Looking for Each Other

~by Samir Selmanovic

Those of us working locally to prepare for the launch of Faith House public meetings had an important conversation recently and decided that in order to live up to our mission, we need to make a turn in our strategy. We realized that starting Faith House as a predominantly Christian community would create a group with an owned-by-Christians DNA. No matter how open we would be to others, we would be in the position of power. Which we believe would not be in accordance with Christian faith as we have come to understand it. We believe we don't need to be in charge in order to fully live out our convictions.

We therefore decided to have at least two more "founders" added from the start, one Imam, one Rabbi, endorsed by their respective traditions/networks plus myself representing the Christian community. We want to make our initial decisions about Faith House with the future stakeholders not for them. Here is how one of our wise Christian advisors from London put it:

This seems to me like a very thoughtful way forward. I believe that it will be much easier to achieve the vision you have by including the other voices from the start. Rather than trying to invite them into a homogenous house where they are red and everyone else is blue and convince them it is their home too. If Faith House is really to be a community, it is best that key stakeholders each get to cement the walls - or in this case posts, or bridges instead of walls, that will hold you together.

I once heard theologian Dallas Willard say, "You will know what the Kingdom of God is when you do things you know will not work, ... and they do!" I hope that those of you who are our Christian supporters approve of this act of "letting go." We have become tired of our own religions constantly clinging to a position of privilege and power. Now, we want to follow our Teacher who said, "Do to others what you want others to do to you." 

And we believe that a number of our Jewish and Muslim brothers and sisters are doing the same right now, loving their faith, disarming themselves, and looking for us.  Let's take time to seek and find each other.