20 Christian Blogs You Should Be Reading
January 23rd, 2007
With all the lists going around, I figured I’d do one that actually mattered; one we could learn from, instead of just a list of beauty contest winners. So without further ado, a list of 20 Christian blogs (not necessarily church-planting related) you should be reading.
- Evotional by Mark Batterson. This one is a no-brainer. Mark basically put Christian blogging on the map, and he’s the first Christian blog I started reading on a regular basis. He posts regularly with high-quality content. Plus, he’s in DC.
- Tony Morgan Live by Tony Morgan. This is another no-brainer. Tony was also one of the original Christian bloggers; it was “simply strategic” for him to do so. Har har.
- Monday Morning Insight. I must confess: I’m not a subscriber. Lots of great content, good layout, plenty of people tuning in. I’m just not one of ‘em. But I know it’s a good blog.
- Perry Noble dot com by Perry Noble. Great content. Could be updated a little more regular, but great content. I’m just as passionate as he is about some things, so I connect with him well.
- Challies dot com by Tim Challie. You want to talk about content? This guy has it. Almost too much. The only thing that brings him down in my eyes? Not enough short content. I don’t feel like reading a book every post. But it takes something special to write like that on a daily basis.
- dinorizzo.com by Dino Rizzo. Great stuff from the Ragin’ Cajun. Terrific layout, nice content, and lots of pretty pictures to look at.
- Mad Babble from a Church Planter by Gary Lamb. This one’s fiery too. He’s got great content, a decent layout (it’s very readable), and he’s a great guy leading a great church in GA. Why isn’t he 5 or 6? He’s a GA Bulldogs fan. Go Gamecocks.
- Earl Creps by Earl Creps. Awesome blog, just recently came across it. Awesome content, with a beautiful layout. I’d much rather see more of the posts on the front page, though.
- History in the Making by Ben Arment. Nice content, not just church stuff, either. His church is going through a major transition right now, and it’s been awesome to follow him along in that.
- Velocity by Dave Ferguson. The President of the National New Church Conference is using blogs to his advantage in some creative ways, reminiscient of Mark Batterson with Evotional. Good stuff out of Chi-Town.
- The Forgotten Ways by Alan Hirsch. The famous missiological writer has a missional blog too. Good content, pretty design.
- Church Communications Pro. This guy is all over the place when it comes to tech and church. He covers it all; from music to podcasts and sites to blogs. Good content, decent layout, good blog.
- Tadd Grandstaff by Tadd Grandstaff. This church planters’ blog is great. Tadd’s at a point right now where it’s like following along in his story from the very beginning, instead of picking up a year in. He’s a good writer, his layout changes constantly to keep things interesting, and he’s big on comments. Good stuff.
- Goodmanson.Com by Drew Goodmanson. Awesome, awesome content. Combine it with a great layout, and you’ve got a great blog. Definite top 10 if he posted more often.
- kaleobill.com by Bill Streger. This Texan has a great blog with a good design, but it can be improved upon. Pretty decent content too.
- Mark Driscoll’s blog by Mark Driscoll. Man, I wished he posted more often. Good content otherwise, but it’s far and few between.
- LeadingSmart by Tim Stevens. A late arrival onto the scene, he was once Tony Morgan’s partner in crime. Keep a lookout for his blog’s stock to be on the rise.
- To Encourage and Equip by Tally Wilgis. Decent content, and a good layout make for a solid blog from this church planter.
- Pastor Steve Weaver’s Blog by Steve Weaver. I wouldn’t expect any of you to read this guy, but his stuff on preaching and the church is awesome. Simply stunning. Bravo, Steve!
- bobfranquiz.com by Bob Franquiz. Great blog, period. Good content, pretty layout. Good stuff.
Notables That Didn’t Make It:
LifeChurch.tv (Swerve): Too new.
Shawn Lovejoy: Too new.
Scot McKnight: Not a real fan of the content or writing style.
Jonathan Herron: Barely squeezed from the top 20. Barely.
Not Counting As Blog:
Church Relevance, Church Marketing Sucks, Churchonomics, etc.
January 23rd, 2007 at 2:41 pm
Rats - the squeeze hurts.
Thanks for the shout-out, Derek!
January 23rd, 2007 at 3:15 pm
Derek…
I have the same problem with Gary. Nice to find another Gamecock in the blogosphere.
January 23rd, 2007 at 4:19 pm
Nice list…Although I would disagree with ya on Batterson (who is one of my favorite bloggers) putting Christian blogs on the map.
IMHO, that would go to Andrew Jones & DJ Chuang. But, I think the emerging church folks put blogging on the Christian map. I started my first blog in 2001.
January 23rd, 2007 at 6:46 pm
[…] put up a list of 20 Christian Blogs You Should be Reading. You should read them, and regularly too! It is so, so awesome to see this sort of quality increase […]
January 23rd, 2007 at 10:30 pm
[…] post from Harmony Blog listed the top 20 must read blogs. I actualy just found out about Harmony Blog through Gary Lamb’s post about this list. I only […]
January 24th, 2007 at 10:13 am
Derek,
Thanks for the link and the kind words!
Steve
January 24th, 2007 at 10:25 am
Thanks for the add to the list. I’m honored to be with this crew. Big fun to see friends like Mark here, too.
January 24th, 2007 at 10:30 am
With regard to Earl’s site, I am the web designer for Earl. We increased the word count for the excerpts. Do your readers prefer getting the whole post, or do they like excerpts which are more scan-able.
January 24th, 2007 at 6:11 pm
I think it’s important to remember God shows us things for a purpose not just to rant. I believe God is evoking change in His church, so we should do it humbly.
January 25th, 2007 at 3:22 pm
[…] you’re looking for further reading from the world of the personal musings of pastors…click here. It’s a list of 20 Christian blogs the author claims ‘you should be […]
January 26th, 2007 at 1:01 am
What about Joe Carter’s Evangelical Outpost or Steve McCoy’s Reformissionary? Come on!
January 26th, 2007 at 9:34 pm
Thanks for compiling such a list. I will search around.
January 29th, 2007 at 2:28 pm
Thanks for throwing in your opinion, and what an accurate opinion for the most part it is.
Just a quick question for you or anyone else, What makes a blog good? What are you you looking for exactly?
Thanks again for your list.
January 29th, 2007 at 2:41 pm
Todd:
I’m really looking for three main criteria: content, design, and applicability to a wide audience. I mentally score each of those categories, and then order them from highest to lowest. The ones at the top of the list have great content, great design, and apply to a wider audience. As you go down the list, something suffers in one of those categories. Thanks for asking!
January 31st, 2007 at 7:41 pm
[…] these to your […]
February 1st, 2007 at 9:56 am
What? No Bored-Again Christian? How are you people getting your Indie fix?
February 6th, 2007 at 6:44 pm
YOU ARE BLESSING ME DEREK!
I am a missionary in Costa Rica and have been reading blogs for personal and spiritual investment, insight and wisdom. I know Groeschel isn’t a fan of lists (read his latest blog) but this list will be ministering to me for years as I will add many of these blogs to my reader. Thanks Derek.
February 6th, 2007 at 6:54 pm
Phil:
I completely agree with Craig (except on the Batman-Superman thing. Batman would just order Kryptonite off of ebay from the batcave, no problem) on lists. I did this list mainly as a way to conglomerate blogs that people should be reading,not to prioritize blogs in order of importance. You should check out one of my earlier posts (December 22nd) on the innovative church lists.
February 8th, 2007 at 2:24 pm
Derek,
I Re-read what I wrote, and I need to apologise, I think I read your blog right after his entry on lists and it was fresh in my mind, and, I do agree with his entry as well. I love his blog, I REALLY LOVE CHAZOWN and am applying it big time. I should not have made such a careless comment.
As Far as December 22nd, I cant seem to find it from your blog.
Yet, Keep posting bro, you are blessing me and I read you almost everyday.
March 27th, 2007 at 1:07 pm
[…] couple of months ago, I posted 20 Christian Blogs You Should Be Reading (link here), and it made a splash in the blog community. Well, here is an addendum to that list, with 10 more […]
May 31st, 2007 at 8:00 am
[…] - I hope you’ll stick around. I hope you’ll join the conversation. I might not win any awards, but I’m looking forward to the next chapter of […]
August 13th, 2007 at 7:01 pm
[…] great list of Christian blogs to check out are listed here, on one of my favorite […]
October 23rd, 2007 at 12:19 am
Thoughts on including www.PhilCooke.com ? We would have loved to have been considered in the running.
We’re now well beyond 10K unique visits weekly.
July 8th, 2008 at 10:03 pm
Hear the ECHO
www.echo-of-hope.blogspot.com
Thought provoking stuff…join the discussion