God—in his providence, I mean, I hope it’s providence and not something more awful—foresaw that I would lose several nights sleep in a row this week, and arranged for me to write elsewhere both yesterday and today. These pieces have been in the works for a while. Eglantine (not her real name) was an absolute dream yesterday, transforming overnight from someone who screamed loudly whenever she stubbed her toe into a person who gracefully and cheerfully endured to be stuck with needles and pushed to do things, of course, that made her very uncomfortable. She had a lot of nausea from the anesthesia, and her arm finally started to really hurt in the middle of the night, but she is up now, getting her own breakfast (by her choice, I swear, I offered, but she didn’t want help). So anyway, I’m pretty sure quick takes this Friday will be epic, and who knows what will come out of my mouth this afternoon on my fifteen minutes with John and Kathy on the Ride Home, and if I haven’t emailed you back or texted I’m So Sorry, but thank you for praying! I’m pretty happy that October is finally over! Now, read on to find out about a new book just out!
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As I sat down to work out my thoughts on Latasha Morrison’s excellent new book, Be The Bridge: Pursuing God’s Heart for Racial Reconciliation, my newsfeed overflowed with the appalling account of a young black medical student who was innocently playing video games in her own living room with her 8-year-old nephew when a white police officer shot her through the window. The officer was arrested and charged with murder. Since the event came only a few weeks after the trial of Amber Gieger for the murder of Botham Jean, weariness was the prevalent emotion all over social media.
As racial violence and division continue to overshadow the American experiment, the release of Be the Bridge seems providentially timed. Morrison’s work will surely strengthen those already engaged in the work of racial reconciliation and invite many more to enter for the first time. The book itself is an act of reconciliation, as Morrison reaches out across a seemingly insurmountable divide to offer hope, gospel truth, and practical action steps.
Morrison is the founder of Be The Bridge, a Christian organization that facilitates the formation and nurture of reconciling communities and trains people one by one to supersede racial divisions, especially within the church. This book (her first) is the outflow of that work and the place where she brings her expertise and experience to a wider audience.
Morrison starts by admonishing the reader to open herself to correction and adopt a posture of humility when engaging in racial reconciliation. From there the book is divided into three parts, each concluding with a liturgical rite intended to help readers and groups of readers begin the work of bridge building. The first section develops a theology of lamentation, the second a theology of confession and forgiveness, and the third focuses on restorative justice and replication.
Early on, the book catapults readers into the tragic story of Mary Turner, a pregnant black woman who, in her desperate pursuit of justice for her husband’s murder, falls prey to the mob and is brutally lynched. She is strung up in a tree and set on fire, her baby falls to the ground, and then one of the mob shoots her and the baby over and over…
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