My heart with my blogging ministry at The Bee Hive is to pastor through words. When I launched The Bee Hive, I wasn’t sure how many I would be able to shepherd through my writing.
In my first year of blogging, 2017, I was so encouraged to have 1,767 unique visitors to my website with 3,939 page views. I was so glad that my writing was being read and hopeful that it was helpful. I was concerned, though, that maybe after an acquaintance read the blog a couple times, the interest would diminish and the impact would wane.
That fear was answered in 2018, when I saw the first year’s numbers nearly double, with 3,463 unique visitors and 6,398 page views. In 2019, I was shocked to have those numbers double again with 8,500 unique visitors and over 13,600 page views.
This year those numbers grew to 12,000 unique visitors and 17,000 page views.
On top of that are my faithful subscribers (thank you!) who read my posts via email. Mailchimp tells me 76% of you regularly read my posts, which means that in this past year, around 25,000 posts were read via email.
My five most-read posts of 2020 follow. Several of these posts surprised me they made the list. If any of these posts blessed you, one way you can encourage me is by sharing one of your favorite posts with a friend and inviting them to sign up. There is no greater encouragement than knowing that I have helped a reader in some way. Thank you in advance! I’m so grateful for you!
5. On Critiquing Your Pastor: I’m glad this post was helpful to others. I share my embarrassment of an interaction with a pastor during college, and how I would handle it now.
When I was 20, my childhood church changed leadership. Soon after its vision statement changed. I was across the country in the middle of my undergraduate studies in Bible and theology. Out of the infinite resources of my leadership experience (sarcasm alert!), I generously offered my wisdom free-of-charge and wrote a letter to the new lead pastor. I'm still embarrassed by that letter.
The pastor never responded to my letter, but my hunch is he never forgot it. I've never been able to create a relationship with him, and my guess is he has intentionally kept me at arm's length after that letter. I don't blame him.
Twenty years later, I'm no stranger to being on the receiving end of those letters (and emails, and Facebook messages, and texts). Over the course of these past few strange months under the cloud of COVID-19, I've received more feedback than any other season of ministry. Every letter is an opportunity for me as a leader to grow in wisdom and humility. But every message takes an emotional and spiritual toll as well. [Continue Reading]
4. She Wanted Out: Navigating an Unwanted Divorce: So glad to see this post make the list. It’s a guest post from my friend, Wes Jackson touching on a sensitive and difficult issue.
It was Halloween Day, 2017, when my ex-wife told me she wanted a divorce. This announcement didn’t come completely out of the blue. We were ten days out from our last big fight, and it was only eight days since she sat me down to let me know that she wanted to stay together through the holidays for our kids’ sake and then separate in the new year.
We had been married for about eight and a half years and they were very difficult years together. We had tried Christian counseling. We’d met and prayed with our pastor. I thought we’d tried about everything possible and maybe separation wouldn’t be such a bad idea. We could give each other some space so things could cool down while we continued to meet with our Christian counselor with the hope of reconciling the marriage.
When her desire for a separation changed to a desire for a divorce, everything became much more difficult.
What followed was six to eight months with attorneys and paperwork and appearances in the Arizona Family Court system. [Continue Reading]
3. Run Toward the Fire: a Response to COVID-19: Written in the early days of COVID-19, I think the words still hold up. Look to the historic church in times of plagues.
How do you quantify fear? How do you measure anxiety?
None of us knows what lies ahead of us with the COVID-19 (coronavirus) situation. When scientists’ predictions range from tens of thousands to 10 million deaths worldwide,[i] you realize that it is impossible to gauge what the impact will be.
That uncertainty is fuel for fear; it fans the anxieties of our hearts.
But, dear Christian, we are not called to fear. We are not called to anxiety.
“[W]hich of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?” Jesus asks in Matthew 6:27. We know Jesus is right, but how do we stop the cycle of anxiety in our hearts? [Continue Reading]
2. Things Not to Say About Science: Written in 2019, this post picked up traction this year. I’m grateful it resonated.
My kids just got into the Jubilee channel on YouTube. Each episode of Jubilee brings people who have disagreements together to try to hash out their opposing opinions. They have shows about everything from abortion to immigration to everything in between. On one of the episodes, two sides debate whether the earth is flat or not. Of the three proponents that the earth is flat, two of the three were Christians. The three opponents were all scientists.
How did we get here? How did we get to a place where it feels as though one of the tenants of Christianity is to oppose scientific inquiry?
Christian friends, we’ve got to do better.
For many today, the perception is that you must choose between Christianity and science. How sad. Christianity used to be the leading institution on earth for scientific inquiry. [Continue Reading]
1. We are Contributors, Not Consumers: Far and away the most read post, this is a theme of much of my writing and I’m glad it connects with you, dear readers. It’s certainly something I’m passionate about.
What do you look for when you look for a church that is a good fit for you? Maybe it’s the music? Maybe it’s the preaching? Maybe it’s the children’s ministry?
5 STARS!
A quick scan through Google reviews of churches will give you a sense of how most people judge churches.
Here is a sampling of real reviews from churches around Tucson:
· I have two small boys ages 3 and 6 who can't get ready fast enough to go to church on Sundays because of the attention they place on kids. From the pastor to the coffee shop, everything rates 5 stars!!!
· The breakfast servers only greeted people they knew. It made me feel awkward at first. 1 star. [Continue Reading]
Thank you, dear reader, for joining me on this journey. I pray that this ministry blesses you. If you have a post that stands out as a favorite for you, one way you could bless me is to send it to a friend and encourage them to consider signing up.
Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash