Are these the top church blogs?

February 3, 2009

Following some links from a comment left today, I found this: Top 60 Church Blogs.

What do you think of it?

What stands out to you?

Thoughts?

I’m not going to comment until the conversation gets rolling.

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22 comments on “Are these the top church blogs?”

Jennifer on February 3, 2009 at 1:13 pm said:

I would love to know what the “leanings” of each of these blogs would be – I saw a few emergent and a few reform. There didn’t seem to be any blogs that address simple church or family issues. I also thought it interesting that, as far as I can tell, there are only two women on the list, neither of whom appear to have children.

The thought that occurred to me is that we as mothers are helping to form the church of the future and yet we often seem absent from the so-called “conversation.” I know for me that I’m just too busy doing the work to spend much time writing about the work, but I often feel “left out.” It saddens me that the simplicity of serving quietly in the home still seems to be undervalued in the “church world.”

Just a few random thoughts to get the conversation going…
Sallie @ a quiet simple life on February 3, 2009 at 1:24 pm said:

And excellent random thoughts they are. Thanks for getting things started.
Kim on February 3, 2009 at 2:48 pm said:

Uh, mostly men? Mostly people’s names? Mostly either Reformed blogs or emergent-like? All Protestants? Dunno.
TheNormalMiddle on February 3, 2009 at 3:05 pm said:

let me preface by saying I SKIMMED it.

But what stands out? 2 things.

1: MEN. Men, men, men. (not going there.)

2. it’s all over the map. There is a vast difference between Challies and Michael Spencer in theology and thinking. We’ve got reformed and we’ve got tow-the-liners, and we’ve got emergent all in that list. Which is exactly what the American church is status quo—all over the map.

Thank God Doug Phillips wasn’t on there (or at least I didn’t notice). Keep patriarchy out of it please.
thatmom on February 3, 2009 at 3:41 pm said:

The majority of these guys are under 40.
Sallie @ a quiet simple life on February 3, 2009 at 5:48 pm said:

Oooo, thatmom, I missed that! Good eye!

I was really struck by not just the overall lack of women on the list, but the complete lack of women who I KNOW have to have numbers comparable to and, in some cases, better than numerous bloggers on that list.

What criteria did they use? “110 well-known blogs were selected”. Well known by who? I had heard of probably a dozen of them, a few of which I’ve read at times. Who were the other 50?

The website said (bold mine):

There are hundreds of great church blogs and ministry blogs to read, but do you ever wonder which church blogs everyone else is reading?

I do, which is why I have compiled a list of the world’s top church blogs.

Some focus exclusively on ministry, while others are more like theology blogs. Regardless of how you label them, these are the world’s most popular church blogs written by many of today’s most influential church leaders, theologians, and Christ followers.

Ok, so this is supposed to be the very best of the church in the entire world. So there are almost no women writing the top blogs in the church? Really?

And I’m assuming you don’t have to be a professional clergy in order to qualify because it says it includes “Christ followers”. I admit to not being up on all the cool lingo, but I’m pretty sure that that term is not limited to clergy.

Without even breaking a sweat I could think of two blogs written by women and one blog written by a man that HAD to have numbers comparable to some of those blogs. I could think of another one that I was pretty sure would make the top 60. I thought of another one that probably would have if she hadn’t stopped blogging for a bit and came back. (Oh and while proofreading this comment I just thought of another one that would probably make the list, but I’m not going to look up the numbers.)

So I took time out of my life to satisfy my curiosity and as far as I could tell with the information made public, I was pretty much right on.

One of them I couldn’t find numbers for because his blog is not set up to qualify (as far as I could tell). Sorry, NormalMiddle, but Doug Phillips at Vision Forum would have to have comparable numbers. You know I’m not a VF supporter, but still. If we’re going to talk about people impacting the church through blogs, you have to include him whether you agree with him or not.

You’ll have to open up another window to compare codes if you are really interested. I am assuming I found the numbers they were using for their rankings. If I got the wrong ones, someone can point this out to me . And I did not find numbers for Google Readers because it was confusing to find and I have a life.

Two women that should definitely be on there.

Woman 1
AR: 456,600
BS: 344
GP: NA
TA: 1053
TIL: 4,459

Woman 2
AR: 250,051
BS: 212, 37 or 56 or the sum total
GP: 6
TA: 402
TIL: 1901

There is no way those two wouldn’t end up on there in the top 60.

Another one that I’m pretty sure would make the cut:

Woman 3
AR: 945,107
BS: 104, 123 or 275 or the sum total
GP: 5
TA: 288
TIL: 818

Another woman who might make the cut and definitely would have if she hadn’t quit blogging and started again:

Woman 4
AR: 495,344
BS: 44
GP: 4
TA: 95
TIL: 401

I even looked up my numbers just to see how they compared. They have definitely taken a hit since I quit blogging and changed my blog name last year. But I would bet they would be well within the top 110 if those numbers were made available. Many of my individual numbers were ahead of many of the top 60 although I don’t think the combination would put me high enough on the list. But I had to satisfy my curiosity!

I’d love to have someone come here and explain this to us.

Ok, can you guess who Women 1, 2, 3 and 4 are? I would guess you have definitely been exposed to three of them. One of them might be a little more difficult to guess.
Sallie @ a quiet simple life on February 3, 2009 at 6:45 pm said:

Me again.

As you can tell, this has really got me going. I’ve been folding laundry, packing up our office which is getting painted tomorrow (no more pink walls for David after two and a half years), and all the other things women have to do around trying to sneak in a little blogging time. But the whole time I’ve been thinking about this list.

I was thinking about what Jennifer said in the first comment:

The thought that occurred to me is that we as mothers are helping to form the church of the future and yet we often seem absent from the so-called “conversation.” I know for me that I’m just too busy doing the work to spend much time writing about the work, but I often feel “left out.” It saddens me that the simplicity of serving quietly in the home still seems to be undervalued in the “church world.”

This really hits the nail on the head. People wonder why some women feel so marginalized in the church and, to me, this list is the perfect example. Whether we are left out because we are busy serving or when we do find time to write we write about that serving, we are still not recognized as impacting the church just as much as the men who discuss the finer points of theology on their blogs.

NormalMiddle pointed out that theologically it is a cross section of denominations which is good. I don’t know the bent of the people who compiled the list, but given that the name of the blog is Church Relevance I’m going to go waaaaay out on a limb and guess they’re probably not super conservative toe-the-liners (to use NormalMiddle’s term). So why the lack of women? Just didn’t cross their minds? Don’t think blogs that aren’t primarily theological are impacting the church? Don’t think that women who blog about spiritual matters (albeit not Greek meanings and systematic theology) aren’t impacting the church in a major way?

Have to stop. Gotta give that toddler a bath!
Em on February 3, 2009 at 9:24 pm said:

Before reading anyone else’s comments, here’s what I think from a 5 minute glance of the guy’s site. . .

He’s running a business. I read his “About” section without even looking at the #1 site.

But it could very much confuse someone looking for a solid, Christian website where they could be fed spiritually. That’s what I think in a nutshell. He’s a bit misleading and should be forthcoming that his site is about marketing his business.

Maybe I’m wrong and didn’t look deep or long enough.
Em on February 3, 2009 at 9:35 pm said:

Can I just say that I find these types of “businesses” attempting to market the church alot like big business consultants were in the 80s? They got paid big bucks to reorganize for “efficiency & effectiveness”, and look what a mess those consultants left behind in their wake! The greedy made big bucks and ran off leaving corporations and middle management in the lurch.

Everybody has made some interesting points about his list, but bottomline is that he’s all about his business to help “market your church”. I can’t put a finger on his ministry, and maybe I’m being mean-spirited.

I’m not even going to peruse his list.
Jen on February 4, 2009 at 10:38 am said:

I’m surprised Beth Moore wasn’t mentioned. Surely she has a substantial blog/internet following.

The thing that stood out to me was the youth factor. Unfortunately I didn’t notice the lack of women until I came back here and read the comments.
Lori on February 4, 2009 at 11:50 am said:

When I first read your post I wondered what they thought the top 60 were. I have my own favorites as do most people who read blogs. So I was not so sure I wanted to read someone else’s opinion of what a top blog is. There is a lot of difference between popularity, business and being in love with God. It is not all about numbers in churches or how many people read your blog. Our walk with God isn’t about the business side of church. Isn’t it about being in love with Him.

I think we can get all caught up in how we feel about this as women. Em is right that he seems to be all about business. It is easy for me to get caught up in the irritation of this type of thing but when I do I end up taking my eyes off of where I need to have them be and that is on the Lord. I don’t want to get caught up in someone else’s ideas about what is best. It isn’t about the numbers, it is perhaps about heart and content. Our value isn’t in what is on what is on someone’s list it is in Christ.
Jenny on February 4, 2009 at 12:44 pm said:

Guesses on the women:
Amy? (humble musings)
Spunky?
Beth Moore?
Sallie @ a quiet simple life on February 4, 2009 at 12:45 pm said:

Jen – Ding ding ding! Beth Moore is Woman 1. I don’t see how they could have possibly left her off.

Lori – In many ways, I do agree with you. I agree that numbers aren’t everything. But let’s assume he is doing this list and people are discussing it just for the business end of things. Doesn’t it seem like they would have gone out of their way to include at least a few more token women on the list? Just from the business standpoint, it seems like a poor move. And to leave off someone like Beth Moore? She has a very popular blog and her numbers would have to place her very high on the list. I know she could probably care less about the list. And maybe a lot of women bloggers wouldn’t care either. But on behalf of the women who would be offended by the list – whether they blog prominently or not – I felt I wanted to discuss this.

There is a segment of women in the church who feel sincerely marginalized and to them, this is not just about a heart issue or loving Christ being enough. It goes much deeper than that.
Sallie @ a quiet simple life on February 4, 2009 at 12:47 pm said:

Jenny – We must have been typing at the same time. DING DING DING!!!
Woman 3 is Amy
Woman 4 is Spunky
And as Jen guessed, Woman 1 is Beth Moore

Those were the three I thought people would get right off. Woman 2 I thought might be a little harder, although maybe not if you are a Conservative… (That’s a hint…)
MrsNehemiah on February 4, 2009 at 2:03 pm said:

Barb from Mommylife?

I can’t remember is Randy Alcorn (eternal perspectives) on the list?

Ann Voskamp (holy experience)
she doesn’t have comments enabled which probably limits her followership, but I would put her (have put her) in my top 5

Mrs N
thatmom on February 4, 2009 at 3:18 pm said:

I saw stats for VF a while back and found it interesting that Truewomanhood has nearly twice the monthly readers that VF does. I also saw that Michael and Debi Pearl have about 8 X the hits of VF and Ladies Against Feminism has roughly the same numbers as LAF. I would have thought that Biblical Womanhood would also have many more hits than some of those mentioned. None of this sounds right to me.

As far as the age is concern, perhaps it is a reflection on the hipness of those under 65 when it comes to using technology. Let’s face it, J. Vernon McGee could never have pulled off answering questions that came via text messaging like Driscoll does. But I also think there is something to be said about the affinity for the young and hip when it comes to preaching and teaching.

Oh dear, I sound like my mother now!
thatmom on February 4, 2009 at 3:19 pm said:

Oops, I meant to say that LAF has about the same stats as the Pearls.
Deb on February 5, 2009 at 1:47 am said:

What an interesting conversation here, Sallie! Thank you!

I skimmed the list and clicked on five blogs at random. Two were from large churches, and reminded me more of a business or marketing pitch than anything spiritual. Only one of the five had entries that resembled sermons or Biblically related content. One was very pop culture oriented, complete with links to Super Bowl commercials.

I. Was. Not. Impressed.

I read a handful of blogs frequently. Yours, for one, Sallie. Some are written by home school moms. Some are written by farmers. They have far more Biblical content than these so-called popular blogs from the top 60. I read Ann V., as someone mentioned above, and she has wonderful and honest insight to living the Christian walk. I didn’t see anything that matched her wisdom in any of the five blogs I happened upon from the list.

Thanks, but no thanks, Mr. Top 60 Church Blogs. I think I’ll stick with my own favorites!
Sallie @ a quiet simple life on February 5, 2009 at 6:44 am said:

Mrs.Nehemiah – I did not think of MommyLife, but Barbara’s numbers would have to be competitive. As well as Ann’s. Good catch!

thatmom – That is interesting about TrueWomanhood vs VF. I admit I’ve not been at TrueWomanhood at all the past number of months (had to take a break from controversial women’s issues and patriarchy stuff) so I’m glad to hear that readership is so strong over there. Biblical Womanhood was the blog I mentioned I thought of while I was writing my comment above but was too lazy to look up the numbers. But yes it would have to be on there. And according to what you wrote about the Pearls, I would expect that as well. Good thoughts.

thatmom said:

As far as the age is concern, perhaps it is a reflection on the hipness of those under 65 when it comes to using technology. Let’s face it, J. Vernon McGee could never have pulled off answering questions that came via text messaging like Driscoll does. But I also think there is something to be said about the affinity for the young and hip when it comes to preaching and teaching.

I don’t have a problem per say with technology. I met my husband on the internet so any time I’m tempted to think technology is evil, I just have to remind myself that God used technology to bring us together! So I understand why the under 40 crowd is really focused on using it for ministry. That said, I’d still rather hear or read a well-thought out, Scripture-based answer from McGee than be impressed that Driscoll can come up with a smart-aleck, possibly laced with profanity and innuendo answer off the cuff.

Deb – Thanks for your kind words. They truly do mean a lot.
Sallie @ a quiet simple life on February 5, 2009 at 6:54 am said:

And now to reveal the other woman behind the statistics… Woman 2 is LaShawn Barber. If you aren’t acquainted with her, I highly encourage you to spend a little time looking through her recent entries. She is an articulate, funny and interesting person. Don’t be deceived by the lack of comments (which I believe she turned off a bit ago due to time constraints). She is widely read by many.

Enjoy!
thatmom on February 6, 2009 at 7:18 am said:

Sallie, I posted a link to this discussion and to the original link on the TW blog and here is the response from the owner of the relevance blog:

“To clarify, 3 women are on the list, but the trend is interesting nonetheless.

And it would be safer to say that most are under 50.

Also, the subject is not religion but blogs that discuss subjects relevant to creating more effective Christian churches.”
Pastor Dan Bohlman on October 21, 2009 at 1:02 pm said:

Once again, Great website, and great writing.