Today we’d like to introduce you to BaSean (B.A.) Jackson.
Thanks for sharing your story with us, BaSean. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I am a native Texan. Well, actually I was born in Wertzburg, Germany because my dad was in the military. He retired when I was one and moved back to his home state of Texas.
I began preaching at the age of ten at a church my dad pastored called Sweet Home Baptist Church. The challenging thing about this is that I had to navigate childhood, puberty, and adolescent and teenage years as a preacher. The expectations were difficult. The great thing about this was that I have always had my sense of purpose and calling. The details have evolved, but I have never struggled in any real way with what I want to do.
By the time I graduated from DeSoto High School in 1993, I had become a well sought after speaker across the nation. I came to Atlanta in 1993 to attend Morehouse College (B.A. in Religion) and continued my education at the Interdenominational Theological Center (M.Div) and Candler School of Theology at Emory University (ThM). While in the academy, I gave lectures, presented papers and published writings in the areas of theology, philosophical pragmatism, and Hip-Hop Culture. It was there that I found my intellectual and spiritual passion for the study and practice of Love.
The time between graduating college and getting my second master’s degree was the most formative years of my life in ministry. Through my encounters with authors (dead and alive), professors, and classmates, I began to rethink my spirituality, theology, and beliefs. I also, for various reasons, became disenchanted with the church and church people. I had decided I would never pastor. The church was too narrow, too judgmental, and too mean for me to want to lead one. I wanted to be free to struggle with and even challenge the Bible, and I wanted to be free to hear from God through life as I lived it. Clearly, some things have changed since then. I not only pastor a church, I founded one. What has not changed is my commitment to thinking. Thinking is one of my deepest Loves.
In 2008, I organized the Fellowship of Love Church with a vision to revolutionize the idea and the impact of church. One embodiment of this vision was in a commitment to tithe 10% of all the church’s income to the community. Fellowship of Love has now given almost $500k to schools, non-profits, and organizations to empower and improve the Fayette County community and beyond. Each Sunday I try to combine deep thinking, biblical exegesis, and humor to help people grow and think about God and their spiritual journey in new ways. In addition to pastoring and preaching, I am also an author and songwriter.
Has it been a smooth road?
There have definitely been rough times. I actually began a Ph.D. program at Emory University and did not finish because I did not do a good job of juggling my academics, ministry, and personal life well.
Of course, like anyone, I have had personal and relationship challenges throughout my journey.
Pastoring a church is not always a smooth journey. The presence and idea of God is such a profound and personal reality for people. Attempting to get people on the same page about God personally and communally can be challenging. Because I come from a tradition that emphasizes a personal relationship with God, it is easy for people to come into conflict with each other and with their pastor about what God would have us do. In some ways, this conflict is healthy. No one has a monopoly on God and we should not carry ourselves as if we do whether we are a leader or not. At the same time, leading people who are voluntarily coming together to stay together amidst differences in personalities, ideas, and beliefs can be tough. And in some sense, as a pastor, this is exactly what I am asked to do.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Fellowship of Love Church, Love Works Foundation, and Live in Love Corporation story. Tell us more about the organization.
So, I ultimately run three organizations as CEO. The most recent is the Live in Love Corporation, which is the organism through which I facilitate all my endeavors in public service and ministry. I believe I am called to be an agent of change and growth through prioritizing Love. We specialize in publishing, speaking engagements, workshops, lectures, and seminars. I am most proud of the publication of my first book, LIVE GREATER, THINK DEEPER, LOVE BETTER: SPIRITUAL REFLECTIONS FOR THE HEART, MIND, AND SOUL.
The organization I am most known for running is the Fellowship of Love Church. We specialize in outsourcing spirituality. That’s a joke! LoL. Our church is called to revolutionize the idea and the impact of church. We attempt to provide a spiritual atmosphere that is more about people than the pastor, more about Love than laws, more about relationships than religion, and more about giving than receiving. I am most proud about our commitment to exhibit the radical Love of Christ by giving 10% of all our income into empowering our community. We are currently working on raising the capital to construct our own facility. However, even though we do not have our own place of worship, offices, or a building, we have given almost $500,000 to our local community and a few international causes. It makes me proud that we have prioritized doing what a church should do over necessarily having what a traditional church has.
This empowering arm of our church is now orchestrated through the Love Works Foundation. Love Works is the third organization that I lead. This organization essentially exists to make sure that we meet the life needs of people by partnering with organizations that are helping build and better people.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
This is a challenging question because I am not sure if I see my “industry” going a place I like. Like most outside church observers, I have some serious concerns and criticisms about the church world. Churches can tend to focus too much on individual prosperity, materialism, and a faith that is not socio-politically engaged in a healthy way. The church I pastor runs the risk of all these things as well. I don’t want to be heard to be making an us versus them comparison. As a pastor of a church, I have to take any and all critiques of the church seriously. Even if this means pressing and striving to push our church to ask what it means for us to be revolutionary. My prayer is that somehow the church will become a place where people are pushed to be their individual best for the purpose of us becoming our collective and communal best.
Pricing:
- Live Greater, Think Deeper, Love Better is $20 a copy.
- Attendance at Fellowship of Love Church is free! 😉
Contact Info:
- Address: Fellowship of Love Church
609 Kenwood Rd.
Fayetteville, GA 30214 - Website: www.fellowshipoflovechurch.org www.bajackson.com
- Email: ba@bajackson.com info@fellowshipoflovechurch.org
- Instagram: @baseanssc @folchurch
- Facebook: BaSean Jackson; B.A. Jackson; Fellowship of Love Church
- Twitter: @pastorba @folchurch
Image Credit:
LaShawnta Robinson – Pic of me signing book
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