I'm sorry, Top Ten lists are soooo 2008. Here are kinnon.tv's top 13.5 Bloggers with whom to begin 2009.
13.5 Jordon Cooper is one of the Canadian Blogfathers in our corner of Blogdom. He's at this end of the list only because he hasn't been blogging quite as much as he once did. Now, if this was a Top 13.5 Twitter list - he'd be right at the top. Where blogging was once described by Jordon as a little like conversations on your front porch, Twitter is the new front porch.
13 Sonja @ Calacirian is one of the Missional Tribe Instigators and a very good blogger. Her Best Posts of 2008 will introduce you to some of the premier female voices in the wonderful world of blogging - if you haven't already met them. Sonja should be in your Feed Reader.
12 Another of the MT Instigators, Brad Sargent is a futurist you need to be reading. Brad plays with words in a manner not dissimilar to Robert Frost, and his insight into the state of the church and the direction it must go is second to none. A true son of Issachar.
11 And the MTI's just keep on coming. Brother Maynard, I would hazard to say, is one of the key voices in the missional conversation. Perhaps, '09 will be the year he steps out from behind the curtain and reveals the actual identity of the fine mind behind the blog. "Live your faith. Share your life" is one of the great BroMayn lines.
10 David Hayward's cartoons are a lifeline for many of us. But he's also a gifted writer. Read the iMonk's interview with him - and some of the "interesting" comments on that post.
9 The oft-mentioned Triple D (Doctor Darryl Dash) is the most gracious blogger, at least amongst the men on this list. His blog has changed to be focused exclusively on the church this year and is another must read. (Follow him on Twitter for more of the front porch stuff.) Stay tuned for podcasts coming from Triple D, Dan MacDonald and yours truly. And if you need to hear Darryl in action, listen here - he's joined by Drew Marshall, the iMonk and moi.
8 Ed Stetzer, who really needs to have a Superman costume - but with an M on the chest, is the energizer bunny of missiologists - whether tweeting, blogging, writing books, speaking to a few or thousands. Primarily employed by Lifeway Research, an SBC affiliate organization, Double Dr. Ed works with everyone and anyone who names the name of Jesus. He's committed to seeing the entire church grow missionally. (And no, we don't always agree on everything, but he's one of my favourite guys in this conversation.)
7 What can one say about a lanky Kiwi who seems to have lived just about everywhere - other than, "wow Maggie's a way cool truck you're going to travel Europe and the world with, Andrew." The Tall Skinny Kiwi still vies with the iMonk and Scot McKnight for King of the Hill in our corner of the blog world. He is an example of someone who, with his family, lives out the BroMayn statement above. (Note: In '09, I'm going to ask you join with me in supporting the purchase of a good video package for TSK and his family as they begin their missional trekking.)
6 kathy escobar is someone that I only seriously began to read this year. She is a gifted writer and an important voice in the conversation - even though she writes on multiple computers that have broken shift keys. I'm praying for healing for those computers.
5 Dave Fitch may not be an MT Instigator - but he's certainly an instigator of many conversations. My first long chat with Dave prompted the post that I'm best known for - a little rant on the People Formerly known as. Dave doesn't blog anywhere often enough - but every post he writes is worth reading. I think you'll enjoy Dave in conversation with Ed Stetzer - part one of the videos will be up next week (the first full week of January).
4 Erika Haub is, quite simply, one of the finest writers in the blog world. Whether sharing her joys and struggles as a mother or church leader in the inner city, Erika captivates her audience. Read this post (that Sonja points to) as an example. Erika and her family are in the process of moving from LA to the Pacific Northwest - so her blog has been a little quieter - but do expect more great writing from this gifted church leader.
3 Jared Wilson, he of the Gospel-driven Church, is one of my favourite agent provocateurs. He's a gifted writer - even if Driscoll questions his masculinity. (Jared not onlly leads a church, but is a stay at home Dad.) And Jared's church community should be a leader in how Christian gatherings handle money.
2 First as Emerging Grace and now Kingdom Grace, my friend and fellow Missional Tribe Instigator has taken the blog world by storm. Creative, articulate, insightful, funny and serious, Grace provokes more conversation than most of the rest of the folk on this list. And, though I doubt you missed them, her Emerging/Missional Posters effectively and lovingly skewered some little-boys-with-a-big-box-of-matches.
1 Michael Spencer, the InternetMonk, and owner of that lovely virtual pub, the Boar's Head Tavern. He's also the mind behind Jesus Shaped Spirituality.
I would argue that Michael is the most important voice in post-evangelicalism. Hidden away in the hills of Kentucky, Michael pushes pixels onto tens of thousands of screens - in every corner of the Christian world. He writes often and he writes well. And his podcasts are always worth listening to. Transparent to a fault, Michael opens a vein and bleeds when he writes and speaks. This post from mere moments ago would be a perfect example. He may well be the Martin Luther of the internet generation - in the very center of this 2nd Reformation.
Honourable mentions to two more of the Missional Tribe Instigators - Peggy Brown, the Virtual Abbess and sheriff over @ Scot McKnight's - and Rick Meigs, the Blind Beggar.
And a big shout out to Julie Clawson, One Hand Clapping, another must read blogger. As is the View from Her's Jan, who I've pointed to numerous times this year.
May 2009 be a year the Church better follows the Lord back into the neighbourhood's where He has strategically placed us all.
