A word of thanks and best wishes to all the friends of Heartlands who have supported this labor of love in 2018. We’ve grown this year with more views and visits. The top posts reveal a lot of interest (and probably anxiety) about where the United Methodist Church is headed in 2019. But look down the list and there is also interest in the other areas that Heartlands explores: literature, poetry, and the beauty and challenges of rural America.
Take a look back with me:
What’s It Going to Take to Fix and Free the UMC? – asking the difficult question that centrists in the UMC should be asking
Letter to My Haitian Neighbor As You Leave Town – during the farce and tragedy of last summer’s immigration nightmares, I wrote a letter to my Haitian neighbor.
Lay Minister Expels Ghosts, Sees Two Rural Churches Turn Around – clever titles will get you everywhere!
6 Steps to a Growing Church. Yes, Even Here – guest blogger Ben Rigsby told his story and people listened!
Why Churches Can’t be Normal Again – on embracing holy discomfort and adaptation
Small Churches Can Plan for a Healthy Future – they can!
How to Get Out of the Inner Circle: Ministry with the Poor – Jacob Armstrong’s book gave me some new ways to think about ministry with the poor.
The UMC & the Which-Way Tree – Our Top Read of the year gave me a great metaphor for where the UMC finds itself.
Normal is How America Got This Way – Sarah Kendzior’s book helped describe the America we see from flyover country.
Adapting Worship Without Climbing Trees – (but climbing trees is fun!)
Other Top Book Related Posts:
Small Towns as Moral Communities – Robert Wuthnow’s The Left Behind
Silence, Poetry & the Salvation of Seamus Heaney
In Praise of Bad Writing: David Bentley Hart’s New Testament
Praying with Fire: A Review of Jamie Quatro’s Fire Sermon
Top Interviews:
Top Poetry:
Sunset in Archer County – A Poem
The Writing Life—It Came for Me: Poetry
Top BBQ Review:
Heartlands 