In the most recent issue of the Evangelical Interfaith Dialogue Journal, I wrote a review for Friendship at the Margins:Discovering Mutuality in Service and Mission. This book makes for intriguing reflection in light of a conversation I recently had with a dear friend of mine. She is a rabbi, and I am a pastor. While when we meet every few weeks for coffee, it is by default and not primarily intention that we are having an interfaith conversation. The more primary objectives of our conversations tend to focus most often on support for our respective leadership roles in religious communities. It is incredible how much easier it is to relate, at times, to leaders in other faith traditions than with laypersons in my own. The nature of religious leadership carries distinctions from other types of leadership, such as leadership roles in business. However, the nature of religious leadership does not appear to shift drastically from one faith to another so much as from one role to another.
My question then becomes this: Is my friendship with this rabbi missional because it is an authentic friendship outside of my own faith? Do the supportive intentions of our conversations, rather than the civil focus on theological distinctions, mean it is not missional? What does my friendship with this rabbi have to do with our respective understanding of and relationships with God?
