It’s been another banner year at So We Speak, and the heart of our content has been great writing from a growing number of writers, along with a few names you’ve seen from the very beginning. We are blessed to have a wonderful team of writers who share what God is teaching them in order to “equip the saints for the work of ministry” (Eph. 4:11).
I hope you find these articles from 2022 to be challenging, thought-provoking, faith-strengthening, and enjoyable to read. It would be impossible to post these without acknowledging the work of our editor-in-chief Kali Gibson and managing editor Brittany Proffitt. These two account for the process of turning our ideas into essays and getting them in your hands.
Enjoy some of our favorite and most popular posts of the year!
A few weeks ago, one of our writers passed away after a courageous battle with ALS. As you’ll see when you read, Tyler was one of those very unique people who excelled in nearly every area of his life. His continuous and sacrificial love for his Savior, family, and friends will continue for years to come. It was a privilege to know him and to get to publish so many of his essays and reviews.
Matt Chandler is the Pastor of the Village Church in Flower Mound, TX, and one of the most prominent pastors in the evangelical world. When he took a disciplinary leave earlier this year, it raised questions about pastors and repentance, how to handle church discipline, and the lessons we can learn from watching public repentance and restoration.
The biggest geopolitical event of the year was the war in Ukraine. After Russia invaded early in 2022, there were many calls to prayer and support, but little guidance on what exactly we should be praying for. Here’s my best effort to bring a biblical worldview to a gory, public modern war and an encouragement to allow the Bible to set our perspective more than social media and news coverage.
It can be hard to have grace at work. The business world and the world of faith often feel like non-overlapping parts of life. In this article, I share a performance review gone wrong and a few thoughts on the role of grace in business.
One of the questions we love to answer is how to do a Bible reading plan. With the technology available today, you can custom-make any plan you want, choose from thousands on the Bible app, or buy a Bible that will walk you through what to read each day. Sorting through the options is half the battle. Here, I share some of the plans I’ve used in the past - and the idiosyncratic plan I use now - along with some recommendations for anyone looking to dig deeper into the Bible this year.
In March of 2021, I became the Senior Pastor of Carlton Landing Community Church, and it’s caused me to meditate on pastoring, preparing to preach each week, and the rewarding work of leading a church. Along that journey, I’ve been inspired by the work of pastors in the past. In this short essay, I highlight two of those stories:; the anonymous pastors preaching when John Owen and Charles Spurgeon were converted.
"Behind a Frowning Providence He Hides a Smiling Face": On William Cowper - Brittany Proffitt
The power of Cowper’s poetry is breathtaking. Though he lived a very difficult life, he captured the depth of God’s power in sorrow and suffering. Brittany Proffitt has a way of explaining this poem in a way that really makes it come alive.
“How Do We Know?” - Tyler Tidwell
Tyler had an amazing ability to summarize deep and convoluted concepts in easy-to-read, interesting review essays. Here, he takes an introduction to epistemology and turns it into an engaging essay on the competing claims to knowledge in the church and in the world. This was the last post he was able to write for us and one of the very best.
“Podcast: Lessons From 300 Funerals with Lance Ward” Brittany Proffitt
This is thee podcast episode with Lance Ward on what he’s learned through doing over 300 funerals ranked near the top of 2022. Everyone can identify with the terrible sorrow of losing a loved one and the incredible comfort of having a pastor or spiritual leader walk with you through that time. There’s no one who does this better than Lance Ward. Whether you read the summary or listen to the episode, you’ll have plenty of takeaways and encouragement.
“Science, Not Scientism” - Benjamin Williams
When we started So We Speak, Ben Williams was the first person I called to talk about writing for us. He’s got the kind of mind to engage any topic and the wit to keep it interesting. He completed a dissertation on faith and science this year and we’ve reaped the benefit of several great articles looking at the nature of science and how Christians can and should engage in the hard sciences.
Kali isn’t just a great editor, she’s a really good writer. This article marked her first (of many) with So We Speak, and it deals with a question everyone faces. There’s a lot of wisdom in this essay for discerning God’s call and having the courage to carry it out.
Dr. Cole Feix is the founder and president of So We Speak and the Senior Pastor of Carlton Landing Community Church in Oklahoma.