How can we connect you with Jesus? It’s the most important question anyone could ask you. And it’s the question that Kristi and I ask pastors and other servants of the Lord every day. In 2014 our Soul Shepherding website received 897,474 page views, crossing the two million mark! (since January 1st, 2010).
The #1 need reason people sought Soul Shepherding in 2014 was courage to face their fears. Our post “Fear Not! 365 Days a Year” received 42,155 views or 116 per day. The next highest needs people brought to us were: help with spiritual disciplines, downloading one of our free Lectio Divina Guides for personal devotions or leading a small group, and our Bible study on “Identity in Christ.”
The Top Ten New Posts of 2014
We generated 71 new resources for SoulShepherding.org in 2014. Here are the Top Ten posts from that group:
#1: “Praying for Clarity From God?” A great leader asked Mother Teresa to pray for him to have clarity from God. She said, “No! Clarity is what you’re holding onto. I never have clarity. I’ll pray for you to trust God.”
#2: “Four Degrees of Love.” This excerpt from Bernard of Clairvaux (from the 12th Century) has some surprising, sweet wisdom on mature love. You can check out all our Christ-enthralling, soul-nourishing, ministry-empowering excerpts from the classics of Christian devotion by following the tag “Classics.”
#3: “Bible Reading That Transforms Your Life.” A young pastor that I mentor asked me how I read the Bible to grow spiritually. This two-page article is my answer.
#4: “Paul’s Curriculum for Christlikeness.” The Apostle Paul’s course is quite different from the ones being put out today! This came out of my personal meditations after memorizing most of Colossians and then Kristi and I taught it as part of our TLC retreat-based training program. We have a couple of spots open for TLC in Coto de Caza, CA January 26-30 (one 5-day retreat).
#5: “Biblical Blunders That Bruise and Confuse.” Sadly, many people are harmed by misreading scripture (or inaccurate Bible teaching from others). This article clears up the most common examples of toxic faith.
#6: “When You Feel a Lack of Joy.” “We all want to experience more joy in life. Jesus prays this for us, asking the Father for us to have the fullness of his joy (John 15:11, 17:13).” That’s how this article begins. It features the 19th Century wisdom of F.B. Meyer, one of Dallas Willard’s mentors.
#7: “Secure and Insecure Attachment Styles.” This in-depth article helps you assess how well you make use of empathy from other people and God. It’s only the foundation of everything in your life!
#8: “Jesus’ Beatitudes For Pastors.” Here are eight blessings that I think Jesus wants to pronounce on pastors and ministry leaders today. Just like the beatitudes of the Bible these are shockers! The wisdom of Jesus is truly a great reversal!
#9: “Prevent Burnout: Renew Your Life in Christ!” I wrote this article just a few months ago (also for our TLC training) and yet it made it to the Top Ten for the year. Burnout is a huge problem for pastors and ministry leaders. This article features my assimilation of Dallas Willard’s teaching on overcoming burnout.
#10: “Brother Lawrence Writings (His Story).” This is another recently written article that’s getting a lot of attention. I loved writing this! I gathered the personal and biographical quotes from Brother Lawrence’s 17th century classic on Practicing God’s Presence and turned them into a short story of his intimate life with God. I wrote this for the book I’m writing, currently titled, A Transfigured Life: Conversations with Jesus to Renew Your Soul and Ministry.
How to Stay Connected to Soul Shepherding in 2015
SoulShepherding.org features 650 free resources for Christian counseling and spiritual formation. You and your friends can sign up to receive our free Soul Shepherding Devotional e-mails (about two per week). Or you can access our messages through Facebook (you have to like lots of posts on our Soul Shepherding FB page to start seeing them in your newsfeed!) or Twitter.
