The experiment with interfaith leadership/clergy formation at Claremont is a bold initiative. The article in Time magazine “Training Pastors, Rabbis, and Imams Together” demonstrates several things. First the new sense of innovation that is sweeping theological education as the old economies and institutions continue to shrink and reconfigure themselves in a world after the cultural privilege of Christianity in the United States continues to subside.
One side of this is the Claremont experiment the other is the community that views this as anathema to the claims of Christianity, Judaism and Islam. Each of these religions has super secessionist texts. On the one hand I find the Claremont experiment fascinating, on the other, it still seems odd to Texas Baptist.
How can those in the Anabaptist tradition such as Texas Baptist, moderate Baptists and Mennonites think through the question on interfaith dialog and shared theological education? The Association of Theological Schools want to support the Claremont experiment, at the same time its supports a close connection between the seminaries and their church constituencies. In many cases there is a substantial conflict between these two impulses.
We need to prepare Christian leaders for a religiously pluralistic community but the interpretation of this is only beginning to be explored in many moderate evangelical contexts (Baptist, Brethren, and Mennonite).