I’ve written more than 2,000 posts here at So What Faith over the last 13 years. The Top 1% of these form the Top 20 Posts of All Time (based on total page views). The list below includes the title of each post, year of publication, and change in popularity when compared to last year’s list of top all time posts.
- Prayers of the People – Youth Sunday (2009) [+1]
- Pastoral Prayer – Love (2014) [-1]
- Are 10,000 Churches Closing Every Year? (2019) [unchanged]
- Review of Not a Fan (2011) [+4]
- 12 Marks of Convergence Christianity (2012) [+1]
- 6 Decades of Decline in the United Church of Christ (2018) [+1]
- My Visit to Next Level Church (2012) [-3]
- Sermon: Lost –> Found –> Party (2015) [-3]
- Reading the Whole Bible (2010) [+1]
- The Acceptable Year of the Lord – Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (2011) [-1]
- American Religion from 1970 to 2010 (2012) [+1]
- Review of Good and Beautiful God (2011) [-1]
- UCC Decline Enters 7th Decade (2020) [+3]
- Theology on Tap (2011) [-1]
- A Sensory Maundy Thursday Service (2014) [-1]
- 5 Smooth Stones of Liberal Religion (2011) [+1]
- Ten Reasons for Concern About HSU’s Statement of Faith (2022) [not on last year’s list]
- Leaders Clear Obstacles (2015) [-3]
- Prayer of Invocation for Sunday, September 12 (2010) [unchanged]
- Top 10 Books of 2012 (2013) [not on last year’s list]
Biggest Changes
Four posts moved up three or more slots in this year’s ranking:
- Ten Reasons for Concern About HSU’s Statement of Faith (2022) [not on last year’s list, so a minimum of +4]
- Review of Not a Fan (2011) [+4]
- UCC Decline Enters 7th Decade (2020) [+3]
Three posts moved down three or more slots:
- My Visit to Next Level Church (2012) [-3]
- Sermon: Lost –> Found –> Party (2015) [-3]
- Leaders Clear Obstacles (2015) [-3]
Top Years
Interestingly every year except 2016, 2017, and 2021 are represented on this year’s top posts of all time. Top years by number of posts on the list are
- 5 posts: 2011
- 3 posts: 2010, 2012
- 2 posts: 2014, 2015
- 1 post: 2009, 2013, 2018, 2019 , 2020, 2022
So What?
2022 was a milestone year for So What Faith. In June, the site turned 13 years old and I published my 2,000th blog post.
Looking back I remember starting So What Faith while serving in parish ministry. At the time it was the only work world I’d known since graduating seminary. In 2015, I concluded a role as Interim Senior pastor and announced I was leaving parish ministry. While I’ve never returned to that world on a full-time basis, I did serve a small congregation on a very part-time basis for four months that ended in early 2018. For the last five years, I’ve served faith-based non-profits that were founded by churches and have been powered primarily by volunteers from a wide variety of faith communities.
While the content mix of my posts has changed over time, I’ve always emphasized sharing good new books, reporting on recent research related to changes in American Christianity, and sharing my own ministry experiences. As we move into 2023, I’m committed to continuing to write about these important matters of faith that I’ve found truly matter.
Thank you for taking the time to read and interact with So What Faith.