There are two words that loom large on my horizon right now, playing a big part in Interfaithfulness. Those words are collaboration and synergy.
I see collaboration as two or more entities operating in their areas of strength, working together on projects or goals to which they are mutually committed. To put it in more vernacular terms, collaboration happens when people decide that the project they are working on is more important than proving or disproving who is King of the Hill.
In the religious world I’ve seen a lot of King of the Hill-ism, even when conducted in a clandestine manner. Perhaps it’s due to living in a culture where people assume it is better to be the boss than a worker, and better to be in charge than to have anyone tell you what to do. But the result is that to avoid being beta dog, another handy metaphor, the default approach is to seek to be alpha dog, or to avoid situations where one cannot be head honcho.
It’s a pretty pathetic way to run the Kingdom of God, isn’t it? After all, the real Head Honcho said, “You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you.” Doesn’t sound much like playing King of the Hill does it? I didn’t think so.
Well, being one another’s servants is a far reach for most of us, and a lot of people talk about it, while very few do it. So let’s set our sights a little lower, because we will surely get more done if we do: let’s set our sights on collaboration and synergy.
As I said, collaboration is two or more entities operating in their areas of strength, working together on projects or goals to which they are mutually committed. I really like this approach. Let me tell you some reasons why, because just maybe you might encourage someone you know to do some collaborating instead of worrying who is alpha, who is beta, and who’s King of the Hill. Here are some of the reasons I like it.
A term closely related to collaboration is synergy. You might say that collaboration is the motor and synergy is the power that drives that motor, making the whole greater than the sum of its parts. All of this besides solving problems together and transforming our world. As I said at the beginning of this post, both synergy and collaboration are a big deal at Interfaithfulness. In Managing Cultural Differences, Philip R. Harris and Robert T. Moran make some observations which I adapt below, applying them to collaborative synergy.
All of this is my attempt to create an alternative to my rather cynical view of religious politics, a view I believe to be entirely true. Here is how I define politics in and around the Messianic Jewish world: "The accumulation and protection of power [money, influence, status] reserving this for oneself and one’s cronies, and denying it to those deemed one’s competition or opposites." In other words, it is a zero sum game in which the goal is to get more out of the pot than the next guy.
I know I sound very unspiritual in claiming that this is the way things are often done. But that’s my observation. And besides, you don’t have to agree. But will you agree with this? Isn’t it time we did more collaborating? Here atInterfaithfulness we are looking for opportunities to do just that with institutions and people on matters of common concern. If you want to collaborate with us on projects of goals of mutual concern, get in touch.
So I have a couple of questions for all of you reading this:
In my formative years as a Jewish believer in Yeshua, I was taught that this was a danger to be avoided, that the representatives of the Jewish world would only seek to seduce us away from our Yeshua faith, and that in any dialogical context, we should make sure that WE are the teachers rather than the ones being taught.
I reject that form of reasoning now and it will take later blogs to explain why.
But meanwhile, what do you think?
Rabbi I am a believer in interfaith communication. I can envision collaboration between the faiths however those involved in this undertaking need to exhibit a spirit of servanthood as our master has taught us. Each faith needs to come to the table honestly , true to its beliefs. We need to listen and hear what one another is saying. We also need to be honest about our fears, hopes, dreams, prejudices and pre-conceived ideas we hold about each other. I think Y'shua is our touchstone, from and through him we can begin to communicate, Christians, messianic Jews & the rest of the Jewish community. His teachings have & will continue to make this world a better place for all, giving value to all human beings. This is something from which we can begin to have dialog. Thank you for sharing your ideas .
Thank you. Mr Kapchan for your welcome comment.
There are many involved in interfaith communication, some of it small talk, some of it very substantial and courageous. I admire these people and institutions, and wish to add my efforts and the resources of Interfaithfulness to theirs. As you will see as the Interfaithfulness vision unfolds, I believe that the Jewish and Christian communities are destined to converge [NOT blend] in the Final Day, each community facing both commendation and and reproof from the Judge of all, who I believe to be Yeshua the Messiah. I believe it was John Howard Yoder who termed these two communities as "one community currently existing in a state of schism destined to be healed." I believe this is true. Furthermore, Scripture attests to the fact that God is working out the consummation of all things through TWO fullnesses, the fullness of the Nations and the Fullness of Israel, that these two fullnesses while coordinate, are not the same, with neither of them swallowing the other, contradicting both supersessoinism and medieval Jewish eschatological triumphalism. Meanwhile, while we all see "through a glass darkly," it behooves us, Jews, Christians, Messianic Jews, to humbly sit together under the authority of Scripture, in the context of our historical journeys, and to humbly believe and accept that, in anticipation of this consummation, God just may have something to say to us by way of commendation and reproof, thorough the Scripture, by the Spirit, and even through each other.