Bridge

"Let us make a dent in the universe" (Steve Jobs).

Anyone who takes a risk runs the risk of being misunderstood. I say, "Risk anyway".

For the longest time, I have felt like odd-man-out in the church and in pastoral ministry. I've always been uncomfortably wedged between generations who understand little of each other and who come from exceedingly different sets of circumstances. I feel just as at "home" serving my brothers and sisters gathered as I do with my friends, neighbors, and students scattered. I see no distinction in the Kingdom of God either serving the church or serving those outside our communities of faith, and I celebrate both opportunities.

I have to admit though, as a pastor, sometimes I feel completely misunderstood by those outside the church...as though I were reviled, feared, or mistrusted. On the other hand, when I give my time to those outside the church, I feel misunderstood by those "inside"...as though I were back-sliding, turning liberal, or losing my way. I've come to realize there are many on the outside who will never understand those on the inside as well as many on the inside who will never understand those on the outside.

I guess that's why the bridge-builders are so important...for both groups.

Bridge-builders run the risk of being misunderstood by both groups they are trying to reach. Our personal comfort demands staying on our own side, cut off and sheltered from the other. The convenience of our distance allows us to feel more self-righteous and superior. Learning to cross over and engage each other just might challenge our lazy thinking and confront some of our own inadequacies and dirty little secrets. We'd rather launch verbal volleys at one another from a distance than take the risk of engagement.

Thank God for the bridge-builders who follow the example of Jesus and cross boundaries led by God's Spirit!

Richard Rohr, author of "From Wild Man to Wise Man" says this: "...balancing love of self with love of the other makes for moral integrity, just as in true love making. It is holding my own boundaries, while also going beyond them for the sake of others (p. 121)." I'm not sure how we've come to believe that giving of ourselves to the "other side" is a bad thing. Whose battle lines are we paying attention to anyhow?

A few years back, I remember speaking at a church regarding our ministry in Ireland. During the question and answer time, a respected gentleman expressed his curious frustration at how the coffee shops of our town were as important to us as the gathering of saints. Conceptually, he could not understand how essentially important those moments of friendship, connection, and conversation were with those who did not consider themselves Christian.

Conceptually, I could not understand how he could not.

I doubt seriously whether the Spirit of God recognizes all the boundaries and borders we have established. It would do us good to remember that apart from Christ, we are all aliens and foreigners! Jesus gave his life to bridge a very great chasm.

To the bridge-builders, to those who build bridges to connect and have the audacity to cross fearlessly, I commend you.

We all need you.