Blogging year in review 2008
I’m still enjoying blogging – especially the interaction with my readers. Here is a summary of my most read posts from this year along with the date that I published the post:
1. Won’t Get Fooled Again (January 16, 2008)
2. Summary: Should elders/pastors be paid a salary? (October 10, 2007)
3. Eccesiology FAQ (January 1, 2008)
4. Ephesians 4:11 and the Five-Fold Ministry (April 17, 2007)
5. 1 Corinthians 9 and salaries for pastors (October 6, 2008)
6. How Does God Communicate? (March 6, 2007)
7. City Church – A Chain Blog (May 26, 2008)
8. Obey and Submit? (Hebrews 3:17) (July 16, 2007)
9. What about honor for elders/pastors? (October 8, 2007)
10. What about work? (October 6, 2007)
As you can tell, six of those posts were written in 2007. If I remove those, the following posts written in 2008 would be in my top ten most read posts:
5. Sharper than any two-edged sword (January 20, 2008)
6. A Cup o’ Joe or a Cup with Joe (May 13, 2008)
7. Investigating the New Monasticism (March 13, 2008)
8. Maturity and Education (September 17, 2008)
9. And he gave… (Ephesians 4:11) (August 18, 2008)
10. Meeting with the Early Church – Pliny’s Letter (March 10, 2008)
I’m surprised that people continue to read my older posts. Most of these are reached through search engines. I’m also surprised that my posts about leadership in the church end up being in my most read list, while they are only a small percentage of the posts that I write.
When I started this blog, I didn’t have any goals concerning the number of readers or page views. I still don’t. I’m surprised and thankful that people continue to read my blog. I’m especially thankful when you choose to interact with what I write and with one another in the comments.
Thank you for continuing to read and comment on my blog posts. My readers make this blog very valuable to me. While I started the blog to write about my studies – to put what I’m learning into words – it has become much more than that. I’m learning as much from you as from the books that I’m reading and the classes that I’m taking. Thank you!
I enjoy reading you and commenting on your posts.
Please, please do not ever get hung up on traffic and metrics. It will destroy the soul of your blog if you have one eye on the keyboard and the other on the scale.
The church leadership traffic, I think, is pretty self-explanatory. There is not much in our churches ad people are searching for te “it” factor in leadership.
Alan,
Just found your blog yesterday through the interview with Frank Viola.
Been reading some old posts and find them very encouraging. Glad to find I am not the only “heretic” out there.
We had Dave Black in our fellowship a few months back. I see you two have similar thoughts.
Blessings,
Jack Watkins
Alan,
I’ve enjoyed reading the blog this year. I especially like “Scripture as we live it”. All the best for you and your family in the new year,
Mike
Alan:
Your site struck a chord with me as through my own studies I began to question some of my long held beliefs on ecclesiology. It was encouraging to see I wasn’t totally loony!
I know this site takes a lot of time and I want to thank you for all of your hard work and effort. There are a lot of blog sites, especially in SBC and related world. Many are on my favorites list, but if I have a busy day, your site is one of two or three I always make sure to visit. May God pour his blessings on you and yours in 2009 and beyond.
Your Servant in Christ:
Keith Price
Andy,
I track stats for this blog, but the stats don’t control what I post here.
Jeff,
I think the “it” factor is Jesus Christ himself. But, I don’t think many people know what it means to actually follow him.
Jack,
Thanks for reading! I hope you continue to read and interact with us here.
Mike,
Thank you. As long as I have ideas, I’ll continue that series.
Keith,
I appreciate that very much. There are alot of good blogs out there. Thank you for being part of mine.
-Alan
Thank you for the time, though and effort that obviously goes into this blog! I check it every day. I would comment more often, but sometimes there is little to add to what you said. Apparently we think alike much of the time.
As I’ve indicated before, our “assembling of the church” is non-traditional in that we are elder-led, don’t own a building and are not program-dominated. We’ve appreciated your posts on the participation of all the believers and especially the encouragement to become more involved in each other’s lives and in the life of the community. Keep on letting God use you to stretch and challenge us in 2009.
Alan-Don’t know why I posted the previous comment as anonymous. Sorry ’bout that.
Kat
btw–the word verification I got was especially appropriate for this post: etifyin (edifying)