My 3rd and 4th most-read posts on the blog in 2016

2016 has been another successful year of blogging. I published over 75 posts that were read more than 185,000 times. Today I’m going to re-share with you the third and fourth most-read posts.

Nothing helps to give perspective to one’s writing than knowing the story behind the author. I find it interesting that the fourth most-read post of 2016 on this blog isn’t even a post, it’s my “about” page where I share my story. If you want to know more about me personally and what motivates my writing, check it out.

Number three was published the end of August and viewed more than 4,500 times in the last four months. There is a lot of uncertainty in Christianity today, especially among the younger generation. Church is frustrating, whether you come from a more traditional background or a progressive one. Either it’s full of ritual and stringent practice or obsessed with growth and modern advances. Many people are walking away and this post tells why.

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What Happens in Church When Christians Hide Their Failures

Our churches have become too perfect for handling messy people of the world.

The worst part of it is that at the core, we have become too perfect for ourselves: we no longer share with others about our struggles because people don’t know what to do with them.

This years’ fifth most-read post was No Broken People Allowed, and I think you’ll understand as you read why this resonated with well over three thousand viewers. Check it out, leave a comment and share it with a friend. Let’s become people who care for each other in our brokenness.

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What You Need to Know about Romance before Getting Married

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Romance, the way we perceive it at first, like the ecstatic feeling of affection on the first date, or the hot sparks and fireworks that electrify your phalanges at the first kiss—that kind of romance doesn’t work.

Here’s why: Romance then is based on feelings of affection. It’s like being excited for the first time your traveled overseas: the only reason it’s exciting is because it is something new (and because you haven’t experienced many new things, yet).

Those feelings won’t last. They never do.

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Does Modesty in Dress Really Matter?

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What comes to your mind when you hear that we’re going to have “a discussion on modesty”?

Anymore, discussing modesty is almost like discussing music: we never get anywhere. People have their strong personal opinions and the focus isn’t so much on learning from each other as it is on convincing you that I’m right. But just like music, modesty is actually quite crucial to our lives, though not necessarily for the reason most people think.

In this post I point out three observations of our discussions on modesty and share a post with you that gives perhaps the biggest reason why I believe modesty in dress matters for everyone.

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7 Mind-Blowing Statistics About Christian Men And Porn

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Ever wonder how serious an issue porn addiction really is in the church?

When I was thirteen years old I made one of the worst decisions of my life: I chose to Google pornography to see what it was. I was curious. I had been told vaguely what it meant, but I wondered what it actually looked like. I wish I would have left it unknown, but I didn’t. As a result, I spent the rest of my teen years struggling with porn addiction.

I praise God for giving me victory over porn and lust, but am grieved by how many men struggle just as I did. Porn addiction is a growing phenomenon with the advent of digital media and it doesn’t seem to make a difference regardless of whether or not you’re Christian.

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5 Reasons You Need to Understand the Role of Affection in Courtship

asher & teresa at usc

As you may have observed, this month I am going through the top 10 most-read posts of the year. Number eight is the lead-in post to the ebook I published earlier this year, Is Touch in Courtship Wrong?

Incidentally, the book is 40% right now. That discount won’t last. In fact, neither will the eBook. At midnight tomorrow night I’m pulling it down, so if you haven’t read the book, read this post: 6 Powerful Principles for Understanding the Role of Affection in Courtship.

And if you’re not sure you even want to read the post, let me give you five quick reasons why you should:

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Making Right the Failures of Our Past

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Each generation has to find their place in history. For one, morality may be the trump struggle they face. For another, it may be poverty.

For us, there’s never been a more Christian time in history. And that’s making us ask questions. How do we know what we have been taught all these years is right? What do we do when it feels there are lots of extra-biblical rules and regulations we have to abide by?

Throughout the month of December 2016, I’m going to share the ten most-read posts of this year. Number nine is one I published in March and shares perhaps the biggest burden on my heart for my generation. I believe the way we make right the failures of our past is moving beyond pointing out the faults and doing something else instead. Here’s to. . .

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Why My Heritage Matters to Me

On this blog I like to look at issues that people don’t normally feel comfortable talking about publicly–the white elephant issues in the room, so to speak. One of the reasons I like doing this is because if we are to grow and become better than we must make the undiscussable discussable.

Many “undiscussables” are negative: people don’t like having faults pointed out. At the same time, some undiscussables, especially when it comes to a heritage we see issues in, are quite positive: people are uncomfortable recognizing the qualities that, if let go of, could hurt them in the long run.

Throughout the month of December 2016, I’m going to share the ten most-read posts of this year. Number ten actually wasn’t even published in 2016, but remains one of my most-read posts. Here’s to. . .

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Redefining Marriage in an Age of Permissiveness

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A well-known Christian author and speaker recently spoke out in favor of gay marriage and homosexual relationships, saying two adults have a right to choose who they want to love, and if they choose to love someone of the same-sex, then the church should help provide marriage support and parenting help. She went on to say that she wants the very best for her gay friends: love, happiness, faithfulness, commitment, and community.

I support her desires for homosexuals. I also want gay people to experience love, happiness, faithfulness, commitment, and community. I agree that the church has not done well in relating with the LGBT community.

But is redefining marriage so they can find those things as they are really the solution? How have we gotten to the place where professing born-again believers value relationships with people above faithfulness in marriage?

 

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Everybody Has a Story to Tell and It’s Not the One They’re Writing

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I used to think God wanted me to write a great story with my life, but I’m learning He actually wants me to be a part of His.

Nobody plans to fail. No one counts on having their dreams broken, hopes dashed, or loved ones lost. In our ideal picture of life, everything always goes well. And why not?

We expect great things in life: close friends, happy marriages, connected families, fulfilling jobs, effective ministries. God says he has great plans for us of prosperity and good fortune. Why shouldn’t we aim for greatness?

What we don’t expect is God ruining our story.

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Without Adam We Wouldn’t Have Eve

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If we didn’t have men like Adam, we might not have women like Eve. If Israel didn’t have a king like Ahab, they wouldn’t have had a queen like Jezebel. If America didn’t have a morally weak and selfish man like Clinton, it might not have a power hungry women like Clinton. In the same way, if we didn’t have Trump we might not have Hillary either.

Evil goes hand in hand, and if men want to be called the leaders than we should probably accept the fact that our sin comes first and sets the tone. We can be holy and set a tone of safety, security, and the pursuit of other people’s interests above our own. Or we can be lustful and set a tone of selfishness, pride, and putting ourselves before the rest.

Whatever we are as men we’ll get in return through the world around us.

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7 Powerful Principles for Taking Your Pastor Under

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October is pastor’s appreciation month, the time of year everyone lays down their agitated opinions of leadership and pretend to actually like the ones that lead them.

But what if you don’t like your pastor? What if you’d rather take him under and replace him with someone more in line with your ideas of church?

I’ve been blessed with great pastors in my life and as I have gotten to know their hearts I’ve observed several things that really get them down. For those of you not interested in pretending anymore that you actually appreciate your pastor and would rather watch him perish, I have neatly organized my observations about pastor depreciation into seven powerful principles for doing just that.

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