Top Five Articles of 2012

Yes, I’m jumping onto the end-of-the-year bandwagon and publishing a retrospective. I know it’s cliché, but this is a really slow week on the blog and a really busy week at work and at home, so I guess we can call this a compromise. Something is better than nothing, after all; and if Tim Challies can do it, so can I.

 Drive Me To My Knees

This was written in September 2011, but continued to get many hits this year. It was my first foray into poetry since I was in college. The inspiration for this article was receiving Communion at Harvest PCA by going to the front of the church and kneeling. I was struck by how resistant to kneeling we are as humans – we do not willingly submit to any authority unless forced to do so. When God drives us to our knees in repentance and submission, it is a great mercy.

  The Love of God

This article was also written in 2011 and had just a few more hits than Drive Me to My Knees. It occurred to me that there are many times when we don’t understand the love of God – especially after the death of a loved one. In John 11:5-6, Jesus does something completely counter-intuitive to show his great love for Lazarus, Mary and Martha. God’s love manifests itself in ways that we often do not (cannot!) understand.

  Leaving – For All the Right Reasons

Written in 2011, this was one of two from the Leaving-Searching-Finding series to make the top five this year. This article was an attempt to reason through some bad and good reasons for breaking fellowship with your church. Personally, it marked my realization of the main reason I had left my previous church and my acceptance that it was the right thing to do. Doubt is a formidable enemy to the Christian who seeks the will of God where it is unclear or adiaphorous.

 Five “Christian” Beliefs That Aren’t Christian at All

This was a rather controversial article; at least it was in r/Christianity on Reddit. In this I attacked beliefs that many professing Christians claim are true and a few that I used to believe as well. The axe I used was double-edged and also cut against those who are Pharisaical in their orthodoxy to the point of being uncharitable to their weaker brethren.

 Visiting – It’s hard work being a good guest

With more than twice as many hits as the number five entry, this article from the Leaving-Searching-Finding series leads the 2012 blog post ranking. That this article tops the list is somewhat surprising to me. I perceive that reliable information on this topic is sparse on the Internet and demand for assistance in this area is high. Visiting a church and doing it well is a skill much like that of a parent – once you’re good at it, you don’t do it anymore.

These were not necessarily the busiest pages on the blog in 2012, just the busiest articles. The Narrow Gate sermon had more hits other than the number one article in the list above. It is still the most-viewed page on tando.org.