Top 10 Blog Posts in 2010

These ten blogs were our most popular in 2010 – catch them now if you missed them before:

  1. Am I a Church Planter? By Scott Thomas. “I did a survey of pastors associated with a church planting movement in 52 countries of the world and asked them to describe the characteristics of a church planter. In order, they said…”
  2. Free Resource: Theological Clarity and Application. By Scott Thomas. “The question I get asked most often by church planters and pastors of young churches is, “How can I train people in preparation for leadership in the church?”
  3. Baptisms Alaska-Style at 10 Degrees and Snowing. “What could’ve been a frustrating situation became a beautiful and memorable occasion for Radiant Church of Fairbanks, Alaska, as they dunked believers in 10 degrees outside as the snow came down.”
  4. Leadership Abilities, Part 3 (Learning to be Miserable). By John Bryson. “Don’t be a whiner, quitter, or baby and quit pouting or being surprised about “how hard” it is to do what you are doing.  Of course it is.  You are limited as a fallen human in a fallen world.  Learn to cultivate and create—in the midst of your misery.”
  5. Six Ways Fathers Pursue Christ in their Fatherhood. By Scott Thomas.  “Leading your children to Jesus is a long-term, full-time duty given to parents. Genuine faith is prompted by God’s work in the heart of a child and assured by the Holy Spirit.”
  6. Acts 29 Pastor Suffers Well with Cancer. By Scott Thomas. “I arrived at the Baylor Hospital in Dallas the morning of Matt’s surgery. He greeted me in the preparatory room with his usual charm, “Scotty. C’mon.” Donned with a blue surgical cap, he told me stories of other tumor patients and his plans to visit them.”
  7. Ten Tips when Working with Female Assistants. By Scott Thomas, Adriel Ifland. “At Mars Hill Church, we have women who serve as deacons and many assist pastors. Much great ministry is done by these women in the capacities they serve – but with these kind of working relationships comes a great need for wisdom and careful boundaries.”
  8. Leadership Development. By Elliot Grudem. “A couple of years into my church replant I was talking to my father about the state of the church. He asked me when the church was going to get elders. ‘I don’t know,’ I responded. ‘It’s going to take some time.’ ‘I don’t think it took Paul that long,’ my dad replied.”
  9. The Troubled Souls of Pastors. By Scott Thomas. “Pastors are often overwhelmed with ministry. I am concerned for their souls. I spoke last week to the widow of a pastor who committed suicide recently. It was sobering. She said that he didn’t just come home one day and explode. Instead, she said, “his soul faded out slowly…”
  10. Planning an Intentional Devotional Life in 2010. By J.R. Vassar. “Have a no exemption time and place to meet with God. If you do not schedule in focused time with God, everything else in your life will schedule it out. Have a time and place and treat it as an appointment with the most important person in the universe.”