One in a series of "President's Perspectives" in which Dr. Richard J. Mouw discusses Fuller's core values.

When a group of Muslim scholars visited our Pasadena campus not long after 9/11, we moved a large table out of one of our conference rooms and installed a Muslim prayer rug. Then we invited an imam from a local mosque to bring in a special compass that accurately pointed the direction to Mecca. We wanted our Muslim guests to be confident that this was an appropriate place for them to say their prayers.

This particular group of Muslims was touring the United States at the invitation of our State Department. The American government wanted Muslims representing various Islamic cultures around the world to engage in dialogue with religious groups here, about how we Americans understand church-and-state separation and religious pluralism. Fuller was chosen as a campus where they would spend about a third of their three-week tour. Our scholars talked with them about Bible prophecy, the uniqueness of Christ, the way to eternal salvation, and the like. In order for that to happen, we had to show them the very basic requirements of hospitality.

We have been learning a lot at Fuller in recent years about showing hospitality to other religious groups. In cooperation with the Board of Rabbis of Southern California we have regularly been hosting rabbi-pastor dialogue events. When we do so, we work with a caterer who provides kosher food. When our Mormon friends show up for in-depth conversations about LDS-Evangelical differences, we don’t have “coffee breaks”—instead we lay out plenty of fruit juices! And, as I write this, I have been told that we have made plans for a Chinese meal for government officials who will soon visit us from Beijing.

Again, that’s all about hospitality. Asbury Seminary Professor Christine Pohl chose a fitting title for her fine book about Christian hospitality: Making Room. I like that image very much. As a theologian friend once pointed out to me, God himself is a champion of hospitality. Indeed, the very act of creating the likes of us was an exercise on God’s part in “making room.” God was under no obligation or compulsion to create anything at all. Deciding to make a world was a free and sovereign act. And in choosing to do so, God made room for fellowship with human creatures. Even more amazing: when we rebelled against the Creator, he reached down in Christ and made room for us at the Cross of Calvary.

What we have been doing much of in recent years at Fuller is making room for folks with whom we have very serious disagreements—indeed, with some, disagreements about matters that have eternal significance. And we have benefited as others have made room for us as well. At our regional campus in Northern California, where we are housed at St. Patrick’s Seminary, our Catholic hosts have done a wonderful job of making room for us. And recently we have begun to explore a mutual hospitality with them on a different level. They have asked us whether we could make room in some of our courses for their students who are studying for the priesthood. And we are exploring ways in which we can also be hosted by them in some of their courses that would be helpful for our students.

The big question, of course, is whether we can also make room for the ideas of others, especially ideas that come from outside the Christian community. We evangelical Christians are right to see that as a challenge. We cannot in any way compromise our understanding of the uniqueness of Jesus Christ as the Heaven-sent Savior who alone is the way to God.

I think a lot about these matters, not only as Fuller’s president, but also as a grandfather. Our grandsons are being nurtured in the faith in a Christian home and an evangelical congregation. We thank the Lord for that. But from those nurturing places they go to public school classrooms where some of their best friends are Hindus and Muslims. I’m glad that they have that opportunity, and that they are asking good questions about these relationships. I want Fuller to be working on the answers—for them and for many others who must learn how to serve the Lord in an increasingly pluralistic culture.

Here is how I personally make the case for Fuller’s interreligious dialogues. Witnessing to others about Jesus is nonnegotiable for us. That’s one crucial element for us in our dialogues.

But interreligious dialogue is not only about evangelism. Learning on our part is also important. We need to learn from others. At the very least, we need to learn about how others see us—how they have interpreted our record of interacting with them. My Jewish friends have taught me much about the long history of Christian anti-Semitism. Mormon scholars have told us moving stories about times when Christians drove Mormons from their communities. The Muslim version of “the Crusades” has some important correctives to the accounts that many of us have been taught.

I believe that when we genuinely listen to those with whom we disagree, we are following through on the Psalmist’s prayer: “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts” (Psalm 139:23). This kind of learning is so important for our kind of seminary. We were founded by leaders who had a vision for the renewal of the whole Church. Rejecting the separatistic spirit that had for so long infected evangelicalism, they were committed to equipping men and women to minister in the mainline denominations as well as in the evangelical denominations and parachurch organizations. This broad scope is crucial to our continuing mission, as we have even reached beyond the Protestant world to have a significant impact also on renewal movements within Catholicism and Orthodoxy—as well as on a variety of campus ministries, where the encounter is often with the latest trends in secular and neo-pagan thought.

A third element of our approach to interreligious relations is exploring ways of cooperating with others. Billy Graham has been an important model for us in this regard, with his “cooperative evangelism” approach of seeking partnership with anyone who would support his basic message of offering salvation through Christ to lost sinners. The late Francis Schaeffer extended this approach when he encouraged evangelicals to find “co-belligerents” on specific issues—selectively forming alliances on this or that project aimed at promoting the common good.

Pollsters who have investigated attitudes toward evangelicals in North America have shown that many people see as us intolerant, bigoted, and uncaring. We may think that is an unfair impression, but it is a fact of life right now. As we at Fuller have reached out to other groups in a spirit of cooperation, we have often experienced expressions of surprise and relief from others that we do not fit their stereotypes. One memorable example for me was the testimony of a young rabbi who had attended several dialogue events on our campus. “I’ve got to admit,” he said, “that the first time I stepped onto this campus, I was really nervous. I did not know what I was getting into with you evangelical Christians. But now I have come to see Fuller Seminary as a safe place for me!”

I am deeply grateful for that kind of response. As evangelical Christians, we believe with all of our hearts that the only truly “safe place” in the universe is found by those “who live in the shelter of the Most High, who abide in the shadow of the Almighty” (Psalm 91:1). If we are to be successful in pointing others to that eternally safe place, we need to assure them that they are safe when they choose to spend time with us.

Witnessing, learning, and cooperating. I find that to be a helpful framework for thinking about our relationships with those with whom we have long-standing disagreements.