My Ten Favorite Blogs 2.0 (1 and 2)

And the top two blogs are:


2. The Voice of One Crying Out in Suburbia

Sometimes I think Arthur Sido and I were separated at birth. We agree on so many things it almost seems odd (his favorite sports teams are lacking, but no one is perfect). Regarding the church, Arthur and I have been on similar journeys. Basically, we've both read the bible, noticed inconsistencies in the church, seen that the church can be so much more than we had been a part of, and ventured into organic/simple/house church life.

That all said, I don't read Arthur's blog because he agrees with me on many things. That would be boring. Instead, I read it because Arthur is willing to take on any issue and "call a spade a spade." Arthur writes in a somewhat confrontational manner, pointing out institutional problems, abuses, and nonsensical traditions.

Arthur doesn't talk about only negatives. He does a good job of offering solutions. I appreciate a great deal both his interest in the Anabaptists and his desire for unity within the church.

Additionally, Arthur comes out of an LDS background; this gives him much wisdom in discerning and analyzing theological problems both inside and outside the church.

Read and enjoy.


1. The Assembling of the Church

Alan Knox and I first met about ten years ago when we were new students together at SEBTS. A few years later we were together at the planting of Messiah Baptist Church. We graduated together in 2006 with Masters degrees. Over this past decade I've watched Alan's views on the church change a great deal. I've also watched my own change. I'm just usually a few steps behind him.

Alan has a manner of blogging in which he writes about important topics, raises key questions, and generates much discussion. He manages to do this while at the same time being consistently gracious and not seeming to offend anyone. This is quite a skill when bringing up all sorts of church issues that usually cause folks to get upset easily.

Alan's writing has been immense. In the time that he has been blogging, he's covered almost every important issue related to church life. This is impressive considering that he has been working full-time and studying for his PhD.

When Alan began blogging, some of what he wrote bothered me. Some of it still does. However, I usually end up agreeing with him over time. This is not his intent; rather, he's just trying to be biblical. As I read scripture, I often end up coming to the same conclusions that Alan already has.

My views on the church have been deeply impacted by Alan over the years. I look forward to reading more in the years to come.