As I am writing this I am currently recovering from celebrating New Years Eve at Times Square in New York City with co-blogger Caleb Johnson. Nearly ten hours of waiting in the cold on Broadway… It was a lot of fun, but I’m completely exhausted. Yet before I went to bed I wanted to reflect a little on the best posts here at The Two Cities from the past year.
By far the best post of the year was “I’m (Kinda Sorta Yeah Not Really) Gay.” This post is part of a larger series on homosexuality that is very helpful, but this one stands out in large measure because of the personal nature of the content. I did not read anything more encouraging, inspiring, or convicting in all of 2012. In the same vein, Andrew introduced our blog to the underground LGBTQ community at the alma mater of most of our writers, known as the Biola Underground. At the time, Andrew’s post appeared shortly after the Biola Underground website emerged. Most of the early readers of that post no doubt sought clarity on how to respond to the situation and Andrew’s post provided a loving and fair-minded response to keep on-going discussions in the Christian University context civil. This of course is relevant for Christian education broadly.
The post that I wrote that received the most hits was on P.O.D.’s newest album, Murdered Love (see “On F Bombs and Christian Music“). No doubt the interest in this post was due to the subject matter: cursing in “christian” music. When the album first came out, many Christians responded rather negatively—as expected. But I found the use of the ‘F Bomb’ on that album appropriate, and I tried to explain why.
One of my favorites from the year was Carolyn’s beautiful reflection, “Trusting My Caregiver,” which is a powerful meditation on her experience as a nanny in the aftermath of a miscarriage.
Caleb had an interesting post on gambling and the lottery; making note of the fact that the lottery funds are dominated by sales from low-income areas.
A very helpful guide on navigating the boundary between Love and Lust came from Tanner earlier in the year as part of a review of Laura Smit, Loves Me, Loves Me Not.
At the beginning of the year Ryan’s article on guns and church security (“Church Security Teams? Verdict: Unbiblical“) stirred a bunch of discussion around the blogosphere and gave me a lot to think about: should security guards with guns be protecting churches? What does this indicate about our views on martyrdom?
Newly added writer Carrie Allen’s post, “I’m (Obviously Not Really But Yeah Mostly) Democrat” did very well. No two writers for The Two Cities think alike when it comes to politics and we embrace that aspect of our differences. No doubt many disagreed with Carrie, but in her post she explains the tension she experiences being a Christian and a “Democrat,” ultimately finding in her Christianity certain resonances with aspects of the Democratic party.
The guest post which received the most hits was Natasha Weinstock’s, “I Used To Be A Mormon.” This is a beautiful testimony about someone who was gripped by the gospel of Jesus Christ and never looked back. Another excellent guest post was the interview Nate Warne conducted with the Eastern Orthodox Tattoo artist, Turbo Qualls, who reflects on theology and aesthetics.
We definitely had a lot of great posts this year. Thanks for reading us in 2012!
Here’s to 2013!
A Happy New Year To All!
3 Comments
Leave your reply.