When people come to Cerulean Sanctum for the first time, they’ll read a post and wonder what else is here. Most find the link in the sidebar for “Best of Cerulean Sanctum” and check out a few of the archived posts of the past. I know this because WordPress’s stats tell me they do.

I think it’s important, too, for a blogger to keep in touch with past posts. Some posts are like old friends, while others vanish into the ether. I’ve been blogging since a few days before 9/11, so I’ve written many posts, the majority of which I’m sure I can’t remember offhand.

But the Best Of posts stick because they’re, well…the best things I’ve written here. Many received a majority share of comments from readers because the featured topic touched people. Some are simply controversial. Some discuss subjects that go unmentioned in the Godblogosphere. And some capture lightning in a bottle, reflecting the Lord’s quickening of the best of the writing skills He gave me.

In years past, I’ve grouped my best post together under a variety of headings, but I’ve never done a list of my own personal favorites. What were the posts I liked the most? Well, let’s kick this off with those select Best of the Best.

Dan’s Best of the Best of Cerulean Sanctum 2007

100 Truths in 30 Years with Christ
How do you sum up a life in Christ? This post attempts that feat. The hard-won lessons and the accumulation of wisdom never come easy. I pray each person that reads this post can take away a few nuggets.

The World’s Best Bible-Reading Program
I never thought this post would be the phenomenon that it’s become, but I’m glad for it. We go through our Bible-reading plans and one-year Bibles, yet so few of us glean deep truth from these arbitrary and casual approaches to reading the Bible. Most of us will be Christians for decades before we pass into glory, yet we don’t come to the Bible with long-term discipleship in mind. This reading program addresses that glaring issue.

The Holy Who?
The second most commented post of the year, this one touched off a firestorm on a number of other blogs and got people talking about the Holy Spirit. Just who is He? And why have we tended to ignore the Third Person of the Trinity?

The ChristCon Con
Another huge Christian conference/convention/event is coming to town. They seem to come with great promises and leave with a whimper. Yet we mark up our calendars and spend millions of dollars to attend them. What is the fruit? A look around should tell you the answer.

Fumbling the Torch
As I see it, one of the greatest losses to my generation of Christians (and generations that will follow me) is the previous generation’s failing to pass on their knowledge of Christ. Every day, we lose touch with the generation before us and the godly wisdom they acquired. How could it happen? This post discusses that how.

The Two Christianities & The Two Christianities: Comparison Table
Two other posts that got plenty of others talking. Has American Christianity bifurcated into two separate branches with entirely different worldviews? I believe it has. What do you think?

Welcome to Jerkville, Population Me
Being a jerk comes easy to some of us, especially when we’re confronted with the harsh realities of life. Lay down my life? Esteem others better than myself? Well, it’s a lot tougher than it sounds.

A Letter to Rich, the Young Ruler
Wherein I send a letter to a well-off young American who, tonight, may have his very soul required of him. You may even know him yourself.

The Church God Uses
Ekklesia is the Greek word for the Church. We attend church every week, sometimes more than once in a week. Some of us live and die by our churches. But what is the Church that God uses and how can we be that Church?

Choosing Your Canaan
Be in the world, but not of it, right? Yet how do we live out that practical wisdom? This post asks that hard question and comes up with controversial answers.

Those are my picks for the top posts of this year.

The Best of the Rest

On Pastors:

I wrote on pastoral ministry a couple times this year and both posts resonated with people. One addresses how we treat our pastors as fellow believers and the other looks at the ridiculous ministry load we place on them:
The Pastor: Not One of Us
Killing Him Softly

On Community:

Rodney King once asked if we we can all get along. Should it be so hard? That denominations skewer each other should appall us all. That we fight so easily over petty things should shame us. That we continue to talk about community yet live in antithesis to that talk should drive us to the altar for repentance.
Throwing Stones in Glass Houses of Worship
What the Other Guys Taught Me
Radical Thoughts, Real Community
Why We Need Each Other…
Love Your Lord? Love Your Staff!

On Men:

Several of the posts I wrote about issues confronting Christian men received plenty of feedback. Men in the Church face a number of trying issues. These posts address some of those intractable problems.
The Gospel of Manliness
Nowhere Men & Nowhere Men—More Thoughts
The Cash Value of a Man

On Charismatic Issues and the Holy Spirit:

As a believer who upholds the modern workings of the charismatic gifts of the Holy Spirit, I wrote several posts addressing the mishandling we give those gifts and how poorly we understand the Holy Spirit’s work in the believer’s life.
When the Spirit Falls
A Lesson on the Spirit from the Three Little Pigs
The Spirit Has Left the Building
And Now a Word from Our Sponsor…
Following TBN Off a Cliff

On Discernment:

For all our talk of knowing Christ, why is it that we don’t seem to be able to hear Him very well? Listening to the Lord and testing the spirits to see if they are of Him should be bedrock to our faith.
Dissing Discernment
Guidance the Monty Hall Way

On Our Status As Believers:

Sometimes we Christians fail to understand who we are in Christ and the intimacy we should have with him. This failure colors the way we live out the Faith before the world.
Sinners or Saints?
OT Christians vs. NT Christians
In the Bedroom

On the Richness of Living the Christian Life:

Being a Christian means more than doctrinal adherence. It means an intimate walk with God. It opens our lives to richer experiences of truth. It takes a drab world and colors it through God’s goodness to us. Yet sometimes we settle for so much less than God’s best.
Wonderland
Blind, Deaf, and Dumb
The Half-Born
The Wrong Toy in Your Happy Meal
The Marriage of Word & Image
The Jesus Love Revolution
In My Little Kingdom (and Yours)

On Issues Facing the American Church:

Because this blog focuses on issues facing the American Church, I’m going to write about those issue. Seems obvious enough. The follow posts tackle a wide variety of topics that we must confront if we’re to be salt and light in a dying world:
Church Growth Movement Fall Down and Go Boom!
The Question No One Wants to Ask…
Two Halves of the Whole Gospel
Need? What Need?
One Simple WordModern Evangelicalism: An MAO Inhibitor?
Caltrops on the Road to Glory
Kingdoms and BitternessThe Church of Gil Gunderson
Sex and the Created Order
21st Century American Evangelicalism: The Ne Plus Ultra of Christianity?

I’ll end this 2007 edition of the Best of Cerulean Sanctum with two posts.

Many of you reading this blog. As Christians who blog, we have an enormous responsibility to the Lord. For this reason, our every word should matter for the Kingdom.

How to Be a Godblogger Who Matters…

And on a personal note, I had a chance to get behind the wheel of my dream car. It may not seem like a big deal to some of you, but I saw something bigger in that experience. I hope all of us have dreams and that God teaches us His unique truths through our experiences of receiving those dreams—and also in muddling through when they fail to come to pass. The Lord is good.

Lessons from a Dream Car

Thanks for being a reader. Be blessed!

See also:

• The Best of Cerulean Sanctum 2006
• The Best of Cerulean Sanctum 2005
• The Best of Cerulean Sanctum 2003-2004