Blog – Life and Faith

My Top Posts of 2018

Each year I set a number of writing goals, some of which correspond to the regular writing on this blog. This year has been up and down.

I start off at the beginning of the year full of energy, but to sustain the goal of one post per week on this platform is often interrupted. Sometimes it is life that gets in the way, sometimes it is motivation, sometimes it is a lack of ideas, sometimes it is a lack of confidence, sometimes it is a perfectionism that I can’t get over for a while. Whatever it is and whenever it is I still try to push something out that I’m thinking or reading about. If you’re a regular reader of this site then I hope something has been helpful for you.

Top Posts of 2018

In assessing 2018, in terms of my writing and blogging, there are some encouraging things I’m pleased with and others that I’m not.

In terms of raw statistics, in the last 12 months, I’ve managed to:

Publish 42 individual posts on joncoombs.com
Write over 27,000 words within those posts
Have 7000 views for the year (up from 5500 in 2017)
Increase to 142 subscribers through WordPress and have 23 people sign up to receive these posts by email.
Write 10 other articles published on other sites (which actually takes me up to 1 p/week)

In many ways this is pleasing to see. Things have improved and been on the increase year by year. There is slow growth, nothing viral, but growing nonetheless.

In terms of what people actually read when visiting this site, here are the posts written in 2018 that were the most popular:

1// Make The Bible Project Your Bible Reading Plan For 2018

By far and away this post was the most popular. I think it was helped by Google, who pointed people here when they search for ‘Bible Project reading plan’. It’s an excellent plan and one that I was following for some of the year.

2// Chair of Deacons Postpones Meeting To Confirm Identity of Youth Pastor

I was playing around with my writing a little at times and had a go at writing a satirical piece for the Babylon Bee. It wasn’t accepted but fun to write at least.

3// Billy Graham and Gramps

When Billy Graham passed away early in the year I interviewed my grandfather, who helped run some of the crusades in New Zealand back in the day. It ended up being republished on TGCA and on the NZ Baptists site.

4// 5 Learnings From Being ‘Acting Senior Pastor’

The Lead Pastor was away on leave for a few weeks. I was the only other person on staff. Here are some reflections from that time. It’s happening again after Christmas too.

5// Is It Time To Take The Guilt Out Of Your Bible Reading?

Another post about reading Scripture. This one looked at how we can take the guilt out of doing so, like skipping days or beginning to find ourselves behind in reading programs and guides.

So, those were the posts written in 2018. Overall, the top five posts that were most read, written at anytime in the last 9 years, were:

Thanks for reading!

For those interested in stats from previous years you can read about 2015, 2016, and 2017.

My One Blogging Goal For 2018

With the turn of the new year comes the flurry of posts about how to improve your blogging in 2018. I think I’ve read a dozen or so already.

It’s made me think about my own blogging for the year ahead.

My One Blogging Goal For 2018

There is no doubt that I enjoy the writing process. It clarifies my thoughts, it helps me think out loud, it gives me the opportunity to express my opinions and ideas. Depending on what kind of day it is the writing will come easily, but more often than not it is hard. It requires actually articulating my thoughts in a systematic or structured way. Writing requires me to sit in front of a blank screen and turn that white document into something worth reading.

I’m not sure I achieve this very often, but it seems people do read what I write. I am appreciative of that.

And I’m particularly thankful for those who have read the odd post over the last 12 months. I’ve had a focus to increase readership and write more regularly, which was achieved, even if there were seasons where nothing was published.

But they were last year’s goals. And having read enough “Improve Your Blog” type posts it is apparently important to have goals coming into 2018.

For the coming year I have reservations about setting number goals about readership. It keeps me focussed on numbers, which at the best of times are encouraging but totally distracting and beside the point at the worst. So for 2018, instead of focussing on the statistics, which get looked at far too often, I have decided to make my goal writing-based.

That is, I want to write from the heart more this year.

Reflecting on my own writing I don’t believe I write from the heart enough. Sure, I may have a post that moves someone else. I may have a good piece of writing that connects with a reader. But am I actually writing from the heart?

To me, writing from the heart is about putting words on paper that reflect more of who I am.

It isn’t giving more of my opinion, it isn’t making the post feel more energetic with faux-excitement. Writing from the heart is about writing truthfully, clearly, and with an openness that leaves part of me on the page. It means I’m not hiding behind words but I’m putting myself on the line when I write and publish.

While this goal isn’t particularly measurable, certainly not from the outside, it may cause me issues when seeking to evaluate come the end of the year. But that’s my issue. For now I’m committed to writing through this blog, seeking to help others in youth and young adult ministry reflect on their experience and be better in their work.

Let’s see how we go.

What about you? What’s your number one blogging goal for the year?