It’s almost here. This is just the draft cover. We have one more proof-reading to do. And then – book launch!

For the past several weeks, I’ve been publishing excerpts here on this blog. If you’ve liked what you’ve read, I hope you’ll be interested in reading the entire book.

Why did I write this book?

I’m a pastor (Lutheran) with over twenty-five years of parish experience. I’ve also been involved in interfaith work in both western New York and the San Francisco Bay area. I received a doctorate degree in interfaith education from the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley in 2005.

In the course of my work I’ve noticed that many Christians who are open to other religious traditions become confronted with the exclusive claims of Christianity. In the midst of our wonderful religious diversity, many questions have arisen. Members of our congregations struggle with texts such as “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no one comes to the Father except through me.” They wonder about the commandment to “have no other gods before me.” They are unsure what to make of the Great Commission to “go and make disciples of all nations.” Our interfaith awareness has now led us to the intrafaith questions.

Through my doctoral work I became aware of the great amount of work being done at the academic level. Works on theology and biblical criticism abound in the seminary library. But, in spite of this leap forward into new ways of thinking about God, Jesus, scriptural interpretation, mission, etc., especially in relation to other religions, there’s hardly anything coming down to the congregational level.

My purpose in writing the book is two-fold:

1) to address the interfaith issues facing congregations and provide a resource for local Christian congregations to enter into relationships with their neighbors of other faiths; and

2) to provide a process of theological and christological reflection in order to help Christians address the intrafaith questions that inevitably arise as a result of their interfaith encounters.