In our continuing series of interviews with the speakers for The Born Again Church Tour 2008, below is my interview with Todd Hunter, past President of Alpha and Founder of Three is Enough. I had the privilege of studying and dining with Todd Hunter this past spring and my life has not been the same since. Todd Hunter’s passion for being a cooperative friend of God for the sake of others is infectious. Currently, Todd has a book slated to be released in early 2009 called, Christianity Beyond Belief: Following Jesus for the Sake of Others. He is also leading a Conversational Evangelism Conference in Kansas City (November 14-15). He will be speaking at The Born Again Church Tour 2008 in Seattle and Denver this year.

Elizabeth: Todd, why do you care what outsiders think about Christianity, Christians, The Church?

Todd: In a conversation, it is always important to be empathetic, to care about the other; what they think or feel, etc. Just because empathy has been manipulated and misused by marketers and others, and in so doing made it seem dishonest or cheesy, does not mean that seeking genuine understanding is a bad thing.

Elizabeth: Tell me briefly about one significant relationship you have with someone who does not self-identify as a Christian?

Todd: My friends are at golf. They love to tease me and call me “preacher”, etc. This has always been true for me. From racquetball 30 years ago to golf today, I have always enjoyed my sporting friends. Other than that, there has been the occasional friendship associated with office space or neighbors. I am not an aggressive evangelist. I just enjoy their company and serve or talk as appropriate.

Elizabeth: In what ways do you think people who are not Christ-followers care about the work you are doing?

Todd: I am not sure; sometimes it seems cynical about religion and church. Other times it seems as if they hold out hope that the church might after all be a source of goodness, healing and mercy in the world.

Elizabeth: Dan Kimball in They Like Jesus but Not the Church writes about life in the christian bubble, what are your thoughts on this concept and can you tell me about any experiences you have had with such a phenomena?

Todd: As a lifelong pastor, I have lived way too much time in the Christian bubble. Not because I thought it was the right thing to do, and not because I was afraid of the world or down on it. There is just a huge gravitational pull toward church and the things of church when you work there. I am not a victim—I could have made choices to have done better.

Elizabeth: Please share some of your thoughts on diversity and tolerance in relation to Christianity, Christians, The Church?

Todd: Diversity is simply a part of the globalization that is been happening for the last few decades. If we could see the future, we would have known that diversity and tolerance were going to be issues as soon as CNN aired its first television program; if not then, then certainly at the invention of the web. It is impossible to know what we know today and not be a lot more open to other people, cultures and worldviews. That is not to day that they are all the same and all equally valuable, sane or godly. Call me crazy, but I think that there is a difference between Mother Teresa and those who mutilate women or practice human trafficking! Tolerance and diversity are good, but they will never cause humans to stop having opinions.

Elizabeth: Gregory Boyd in The Myth of a Christian Nation thinks the quest for a Christian nation undermines the kingdom of God, what are your thoughts on this?

Todd: Before there were nation states there were tribes, ethnic groups, religious groupings and the like. All of these are okay—nothing intrinsically bad about them. Here is the key: they derive their most powerful and positive identity as creations of, and ambassadors of the Kingdom. When they don’t act that way they can go real bad—as can persons, families, corporations, etc.

Elizabeth: Describe some of your hopes and dreams for the local expression of the body of Christ that you are connected with as well as the body of Christ in America and the world?

Todd: That we would re-hear our story beginning with the pre-creation intention of God for humanity and ending with its fulfillment in the new heavens and the new earth; that that story would cause us to organize our lives and be God’s cooperative friends, living in creativity by the power of the Spirit for the sake of others.

Elizabeth: Is there anything else you’d like to say about The Born Again Church Tour 2008?

Todd: May I be the first to be born again!

Get your tickets today to The Born Again Church Tour 2008 nearest you!