Be the Bridge | How We Begin
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“The longer I worked in the church, the more I came to see that it wasn’t a credible witness for racial reconciliation…” (5) Morisson uses the phrase racial reconciliation throughout Be the Bridge. I have heard it a lot, but I haven’t heard a single, cohesive definition.
Racial reconciliation isn’t in the Bible. The word race wasn’t used to describe human beings in Biblical times; it wasn’t until the 16th century that race was used in the way we define it today. The Bible does talk about relationship reconciliation (2 Cor 5:11–21; Col 3:12–14), but that definition doesn’t line up with anything that I have heard about racial reconciliation.
Racial reconciliation is the main theme of the book Be the Bridge and the end goal of the movement. Other organizations for the betterment of black lives also use this phrase, but what is racial reconciliation?
Dictionary Definition:
Racial (adj.): of or relating to the social construct of race
Reconciliation (n.): to cause (a person) to accept or be resigned to something not desired; to win over to friendliness; to bring into agreement or harmony
Racial reconciliation is bringing people of different races together into agreement or harmony. It is making people accept the social construct of race. To racially reconcile means to make people of different races friends.
What Be the Bridge Says:
“The longer I worked in the church, the more I came to see that it wasn’t a credible witness for racial reconciliation… With that realization, I made a conscious decision: I’d do my best to build a bridge between the majority and non-White church cultures. That bridge might open space for my White friends to better understand my history, culture, and experience and would provide room for my non-White culture friends to share their pain.” pg. 5–6
This chapter is about the posture of humility Christians need to take when it comes to racial reconciliation. A starting point for bringing people of different races together. Morrison describes those postures…
