I just sent out the January edition of our Baptist Buzz email newsletter. It’s the easiest way for you to keep up with what’s being talked about on SBC blogs. Every month, I summarize the leading conversations and links some example posts.
Why are we doing a newsletter? The simple answer is this: I wanted to open up a 2nd communication channel with our readers. The email list gives our most loyal readers an additional contact point with SBCvoices. It also provides an executive summary of the 100+ posts I mark each month as Baptist Buzz. The long answer has to do with reader retention and some experience I have with other online publishing projects – but I’ll spare you that!
Our Newsletter content is exclusive to the email list – we do not post it here on the blog – except today. What follows is a sample of the newsletter. To get future editions you’ll need to subscribe.
Baptist Buzz Newsletter
Vol. 2 Issue 1
Saturday 31 January 2009Tony,Welcome to another edition of the Baptist Buzz Newsletter from SBCvoices. Each monthly email covers what’s being said on Southern Baptist blogs. This issues covers the Baptist blogosphere from January 2009.
Inside This Issue
- Top Out Clicks In January 2009
- Baptist Buzz: New Year Punditry, Follow The Money, Driscoll Buzz, Inauguration, SBC Decline
- Spread This Newsletter
Top Out Clicks In January 2009
According to my Wordpress stats from SBCvoices, these are the top ten blog stories that our readers clicked out to read in January 2009.
- The Cussing Pastor Continues His Influence Among Southern Baptists by Peter Lumpkins
- Trouble at Southwestern Theological Seminary by Wade Burleson
- A Theologian’s Response to Contextualization by SBC Today
- Stemming SBC Membership Decline by Ed Stetzer
- What the ESV Study Bible says about 1 Timothy 2:12 by Evangelical Village
- My Prediction: The Coming Evangelical Collapse (1) by Internet Monk
- Riffs: 01:18:09: Are Southern Baptists Getting It? Maybe. by Internet Monk
- A Shocking Confession by Internet Monk
- Calvinism: The Conflict That May Never Go Away by Peter Lumpkins
- Should We Support Israel? by Russell Moore
Baptist Buzz Recap
- New Year’s Punditry: Few bloggers could resist saying something about the coming of 2009. BP columnist Kelly Boggs suggested 4 resolutions worth making. Wade Burleson make his predictions for 2009 and proposed a resolution for the SBC - which generated 110+ blog comments. SBCvoices wrote a recap of the top 10 SBC stories from 2008.
- Follow The Money: The really big story for the SBC right now continues to be the budget shortfalls facing all of our institutions. The best recap from this is in Baptist Press, look to the second half of this story to get the full picture. You can also read our posts on the topic or LifeWay research on stewartship & church members debt. Don’t miss SBC Impact’s biblical remedy for poverty.
- Driscoll Buzz: The spotlight was on Mark Driscoll (Seattle Pastor, not SBCer) this month and the media attention his church has been getting. Many Southern Baptist bloggers are not impressed. Read “They Are Sinning Through Questioning” by Internet Monk, The Problem of Authoritarianism in the Conservative Pulpits of America by Wade Burleson, and “The Cussing Pastor” Continues Influence Among Southern Baptists by Peter Lumpkins. Denny Burk also notes the NYT story.
- Inauguration: There was plenty of talk about Rick Warren’s prayer, especially in comparison with others. See the video from Tim Brister’s blog, the comparison from Internet Monk, and perspective on the Bishop’s prayer from Denny Burk. You can also read Trevin Wax on our new national sin and Bart Barber on the tragic irony in it all. Non-SBCer John Piper offered a prophetic repsonse to Obama.
- SBC Decline: The whole question of SBC decline was rehashed this month as The Tennessean posted this article and this article. Ed Stetzer responded here and here. Pat Hood responded here. The Washington Post also ran an online feature on SBC decline and Malcolm Yarnell offered this response. SBC Today posted on the way we SBCers love big numbers.
Spread This Newsletter
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Thanks for reading the Baptist Buzz Newsletter, to send feedback simply reply to Tony@SBCvoices.com
So, what did you think? I’m trying to be brief and fairly represent the conversations that are happening across SBC blogs. Feel free to leave comments below and be sure to subscribe by email to get future editions.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
I think this is a great service, and I think now that I’ve seen a sampling, I will subscribe.
Bradley
Bradleys last blog post..:::: Is Mark Driscoll Trying to Be Cool? :::: Media Propaganda
@ Bradley: Thanks – how was your meeting tonight?
It appears that Internet Monk and Peter Lumpkins have dominated the list. I am not shocked they both have very good, insightful posts.
With that, he is…
Peter
Matt Svobodas last blog post..Obama’s Hypocrisy?
It’s hard to not mark everything Internet Monk writes as “Baptist Buzz.” Under 50 is a low post for comments, and almost every topic has a direct tie to the SBC right now.
Peter does a good job dealing with current SBC issues too, and often gets solid feedback.
I’ve tried to broaden my “watch list” to include more blogs outside the big ones – but they typically don’t generate the same level of reader engagement on SBC issues.
@ Matt: Good job to you at Evangelical Village. I’m definitely watching what you guys write too.