Why I Am Involved In Bridge-Building Relationships
Was anyone else surprised by the polarization and division that surfaced during 2020? I have to admit that I was! But then again, I wasn’t. Sure, I knew that there was significant and growing political division by the tone of the 2016 presidential debates. In addition, the intensity of news coverage seemed to widen the polarization, as news channels battled each other daily. But I had no idea the depth of this division until it all came boiling to the surface in 2020. Now, it is the new norm of our world and it seems like there is no going back.
About five years ago, I began to feel God convicting me to become better at bridge building. While I was very active in helping other churches get started in my city and had been in a multi-denominational pastors’ prayer group for twenty-five years, I had not taken enough time to get to know leaders from different backgrounds and perspectives. The pastors in my regional prayer group were all white and evangelical. The pastors in my network were all from my tribe or were spiritual sons and daughters. I had attempted some bridge-building activities, but it was sporadic, at best.
When the shooting at the Tree of Life Jewish synagogue in Pittsburgh occurred in October of 2018, I watched a memorial service on TV with local pastors, rabbi’s, and priests. I wondered aloud to myself, “Why I am not invited into that room? I’ve been serving here in this city for almost thirty years.” The answer was simple, I had not worked hard enough to build relationships with people who are different than me and people who lead in different parts of my city.
This tragedy deeply impacted me and compelled me to make a more intentional and disciplined effort to go to lunch, listen, and learn from other leaders around my city. I carved out time every month to meet with someone new and hear their story.
The turmoil of 2020 only intensified my determination to make a difference and I began to earnestly seek ways to broaden my efforts:
#1 - Pittsburgh FRIENDS
After George Floyd was killed and the entire world was grieving, I called my good friend, Pastor Niecy Dennis-White, who pastors at The Lord’s Church in Monroeville, Pennsylvania, the town where I grew up. We started to talk about how the church should be like first responders to racism and division, and out of friendship, act like the “Good Samaritan” and be responsive to the needs of the person who is “beaten up and bleeding by the side of the road”. This conversation led to the formation of an organization devoted to helping pastors from various denominations, racial backgrounds, and generations to come together as FRIENDS. Our goals:
to listen to each other
to learn from one another and their unique experience
to lament in prayer
to love one another and our communities as well
We began with weekly Zoom meetings to build relationship, plan, and pray. Next, we held a large informational lunch with over 50 pastors who attended. Now, we are in the process of having regional lunches with smaller groups of pastors who will become FRIENDS.
#2 - MULTI-FAITH NEIGHBORS NETWORK
The second initiative that I began participating with is a multi-faith network, Multi-Faith Neighbors Network (MFNN), with one of the leaders being my friend, Pastor Bob Roberts Jr. The goal of this network is to help Evangelical Pastors, Muslim Imams, and Jewish Rabbi’s in a particular city or region to become friends.
I appreciate that the focus of MFNN is on “multi-faith” rather than “inter-faith”. Often “inter-faith” involves the restraint or de-emphasis of what we truly believe theologically. Neutral language is used to describe God or to offer up prayer. But “multi-faith” is where you show up unashamed and fully who you are in your theology. Christians are expected to be fully Jesus- oriented. Jews are expected to express their uniqueness in theology and practice. Muslims are not asked to be any less devoted to Muhammad.
The goal is to get to know each other’s perspectives. We learn from the full expression of someone else’s theology and faith expression. As we do that, we also eat, and laugh and have fun.
Here are the stated goals of the MFNN network:
A. Sharing a Meal
Clerics open their homes to each other and break bread with one another. This allows a comfortable, familiar, and deeply personal space where they can get to know each other.
B. Socializing as a Multi-Faith Community
Moving from engaging clerics to building bridges between faith communities is critical. Clerics involved in the program will host “mixers” at their individual places of worship for the other religious community members to attend, fostering a dialogue of multi-faith understanding and acceptance.
C. Participating in a Community Project Together
Many people talk about interfaith dialogue, but we aim to focus on multi-faith engagements. These shared experiences allow people of different faiths to work together toward a common good.
D. Standing Up for Each Other During a Crisis
MFNN is focused on creating longtime bonds that build community through religion, not in spite of it. Resilient cities are those that respect people who are different than themselves, respond to change easier, and are better prepared for unexpected events.
I love to watch Pastor Roberts, Iman Majid, and Rabbi Saperstien, the three leaders of MFNN, work for religious freedom around the world, wherever Christians, Muslims, or Jews are being persecuted for their faith.
#3 - NATIONAL BLACK FELLOWSHIP
Finally, I have been working with my friend Bishop Walter Harvey. His organization, the National Black Fellowship (NBF), is working to advance church planting in the most difficult cities in the USA. I have been very active in planning and partnering with his initiatives.
All three of these initiatives, Pittsburgh FRIENDS, MFNN and NBF, are ways for me to practically be a part of the solution to racism and division within our nation and our world.
While we may often feel powerless to do something about the problem of division in our world, the truth is, we are not powerless. We can make a difference one bridge-building relationship at a time!