The Bridge Builder, A Philosopher Subtype

“All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.” — 2 Corinthians 5:18-19

Hand in hand with the Cultural Learner comes the Bridge Builder. While they both work with the tools of culture, the Bridge Builder infuses his understanding with insights into human relationships. He views culture as a means of connection, not just as an artifact of curiosity. He is people first. He knows, when you love people well, you inevitably will love their culture also.

Given his hand-in-hand partnership, many of the Bridge Builder’s identifying characteristics mirror the Cultural Learner. Other prominent characteristics are his open and amiable personality. He learns about people with a kind tenacity. Using creativity and perceptiveness, he winsomely connects to people. Through seemingly disparate ways of life, he finds relational touchpoints and builds bridges of meaning. He is the observant, social glue within a friends group, having discovered meaningful connections with everyone.

Placed in a foreign context, one of his first impulses will be to answer the question of how do I connect with these people? How can I love them like Christ, who came down and loved us? He begins to build up his linguistic and cultural skills. He discovers that unique local joke or idiom, or he discovers new or shared hobbies with locals. Putting on different events or cultural exchanges, he crafts memorable ways to connect the expats with locals. Maybe this is an English class, a movie night, or holiday party. All of them become fuel and paths for the Good News of the Kingdom. Also, his openness and amiability give him a strong disposition to be a peacemaker in conflict. He can hear and understand the conflict and then present a bridge for resolution. 

Blessed be the peacemaker (Matthew 5:9). Blessed be the Bridge Builder. He is the bringer of the Good News of peace, minister of reconciliation, and proclaimer of the Prince of Peace. Blessed is he, for he shall be called a son of God.