By Jimi Calhoun
This entry is the second post in a series of bridge-building, theological-cultural reflections by Jimi Calhoun, Pastor of “Bridging Austin,” in Austin, Texas.
My reference to “theologizing” in this blog entry’s title above is prompted by this question, “What is it about God that makes him unique?” The answer is God is not constrained by space, time, or any other limitation. Theologizing sometimes calls for leaving the familiar and stepping into a world of endless discovery. Similarly, stepping into the unfamiliar worlds of others can be just as intriguing. Now, here is where the idea of “bridging” (also in the title above) enters the picture. Isaiah 2:2 reads, “In the last days the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established as the highest of the mountains; it will be exalted above the hills, and all nations will stream to it.”[1]
Today, we can access live streaming that brings concerts, sporting events, and movies to us on various screens. Consequently, it is easy for us to imagine people from every corner of the planet gathering on that sacred mountain. However, consider how challenging those words must have sounded to the hearer then. Perhaps they wondered how large numbers of people could ever cross the earth’s vast bodies of water. The most obvious answer to us today would be, of course, bridges.
I am from the San Francisco Bay Area, so I am used to the concept of bridges and see their value. For example, we have the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, Richmond-San Rafael Bridge, Carquinez Bridge, Benicia-Martinez Bridge, Antioch Bridge, San Mateo-Hayward Bridge, and the Dumbarton Bridge. These bridges connect cities with diverse communities both ethnically and socio-economically. They also enable diverse groups of people to work together and interact socially.
The Golden Gate Bridge is the most famous of those bridges. It connects San Franciscans with the White, Hispanic, Asian, and African American populations who live in Marin County. Then there is the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge that connects San Franciscans to the city of Oakland, which has a substantial African American population and a growing number of Middle Eastern, Indian, and people from the Pacific Islands. In this instance, ‘bridging’ fosters cultural exchange by allowing people to cross self-imposed social borders and form multi-ethnic relationships.
In a church context, many do not see the benefit of developing multi-faceted approaches for bridging racial division. Some Christians still look to the same political or programmatic solutions that have failed in the past hoping to fix the present. That is not the case at Bridging Austin. In a theological sense, we see our responsibility to cross every social bridge as an “eleventh commandment.”
Here is the theology behind that outward focus. Jesus said we are to be his witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria, as well as the world’s outer reaches (Acts 1:8). That cannot happen unless people are willing to go; bridges provide the means, literally and figuratively.
The city planners in my former hometown constructed eight bridges that, whether by choice or chance, enable the citizenry to interact with people far removed from their usual social circles. We believe that is exactly what the Spirit of God does for us: build bridges. All you need to know about the ethos of Bridging Austin is expressed in this simple phrase: Love the outsider across the bridge.
You may contact Jimi Calhoun at Jimi@Bridgingaustin.org.
[1] Isaiah 2:2; NIV.