As 2017 draws to a close, here are my most viewed posts of the year!
You might be surprised!
Most Viewed Posts in 2017:
1. 9 Keys to Engaging Youth In Church
My annual top performer returns to the top spot! This is not a surprise. It’s my stickiest post and by far the most shared. And better, Google loves it. It is the foundation of my first ebook, A Church for All.
2. The Bonds of Christianity Go Beyond the Bible
One of my favorites from this year, this post was both personal and political. I tried to tackle the most central issue for Christians of our moment: how much of modern Christianity isn’t abiding by its own rules.
3. It Isn’t Weird to be a Christian Who Supports Abortion Rights
My most political post of the year was also the most effecting. The overwhelmingly positive words drowned out the few angry ones. This wasn’t a bomb-throwing post in a year full of them in the world, but a declaration of solidarity with all those who struggle to have faith in a world with no easy answers.
4. Stop Falling For the Cult of the Perfect Leader
If the last two years has taught us anything, it’s that the we don’t really know what we want from our leaders. And in the midst of it, my diocese elected and ordained our 11th bishop. My prayer for her continues to be that we love her and respect her. Period.
5. 8 Keys to Engaging Pre-Teens in Church
Another post from 2011, like the others on the list about engaging youthand children in church, this came from a series I did several years ago about ways to engage different age groups in church.
This reflection on a gospel passage (John 21) from 2013 was a total surprise. The only answer is the magic of Google. Or more specifically, Google increasingly liking my post for a search on the subject. The question I have is why were so many people searching for this? I’m not complaining–I love this short piece!
7. What You Probably Misunderstand About the Culture War
This was an important piece to me this year. While it’s easy to ghetto and silo each other around our politics, this was a lifetime’s worth of frustration with an overly simplistic narrative getting released into the world. For too many, the culture war narrative is everything. And for too few, understanding that the culture war is everything to others needs to be better understood.
How did this one have legs? My annual attempt to organize my thinking around 3 words was more viewed than some of my favorite pieces ever!
A bit of a rant against both dualism and the moderation of opinion, this was my appeal to more ownership of the variety of hard decisions we have to make.
10. 4 Keys to Engaging Children in Church
See number 5.
Overview
Of the most viewed posts for 2017, six were written in the year.
2011: 3
2013: 1
2017: 6
It’s also worth noting that two of my most widely shared posts ever were written in 2016 and didn’t make the top 10 this year.
This year was politically contentious, divided, and full of great frustration. It was a year when people were looking for answers and solutions outside of themselves.
It was also a year in which people got engaged with their communities and politics in new ways and tried to make a difference. We might say that 2017 was a year in which people really came to see that the personal is political.
Soon I’ll share my essential reading for 2017 and my 3 words for the new year. Until then, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!