People You Should Know – Brian Kirk

Brian Kirk is the pastor at First Christian Church, active in the community, and helped to initiate All Voices St. Joe.

AV: Let’s start with you, how long have you been in St. Joseph and what are your current roles in the community?

BK: I’ve lived in Saint Joseph for eleven years. I moved here when I was called as the pastor at First Christian Church in downtown St. Joseph. In addition to serving as pastor, I have served on the boards of a number of local organizations, including the St. Joseph Public Library, Faith in Action, Community Missions, Saint Joe Pride, PFlag and Main Street Saint Joseph.  All of these are connected to the mission and values of our church, which include  justice, compassion, and community.  Our church board encourages this service as an extension of our ministry. 

AV: Can you tell us more about how the All Voices St. Joe project got started? 

BK: Almost two years ago, we determined there was a need to evolve our church’s focus on racial justice. We were animated by the Black Lives Matter movement to begin online book studies on race and racism during the time of COVID shut-downs. This study within our church continued for another year, until we decided it was time to move beyond academic texts and see if there were ways we could draw attention to the problems of racism in our own community while also promoting the idea of reconciliation and togetherness. Our first effort was to host a film series, which was well-attended. From these gatherings came the idea to involve more people in the community in our planning. We then partnered with First Baptist Temple to have an initial facilitated conversation with leaders from several different parts of the community. Through that conversation we found there was a real interest in creating opportunities for individuals who might not otherwise even be in the same room to have a reason to sit down, break bread, and talk with one another. This led to the All Voices series of dialogues.

AV: What were some of the outcomes? 

BK: The dialogues did create and strengthen connections, helping to build the trust that would support future conversations. The dialogue format, although new to almost all of the attendees, also proved to be a powerful way to connect, identify needs, and share ideas and encourage action.  And the ongoing posts on this website are a continuation of those conversations.

New connections were also made among organizations and individuals.  In at least one instance, these connections provided a means to recruit members of the African American and Latino communities to membership on a community board.  The most important lesson we would take from this project though is that across our diverse communities there are many people who want to connect with each other and to talk in a neighborly way where they have choices on what to talk about and how to talk about it, and where they are heard. 

AV: What do you think is next for All Voices?

BK: I hope to see more engagement between churches in the community, particularly on the root causes and ongoing effects of racism  And I also hope to see more engagement between faith communities generally and the broader community on how we help people in need. 

AV: The Imagine 2040 Plan speaks of increasing tolerance, acceptance and inclusion in St. Joseph.  Specifically it states that “In St. Joseph we don’t just say ‘everyone belongs’, we live it by ensuring that those on the margins who need the most help get it in the most innovative ways possible.”  Yet in 2023 there were some very public attacks on the LGBTQ+ community, one of which challenged your involvement in civic leadership. How might the community respond when a segment of the population is marginalized or attacked by others?

BK: It’s important to speak up as many did for me. And also to know your values and make connections with others who share them. Cohesion among groups and the ability to provide collective support is  powerful.  I think that going forward we need to make more conscious and ongoing connections as we seek to hold the values of community up. And it is important to approach even attacks in a way that is collaborative and not confrontational. I approached the pastor who was leading the challenge against me to coffee so we might talk and learn more about each other. Unfortunately he declined my invitation.

AV: You and your congregation recently were recognized by Eden Theological Seminary with the Reinhold Niebuhr Award “for your inspiring witness of faith committed to social justice in the face of Christian Nationalist messaging and attacks in your community,” and “active witness to boldly resist homophobia and transphobia and teach inclusion and God’s love in the face of this pressure campaign. . .” Can you share some thoughts on how your faith and theology equip you in the work you do?

BK: My faith is Jesus centric, meaning following his example of focusing on and caring for those who are marginalized.  Throughout the Bible, the vision of the kingdom of God is one which continually draws in those who are ignored, oppressed and outcast.  I also think of the kingdom of God not as some remote and future heavenly realm but as the existential or lived experience we are having now.  This means that those of us who are part of the kingdom are called to reflect God’s love for everyone, including those we disagree with.

AV: In one of your sermons following the events that led to this award you said that the pastor who opposed your service on the library board was not your enemy but “another human being trying to authentically navigate the way of his life as he thinks is best” and then you shared the quote “You will never look into the eyes of someone God does not love.”  That seems well aligned with the values and actions that would move our community forward and an example of tolerance and inclusion in action. Can you say more about that?

BK: The differences in theology between those who challenged my service on the library board and my own caught the attention of another community of faith, Journey Baptist Church and they did a podcast looking at the differences between progressive and evangelical Christianity. They didn’t entirely understand the theology of progressive Christianity — I would say they got it about   85% right — but it was a good faith effort to understand and engage. And they, like me, emphasized the importance of approaching others with that effort to engage and understand and respect others. 

I returned to this theme in a pre-election series of sermons, titled “Do Unto Others” in which I discussed the scriptural basis of approaching others with Kindness, Compassion, Humility, Respect, and Love.  When we approach others with curiosity and respect, we can often find shared values and experiences in at least some areas, and work together where that intersection occurs.

AV: Thank you for your work.