As one year draws to a close and the glimmer of another grows bright, it’s always healthy to sit back and take stock. Where have we been, and what have we learned, in 2012?
In God’s kindness, thousands of image-bearers—from longtime frequenters to first-time visitors—found their way to The Gospel Coalition website this year and read hundreds of feature articles and book reviews. In fact, eight of our ten most-read pieces of all time were published in 2012.
So what were those stories that so captivated your attention? More importantly, what do they reveal about our strengths, our weaknesses, our hopes, our fears? As you review the list below, prayerfully consider what we can learn and how we can grow. How might we at TGC better serve and equip the church at large—you—for gospel-driven ministry that redounds to the renown of Jesus’ name? How might you grow as a reader and, above all, as a Christian? How can we all seek to better leverage our time, our resources, and, yes, even our writing to advance the kingdom of Christ with renewed vigor and care in 2013?
10. How to Win the Public on Homosexuality by Collin Hansen
For presidents and paupers, gays and straights, there is no other way to true happiness than the one Jesus traveled, the way that ended in the agony of the Cross and the ecstasy of the Resurrection.
9. Why Bible Study Doesn’t Transform Us by Jen Wilkin
Left to our own devices, we pursue a host of unsavory (and un-transformative) self-constructed approaches to “spending time in the Word.” Here are several one author encounters on a regular basis.
8. Tim Tebow Cancels Speech at Event Organized by Prosperity Gospel Preacher by Joe Carter
The young quarterback understands that by speaking at the event he would be lending his credibility to men who preach a false gospel.
7. Today Was Supposed to Be My Wedding Day by M. Connor
Marriage and family are still the two things I want most in life, but I know that they’re in God’s control—not mine. I leave my future in his hands.
6. Carson and Keller on Jakes and the Elephant Room by D. A. Carson and Tim Keller
Controversy can provide a teaching moment, and it’s hard to deny such a moment has arrived. We hope the following theological reflections will clarify at least a few issues for some people.
5. Don’t Take It from Me: Reasons You Should Not Marry an Unbeliever by Kathy Keller
An unequal marriage is not just unwise for the Christian, it is also unfair to the non-Christian, and will end up being a trial for them both.
4. A Year of Biblical Womanhood (Review) by Kathy Keller
I would have been glad to read a book that genuinely addressed biblical womanhood, whether I agreed with its conclusions or not. Unfortunately, Rachel Held Evans didn’t write such a book.
3. Why You Should Consider Cancelling Your Short-Term Missions Trips by Darren Carlson
Short-term missions is fraught with problems, and many wish such trips did not exist, at least in the common form today.
2. Texas Atheist ‘Flabbergasted’ by Outpouring of Christian Charity by Joe Carter
Far too often we get bogged down in fighting faux cultural battles and forget that the “enemies” our Lord commands us to love are also our neighbors. When we take the time to show concern and charity, it can melt the hardest of hearts.
1. Gay Is Not the New Black by Voddie Baucham
Equating same-sex “marriage” with civil rights is ubiquitous and illogical. Indeed, there is no legal, logical, moral, biblical, or historical reason to support it.