Marv Knox founded Fellowship Southwest – an aspirationally ecumenical network that collaborates on demonstrating compassion for people – in 2017 after a four-decade career in journalism. He is married to Joanna, and they are members of Valley Ranch Baptist Church in Coppell, Texas.
- What story, verse or passage from your faith tradition’s sacred texts has significantly influenced / shaped your life?
Jesus’ teaching about “when the Son of Man comes in his glory” in Matthew 25:31-46.
Jesus tells us our lives will be measured by how we treat “the least of these” as a reflection of how we treat him. The longer I live, the more I realize God cares most about how we love other people – and particularly those who are most at-risk and vulnerable.
- Who are three people (other than your family) who have shaped your life and worldview? And why?
Well, I could name a legion of wonderful teachers, beginning in third grade and continuing through seminary. But if I’ve got to name names:
- Julian Bridges, my sociology professor at Hardin-Simmons University, who helped me realize my worldview and ethical framework as a small-town/small-church white preacher’s kid from the Texas Panhandle was not normative for every person on the planet. (I know. Took me 20 years. Slow learner.) That recognition has shaped every day since then.
- Bill Leonard, my American church history professor at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, who helped me frame Baptist life in a broader historical and cultural context. This lens focused thousands of news articles and editorials.
- Dan Martin, my journalism mentor at the Southern Baptist Home Mission Board and Baptist Press, who loved me enough to teach me how to write clearly and to live courageously.
- List three of your “desert island” books, movies or TV shows.
You said, “three of,” implying more, so I’m imagining a huge shipping container full of books, movies and TV shows. But three I’ll share are: Lake Wobegon Days by Garrison Keillor, Raiders of the Lost Ark and M*A*S*H.
- What is one of the most critical issues people are facing today?
Respect.
I started to say, “the ability to conduct civil conversations,” “the willingness to cooperate for the greater good,” “the loss of reliance on facts,” and “wonton physical, verbal, political and cultural violence.”
But those and myriad other issues have become so fraught and critical because people have lost respect for one another and for just about anything outside themselves.
- What are a few of your hobbies?
Reading; running, when my legs stay healthy; playing with our five grandkids, when time and COVID-19 allow; and since I’m going to retire at the end of the year, I’m fixin’ to learn to fly fish.
- If you could freeze your life into an already-lived 10 seconds, what would they be?
Any 10 seconds around our evening dinner table when our girls were growing up, after someone said, “How was your day?”
- Our tagline at Good Faith Media is, “There’s more to tell.” What’s your “more to tell”?
Well, as I already said, I’m retiring at the end of the year. So, my “more to tell” is a mystery.
What will God have in store for me? God gives us breath in order to live purposefully, and I can’t wait to see what that next big purpose will be.
Reflection and resources at the intersection of faith and culture through an inclusive Christian lens.