Top 16 in 2016

The biggest posts of 2016–including a few surprises!

Top 16 of 2016

Hacking Christianity had 150 blog posts in 2016–33% more than 2015. Together they showed up on over 1.2 million computer screens. While other blogs have more posts (sometimes multiple each day) or readership, this is still a good year: about a 29% increase overall from 2015. 

In carrying on our tradition (2015, 2014), the Top 16 posts are in different categories: general Christianity posts and United Methodist posts. Here’s the top ones from each category:

General Christianity

Five of the Top 16 posts were about Christian topics that spanned the spectrum: from LGBTQ inclusion to None Zone ministry to women clergy!

#1 – If/Then on Christian Responsibility in Orlando

• Facebook / Blog
• LGBTQ Christians online are receiving a lot of flack for saying that The Church contributed to the actions of a non-Christian man who shot 100 LGBTQ persons in Orlando, Florida. Here’s my attempt to support the logic of the claim and call for the Church to act instead of only send “thoughts and prayers.”

#2 – In the West, invest in People, not Programs

• Facebook / Blog
• Taking a cue from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, as the West seeks to find the forms of Church that will survive the winnowing ahead, we would do better to invest in people instead of the program model that works in the Bible Belt.

#3 – Mind the Chasm: 12 reflections on the Clergywomen’s Wage Gap

• Facebook / Blog
• 12 clergywomen share their personal stories of the wage gap revealed by recent research into clergy salaries. These are powerful, visceral stories that will hopefully lead EVERY church to make sure they are paying their pastors a just wage.

#4 – Reform your Religion–Or Get Out of It

• Facebook / Blog
• Religious people do not exist. We are called to reform our religion as directly as we are called to reform and better ourselves. Take a read on how a static religion gathers moss, whereas an actively self-critical faith of individuals, communities, and systems is what the world needs.

#5 – Are you Pastor OF a Church or TO a Community?

• Facebook / Blog
• Have you ever thought of how pastors introduce themselves? One simple tweak to “Hi, my name is…” can yield a transformative effect in how churches understand themselves. 

United Methodism

This was a big year for United Methodism with the every-four-year General Conference and Jurisdictional Conferences…and the topic totals reflect that: 11 of the Top 16 were about United Methodism. Here they are in order, and all have staying power that could be read today with relevance to their past content.

#1 – The Bishops Lead a Very Methodist Way Forward

• Facebook / Blog
• The gambit by the Bishops worked and the Methodist Middle successfully resisted calls for schism by the two extremes in The United Methodist Church. By a razor-thin margin, they may have granted a new lease on life on a church that seemed headed towards schism. Here’s what happened in May 2016, how that has worked before, and what could happen next.

#2 – 1500+ Clergy Allies stand with LGBTQ Clergy in the UMC

•  Facebook / Blog
• This is big: Straight ally clergy commit to use their priI vilege to deny harm done to LGBTQ clergy through disciplinary actions in The United Methodist Church. No more will divide-and-conquer theology seek to trump our Covenants with one another.

#3 – To the Loyal Opposition in The United Methodist Church

• Facebook / Blog
• Readers know I don’t react–I try very hard to respond with substantive commentary. Hence these are my first reflections since United Methodist General Conference for what GC means for those Moderate to Progressive Methodists out there.

#4 – Western Jurisdiction Laying Our Body Down in the Door to Let More People In

• Facebook / Blog
• Yes, the Western Jurisdiction elected an openly gay bishop. No, this is not outside the Discipline, nor is it a rejection of The United Methodist Church. Rather, this is a living out of our calling to lay our bodies down in the doors to keep them open for church and society to transform the world.

#5 – A $20million Coup in the UMC [Guest Post]

• Facebook / Blog
• A guest post by an informed observer of a disturbing development in committee of United Methodist General Conference. It passed, and is one step away from becoming a reality in The UMC and reallocating $20 million dollars from missions and ministry into the hands of a few. (This was defeated, incidentally)

#6 – The Old UMC is Dying. The New UMC cannot yet be born.

• Facebook / Blog
• Change is coming to The United Methodist Church. We know it. The only question is how powerful the reactions to stop changes will be. Consider this concept of the interregnum to help us make sense of the difficult present and set our sights on a future with Christ.

#7 – Hoping for a Moratorium to Heal the UMC

• Facebook / Blog
• A moratorium on prosecution of LGBTQ-related offenses in The United Methodist Church would stop the harm and allow the body to heal. Here’s why that matters and two decisions that each region of United Methodism can make to contribute to the healing process.

#8 – Non-Conformity and Hope from Creative Minorities in The UMC

• Facebook / Blog
• The reaction to United Methodist General Conference has a particular name the past month: “non-conformity with the majority.” Read on for how this is more than protest, and indeed contains the key to The United Methodist Church’s survival and betterment.

#9 – Will the Scrappy West Overcome The UMC With Love?

• Facebook / Blog
• Here we go: with Jurisdictional Conferences upon us, the regional differences in The United Methodist Church are becoming sharper and the rhetoric more inflammatory. Read on for the dismantling of one argument against Western Jurisdiction of The United Methodist Church, and a celebration of all the West is doing to love a Church set against us.

#10 – Three Problems with the Top 25 Growing UMC List

• Facebook / Blog
• In response to the “Top 25 Growing UMCs” List, when we lift up the growing churches in our denomination, what are we actually celebrating? Some analysis of how we might be celebrating the wrong things in the long run.

#11 – The UMC is a Train Wreck, but who are really the Conductors?

• Facebook / Blog
• Blog after Blog and Tweet after Tweet have declared a “conservative takeover” of The United Methodist Church who can now take the wheel and save The UMC. That’s not really what happened–and examining the truth exposes why this narrative is being shouted from the rooftops: to avoid ownership over the ungovernable situation The UMC is in.

Reflections

I think the rise in readership reflections from 2015 still hold true, so read those for a fuller picture.

But there’s another reason for the enduring quality of the Methodism writings on this blog, and it’s one I really didn’t expect. 

In an age where people don’t trust the institution or the various movements in The UMC, an independent voice is able to offer a biased but authoritiative perspective on the shifts and subterfuge in United Methodism. As an active pastor of a local church who is not employed by the higher echelons or seminaries or the caucus groups, I think it makes the writings have more local appeal. I’m glad for it. 

2017 will be a formative year as the protest movements make their cases for their visions of United Methodism, and those of us stuck in the middle await the Bishop’s Commission work on finding a way forward. Looking forward to the journey with you. 

Your turn

Any favorite posts from last year? Share them in the comments!

Thanks for your support in 2016 and looking forward to 2017!