There is a fascinating account of wise leadership and conflict resolution in the early church. Acts 6:1-6 describes three kinds of challenges that face leaders continually. The church was growing, cultural diversity was increasing, and old structures were creaking. Here’s what happened...

Leaders disagree, sparks fly, and teams divide. Been there. Done that.But take heart. Even great leaders clash. Two of my favorite leaders in the Bible, Paul and Barnabas, had a “sharp disagreement” that led to a team split. What can we learn from their pain?

Especially since the 9/11 attacks on US soil, we Americans have struggled to come to terms with the concept of Shari’a. But our fear of Shari’a is not just about women’s rights, or even some of the prescribed punishments (hudud) for theft or adultery that seem barbaric to us – they’re rarely applied even in places like Saudi Arabia. Our real fear, understandably, is terrorism.

Last spring, I had the privilege of facilitating the launch of a group we would later begin calling "Multi-Faith Friends for the Common Good."For each of the last three months, we have spent an afternoon harvesting produce at a non-profit community garden, with all the produce being donated to the North Carolina Food Bank.

“You shouldn’t work for peace in the Middle East, because the Bible teaches there will never be peace there. What you are trying to do is contrary to Scripture. The Bible teaches that the end times will be an age of horrendous persecution and spiritual darkness. Your efforts are useless!” I hear stuff like this all the time. The thing, though, is that people don’t just apply it to the Middle East. They apply it to all of life.

“Christians do very well as compared to the rest of society. They are neighborly, forgiving and caring for the poor....” So writes Bradley R.E. Wright in his book, Christians Are Hate-Filled Hypocrites … and Other Lies You’ve Been Told. But even this positive book acknowledges that Christians, on the whole, still don’t like people of other races, religions, and sexual orientation. Christians struggle with loving the “other.” Why are so many Christians so bad at loving the “other"? I see three major reasons:

A recent blog accused me of being a proponent of “Chrislam,” the syncretistic blending of Christianity and Islam. This type of accusation is nothing new. In fact, those of us who love Muslims or make peace with Muslims are often accused of compromising our faith.

Eboo Patel’s latest book, Sacred Ground is a profoundly refreshing look at how faith intersects with American ideals - or, more accurately, how American ideals should protect everyone’s faith.

It was a great start … but where do we go from here? Here’s my read on the summit and where I think we are headed.