Merry Christmas From Borrowed Light

2013 has been a great year for this blog. And I’m honored that you’ve given us an audience. It’s always been my goal to write in such a way that Jesus Christ will be the only boast of this generation. Thank you for boasting in Jesus with us.

I pray that you, and all those you hold dear, has a Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year. I pray that your joy and satisfaction in Jesus increases through the Christmas season and continues to expand throughout 2014.

Thanks again for your readership. I pray that you’ve been blessed by us in 2013 and that the Lord uses us to further His kingdom in 2014.

Have yourself a Merry Christmas…Emmanuel has came.

Top 13 Books of 2013

I did not read or review nearly as many books in 2013 as I have in the past. Some of the books that I read were older books, but these are the 13 best books that I read in 2013.

13. My Lucky Life In and Out of Show Business: A Memoir by Dick Van Dyke. Van Dyke is my favorite actor. This was a really fun read. Also, a little sad. I want to share the gospel with him.

12. Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert by Rosaria Butterfield. I was moved by Rosaria Butterfield’s testimony.

11. The Pastor by Eugene Peterson. I had wanted to read this for quite some time. I’ve been slowly going through this book in 2013 and loving every minute of it.

10. Accidental Pharisees by Larry Osborne. Though I think he’s given to overstatement and a bit of doing the same thing he rails against, nonetheless, I learned a ton from this book. It’s a needed corrective.

9. Words Fail Me by Patricia O’Connor /Writing Tools by Roy Peter Clark I’ve been reading a chapter per day out of these books for awhile now. Hopefully my writing has improved.

8. Tactics by Gregory Koukl. This will now be a book that I give to people asking about evangelism/apologetics. Great resource.

7. Finally Free by Heath Lambert. This is now the book that I’ll give to folks struggling with pornography and lust.

6. The Narcissism Epidemic by Twenge and Campbell. This book is a little older but it was eye-opening. A great cultural critique.

5. Brick by Brick: How Lego…by David Robertson. I’m considering writing a series of posts in 2014 called Lessons from Lego. This book has been fun and thought provoking.

4. The Pastor’s Justification by Jared Wilson. This is one of those books that pastor’s need to gain strength and to be reminded of the power of Jesus for us pastors.

3. The Conviction to Lead by Albert Mohler. Great principles on leadership from a great leader.

2. Saving Eutycus by Millar and Campbell. A fun title and  very helpful book on preaching.

1. Jesus on Every Page by David Murray. If you’ve ever scratched your head wondering where in the world to find Jesus in the OT, this book by David Murray is a great tool.

 

There you have it. Of course I read a ton of John Newton, John Calvin, and the Puritans in 2013. But these are the newer books that I’ve enjoyed.

Top 13 Posts of 2013

If this trend follows I’m going to really have to step up my game in 2067 to have the top 67 posts of 2067. Thankfully it’s only 2013 and I think I can find 13 posts that are my favorites from 2013. These are not necessarily the ones that got the most traffic, but the ones that were the most fun to write*.

13. Review of Medicated Meatballs New Album. I cannot stand music reviews. In my opinion the writing is terrible. But I have to confess making up a band and writing a review of their new album was about the most fun I’ve had in writing.

12. Is it Okay to Vent? This article came from a small group talk, apparently I hit a nerve as this one generated quite a bit more discussion than I typically generate here.

11. Conquering the Lonely Grave. The truth here has been very helpful to me in fighting depression. I believe it’s been helpful to others as well.

10. The Best Way to Improve Your Preaching. It’s simple but impossible apart from God’s work.

9. Why Jeremiah Steepek is a Terrible Pastor. I kept seeing articles talking about this stud of a pastor that played a trick on his congregation. I think he’s a terrible pastor. And he’s not real.

8. Why We’ve All But Lost the Gay Marriage Debate. Cultural narcissism is the root.

7. The Dangerous Pit of Uniqueness. This article I believe can be helpful to those battling depression.

6. Shedding My Wilderness Sandals. I don’t know that this article has been beneficial to anyone else. But it symbols something profound that the Lord is doing in my heart. It was a top post for me and I think will have a huge impact on our 2014.

5. The Gospel’s Root Work and Axe Work. I hope that we talk about sanctification more in 2014.

4. Why Ministers Need the Wilderness. Really all of us need the wilderness.

3. 7 Ways that Social Media Makes Pastoring More Difficult. This one has been shared, liked, and visited more than any other article in 2013. I don’t think it’s even close to my best one—but for some reason it found a wide audience.

2. 7 Reasons Husbands Should Pray For Their Wives. This one is here because it also inspired the P4W and P4S Challenge. The P4D and 31 Days of Purity will be in 2014. This became far bigger than I could have imagined.

1. Why I Wrote a Book on Suffering. The article itself isn’t a top post, but it’s what it signifies. I was honored to publish a book in 2013. Not sure that I’ll get one out in 2014 but maybe we’ll get the ball rolling on one.

Honorable Mentions:

Fighting for Cover
Is Your Heart an Idol Factory?
How Jonathan Edwards Wrecked My Soul
The Church Going Full Ninja (This was a fun piece to write)

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*We’ve had several guest posts in 2013. And I’m excited that more writers have joined our team for 2013. The list does not include their articles—as good as they were—because my criteria for the top 13 is which ones were the most fun to write.

Today in Blogworld 12.23.13

Pastors and Plagiarism: We are all “Semi-Plagiarius.”

If we have a lengthy discussion on plagiarism I hope that what Erik Raymond is saying here is considered. I know that I’ve been guilty of this same thing. I’ve thought that something was original but if pressed I’d say that there truly is nothing new under the sun.

What To Do When Your Pastor Search Committee Can’t Agree

These are good articles to bookmark and give to your pastor search committee if you ever find yourself in that place. (HT: Rainer)

Harding-Kerrigan 20 Years Later

I remember being swept up by this story. Hard to believe that was twenty years ago. Interesting to see where they are twenty years later. (HT: Challies)

This is Not Worth Quacking About

This will probably be the only article/comment I make on the Duck Dynasty fiasco. I though this was balanced and reflects my opinion the best.

 

My son is in awe of this one: Working Life Size Lego Car