Presbyterian Poetry?

Jun 6, 2008

Tim MeltonI have often wished that I was more of a wordsmith than I am, but unfortunately I am not. I am not sure, but I think it might have to do with having too many Presbyterian aquaintances. Go ahead, Google “Presbyterian Poetry”. Trust me, you will not find pages and pages of hits.

But just to show you that you can’t put Presbyterians in a box, along comes Tim Melton. The two poems that he has written at his site are probably two of the best poems I have read in a long time. I hope that he has more that he can share with the rest of us.

Here are a couple of samples to wet your appetite. The first is taken from the perspective of a dying maple leaf. The second is taken from the story of the man living among the tombs who is possessed by “legion”. Read the rest of this entry »

Comments Off | creative writing | Permalink
Posted by Eclectic Christian

The Eclectic Church

Jun 4, 2008

By Michael Bell and Peter Heath

Michael Spencer over at jesusshaped.wordpress.com laments about the division within the church. He writes:

Most of what we call churches behave as if they are the true church finally arrived, and the guy three doors down is someone getting it all or mostly wrong. Evangelicals reinvent the faith and the church every time they get bored. In the proliferation of churches in small communities in my part of the world, the differences are primarily stylistic, not substantial.

The comments to the post show that this is a frustration that is shared by many.

I had been meaning to write about this topic for some time, but from the other side of the coin, because as an Eclectic Christian I am interested in ways that believers and churches can work together.

In the heart of the Muslim world lies a very unique church. Here is a recent article about the church from the outside perspective of the Gulf News.

Evangelical Community Church of Abu Dhabi

Read the rest of this entry »

4 Comments | catholic, church growth, church life, communion, Eclectic Christian, mega-church, worship | Permalink
Posted by peterofarabia

Can’t we all just get along?

Jun 4, 2008

Fisher HumphreysDarrell Pursiful wrote a recent post commenting that Fisher Humphreys (pictured at left) is one of his favorite Baptist theologians. He provided an extract of an interview with Humphreys from the June 2008 issue of Baptists Today, where Humphreys discussed the importance of getting along with Christians who believe differently:

I believe that this is a topic of interest to eclectic minded Christians, so with Darrell’s permission I have reproduced the rest of his post below:

BT: Many people have expressed appreciation for the way you address controversial subjects such as Calvinism and Fundamentalism without fanning the flames of controversy. How have you been able to do that?

FH: I have been helped by the example of several people whom I’ve known well, some in person and some through books. The theologian who helped me most in his books was Leonard Hodgson, an Anglican who was Regius Professor of Divinity at Oxford.

He pointed out that it is natural for us to assume that, when we believe something deeply and express it clearly, those who continue not to agree with us have either not understood us properly or are being stubborn in resisting what we said; in other words, we assume that those who disagree with us are either ignorant or evil. Read the rest of this entry »

2 Comments | Eclectic Christian, Fisher Humphreys, Tolerance | Permalink
Posted by Eclectic Christian

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