When I launched So What Faith back in 2009 I didn’t really know what I was doing, but I had an adventurous spirit, adequate tech skills, and a desire to write about matters of faith that mattered. The first year I managed to publish 59 posts, which I shared primarily with those in the congregation I was serving and a few former colleagues.
Growth
Once I got the hang of how to blog, I started to expand my horizons through more intentional use of a variety of social media and interactions with other bloggers. In my second year I nearly tripled my blogging output with 170 posts. In my third and fourth years of blogging I managed to write a post every day (producing 366 posts in both 2011 and 2012).
Decline
After four years of learning what I was doing and getting good at doing it often, I began to think more about doing it well. I was also thinking in new ways about how best to use my knowledge, skills and abilities more generally. After serving in traditional lay and pastoral positions in churches for nearly all of my adult life, I entered the world of interim or transitional ministry in 2013. In 2013 I managed to write 322 posts, but that number declined to 226 in 2014 as I concluded my first interim assignment. In 2015 while serving in my second such role I wrote 97 posts. This year (2016) the number of posts I wrote dropped to 60 (just one post above what I accomplished as a first year blogger).
Reflection
Before I started blogging I had served in lay and pastoral positions in four Mainline Protestant congregations ranging in size from just under 200 members to nearly 2,000 members with average weekly worship attendance ranging from 140 to 640.
Since 2009 I have served in lay and pastoral positions in four Mainline Protestant congregations ranging in size from 270 to 1200+ members with average weekly worship attendance ranging from 140 to nearly 800. Since 2011, I have also taught religion courses as an adjunct professor.
While I don’t know what the next eight years will hold for me, I fully expect they will be radically different than anything I can imagine today.
Reinvention
So What Faith has always been and will continue to be a place I write about matters of faith that matter and invite you to join the conversation. I am much more interested in asking questions and learning from and with you than in using this as a platform to tell or teach others anything.
Rather than project a writing frequency, I prefer to focus on offering a promise of authenticity. While the number of posts in 2016 was near an all time low, the percentage that offered a glimpse into my own journey of faith was at an all time high.
Thank You
Whether you are here for the first time, come here quite often, or happen to stop by from time to time please know that I appreciate your readership and welcome your insight. Thanks for helping me think more deeply and live more fully. Thanks for encouraging me and challenging me to live into my calling and to live out my faith as a follower of the Way of Jesus.