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Six steps to real interfaith work
By Bob Roberts
pastor

How can conservative Christians and Muslims build positive and productive relationships with each other without compromising their faith?

After being part of last week’s Global Leadership Forum on Evangelicals and Muslims, hosted at Georgetown University, I am convinced there are six steps we must take to move beyond all the interfaith dialogue to action.

The meeting focused on how Christians who follow the Great Commission and Muslims who follow the Dawa can get along and actually partner to make the world a better place. Several of the Muslim panelist, as well as people I’ve been hearing around the world believe passionately that freedom of religion is the key to the future of faith in the world. With the world connected as it is we have to make space for each other.

The meeting was sponsored by the Institute for Global Engagement (IGE) and the Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding (ACMCU) at Georgetown University. Chris Seiple of IGE and John Esposito, the Founding Director of ACMCU were the driving forces.

Was it worth it? Definitely. Was it enough? No. Here’s what we all must do to move beyond polite conversation.

First, recognizing that we all live in a connected world. All religions are all places. Christianity is flourishing in traditional Muslim places and Islam is flourishing in traditional Christian places. This demands a different kind of relationship with one another. It is a great opportunity for peace or a new pretext for long-term conflict and fear. There are no private conversations anymore, everything is public - what does that say about what we say, how we say it, and where we say it? We must have a single message that is clear.

Second, we need a new platform to relate. The interfaith dialogues are talk - not action. Often they are also driven by liberal Christians and moderate Muslims. Conservative Christians and Muslims do not want to compromise their faith in order to have a relationship. If getting along, means denying what we believe the truth is, then we can’t go there. BUT, if there is a place that says we do have “irreconcilable” theological differences but the best of our faiths teach us to work together then we meet and partner around that.

Third, begin the relationship with the hand - not the head. Most of us in the room were all speaking heads. Most of our people don’t read the books we read or follow the issues we do. As a result our relationship is more high level intellectual and academic. If we are building our cities, and we realize we are all citizens and as a Muslim friend says “brothers in humanity” then let’s start with the hand. What can we agree upon that needs fixing in our cities and do it, and as we work together, we begin to get to know one another and become friends and our heart is engaged. Only after we can care about each other and work together, are we ready to talk about our differences. Hand, heart, and then head. The current conversation starts with head, hoping for hand, and who knows about the heart.

Fourth, focus on the followers of the faiths and not the clerics, academics, and geopolitical leaders. High level talks don’t change things - our people do. Once they begin to talk and build relationships, respect can come. The role of clerics should be to find ways we can connect our people to one another and then release them. If keeping our people true to their faith means isolating them from people of other religions - we are all in trouble in this connected world. We’ve had a multi-faith weekend with the mosque, and synagogue, cooking classes for the ladies, home reconstruction for the men. November 11-14 we are having a Global Faith Forum where world leaders are coming to speak. The whole concept is based on mission - from a conversation among ourselves to a conversation with others.

Fifth, make it personal. I’ve enjoyed getting to know Rabbi Jeremy and Imam Zia here in Dallas. They’ve been in my home and my wife learned how to cook Kosher/Halal food - its still fattening! We worked together at a home we redid together. I went to the brias ceremony for the rabbi’s son a couple of weeks ago. On my way back from a staff retreat I helped the rabbi with his speech he’ll be giving to ISNA in a couple of weeks. I love those guys - and they love me.

Sixth, pray. Pray for peace, God’s will, and for understanding. I believe God hears all of our prayers. The only prayers he says he doesn’t hear are from those people who say they know him, but live like hypocrites. God hears our prayers, not because we have our theology right, but because our heart is right and we seek.

Bob Roberts is pastor of Northwood Church in Keller, Texas.