Clare Jewell spoke during chapel about the importance of being intentional in being examples to the world. He looks at Matthew 5:13-16 and the call of Christ for believers to be “salt and light” to the world.

Drawing from seven years of teaching a Missional Living course and twenty-two years of pastoral ministry, he builds a practical case from Matthew 5:13-16 and Matthew 4:18-22 for what it looks like to stop living randomly and start living on purpose for the gospel.

Scripture Text

Matthew 5:13-16; Matthew 4:18-22; Ephesians 1

Main Points or Ideas

• Own your identity as salt and light - Jesus's "you" in Matthew 5:13-16 is emphatic in the Greek — his followers and no one else. God has no Plan B. Salt must make contact with the food to work, which means believers must be present and involved in people's lives. Light is not hidden but visible by nature — it is the direct communication of the gospel, not just a good impression. Jewell warns against the mistake of simply living well in front of unbelievers without ever speaking the gospel clearly.
• Be intentional with your time and relationships - Jewell offers practical handles: pray for at least one unbeliever every day, spend sixty minutes a week with a lost person, and share your story or the gospel at least once a month. Surveys of hundreds of churches show the average is only 1.66 times per year — and likely an overestimate. Simple habits like taking one meal a month with an unbeliever, or studying with your door open, require no additional programs — just greater intentionality with what you are already doing.
• Move along the discipleship path — and bring others with you - Jewell presents a five-stage discipleship path: spiritually dead (unbelief) → spiritual infant (ignorant) → spiritual child (selfish/consumer) → spiritual young adult (contributor/pitcher) → spiritual parent (intentional disciple-maker). He challenges students to identify where they are on the path and take the next step, and to recognize that they could already be spiritual parents — not someday, but now. The greatest weakness in North American Christianity is the failure to make disciple-making disciples, which is precisely the primary command of Christ.

Conclusion

Clare Jewell closes by looking around the room and speaking directly to the students: you are the salt of the earth, you are the light of the world, and you are not here by accident. Don't settle for a random life or a consumer faith — be intentional about loving your neighbors, sharing the gospel, and investing in people so that many can enter a life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ.