Looking at Blogger’s statistics, it looks like the following
five posts are the most read, the last two by a wide margin.
5. 112
God Conversations—In this post I bragged about my congregation hanging in
there and having 112 God conversations with their neighbors, really listening
to them. Since then, my congregation has done a similar thing where they prayed
for 200 people, and now we’re on to inviting 50 people to church, and so far,
so good!
4. Smart
People, Wise Faith—In this post I retire, and offer up to anyone who would like
to use it, a Bible Study I call Smart People, Wise Faith. This bible
study introduces about 20 different thinkers through the frame of 9 stories from
scripture. I’m happy that a bunch of people used at least portions of this resource
in their own congregations and for personal theological reflection!
3. The
Chilstrom Map of the ELCA—This is a map of the ELCA I constructed from a
description of a consolidated ELCA by the first Presiding Bishop of the ELCA.
Because I used a map of the US mainland, it is missing the Caribbean Synod and
the Bahamas portion of the Florida-Bahamas Synod.
2. Imagine A
Church—I’m really glad this is one of the two posts that went viral. I’ve
spent a lot of time talking about a 3D/4D Church, and mainly I focus on the
nuts and bolts. This post focused on the results, what the goal of all that
would be: A Decentralized, Diverse, Partnering, and Enchanted Church. Shooting
for those four goals would not disappoint and would be faithful.
1. A
Defense of the Liturgy—This post really hit a chord. Like the other viral
post, it is sort of culmination of a line of thought, in this case my
thoughts on the 7 Central Things of Worship. At base I’m saying liturgical
worship is an expansive good. It is good spiritually, individually, and
societally.
Honorable mentions:
There are a few posts I did this year that I think are worth
a read, even if they didn’t draw the wider internet’s attention:
I would be remis if I didn’t mention the Devotional that I poured my heart and soul into this Lent. It didn’t really catch on, but it was worth doing anyhow.
Similarly, the Wisdom from Spruce Run pamphlet my congregation created was a good reminder to us pastors that we sometime need to just be quiet and listen to the wisdom already present among the saints in our congregations.
How
have I Walked All that 4D Talk?—This one is a kind of companion piece to "Imagine A Church". I reflected on the things I have done to point the congregations
I’ve served and my ministry more broadly in a 4D direction.
The
Task of the Church in a 4D World—is another post that was important for my
thinking through ministry. This was essentially a book review of Richard Beck’s
Hunting
Magic Eels, where I discover that there are not 3Ds shaping ministry today,
but 4, the fourth being Disenchantment.
Happy New Year to all my readers!
