Becoming intrepid

By Ann Thompson Cook

As I’ve thought recently about what’s needed in our movement, I kept thinking of the word “intrepid.” Once I looked it up, I realized why. According to several dictionaries, intrepid means audacious, invulnerable to fear or intimidation, courageous, bold, brave.

Many people come to me who are working toward having their congregation expand their welcome to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender folks.  

• Frequently, they’ve already put on some classes or other events, and they’re frustrated.
• They say they’re just preaching to the choir.
• They hear that some people are uncomfortable, but “those people” don’t come for the scheduled dialogues.   

So, I wonder aloud, If they don’t come to you, how about you going to them? How about finding out what they’re thinking, and sharing what you’re thinking? 

Brief silence… and then people acknowledge their own worries:  

• I'd be pretty uncomfortable; 
• It would make the other person uncomfortable; and/or 
• The conversation sounds like confrontation, and I'm just not a confrontational person. 

Of course, if you barge in with all your righteousness blazing, not much will be gained. When we walk into any conversation ready to argue, unwilling to hear what another person’s concerns/fears are, or expecting to be angry or hurt, it rarely goes well.  

But what if you could invite people into the conversation in a spirit of love and respect, carrying with you the possibility of healing? Then could you be intrepid? 

Please note: Intrepid means audacious, invulnerable to fear or intimidation, courageous, bold, brave. It does not mean obnoxious, judgmental, critical, or mean. 

If you've been holding back from such conversations, imagine for a moment standing with another person in a spirit of love and respect, carrying with you the possibility of healing.  

• How would you set up the conversation, and how would it go?
• Who would do most of the talking?
• Can you imagine yourself really hearing the other person’s concerns/fears and also sharing your own experience and vision?  
• What would be possible in such a conversation? 

Standing in a spirit of love and respect, might you be willing to ask yourself and others into conversations you’ve not explored before? Could you be intrepid?