have more in common than that which divides us: our belief in freedom, equality, and the pursuit of the American dream. They share a deep sense of gratitude that they are citizens of the United States. They want to move past our differences.”
Within the faith communities that we work in, we hear this same groaning – a desire to seek the “well-being of the city” in which we are called, respecting our differences but committed to one another’s flourishing. What does it look like to live with deeply held beliefs that can be at odds, especially religious convictions, in a pluralistic culture?
In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus uses two words to give us a picture of what living as Christians looks like: salt and light. At the Clapham Group we strive to embrace common grace to uncover common ground with those with whom we might differ, to identify common concerns and cause together, and ultimately to promote the common good.
In its day, the original 18th-century Clapham Sect was often also called “The Clapham Saints.” Over the years of internal conversations, we have found that within our Clapham Group, we return to stories of previous saints like William Wilberforce and Hannah More as models for how to live in a pluralistic culture.
This week we are launching a Substack to share these stories with you in the form of illustrated short stories or “mini-comics.” We think you will enjoy them, no matter how young or old you are. We have chosen comic story telling because it is becoming a familiar genre for Gens Z and Alpha, for whom graphic novels are now fully mainstream.
Over the next several years we hope to tell mini-comic stories that will inspire the soul and model for us ways to engage respectfully within the cultural context in which we find ourselves today. Although it is important to remember that cultural context shapes how we apply what it means to be salt and light, we can still learn from the many lives whose stories we will be telling, that no matter the cultural context, Christ has called us to proclaim the Truth of his life, death, and resurrection. How we do that may look different for each of us, but the essential message should not change, for Jesus is, “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6).
At the end of the project (approximately three years), we hope to produce a graphic novel from the Substack illustrated short stories, and we invite you to join us by subscribing to and following us as we release new stories.
We are starting with a comic adaptation of an essay (“The Story of Solid Rock”) by the pioneer rock and roll artist Larry Norman from the liner notes on his album In Another Land, his best-selling album ever, and also the one best received by mainstream Christian culture at the time (1976).
Larry Norman, Illustrated by Wade McComas
“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet.
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:13-16)
These are the words of Jesus that he spoke immediately after the well-known Beatitudes, which comes at the beginning of what is known as the Sermon on the Mount. Referred to as, “a perfect standard for the Christian life” by St. Augustine, we should measure ourselves as true disciples of Christ by what he taught us in the Sermon on the Mount.
We know that in ancient times, when Jesus was teaching the Sermon on the Mount, that, “Salt [was] useful for so many purposes in human life…Salt preserve[d] meats from decaying into stench and worms. It ma[d]e them edible for a longer period. They would not last through time and be found useful without salt. So also Christ’s disciples, standing in the way of the stench that comes from…sin…support and hold together this whole earthly realm.”
We should not be afraid to do the work of cleansing and preserving, as salt does to a decaying world; however, we must do so in a winsome way, adding the irresistible flavor and fragrance (2 Cor 2:14-17) of Christ to all that we do.
As Christians we must exude the light of Christ, just as the Christians in these stories that we will be sharing let the light of Christ overflow from within them to the people around them. As we will see in these stories from the somewhat distant and more recent past, there are many different kinds of good works that God calls us to do. We know their stories not because they tried to make themselves important, but because by living as salt and light they were able to change the course of human history for good.
Salt and Light logo, Illustrated by Wade McComas
Some of the saint stories we will be telling include Clapham members William Wilberforce and Hannah More, television pioneer (Mr.) Fred Rogers, the Biblical Daniel (and his three friends), and brewing pioneer Arthur Guinness.
We decided to use comic storytelling because in an increasingly visual world many people find it easier to receive and process new information visually. Visual storytelling also enhances the reader’s experience and usually increases comprehension and retention of information. We want these stories to have the best chance of reaching as many people as possible. We especially have in mind Gen Z readers who are currently coming of age and finding their way in the world – they are in a crucial stage of their lives when encountering these saints whose stories we will be telling can hopefully influence them positively for the future.
The project is being guided by Emily Mitchell, in partnership with Wade McComas. I will be contributing to the essays and helping with creative contributions.
The first story, Larry Norman’s essay, will be free. If you subscribe, a new comic, along with an accompanying essay, will be delivered to your inbox every week on Wednesdays. On Fridays we will also send an additional short essay to share more about Salt and Light Stories, our mission, vision, and hopes for this project. We invite you to also follow us on Instagram @saltlightstories for exciting announcements, sneak peaks at new content, and more.
This is a grand experiment – please join us and subscribe to our substack page here for free. We are excited to share these stories with you that have shaped us so profoundly.