The most-read Century Blog posts
Here are the year's most-read posts by the Century editors and guest bloggers. (Listed separately: the top posts from Then & Now, the CCblogs network, Drew Hart's blog, Carol Howard Merritt's blog, and Steve Thorngate's blog.)
1) Marcus Borg reintroduced me to Jesus, by Katherine Willis Pershey. Many people will remember Borg as the person who made space for them to return to—or remain in—the Christian faith. It's a wonderful irony.
2) Anxious white Protestants, by Gay Clark Jennings. The seismic demographic changes underway in American life are rocking our world—and many of us are reeling instead of responding.
3) A remodeled house, not a new foundation, by Janet Edwards. Yes, evangelical Christians are rethinking their stance toward LGBT people, but this does not require “rethinking everything.”
4) 3 myths about grief, by Linda Lawrence Hunt. Our culture is mourning avoidant—and too often, faith communities reflect the broader culture's misconceptions surrounding grief.
5) The second visit, by Martha Spong. The first congregation I served had just under 90 members, and among them were a dozen shut-ins, most of them over 90. Margery was not on that list.
6) Why mainline pastors should read Rachel Held Evans, by L. Roger Owens. I put it off for a while. Why would I want to read a story of a young evangelical who has a few doubts and then joins the Episcopal Church? What have you to do with me, Rachel Held Evans?
7) Allies, the time for your silence has expired, by T. Denise Anderson. I remember when the news out of Ferguson first came. White friends and colleagues encouraged each other to sit in a posture of listening. White allies, I thank you for your thoughtfulness in this regard. Now allow me to be your stopwatch.
8) Why I still love the church, by Heidi Haverkamp. I get sad. I feel like I’m giving my life for something that seems to be dying. As Adam puts it on Rev., I feel like “a remnant of an illusion of what people used to believe in."
9) The black church is the real guardian of Christian America, by Benjamin J. Dueholm. It is the tacit, wounded claim of ownership over the culture that marks every failed attempt at holding the center of American religion.
10) Why do people cheat? by Greg Carey. If we want to promote fidelity and empower faithful people as they resist temptation, we should consider what actually happens when well-intentioned people violate their marriage vows.
11) How to talk to a person who supports Donald Trump, by Russell P. Johnson. Liberals and conservatives agree: Trump’s comments are definitive proof that he shouldn’t be president. Really, he shouldn’t be anywhere near the presidency. He shouldn’t even be allowed to watch The West Wing.
12) What we're learning from a long wait to adopt, by Sarah Nichole Klaassen. The other month my spouse and I received a packet in the mail from our adoption agency. It came in a large, white, important-looking envelope—a hopeful envelope.
13) When Joy gets complicated, by Lee Hull Moses. Sometimes it’s the child’s job to let go of old memories in order to make room for the new. Our task is to hold the old ones and to remind her that she was young once.
14) A hard season for ecumenism, by Laura Everett. Among the hearty New Englanders with whom I serve and pastor, there are a few souls who refuse to close church on account of bad weather, ever.
15) What's so special about a fig tree? by Diane Roth. One time at a women’s retreat, I was asked to tell my call story. I told this woman the whole, convoluted story. She was not impressed.
