Michael Spencer describes his adventurous three days with “mainline” Christians, a corner of Christianity often dismissed by evangelicals as “those liberal Christians.” He points out many things in the mainline church that other Christians churches might do well to emulate—genuinely uplifting and supportive pastor networks, gentleness and generosity in preaching, among other things. He concludes:

One thing for sure. I was among people who knew and loved God and his Son; people who loved, read and preached the Bible in large doses; people who take the Gospel seriously; people very much desirous of the power of the Holy Spirit and genuine prayer. Certainly, they were people for whom the word ecumenical meant something important.

I learned to love these brothers and sisters. I’m sure we would disagree on some things–perhaps many things–but I was encouraged by their faith and confirmed in my call by their joy in theirs. We all faced many of the same issues, from empty nests to angry board members to family and financial stress. When we prayed and worshiped, we were one in Christ, and I enjoyed the feeling.

It seems like a very healthy thing to occasionally take the time to interact with, and even worship with, Christians from the opposite side of the red/blue, conservative/liberal divide. Anybody know of any mainliners who spent a similar amount of time worshipping with fundamentalist or evangelical brothers and sisters in Christ, and wrote about what they learned?

(Image from Wikipedia Commons.)