“Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, that’s who we are,” the man said as he approached my display.  During this week’s meeting of the Baptist General Association of Virginia, I met the delegation from Orchard Drive Baptist Church in Bassett, Va.  First it was just one man, then a young woman and young man joined our conversation.

They explained that they had just decided as a congregation that they were CBF and they wanted to know everything.  We started with what was available on the table and then with what was available online at thefellowship.info.  In the middle of the conversation, the man grabbed another member of their delegation and said “Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, this is who we are.”  So now I’m talking to an enthusiastic crowd of four.  They said “We are Virginia Baptists, but we support women so that makes us CBF.”   We continued to talk about their excitement over a new pastor and new direction for their congregation.  By the time we finished, five members of the delegation were grouped together reading flyers (especially the one entitled Who we are), asking questions, and sharing their story. 

I don’t know when you first came to find the Fellowship, but try to remember your enthusiasm.  Remember the time when you felt that sense of purpose and belonging that makes you grab someone to say “this is who we are.”  We struggle to define missional all of the time, but I think that type of unbridled enthusiasm should be a part of it. 

The night ended with me running after them to see if I could share this story.  Their enthusiasm was contagious: “Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, this is who we are.”