Four words that define Fellowship Southwest
By Stephen Reeves
Keen observers of our weekly newsletter might have noticed something a little different last week. The four descriptive words displayed prominently at the top of each edition had changed. For a while now Fellowship Southwest has described ourselves as faithful, agile, ecumenical and kind. We still hope these all describe our ministry. But two of these words seem to describe more of how we want to do our work, rather than the characteristics we hope to embody.
Last week, the words read faithful, thoughtful, courageous and kind.
Let me first address the two words we replaced - ecumenical and agile. We still aspire to work in these ways but I think those two words were most helpful as the organization was just getting started and less descriptive of our highest ideals.
Ecumenical. When Fellowship Southwest was created in 2017 we were a brand new initiative of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. From the outset we didn’t want to be limited to the CBF community or any single denominational tradition.
This is even more true since we established our own 501(c)(3) and our independent board of directors with full responsibility and authority to govern the organization and set the vision. While many folks on the board are connected to CBF, there are also United Methodists, non-denominational ministers, and Baptists who don’t identify with CBF. Our board is committed to further diversity and living into our ecumenical aspirations.
Agile. When Fellowship Southwest began, we couldn’t help but be agile and responsive. Unburdened by historical expectations, Marv Knox, the founding coordinator, was free and able to respond to the needs and desires of folks in the region. This included disaster response in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, addressing needs related to changes in theological education in our region, and responding to challenges on the border which binds our region together. We still strive to be agile and flexible but rather than label ourselves that way, we’ll prove it by living into it. For example, we have been outspoken recently against the death penalty, specifically with regard to Melissa Lucio’s case in Texas. Capital punishment abolition had not been a stated focus for us historically, but for many reasons, we felt God calling us to pivot in that direction at that time.
The two words that remain are faithful and kind.
Faithful. At the heart of everything we do is our Christian faith. Yes, we’ll partner with others outside this tradition and no, we don’t agree on every theological controversy or biblical interpretation, but what brings us together is a shared conviction about what Christ calls us to do in the world. How can we together tangibly demonstrate loving our neighbors by embodying compassion and seeking justice? Striving to be faithful to this call and joining others who share this conviction is our driving force.
Kind. Kindness may sound a bit simple or trite, but sadly it feels like a rare trait for Christians in the public square. Describing ourselves as kind doesn’t mean we’re not passionate about fighting for justice, but we do so with empathy and understanding.
The two new additions are thoughtful and courageous.
Thoughtful. A verse that often comes to mind for me is James 1:19 “…let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger.” This is a counter-cultural admonition for our times. In the age of social media and hyper-partisanship, it feels like everyone is quick to anger and quick to speak. There will be times when silence is complicity, and we feel called to offer a different Christian witness in the public square, but we hope to do so after some deliberation. We will strive to take the long view and remember that the suffering and injustice we fight will not be solved anytime soon, nor will the outcome hinge on the latest political controversy. Parroting partisan talking points won’t get us very far.
And finally, courageous. We need more people of faith willing to engage the public square and risk their own power and privilege for the sake of others. This is much easier said than done, but when it comes to confronting the principalities and powers that profit from division and exploitation, we won’t make progress watching from the sidelines. The type of work we seek to do - confronting injustice, dismantling systemic racism, welcoming the stranger and feeding the hungry, cannot be done from a place of fear. Again and again Jesus called his disciples to be not afraid. These times feel scary and we might be afraid, but I pray that God will give us the courage to do what God calls us to do. Join us.
Faithful, Thoughtful, Courageous, Kind.
