My first post of the year focused on great new books features eight volumes published in 2020 and two published in 2021. (5.0) Faith After Doubt: Why Your Beliefs Stopped Working and What to Do About It by Brian D. McLaren (St. Martin's Press, 2021) (4.5) The Power Worshippers: Inside the Dangerous Rise of Religious Nationalism by Katherine Stewart (Bloomsbury Publishing, 2020) (4.5) Future Church: Seven Laws of Real Church Growth by Will Mancini and Cory Hartman (Baker Books, 2020) (4.5) Read More …
New Year, New Worship Experience (#1908)
It has been ten months since I last walked into the sanctuary of a church to participate in worship. Given the current spike in COVID-19 cases where I live and the slower than expected distribution of the vaccine, I am unsure when I may next participate in worship as I'd always known it before COVID-19. Today, for the first time since the onset of the pandemic, I gathered in the same physical place as others for worship. Preparation Last month, First Presbyterian Church (Fort Read More …
Top 20 Posts – All Time (#1907)
Since launching So What Faith in 2009, I've written more than 1,900 posts about matters of faith that matter. Based on page views, my all time most popular posts (as of December 28, 2020) are Prayers of the People - Youth Sunday (2009) Pastoral Prayer – Love (2014) Review of Not a Fan (2011) 12 Marks of Convergence Christianity (2012) My Visit to Next Level Church (2012) Sermon: Lost --> Found --> Party (2015) Are 10,000 Churches Closing Every Year? (2019) Reading Read More …
Top 10 Memories of 2020 (#1906)
2020 has been quite a year! When the year started I'd never heard of COVID-19 and rarely used words and phrases that are now commonplace: contact tracing, essential workers, quarantine, pandemic, personal protective equipment (PPE), social distancing, and Zoom. As I reflect on a year that offered more time for reflection than any other, the following 10 memories stand out: Vacationing with Susan in Naples, Florida to celebrate that we’ve now been married for more than half of my life Read More …
Top 10 Posts of 2020 (#1905)
2020 has been the year of the pandemic, and a year marked by more changes in the life of the American church than any in my lifetime. This year's top posts reflect this reality while also including content focused on the always popular topics of good books and Mainline decline. My Seminary is Closing (February)Dear HSU Trustees (February)My Seminary is Closing - The Bigger Picture (February)May Love Overcome and Justice Roll Down (January)Easter Miracles: Empty Tomb, Empty Churches Read More …
Top 10 Books of 2020 (#1904)
Welcome to the 11th annual So What Faith list of the top ten books of the year (books are listed in alphabetical order by author's last name): Guthrie Graves-Fitzsimmons. Just Faith: Reclaiming Progressive Christianity. Lisa Greer and Larissa Kostoff. Philanthropy Revolution: How to Inspire Donors, Build Relationships, and Make a Difference. J. Douglas Holladay. Rethinking Success: Eight Essential Practices for Finding Meaning in Work and Life. Robert P. Jones. White Read More …
Top 5 Tweets of 2020 (#1903)
The following five tweets by @SoWhatFaith generated the most impressions in 2020. These top tweets are all quotes from books or sermons by William J. Barber, II; Anna Woofenden; Brian McLaren; and Barbara Brown Taylor. I invite you to share which of these quotes you found most interesting or engaging, and why. Read More …
Top 20 Books of 2020 (#1902)
This year I read 120 books published in 2020, and shared my ratings here on So What Faith. Based on my ratings, the top 20 books are Author Title Sarah CiavarriFinding Our Way to the Truth: Seven Lies Leaders Believe and How to Let Go of Them Kaitlin B. CurticeNative: Identity, Belonging, and Rediscovering GodKathy EscobarPracticing: Changing Yourself to Change the WorldGuthrie Graves-FitzsimmonsJust Faith: Reclaiming Progressive Christianity Lisa Greer and Larissa Read More …
Great New Books – December 2020 (#1901)
My latest list of great books features ten volumes published in 2020: (5.0) Finding Our Way to the Truth: Seven Lies Leaders Believe and How to Let Go of Them by Sarah Ciavarri (Fortress Press, 2020) (4.5) Without Oars: Casting Off into a Life of Pilgrimage by Wesley Granberg-Michaelson (Broadleaf Books, 2020) (4.5) Republican Jesus: How the Right Has Rewritten the Gospels by Tony Keddie (University of California Press, 2020) (4.5) The Bible With and Without Jesus: How Read More …
Giving Thanks: 10 Ministry Experiences (#1900)
Thanksgiving is a lifestyle, not simply a holiday scheduled the fourth Thursday of November. In the spirit of continuing the focus on thankfulness, today I'm reflecting on and giving thanks for the ten different ministry settings I've served. These settings vary in many ways, yet are all committed to making more real God's kin-dom on earth Founding: Less than 10 years ago to more than 150Size: Less than 100 active participants to more than 2,000Denomination: 5 Mainline Protestant Read More …