{"id":47598,"date":"2019-07-01T17:10:54","date_gmt":"2019-07-01T21:10:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/anxiousbench\/?p=47598"},"modified":"2019-07-01T17:10:54","modified_gmt":"2019-07-01T21:10:54","slug":"half-year-2019-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/anxiousbench\/2019\/07\/half-year-2019-review\/","title":{"rendered":"The Half-Year in Review"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

If you\u2019re reading The Anxious Bench<\/em>\u00a0in 2019, there\u2019s a decent chance that you\u2019re relatively new to this blog, as our readership has gone up almost 30% compared to the first half of last year. So with thanks to our longtime readers and all those newcomers, let me pause to review what\u2019s been of special interest to you all six months into 2019, starting with our overall Top 10 Most-Read list:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. The Legacy of Rachel Held Evans<\/a>\u00a0(Kristin, Beth & Chris)<\/em><\/li>\n
  2. Disrupting Christian Patriarchy: Isn\u2019t It About Time?<\/a>\u00a0(Beth)<\/em><\/li>\n
  3. A New Hope for Evangelical Women<\/a>\u00a0(Beth)<\/em><\/li>\n
  4. The Sexuality Debate Dividing an Evangelical Denomination<\/a>\u00a0(Chris)<\/em><\/li>\n
  5. Because Christian Patriarchy Isn\u2019t Christian<\/a>\u00a0(Beth)<\/em><\/li>\n
  6. Because Complementarianism Is About Power<\/a>\u00a0(Beth)<\/em><\/li>\n
  7. Before \u201ctrue love waits\u201d there was Josh McDowell and Petra<\/a>\u00a0(Jared Burkholder)<\/em><\/li>\n
  8. The National Prayer Breakfast and Evangelical Prophetic Witness<\/a>\u00a0(David)<\/em><\/li>\n
  9. Marie Kondo: Magical Asian Sage for Our Untidy Times<\/a>\u00a0(Melissa)<\/em><\/li>\n
  10. Pete Buttigieg and The Politics of American Greatness<\/a>\u00a0(Kristin)<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
    \"Rachel<\/a>
    Rachel Held Evans (1981-2019)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    Then for each of our regular bloggers (not counting Andrea, who just joined us), you\u2019ll find their\u00a0three new solo posts that got the most page views. Then I\u2019ll recommend one more post by each author that maybe deserves a second look by readers.<\/p>\n

    Agnes Howard<\/h3>\n
      \n
    1. Did the Bible Predict Our President?<\/a><\/li>\n
    2. Again with the Evils of E-cigarettes<\/a><\/li>\n
    3. Demons at Work<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      In case you missed it the first time\u2026\u00a0<\/em>It\u2019s hard to remember a \u201cpolar vortex\u201d in the midst of an early summer heat wave, but our frigid late January\u00a0Agnes thinking about historic reactions to cold weather<\/a>.<\/p>\n

      Beth Allison Barr<\/h3>\n
        \n
      1. Disrupting Christian Patriarchy: Isn\u2019t It About Time?<\/a><\/li>\n
      2. A New Hope for Evangelical Women<\/a><\/li>\n
      3. Because Christian Patriarchy Isn\u2019t Christian<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        In case you missed it the first time\u2026\u00a0<\/em>Since today is Canada Day, let me remind you of Beth\u2019s recent visit<\/a> to a Baptist church in Vancouver.<\/p>\n

        Chris Gehrz<\/h3>\n
          \n
        1. The Sexuality Debate Dividing an Evangelical Denomination<\/a><\/li>\n
        2. The History of Moral Re-armament<\/a><\/li>\n
        3. Render Unto Trump What Is Trump\u2019s<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          In case you missed it the first time\u2026 <\/em>Writing a biography<\/a> of Charles Lindbergh has given me new perspectives on many topics, including atrocities in the Second World War<\/a>.<\/p>\n

          David Swartz<\/h3>\n
            \n
          1. \u00a0The National Prayer Breakfast and Evangelical Prophetic Witness<\/a><\/li>\n
          2. Pence, Populist Evangelicals, and the Politics of College Commencements<\/a><\/li>\n
          3. \u201cJoe Brown, Joe Brown, He\u2019s a Mean White Man\u201d: Southern Baptist Seminary and the Convict-Lease System<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

            In case you missed it the first time\u2026\u00a0<\/em>David told the story of Yun Ch\u2019iho<\/a>, a Korean Christian who encountered the Jim Crow system in late 19th century America.<\/p>\n

            John Turner<\/h3>\n
              \n
            1. \u00a0The FBI, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Historians<\/a><\/li>\n
            2. The Myth of Puritan Intolerance<\/a><\/li>\n
            3. The Census, Religion, and Citizenship<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

              In case you missed it the first time\u2026\u00a0<\/em>While he has moved on to another topic<\/a> for his newest book project, I\u2019m always glad when John checks in on the history of the Latter-day Saints<\/a>.<\/p>\n

              Kristin Kobes Du Mez<\/h3>\n
                \n
              1. Pete Buttigieg and The Politics of American Greatness<\/a><\/li>\n
              2. Rachel Held Evans, Beth Moore, and the Power of Evangelical Coalitions<\/a><\/li>\n
              3. Faith and Struggle in the Lives of African American Christians<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                In case you missed it the first time\u2026\u00a0<\/em>I don\u2019t think I\u2019ve ever learned more from an\u00a0Anxious Bench<\/em>\u00a0post than when Kristin interviewed Mary Li Ma<\/a> about sexual abuse and Christianity in China.<\/p>\n

                Melissa Borja<\/h3>\n
                  \n
                1. Marie Kondo: Magical Asian Sage for Our Untidy Times<\/a><\/li>\n
                2. How Has Ethnic Studies Changed American Religious Studies?<\/a><\/li>\n
                3. Caring for Migrants Is Not Just Humanitarian Work\u2014It\u2019s Religious Work<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                  In case you missed it the first time\u2026\u00a0<\/em>While you\u2019ll see below that Philip wrote about fasting during Lent, Melissa reminded me that Christians also mark that season by eating everything from cheese pizza to muskrats<\/a>.<\/p>\n

                  \n

                  A perfect headline. And possibly useful context for #GOODOMENS<\/a>https:\/\/t.co\/OVUSc0hDXB<\/a><\/p>\n

                  \u2014 Neil Gaiman (@neilhimself) June 28, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n