Why do we all love Top Ten lists?

I regret that these email notes from me have been such a downer lately. My family has been battling cancer and death—and now this week, my body has been battling bed bug bites! As healthy as it is to square up and face our hard situations and feelings, it is nice to have some diversions too, some places of escape that bring us joy.

I experienced joy putting together our Top Ten list of 2022 articles. I started working at this magazine, as of the time of this writing, 364 days ago. So this is more than a list of articles for me; it’s a ledger of new work friendships, lessons learned on the job, and thoughtful content that makes me so happy and proud to be part of the Century. I hope you enjoy that list, but there is also brand new content for you in this email, like Cheryl Townsend Gilkes’s tribute to womanist theologian Delores Williams and the CC editors’ reflection on the relationship between missionary theology and cultures of abuse.

Plus a lovely video that corresponds to another new piece! College student Hannah Wilson-Black chatted with me about her recent article, an exploration of online content created by “purity culture” evangelicals.

Email me: What are your favorite diversions when you need a little escape?

Jon Mathieu
[email protected]

Our 10 most-read articles of 2022

Let us know which Century content, on this list or otherwise, was your favorite this year!

Delores Williams’s voice in the wilderness

“Those of us who had made our way from New York, New England, Chicago, Atlanta, and other places came to let Delores’s family and friends know that sharing her intellectual and spiritual gifts with the rest of us had made a world-changing difference.”

VIDEO: Hannah Wilson-Black on evangelical “purity culture” content creators

Jon chats with Hannah about her trip down the rabbit hole of content from conservative Christian vloggers who make videos about sexual ethics.

Read Hannah’s article here.

In the Lectionary for January 15 (Epiphany 2A)

What are you looking for? It’s a good question, maybe the only question.

by Michael Rinehart
 

The uncomfortable truth about Hillcrest

“In this case, the missionary work itself—not a deviation from it—created the situation in which child abuse thrived unchecked.”

by the editors

Monday night meal plan

“As we did life together around a table, a greater community need emerged. I began to notice that some of the college students craved not just the fellowship and community but also the food itself: they were hungry.”