Best reads 2012, mine and others

In case you have some spare time at the end of this holiday season, I thought I’d give you some recommended online reading.

Before those – perhaps you could give me some help. I’ve really enjoyed the opportunities for conversation this first year of blogging has afforded. You can help me do that better by telling me something about you. Send me an e-mail or comment at bottom (anonymous is fine) to tell me:

1. Which of my particular posts, or topics, have been most helpful or thought-provoking for you this year?
2. What particular issues would you like to see more about next year?

Looking forward to more conversation in 2013. If you haven’t already, why don’t you subscribe for e-mail updates.

First, my 10 favorite articles this year – based on when I found them, not necessarily when they were posted. This is an eclectic assortment. I’ll try to break into a few categories.

Ministry

• Non-Profits have a charter to be innovators by Seth Godin. I picked something representative for Godin. You should just read them all.
• Praying the Church’s Prayer in the Eucharist by Bishop Tim Whitaker. Why you should be using the prayer of the Church at Eucharist. (See my article below for why you should be doing this weekly.)
• Is ‘the Culture’ Really the Church’s Problem? an interview with Ken Myers by Ginny Mooney. Myers says the culture in the church is the problem.
• Desperately Seeking Worship Pastors by Jonathan Powers. Church musicians – do we choose them based on style and musical skill, or pastoral ability?
• Leadership and Church Size Dynamics by Timothy Keller. This document may have been the most helpful I’ve read for church organizational issues.

Theology

• Love Wins – An insightful video comparing the Orthodox view of salvation with the mainstream substitutionary atonement views.
• Temper, Temper by John Meunier. I picked something representative from John Meunier’s blog. You should read them all. This is one of many posts highlighting John Wesley’s (and thus Meunier’s) focus on holiness.
• Why Biblical Studies? by J. R. Daniel Kirk. A great defense of biblical studies as a discipline.

Something Else 

• Zombies, Wine, and Christian Music by Gungor. The missing soul of Christian music and Evangelical marketing.
• A Message to the World (One Reason We Homeschool) by Shaun Groves. Children’s character as wet cement. Who has their hands in it the most?

FROM MY BLOG

Most popular

These 10 posts received the most pageviews and shares. If you shared any of them with others, thanks for your help!

1. Jesus and Politics – I wonder if my questions – “Republican or Democrat?” “Capitalism or Socialism?” “Big government or Small government?” – were the wrong questions all these years.
2. How Sunday School created a theologically illiterate American Church
3. Christians, Capitalism, and Ayn Rand – Why I came to believe Christianity is incompatible with capitalism – and socialism.
4. 10 Tips for New Seminary Students
5. Christians and Pornography – Made worse by the recent article that said 50 Shades of Grey held three places in the top-10 selling books for 2012.
6. Why Weekly Eucharist? 
7. What does ordination mean? – Or, “The biggest lie told at Annual Conference each year.”
8. Pastors’ Salaries and Church Buildings – Learning from the early Methodists about how to spend (and not spend) money.
9. School shootings, a world with devils filled, Advent, and Revelation 20 – Interpreting the Newtown shootings through the church calendar and the Bible.
10. The coming church budget crunch – It’s nearly inevitable at this point. You should at least be aware.

Personal favorites

These 5 didn’t make the above list, but they’re among my favorites.

• The best children’s ministry in town… – Don’t be fooled.
• “What if I don’t believe the Bible?” – I’ve talked to too many people this year who see this as an impenetrable barrier to faith.
• Prophets and Pragmatism – What would pragmatists say about the Old Testament prophets?
• “Keeping the lights on” vs “Giving to missions” – A plea to change how we understand our giving.
• Encounter or Entertainment (pt. I) – On how we plan worship.

Again, many thanks! Talk to you again in 2013.