In many ways, God graciously blessed this blog in 2008. Here are a few of the highlights:

In January I took a break from blogging, but shared my most widely read blog posts each day, which actually continued beyond January. I did interrupt my break to post the following two posts, making January officially the lightest month for blogging new material I had ever had:

• My “Christianity Today” News Debut

• Blog Tour – Day 4: Tim Challies Answers Questions Concerning Discernment

In February I continued my relaxed blogging schedule, but shared photos, videos, and reports from my Florida vacation, taken with my two oldest children. We had a lot of fun!

Other posts I wrote during February included sharing quotes from Mohler and Dever about a call to the ministry in terms which reminded me of charismatic notions of prophecy. I also found a great quote from John Piper which retold a Lloyd-Jones illustration of what happens when we are baptized with the Holy Spirit.

March saw a series of posts in response to some questions from a reader about How to Seek the Spirit and a Chuck Colson Blog Book Tour. It also marked an anniversary as I posted my 3,000th post here. I also posted my first post that I tagged multiculturalism, a topic which has come up several more times this year.

April was dominated by my blogging from the New Word Alive event, which also led to a number of interview posts later in the year. Meeting John Piper and Don Carson, and having the chance to talk to Terry Virgo again, was a great highlight of the year for me, along with seeing Christians coming together from different denominational backgrounds. Later in the year popular UK Christian magazine, Evangelicals Now, published a conversation between Hugh Palmer, Richard Cunningham, and Don Carson which had been recorded at the conference and which is worth a read. I did manage to take time out for a trip down memory lane on my blog’s five-year anniversary, and shared some embarassing links to how my blog used to look.

In May, I was thrilled to be able to post an mp3 from my grandfather, who was a tent preacher. I posted several times about Todd Bentley, who exploded onto the Christian scene and would disappear later in the year just as quickly, and of course, in sad circumstances. My pastor, Tope Koleoso, was kind enough to appear in his first video clip on my blog, and he did this again later in the year. I also began to challenge British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, especially over abortion. This year I have posted more frequently about political issues than ever before.

In June I was thrilled to be able to interview Ed Stetzer by webcam. I also shared transcripts of my New Word Alive interviews with Don Carson, John Piper, and Nathan Fellingham. as well as the video from my interivew with Terry Virgo.

Someone kindly found me a copy of an old mp3 which I shared as C. J. Mahaney on People God Killed – A Sermon That Changed My Life. I also dared to go on record as Disagreeing with Piper Over the Man in Romans 7.

In July, the Together On A Mission conference was the main topic, alongside Dwell London and Mark Driscoll at Jubilee Church London, including a video interview with him. One real highlight I wouldn’t want you to miss from this time was Scott Thomas’ talk on Should You Be A Church Planter? You can also read a summary of the Together on a Mission conference that I wrote for the Newfrontiers magazine.

In August I shut the blog down, except for posting more material from the conferences, and the most read posts of the first half of the year.

In September, in the post A Fire You Know Nothing About – Lex Loizides Unleashed, I announced to the world that one of Newfrontiers’ leading evangelists and an all-around good fellow had started a most interesting blog. I was shocked to be the runner-up for a Christian blog award sposored by many Christian organizations. Apparently this is the second most inspiring leadership blog in the UK, which came as a surprise to me. I was also able to share an interview with Philippa Stroud – Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Sutton and Cheam.

In October, I laid down a challenge that some of us need to consider moving from the village to the city. I also shared a provocative quote by Spurgeon on infant baptism, and demonstrated why the Doctor did not approve of theological degrees.

November saw me reopen The Atonement Debate with an analysis of a chapter from Chalke I had yet to see. I also approached another thorny issue by asking Should Christians Circumcise Their Sons?

This December I’m winding things up here a little earlier than usual. By now few of you will still be reading in any case since this is always a busy week for people! If you are looking for a last minute idea for Christmas presents, special offers on Logos Bible Software and Phatfish’s 15-year anniversary CD are still available, and I should also mention Lou Fellingham’s album, Promised Land, which has won a “best worship album of 2008” award.

Before I go, I would urge you to consider carefully the post I shared from John Piper a few days ago which spoke of regeneration, and ask yourself again this Christmas — Have I truly been born again?

This blog will be born again early in the New Year, but in common with much of this past year, my attentions are going to be somewhat divided. Obviously, the book writing needs to take priority as my deadline approaches. Accordingly, I have decided to post just three times a week from January until such a time as I have actually completed my first draft of the manuscript (complete, of course, with the corrections and suggestions provided by my kind reviewers). In fact, even those posts will be an automatic re-run of one of my personal favorite series on the blog. I intend, therefore, to write little or nothing new for the blog for now. But, the Warnie Box will keep feeding you, and do feel free to dig and delve around through the archives.

Once my book is closer to being written, I hope that the rest of 2009 will give me more time to write material for this blog. The truth is, I have been diverting most of my writing energies to the book for almost the whole of 2008. Still, you are all kind enough to keep reading, and readership has even increased during 2008, so perhaps in my case, less is more!

All that remains is for me to post a thank you post tomorrow listing the top referrers to this blog. After that, I’ll leave the blogosphere alone for awhile.

It’s that time of year again. As I have done in previous years, I thought I would take the opportunity to reflect on the year that was. This post will consider personal matters, family matters, and my church.

The year began with my regular tradition of putting the blog onto autopilot to give me time to reflect, pray, and recuperate. I have a tendency to end the year feeling exhausted and drained, and find the discipline of switching off my blog after the holiday period gives me a real lift. This year I am busier than ever, but I don’t feel as drained. I still plan on shutting down the blog during the month of January, and probably into February, as my book deadline looms closer, but I have set Blogger to republish some posts three times a week, and, as always, the Warnie Box remains to lead you to other great sites.

I felt like the year got off to a slow start, but then in February, I took a lovely holiday with two of my children. Watching all five of the kids grow has been another great highlight this year, with the baby becoming a toddler and our oldest rapidly on her way to becoming a teenager, having started high school.

It’s been a good year for me personally. I found myself thrust into new roles, including writing a book, which wasn’t something I ever expected to do. In spite of the business, and the fact that my annual leave was all burned up by the summer, I don’t feel as if I’m ending 2008 running on empty as much as I’ve felt that way in previous years. I praise God for the way he has sustained me.

One joy this year has been that in the latter half of the year I started the Every Day in the Bible reading plan together with my wife (also available as a podcast or printout). We listen to Max McLean, and it has helped my relationship with my wife and my Lord in one fifteen-minute chunk of time every day.

We have enjoyed a stable year as a family. No pregnancies. No births. No house moves. The same job. The same church. No major sickness. We are so grateful to God. We plan on staying right where we are for the forseeable future, still being convinced God has called us to remain here for at least another couple of decades or so. I stay where I’ve been planted, but I hope I can somehow encourage and support those who do go.

I have been so glad to be part of Jubilee Church this year. Our growth continues, we are often over 400 on Sunday morning now, and are seeing a prolonged period of regular weekly responses to the gospel. God is blessing us in so many ways, and we are all very grateful. The kids love the church too. Over the last year I have preached there eight times, as well as giving other talks to smaller groups of people at different times during the week and continuing to serve in the leadership team. Below are links to the sermons I’ve preached this year. Tomorrow I will give a brief review of the blog in 2008.

• Comfort Like a Mother (Mother’s Day Sermon)
• God’s Gift of Life (Thou Shall Not Kill)
• Work Rest and Play (Sabbath-keeping)
• Philippians 1 – Living for the Future
• Philippians 2 – Living for the Good of Others
• Philippians 3 – Living to Know Jesus
• Nehemiah 3 – Building for the Glory of God
• Nehemiah 8 – Back to the Word