I’ve enjoyed blogging over the past year. I have lots of thoughts and it’s been cathartic to get some of them out. I’m not 100% sure why I blog. I know I want to inform on biblical truths. I know I want to help people integrate those truths into their every day life. I’ve tried to be pretty raw and honest in my writing. Not in the traditional way, like making people cry. (I only remember crying 4 times in my life, so making others cry would be hard.) But in the way I share about what I struggle with theologically and culturally. I think others have struggled with similar issues and didn’t know how to connect it with God or His Word. I’ve done my best, and it’s been scary at times putting my opinions out into google-world. But I’ve learned things from my predominantly evangelical Christian reading audience. Here’s what I’ve learned.
1) Sex Sells
Every ad exec would tell you the same thing, but it’s pretty stark how true that is even with my Christian readership. I have had 60 posts this past year with 13,395 views. 5,236 of those visits (or just under 40%) were from only 5 posts that had the word “sex” in the title.
Same-Sex Marriage Is Now Legal: 6 Varied Responses from a Libertarian Leaning Pastor
Sexual Abuse: a Christian’s Response
This Post Is Rated PG-13 for Biblical Sexuality
& Sex Ed. vs. Abstinence vs. Purity
This might be because Christians have very few forums in which to discuss their sexuality or a safe place to discuss their social views on sex, or it might be because “sex” is very clickable and Christians aren’t really drastically different from the rest of the internet populace.
2)Social Issues are King
I ended up setting up a whole In the News section because of social issues. Same-sex Marriage, abortion, transgender issues, politics and the like have permeated the news cycle for months. Being born in the early 80’s, I’m trapped in between modernity and post-modernity and Gen-Xers and Millennials. I can think like both, and try to connect the two. I’m honestly pretty absolute in my beliefs, which definitely puts me in the former generational grouping, but my language and sensibilities speak to the latter. If you haven’t noticed, words are more important than actions to most of the younger generation. I try to stay away from offensive buzzwords as best I can without compromising biblical truth. It’s not always easy, but I obviously always side with Scripture. However, I sometimes find that the generally agreed upon view of Christians is not necessarily as “spelled-out” in Scripture some believe. We should absolutely unashamedly (but lovingly) share the truth of Scripture, but then admit where the Bible is a little more vague.
3) Jesus Doesn’t Get Clicks!
Here are my “worst” blog posts according to number of views. They all had less than 30 views:
So What the Heck is “Quality” Family Time? – Hardly anyone read it online, but weirdly enough, I reworked it a bit and the article was published in Families-on-the Go Magazine. Go figure.
Turning Lemons into Chicken Salad – I think the title is clever, but maybe I overestimated the speed at which people scroll on Facebook.
Becoming a Truly Multi-Generational Church – I guess this is only an interesting topics for pastors. I suppose the general church-goer doesn’t think on such a meta level.
A History of Government in the Bible (It’s More Interesting Than It Sounds) – Well I still agree that it’s more interesting than it sounds, but I guess telling people that doesn’t change the boring title.
Human Clay (A study of Romans 9, not the 1999 Creed Album) – Ok, the title is kinda stupid and the reference isn’t even quote pop culture. I guess there’s just no hook to this article but it’s not a bad post.
Easter v Christmas: Dawn of Justice – I think the “V” in the title must be overused. I thought I was capitalizing on Batman and Superman but I guess the bad reviews for that movie hurt my blog too.
And my least read blog of all time… All Hail King Jesus – What? Jesus doesn’t get clicks! I should have put on Facebook that those who love Jesus “share” those who like Jesus “like” and those that hate Jesus “ignore.” Yeah, that would have worked.
4) My Superlatives
Most Prophetic
Star Trek Taught Me about the Future of Missions
The Shortest Verse in the Bible Can Solve All Your Problems
Most Intelligent
Coming Soon: The 7 Jewish Feasts are Movie Trailers for JESUS: Vol I & II
Adam and Eve Were Identical Twin Spouses
Most Fun
The Most In-depth Blog on Christmas You Never Thought You’d Want to Read
Most Practical
Objectively, Jesus is Better Than Your God
Best Potential to Get on the Babylon Bee
10 Things I Hate About Expository Preaching
All Time Favorite Post
Think of Church Like a Restaurant
5) My Thank-you’s
I’m thankful for my wife who proofreads all my stuff. I always write “there” and “your” no matter what.
I’m thankful for Jesus for being the most interesting person EVER! And for the Bible for simultaneously being so simple and so complex.
I’m thankful for the Internet. How else could I reach over 90 countries with the Gospel from my living room. Not kidding. People from over 90 countries have clicked on one of my articles.
I’m thankful for my church family and my other friends. You are all so encouraging in ministry. Ministry is hard sometimes, but I’ve never felt downtrodden or over-burdened because of all of your support.
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Joe Allotta 