Dr. Mack Roark	S.A.L.T.
	Thursdays, 11:45am - 12:45pm Cost: $5.00 per person Pastor spicing up lunchtime SALT program offers hot meal with the Word By Chris Jones, Staff Writer, The Daily Oklahoman A weekly dash of SALT seems to satisfy the body, mind and soul for people who come to First Baptist Church in downtown Oklahoma City for lunch and Bible study. Mack Roark, associate pastor for Christian teaching at First Baptist, teaches SALT (Study and Lunch Together) every Thursday. The popular program attracts nearly 175 people, many of them business and community leaders, to the church’s Fellowship Hall. Anyone who wishes to attend the program and lunch is welcomed. There are no requests for offerings, but lunch costs $4. (Note: at the time this article was printed cost was $4. Current cost is $5.) Roark said the majority who come to SALT are not members of First Baptist. He said they come for a good, hot lunch prepared by chef David Swenson and solid, academic study of Scriptures that will help them through the day and is applicable to life. SALT is one of many missions, ministries and educational programs offered to the community by First Baptist Church. The church was founded in 1889, and the building at 1201 N Robinson was built in 1910. Roark, 69, a graduate of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Phillips Theological Seminar and the University of Notre Dame, joined Oklahoma Baptist University faculty in 1984, where he taught Greek and upper-level New Testament courses. He retired from OBU in 2004. Roark, a native of Blackwell, said he has served churches in many cities including Shawnee, Tulsa, Ada, Ardmore, Enid, Oklahoma City and Muskogee. He said he enjoys teaching and isn’t ready to fully retire. "Teaching is an opportunity to see something unique happen in the lives of others," Roark said. The food and the Word available at SALT are both nourishing, Roark said. Article copyright The Daily Oklahoman Publication:The Oklahoman; Date:May 4, 2005; Section:Religion; Page Number:40