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 Read More …
Book Reviews
Celebrating So What Faith: 13 Years & 2,000+ Posts (#2002)
Thirteen years ago today, I launched So What Faith. One day later, I added my first blog post. Thank you for journeying with me. While this blog has remain committed to exploring matters of faith that matter, my vocational context has shifted several times: Churches: First Presbyterian Church, Naples United Church of Christ, United Church of Marco Island, Fort Myers Congregational United Church of Christ, and West Fork Presbyterian ChurchHealthcare: Evolution Health (an Envision Read More …
Blogging in the 2010s (#1991)
When the 2010s began, I had been blogging for seven months. While I planned to continue, I had no idea that I would blog for the entire decade (and beyond). During this decade, I continued to write about matters of faith that matter. Content included discussion of hundreds of new books, sharing of resources I created for use in worship (sermons, prayers, etc.), reflections on my lived experience, and exploration of new data focused on American religious belief, belonging and behavior. Over Read More …
Blogging in the 2000s (#1988)
In the spring of 2009, I decided I'd like to enter the world of blogging. At the time I was serving First Presbyterian Church in Naples, Florida, and felt blogging would be an easy way to share some of my thoughts with congregants between newsletters and other more formal communications. And, from colleagues I knew who had started blogging ahead of me, I expected my content would have the potential of reaching a much larger audience. Naming the Blog Before I could begin, I needed to Read More …
Top 20 Posts of the 2010s (#1845)
You voted with your readership. The top 20 posts of the 2010s are the best of the best. Only the top 1% of all posts published during the decade made the cut. Based on the most views per Google Analytics, the top 20 posts are Pastoral Prayer – Love (2014)6 Decades of Decline in the United Church of Christ (2018)12 Marks of Convergence Christianity (2012)Valentine's Expectations (2013)My Visit to Next Level Church (2012) Pulpit Plagiarism (2014) Leaders Clear Read More …
A Decade of So What Faith (#1805)
I decided to start a blog in the spring of 2009. On June 11, 2009, I published my first blog post. Over the last decade, I've written over 1,800 posts - a post about every other day! Top Posts My attempt to determine the top all time posts is somewhat limited since I did not add Google analytics to this site until October 2012. From that date to present, the 18 most viewed posts (roughly the top 1%) are Prayers of the People - Youth Sunday (2009)Pastoral Prayer - Love (2014)Review Read More …
Top 5 Posts of 2017 (at Mid-Year) (#1691)
Somehow the first half of 2017 is now behind us. As we enter the second half of the year, I thought it would be interesting to see what posts my readers viewed most often. Among posts published in 2017, the top five (by view count) are Christian Alternative Facts Our Search for a Church is Over! The Immigrants Creed Review: Days of Awe and Wonder Search for a Church: Attending New Member Classes Interestingly, many older posts continue to be viewed quite frequently. So far in Read More …
Top Posts of 2015 (Jan-Jun) (#1565)
In a few days the second half of the year will begin. The most popular posts here on So What Faith so far this year (based on total number of views of posts published in 2015) are Effective Leaders Ask for Feedback, World Religions in 2050, Toward Church Renewal, From Mainline to Sideline to Oldline, and Top 10 Faith Enriching Books. Statistical Curiosities The list includes two posts from January, two from February, and one from April. Each post was tagged with a Read More …
My 2014 Resolutions (#1283)
I rarely participate in the annual ritual of crafting resolutions for the coming year. I did commit to one in 2012. This time, for 2014, I have settled upon three: Participate in worship in at least 10 different communities of faith Write at least 200 blog posts and be more actively engaged on Twitter Read at least 100 books and write reviews for at least 50 So What? New years bring new possibilities. While I expect a fair degree of the unexpected in the months ahead, Read More …
175+ Book Reviews (#0955)
While this blog has undergone several significant changes since I launched it in 2009, book reviews have remained a vital component throughout its history. I have posted over 175 reviews of books published between 2007-2012. You can access these in several ways: Choose "Book Reviews" from the category menu to browse the reviews in reverse chronological order of their post dates Use the site search (top right on any page) to locate a specific author, title or subject Download Read More …