My ten most liked tweets of the last ten years are So What? I've tweeted nearly 18,000 times in the 12 years and one month since joining Twitter. Given that volume, it is interesting to see that my top ten most liked tweets are comprised of quotes from a rather small group of seven people Barbara Brown Taylor - 2 tweets (2 of the top 3!)Brian McLaren - 2 tweetsGreg Smith - 2 tweetsRozella Haydee WhiteDiana Butler BassWilliam J. Barber IIILenny Duncan As you read Read More …
Social Media
Top Posts of 2021 (January – June) (#1939)
In a few days, we will reach the midpoint of 2021. Many of my blog posts this year have focused on how churches and other ministries are reopening, and how the next normal will differ from what had been normative in a pre-pandemic world. Additionally, the first post of the month each month introduces great new books. Not surprisingly, all five of the top posts for the first half of this year fit in one of those two categories (top posts as defined by total page views): Reopening for Read More …
Celebrating 12 Years of So What Faith (#1936)
In the spring of 2009 I decided to give blogging a try. After doing a little research, talking with several friends and colleagues who had already been blogging for awhile, and brainstorming possible names, I launched So What Faith in June 2009. While I'd love to say that when I launched the site I knew what I was doing and imagined that the site would still be going strong a dozen years later, in reality I simply knew that I was ready to share some of my short form writing about matters of Read More …
Thinking Theologically: Exploring 5 Tweets (#1931)
I've been tweeting as @SoWhatFaith since 2009. In 2021, the majority of my tweets have been quotes from new books. Interestingly, according to Twitter's built in analytics, my top tweets this year consist of four such tweets alongside one I wrote in response to a very difficult day. I invite you to read these five tweets, and select one to explore in greater depth. Carry the words of that tweet with you for a few days, then share your reflections. Brian McLaren. "Eventually, I came to Read More …
Giving Up the Tech Averse Church (#1923)
For Lent, I’m giving up something big: the church I always knew. And, unlike past Lenten disciplines that ended on Easter, this change is one I expect to be permanent. Slow to Change I remember learning in seminary that the church in all of its forms tends to change more slowly than the dominant culture. And, I remember hearing cases for why this was positive as well as ways in which it could be negative. Additionally, I recall a phase known to many as the seven last 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 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 …
Social Media in the Time of the COVID-19 Pandemic (#1885)
Social media has played such a significant role for so long that I rarely think about life before social media. Perspective When I stop and think about the arrival of social media - and the onset of my utilization of it - I recognize that I spent most of my life in a pre-social media world. I started using social media in my thirties. In 2009, I entered the world of social media when I joined Facebook. Later that year I started this blog and joined Twitter. I added LinkedIn in 2011 Read More …
Not Comfortable Returning to In Person Worship (#1877)
According to a June 2020 survey conducted by the American Enterprise Institute nearly 2 out of 3 Americans (64%) are not comfortable returning to in person worship at this point in the COVID-19 pandemic. Group Differences Interestingly, this research found that white Evangelical Protestants are the most ready to return to in person worship. The percentage who responded that they were either somewhat comfortable or very comfortable attending a worship service in person by religious Read More …
Celebrating 11 Years of So What Faith (#1875)
I started this blog in June 2009, and have been writing about matters of faith that matter ever since. Thank You Thanks for your support! Your readership, engagement, and encouragement are a tremendous gift. Today I pause my normal content creation to reflect and to celebrate. Ministry Over the last 11 years I've spent most of my time serving four congregations and an ecumenical mission center: First Presbyterian Church - Naples, FLNaples United Church of Christ - Naples, Read More …