Before the new year gets going, I thought I’d look back at the past year at this blog by highlighting the 10 most linked/commented on posts from the past year. I have no idea whether this is cool or not. But with the changing of the blog address and design (with Nathan‘s artistry and help) many of the posts from the previous blog address are not as accessible as they once were via search engines. So maybe this will help with that. For whatever it’s worth, here are the TEN MOST COMMENTED-ON/LINKED-TO AND/OR CONTROVERSIAL POSTS OF from the the GreatGiveaway/Reclaiming the Mission blog from 2006. (If you click on to a link, you might have to scroll down in order to find the particular post linked to)

1. Intentional Hospitality Amidst the White-Washed Isolation of the Suburban Malaise: Rantings on Being the Church in the Suburbs January 24, 2006 Hospitality hasn’t got any easier, but we’ve come up with some new tactics.
2. A Warning From Jerome Bettis’ Mother!:On the Use of Technology in Worship January 31, 2006Nothing like tying in the SuperBowl into theology in order to get a few more hits on the blog.
3. The McLaren-Driscoll Exchange on “the Homosexual Question”: On Posing a Different Question February 10, 2006 Though I admire and appreciate Brian McLaren and all he’s done for me, I couldn’t agree totally with him in this most infamous Out of Ur Post of the year. I couldn’t back Driscoll either.
4. “I’m willing to die for it” versus “The Bible is Inerrant”: How Best to Speak About the Authority of Scriptures in our Times – THEOLOGICAL ISSUE NO. 1 April 09, 2006 I never did get to the other issues I described in an earlier post, as the key theological issues for the emerging church. This post was just a attempt to redefine the question.
5. Why Fundamentalism and Liberalism Are Two Sides of the Same Coin – Where All Emerging Conversants Must Go April 26, 2006 I remember being surprised how much play this little piece got around blogland for a post on a not so original idea.
6. The “De-Churched” and the Future of Missional Emerging Congregations May 27, 2006 I still think it is the mega-churches that are dechurching people i.e. training people into thinking that what they’re doing is church when its not. The worst kind of dechurched.
7. The Myth of Expository Preaching & the Commodification of the Word Thursday June 29 2006 It was surprising to me how people got upset with me on this issue. Someone actually accused me of being a Jihadist against Expository Preaching.
8. Letting Go of Expository Preaching For Preaching That “Funds Imagination” July 22, 2006 So hopefully things got a little nicer at this post.
9. What Jerry Falwell, Zizek and Obesity Can Teach us About Our Evangelical Holiness Codes August 31, 2006 My personal favorite of the year.
10. A Warning List For Those Who Would Join a Missional Church Gathering November 05, 2006 The post that got the most links of any of my blog posts for the year, that’s what someone told me at least … I wrote it after a frustrating week pastoring … there are many of you out there who know what I mean.

I generally try to blog once a week. I am mostly commenting on reading from the week, weekly lessons from life as a pastor, or theological rants of some sort that happen out of my real life engagments in teaching, pastoring and writing. I hope to do a little more personal stuff this year. To all who read, clicked and linked, and for all the great comments, many thanks for the conversations.

Blessings on the coming new year in Christ.