Trending Christian Blog and Commentary

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Most Read Trending Posts of 2014

Crosswalk.com covered a lot of ground in our daily Trending Blog this past year, providing coverage of long-standing church issues and current events. Take a look at our most popular blogs of 2014!

10. Reclaiming Modesty in the Church

“As Christian women, our greatest desire should be to please God in everything we do. First Peter 3:3 reminds us, ‘Your beauty should not come from outward adornment. ... Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight’ (NIV). But some of us are getting up on Sunday mornings and adorning ourselves in ways that aren't pleasing to God. The outfits we choose are intended to cause all eyes—especially men's eyes—to be on us.”

Read the full blog here!

9. Stop Judging Christians Who Look Different Than You

“Do you ever find yourself making snap judgments about a person based on his ‘look,’ or the way he talks, or the work he does? It’s a pretty easy sin to slip into—but we often don’t see it as sin. We Christians can really get into our ‘Christian bubbles’ and become wary of welcoming people into our communities who don’t look, talk and act just like us. But Jesus set an entirely different example for us to follow.”

Read the full blog here!

8. 5 Things Christians Need to Know about Depression and Anxiety

“Because depression isn’t often discussed in churches, a great deal of misunderstanding has popped up. The first step is realizing what this disorder isn’t: ‘It's not a character defect, a spiritual disorder or an emotional dysfunction. And chief of all, it's not a choice.’”

Read the full blog here!

7. Why is Steven Furtick Acting Like a Cult Leader?

“Charlotte pastor Steven Furtick and his Elevation Church are making waves this week as more is revealed about Elevation’s odd fixation on their ‘Lead Pastor’ as well as some of the questionable practices of the church, including ‘spontaneous baptism.’ Indeed, many people are sounding the alarm and calling Pastor Furtick a ‘cult-leader in the making,’ though Elevation Church describes him as a visionary they need to unequivocally support.”

Read the full blog here!

6. Why You Should Give Up Tithing

“I did something crazy after reading Acts and realizing that the church during that time laughed at my puny pittance. So, I gave all my money to God—not by donating it all, but by putting it under His control and giving as much as we felt led to give. And as shocking as it seemed to me, we didn’t go broke and end up in jail. In fact, we didn’t run short of money so much that we were completely out of debt within a couple years of trying this.”

Read the full blog here!

5. What You Might Not Know about the Charlie Brown Christmas Special

“Multiple generations now have grown up loving A Charlie Brown Christmas, and new generations will probably continue to do so. But did you know that the beloved Peanuts Christmas special almost didn’t air? Media producer and writer Lee Habeeb tells World Magazine some of the issues CBS initially had with the episode…”

Read the full blog here!

4. 5 Tips Everyone Should Follow When Reading the Bible

“The Bible isn’t the easiest book for the modern day reader to understand. Filled with dated words, strange metaphors, various styles of literature and written for a cultural very different from ours, it can be a bit perplexing to know how to correctly interpret what we’re reading. But the Word is meant to bless us, not perplex us—so if you’re struggling to read your Bible effectively, here are a few simple tips from Relevant Magazine writer Bronwyn Lea that will help.”

Read the full blog here!

3. Victoria Osteen Takes Worship of God to New Low: It’s All about You

“Bible professor and author, Daniel Wallace, responded to Victoria Osteen's statement with deep concern that her view is the symptom of a much larger problem:

‘Some of the most blatant narcissistic blather ever to come from a pulpit can also be laid at their [the Osteens'] feet. Not only narcissistic, but also blasphemous. One has to wonder how a megachurch in the buckle of the Bible belt can go on and on without the congregants waking up and smelling what’s being shoveled in their direction. If Lakewood Church is any indication of the biblical literacy, genuine devotion to Christ, and fellowship of the saints of the American evangelical church, we are in serious trouble.’”

Read the full blog here!

2. Famous Actor Surprisingly Confesses Faith in Christ

“’I found God doing [the movie] Fury. I became a Christian man… in a very real way. I could have just said the prayers that were on the page. But it was a real thing that really saved me. And you can't identify unless you're really going through it. It's a full-blown exchange of heart, a surrender of control.’

…I’m willing to believe here—not only because of my past, but because of what I’m seeing in LaBeouf’s changed demeanor… Could I be wrong? Sure. But some people doubted my Jesus-changed life, too… until many years later. So, let’s pray for the guy, that this change is real, that God continues to work on him, and that he becomes a witness for Christ in Hollywood.”

Read the full blog here!

1. 10 Signs of an Abusive Church

“Church often brings Elizabeth Esther to a panic attack. The familiar faces, the rich colored wood, the cadence of the hymns might seem innocuous to the average churchgoer. But those invasive eyes, confining walls, and songs of condemnation hit her hard from the past. They hurt because of where she’s been.

Esther grew up in a ‘homegrown, fundamentalist Christian group,’ where she learned to distrust herself, stockpile for the Apocalypse, and nothing about forgiveness. Now that she’s free, she’s learning to trust God, and she wants to help others who may be caught in a legalistic and abusive church environment.

In a trending blog post, she lists the top ten warning signs that we should watch for, starting with the pastor.”

Read the full blog here!

So, what about you? What caught your eye this year in Internet Christendom? Chat about it in the comment section!

Debbie Holloway is the Family Life Editor at Crosswalk.com

Publication date: December 31, 2014