About the Comic
“Salt and Light Stories” is a comic that explores the stories of exemplary Christians who modeled what it means to live as “salt and light,” a concept based on Jesus's teachings from the Sermon on the Mount.
“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)
Why Salt and Light?
Salt
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.
Light
As Christians we must exude the light of Christ to an increasingly dark world, just as the Christians in these stories that we are 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, all of which can shine his light to a lost and dark world.
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.
Our Goal
Rather than tell how to be, we wanted to share stories that have showed us how to be. None of these stories by themselves are complete — each is insufficient because these are imperfect saints like the rest of us — and the list is certainly not complete, but just a small selection that we at the Clapham Group have some connection to.
We have chosen to tell the stories of salt and light in the form of mini-comics, and our plan is to eventually weave them together as a graphic novel, in part to communicate to generations Z and Alpha, for whom graphic novels and visual storytelling are normative and expected. We want to share these stories with the younger generations, so that in telling them the Iives of these memorable Christians will be remembered and hopefully serve as inspiration as well.
You are invited to read as you like, contribute as you like, and comment as you like (so long as what you have to say is constructive and beneficial). We welcome your participation in this journey!
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The comic, along with an accompanying essay, is currently published once a week, on Wednesdays. Once you subscribe, our content will appear in your email inbox when they are published.
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The Salt and Light Team
Mark Rodgers, Emily Mitchell, Wade McComas
The Salt and Light Team
Mark Rodgers
Mark has been involved in spheres of faith, public policy and entertainment. His impact agency, The Clapham Group, is named after the William Wilberforce community of abolitionists, through which he has worked on issues ranging from animal cruelty, toxic polarization and child welfare. Prior to Clapham, he served on Capitol Hill for 16 years as Chief of Staff to Rick Santorum. He is also co-owner of More Productions, through which he has been involved in the production of theatre, documentaries and films. Finally, he is a founder of the graphic novel venture Cave Pictures Publishing, for which he is also a graphic novel author.
Wade McComas
Wade is a self-taught comic book artist and storyteller. He is an Associate Art Director at PBS and an Adjunct Design Professor at George Mason University. He lives in Alexandria, VA, with his wife and daughter, and could probably use a cup of coffee.
Emily Mitchell
Emily has a BA in Elementary Education and Art History from The College of William and Mary and an MA in Literacy Education from The University of Maryland (thesis on Visual Literacy). Emily enjoys reading and writing, painting, cooking/baking, spending time outdoors, and catching up with friends.
