Patel's Interfaith Leadership was exceedingly refreshing in that his concept of "interfaith" is true to the meaning of the term. Whereas many "interfaith" programs mean nothing more than other sects of the same religion, Patel is dedicated to true interfaith dialogue - working with people from numerous and different religious backgrounds. The book is well researched and mostly accessible to the non-academic. It does contain terms unique to Patel, which are typically defined but only once, and without useful reference to their meaning throughout the text, so it is best to keep those early pages bookmarked.

If you are interested in interfaith work, or are already engaged in it, this book is a must read.

This is the third in a series of books through which Eboo Patel has simultaneously built and chronicled his interfaith movement. Read his memoir "Acts of Faith" first; it's essential reading for anyone interested in contemporary interreligious encounters and dialogue. This book offers a wonderful introduction to interfaith activity and integrates with a light touch a wealth of scholarship from sociology, politics, theology, and other fields. Patel has written a handbook and manifesto that is broad and deep, learned and accessible.

Eboo Patel is one of the great religous leaders of today and "Interfaith Leadership" shows why. He understands that interfaith work is both vital and difficult. Most importantly he shows how to do it. A person who is comfortable in their own religion is the best able to work through the barriers that he discribes so well to be able to unstand and work with others. ( )

This is an excellent book on how to approach and do interfaith work. I would recommend reading this before marching blindly into unknown territory. One must have some reason to get together, and talking about theological differences is not one of them. Patel carefully organizes his material, but this is not a dry book of theory. He brings forth his own experiences, including some failings from which he had to figure out how he got it wrong. He mentions 4 b's that you have to get around, and these include barriers that some build, bunkers they stay behind, reaching out in a bludgeoning way, and building bridges unwittingly (like not knowing what's on the other side).

People need to have to good sense of their own faith, particularly encountering who have a likewise stance. I know this myself from my experience with Lay trialog at the Greater Detroit Roundtable of Chistians, Muslims, and Jews. You must be able to explain your own faith when asked. I found when I was doing interfaith work in the early 1990's that fair-minded Christian material that I could hand out to others was quite hard to come by. I wanted something in the larger pamphlet size -- I couldn't expect people to read Lewis' "Mere Christianity". The best short intro was the Encyclopedia Britannica on Christianity, but I didn't have a way to copy this, so I had to somewhat wing my talk when I did a 25 minute Christianity 101 intro in my trialogue group.

Patel goes on to look at leadership qualities needed. This includes being alert to moments of inspiration from others, connection with others, getting through conflict, going into cooperation, and finally appreciating the differences of the religions. Interfaith groups need to have a sense of their vision. Ptel sees this needing to rest on a triangle of knowledge attitudes, and relationships. Finally the interfaith leader must have strong attributes of grit, relatability, leading in a pluralistic way, and having enough craftsmanship to proceed into excellence. ( )

In a time of hyper-polarization, Patel's book offers a plethora of helpful considerations for leading the way thought today's interfaith landscape. Most helpful is Patel's examination of a very obvious, but perhaps overlooked question, "what is the goal of interfaith dialogue?" From here, he specifically addresses vision, knowledge, skills, and qualities of interfaith leaders. Patel is an excellent story teller and always illustrates his principals with real-life experiences.

As a professional minister, I found myself applying many of Patel's principles to my own Christian faith tradition. Within this tradition, there are enough differences in interpretation of doctrine, scripture, and morality, that one sometimes needs to establish some significant common ground in order to work together.

In short, this book is a quick and easy guide on how to get along with others, particularly in matters of faith. This book should find a welcome home on the shelf of anyone involved in faith-based work. I highly recommend it. ( )