By Justin Rossow
Wow! What a year for the web page!
After we were forced to relaunch on short notice (thanks, Mr. Hacker!), our St. Luke family embraced the redesigned web page as a tool for discipleship and communication across the multisite. To date, we have had over 250 posts, close to 300 comments, and upwards of 60,000 page views! And all of that since mid August!
I have been impressed with the wide variety of thoughtful, engaging, and often humorous content put out by our St. Luke writers. And the way the whole congregation has shared these articles with family and friends on Facebook and Twitter has really been a great thing to see! What a wonderful way to point people in your circles towards knowing and following Jesus! The web page has become a tool both for discipleship growth and for Reaching Out. What a great year!
As the calendar ticks away the days left in this year, our web content team thought we should revisit the 13 most viewed articles from the St. Luke blog from 2013. Take a walk down memory lane, find something you missed, and pass it on to a friend.
[title size=”2″]Byron Shares a Word of Hope [/title]
By Michell & Byron Porisch
Byron, a faithful friend and teacher to the last, showed us how a follower of Jesus handles even the most difficult of situations. Byron and Michell were so consistent in worship and such an example of trust in the face of uncertainty.
I cherished my time with the whole Porisch family. And when Michell put into words some of what Byron had been expressing over several months of illness, it’s no wonder that encouragement went to the top of the charts!
Byron was well-loved across the country, and family and friends celebrated Byron’s legacy of faith, in part, on the internet.
There was so much quality content related to Byron, he could have had his own Top 13! For more of these very popular posts, check out all the Byron articles at #WeLoveByron Round Up.
[title size=”2″]Hope in a Time of Mourning [/title]
By Dan Flynn
When Pastor Dan Flynn responded to Byron’s death, he gave us some insight into how people of hope grieve. His article brings together both the deep sadness of loss and the deep faith of a follower of Jesus.
The result is an article that reaches beyond one particular loss and gives us tools for approaching all kinds of loss on our journey of faith.
[title size=”2″]What Will You Hold In Your Hand?[/title]
I met Roxanne and Andy at their home so I could get to know them a little better. I was deeply moved by Roxanne’s story and by their faith as a couple. When I asked her to think about writing something about her experience with chronic suffering, she readily agreed. This wonderful article was the result.
For a look into the technical aspects of photography that went in to capturing the stunning image of hands that accompanied this article, see Austin Thomason’s blog A View Through the Lens.
[title size=”2″]Dress Up Like Jesus This Halloween[/title]
I set out to write a blog about trying to be mission minded on a day when most of our neighbors are out and about; we ended up getting into an interesting conversation about Halloween itself.
But the real emphasis of my article was connecting with people we don’t know. Another take on the mission minded theme was my article about Nutella on Mars.
[title size=”2″]No Mom Should Stand Alone [/title]
By Jamie Renken
Jamie Renken leads the MOPS group at the St. Luke–Ann Arbor site. This insightful and honest blog talks about her experience of coming to grips with the expectations of mothering and the sometimes chaotic realities of family life. It fits MOP’s theme for the year perfectly: A Beautiful Mess!
Make sure the moms in your life have seen this wonderful expression of mothering.
Our Mother’s of Preschoolers group as provided a range of quality content. Check out more articles on their MOPS page.
[title size=”2″]Valor: Giving With Nothing to Gain[/title]
By Sam Fink
Austin Thomason is known for his good-natured smile and photographic prowess, but the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Department saw something more.
Austin was awarded the Citizen Award of Valor for the help he offered one cold night last November. Austin’s good friend Sam Fink writes the story.
[title size=”2″]Given For You… Really[/title]
By Scott Giger
Sometimes the best content is simply a clarification of what we believe. In this blog, Pastor Scott Giger looks at our theology of the Lords’ Supper and relates our views to other approaches to the Sacrament of the Altar. The result is both informative and encouraging, a “here’s what we believe and why.”
Some of Giger’s other blogs popular blogs also touched on big theological questions and answers: Does Science Need God? and In Defense of Church.
[title size=”2″]Samaria In My Backyard[/title]
Lydia brings an experienced blogger’s perspective to our Worship in My Week series. She also has a way with words that both challenge and inspire.
Lydia lets us look over her shoulder as she seeks to grow in faith and faithfulness in her own little corner of the world. By opening up her own life, she opens up our lives as well.
[title size=”2″]Raising Servants[/title]
By Rachael Varblow
This real-life discipleship story takes place in the context of family faith and life. The decisions we make as parents help shape our children in their relationship to Jesus, even when things don’t turn out the way we planned!
I really appreciate how Rachael and her family are living out their faith, and even more importantly, living it out as a family! Although your family dynamic may be different, there’s good food for thought here as we consider the kind of things we do in our own families and how we might be more intentional about following Jesus together.
[title size=”2″]All For The Price of a Coffee[/title]
By Rick Wilson
Rick Wilson is glad to regale you on a Sunday morning with the latest discipleship experience from his week. I love how Rick takes the Word seriously and expects it to make a difference in his daily life.
This particular story is from a day in the life of a truck driver, and a story that helps us all think through living out our faith more intentionally.
[title size=”2″]A Sure Promise[/title]
Part of Miriam’s process of becoming integrated in a new faith family has been the expression of her faith on our blog. Although I know I am biased, I am proud to say I find her writing engaging, insightful, down to earth, and always focused on following Jesus.
In this piece, Miriam honestly shares some of her struggle with the transition that started for our family a year ago. The comments in response to her article speak of the kind of faith family we have here at St. Luke, and I love all of it, from start to finish.
Other popular blogs by Miriam include Best Friends Forever and Once Upon a Time … Happily Ever After.
[title size=”2″]In My Place[/title]
By Emily Anderson
The Mexicali mission trip our youth take annually is intended to serve local people in the name of Jesus. But it’s also intended to help shape the faith and life of all who serve.
Emily shares some of her thoughts on how Mexicali affected her faith life, including how the experience changed for her over her High School years. Her insights into the discipleship aspect of service translate into our lives as followers of Jesus, not only when we are on a mission trip, but as we live out our faith in our daily lives.
For more articles related to youth and youth families, check out our Youth page.
[title size=”2″]I Could Live Without…[/title]
Faith, trust, and family finances; put those together and you get a great article! Krissa is responding to a worship service and modeling what it means to expect God’s Word to matter for your daily life.
Whatever your family looks like, you can probably relate to the way Krissa presents her own view of herself and her family, and the change in perspective worshipping in God’s presence invited her to make. Trying to stay open to where God would lead you next as you follow Jesus is one of the habits of a disciple we are all trying to get better at.
For more of these kind of responses to God’s Word in worship, check our webpage weekly. Back articles can be found here: Worship in My Week.
