The Friends
of Faith Models
Friends of Faith relies on
specific Models of inclusion and communication. We will bring
these important conversations to the forefront, where they belong,
and these ground rules are designed to help find the way to the
language we need to get over our collective fear of other belief
systems.
The Delegate Invitation Model
The Friends of Faith Summit expects to broaden definitions of
faith and the faithful. To facilitate this goal, we will open
our dialogue to belief systems beyond known religion, and we will
invite well-known believers from all areas of our culture, including,
but not limited to “people in the business of religion.”
Friends of Faith delegates
(12) must:
Have been visibly
changed by their practice of faith in any form.
Have had an influence
on some portion of humanity, in any field.
Have a sizable
constituency in the United States and be readily identifiable
by the general public.
Be willing to talk
openly, sincerely, and publicly about their personal journey,
before, during, and after transformation.
Be likely to engage
in positive, constructive, articulate discussion.
Friends of Faith Moderators
(three) must:
Have a sizable
constituency in the United States and be readily identifiable
by the general public.
Be perceived as
“seekers of truth,” balanced and fair.
Friends of Faith Delegates
will be representative of the following (alphabetically by tradition):
Six practitioners
of these major religions, the top six religions in the US:
(It is suggested that three be chosen from non-traditional or
mystical branches, such as Gnosticism, Kabbalah, or Sufism)
Buddhism
Catholicism
Hinduism
Islam
Judaism
Protestant Christianity
Three practitioners
of lesser-known religions or spiritual practices, for example:
Paganism
Scientology
Taoism
Three practitioners
of secular belief systems, for example:
Humanism
Motivational Systems
Science
No fewer than four,
or more than six men
No fewer than four,
or more than six Caucasians
No fewer than four
or more than six religious professionals, such as clergy,
activists, academics, or religious philosophers.
The Conversational
Model
The FofF Summit expects to break down stereotypes about deities
and their followers and increase the relevance of humanity’s
belief systems. Toward this end, our delegates will be asked to
focus their conversations:
To find spiritual
language common to the human journey, address topics of concern
to humanity; approach and celebrate each other as fellow people
of faith.
To reach consensus
on the very personal experiences of faith, while minimizing
debate about the relative merits of particular belief, practice,
politics, or dogma.
To identify actions
and ideas anyone, who believes in anything, can use to encourage
their own transformation by faith.
The conversations
at Friends of Faith take two forms: public and private.
The private conversations will begin with facilitated deliberation
designed to familiarize delegates and moderators with the conversational
model, and develop the ground rules that will govern the public
discussion to follow. Other than this crystallization process,
these discussions will take place informally at the will of the
delegates, during meals or other activities that are not taped
for broadcast.
The public conversations
provide our delegates a forum to build consensus around the experiences
and transformations that they share. Delegates will speak from
the depths of their personal understanding and will work together
in a small-venue setting to investigate such themes as Prayer
and Intention, Aggression and Apathy, and The Secular Influence.
Our delegates will also speak at a multi-denominational worship
service followed by a Town Meeting forum. These sessions will
be open to ticket holders and broadcast.
By inviting delegates
who have lived transformed lives in service to many beliefs, we
focus not on the object of faith, but the action. By searching
for consensus on issues, we find what is true for all believers,
and false for none, which will give us clues about how faith can
be used for personal and societal transformation.
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website and all its contents are owned entirely by Friends of
Faith, LLC. No portion may be reproduced without the express
written permission of the owner.
