Five Years of Hacking Christianity

Five years ago, we began the experiment that was ‘Hacking Christianity’ which melded an approach to computer systems with the pursuit of expressions of the Christian faith.

By the Numbers

After five years of blogging, here’s the statistics of where we are:

• We have 854 blog posts (~170 posts a year or one every two days) and fielded 3,483 comments.
• We have 2,200 followers on Twitter.
• We have 1,600 likes on Facebook.
• We have 600 readers who subscribe to HX through the RSS Feed.
• We have 150 readers through Networked Blogs.

Still small-time in the world of online discourse, but I’d like to think we have some level of influence in the United Methodist Church specifically and some traction in the geek gospel subgenre.

In the News

Beyond the blog posts, here’s where else we’ve been the past five years.

• Books
  • I contributed a chapter to The Legend of Zelda and Theology on how the video game series The Legend of Zelda parallels some theological concepts. 
  • I contributed a chapter to Keeping the Faith in Seminary on how Star Wars informs the seminarian’s journey.
• National Public Radio (NPR)
  • HX was included in a report by Lynn Neary about new kinds of targeted audience bibles. Here’s the blog post and the NPR link.
• Progressive Christian Magazine
  • HX had an article reprinted in a 2011 edition of the Progressive Christian, formerly Zion’s Herald. Here’s the blog post on Glamissional efforts.
• United Methodist Reporter
  • Along with Ben Gosden, we wrote an article against Schism in the United Methodist Church “A Methodist Church United for our Daughters.” And here’s a corresponding blog post.
  • The #Pastors24 project made it into the UMR via an article “Shadowing Clergy: A Week in the Life of a UMC Pastor.” Here’s the corresponding blog post.
  • One of our first series was on Wikipedia and how its tenets could affect the church, one of which was reprinted in the UMR “What the Church can Learn from Wikipedia.” Here’s the corresponding blog series.
• Ministry Matters
  • During General Conference 2012, I was contracted to write a four-post series for Ministry Matters. Here’s the series. 

Transitions

Five years has brought me to three churches and 3,500 miles of travel.

• When I began this blog in 2008, I was a solo pastor in Winthrop, Massachusetts in the Northeastern Jurisdiction.
• From 2009-2012, I was an Associate Minister in Checotah, Oklahoma in the South Central Jurisdiction.
• Since July 2012, I am the Minister of Discipleship at First UMC in Portland, Oregon in the Western Jurisdiction.

Plus let’s not forget Anjali, our bundle of joy, born October 2012.

Thanks

Thanks to all the longtime readers and the newcomers. It’s been a terrific journey and I appreciate your comments (except 90% of the 160+ comments on the Beth Moore article…though they are entertaining) and corrections and encouragements along the way.

Blessings, ~Jeremy