In 2013 The Aquila Report posted over 2,900 stories. At the end of each year we feature the top 50 stories that were read. The top story this year had over 20,890 hits.

We average 8 new stories each day, with a variety of subjects – all of which we trust are of interest to the readers of The Aquila Report. As a web magazine we are an aggregator of news and information that we believe will provide articles that will inform the church of current trends and movements within the church and culture.

In keeping with the journalistic tradition of looking back at the recent past, we present the top 50 stories of the year. That’s easy for us to determine – we just count the hits! We will present the 50 stories in groups of 10 to run and the five lists on consecutive days. Here are numbers 41-50.

50. My Story: From Reformed Worship to Anglicanism and Back Again

Although I had been raised in Methodist and Presbyterian churches and attended Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, was ordained in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, served pastorates in that church and in the PCA, I nevertheless found myself at different times in my career attracted towards old traditional liturgical churches: first the Antiochian Orthodox Church and then more recently, the Anglican Church. In God’s gracious providence, both experiences have led me to a deeper appreciation of the Reformed Tradition and of Reformed worship in particular, which has kept me from wholeheartedly embracing and remaining in either of those traditions.

49. Farewell, NIV

I liked the NIV, and I wish I got to have a funeral of some kind for it. In the eulogy I would wax eloquently (new NIV: “discuss”) about how it brought Scripture into the modern era, and freed translations from the grip of the Anglicans and the Victorians. I would shed a tear for its translation of Romans 9, which rhetorically towered above the other English versions. And then I would read a eulogy from perhaps Psalm 23—but I most certainly would not read it from the update.

48. Mark Driscoll vs John MacArthur: Battle of the Self-Promoting Calvinists

Ironically, this whole incident highlights another similarity between Driscoll and MacArthur: besides both being relentless self-promoters who make their names by loudly denouncing others, they also hate when people call them out as self-promoters who loudly denounce others, preferring to be known as quiet, humble men of God who love and respect their enemies – despite all tweets to the contrary.

47. Expository Preaching—The Antidote to Anemic Worship

Furthermore, music is one of God’s most precious gifts to his people, and it is a language by which we may worship God in spirit and in truth. The hymns of the faith convey rich confessional and theological content, and many modern choruses recover a sense of doxology formerly lost in many evangelical churches. But music is not the central act of Christian worship, and neither is evangelism nor even the ordinances. The heart of Christian worship is the authentic preaching of the word of God.

46. Three PCA Presbyteries Overture GA to Assume Original Jurisdiction Over TE Leithart

As a result of the SJC’s decision, the three Presbyteries voted to approve the overture asking the PCA General Assembly to, “Assume original jurisdiction and direct the Standing Judicial Commission to hear ‘Pacific Northwest Presbytery vs. Peter Leithart,’ because PNWP has ‘refused to act’ per the provision found in BCO 34-1, by not declaring a mistrial in this case because of its chief prosecutor’s conflict of interest, stemming from his transition into membership of the Roman Catholic church.”

45. 5 Church Phrases That Are Scaring Off Millennials

“The Bible clearly says…” Apparently the age of IT and social media has turned millions into Bible scholars who don’t need to hear about the Bible’s clarity and who don’t believe the Bible is clear on much at all. Millennials want a lot more hesitation, qualification, humility, and admissions of fallibility in pastors’ sermons. It’s claimed that this will build greater trust in the Bible!

44. Look, It’s Rubbish!

And then finally, the pièce de resistance, the moment to which the whole service had been leading, the climactic moment when the congregation was taken to the very gates of heaven: the service ended, not with a benediction or even a prayer, but with another chance to meditate, this time not to waves crashing on a beach but to a recording of Kenny G playing `Amazing Grace.’ Words almost fail me in the narrative at this point. After all, not being a Kenny G fan, I found myself oppressed, marginalized, and excluded all at once. The best I can say is that it was probably a better option than Barry Manilow singing `Copa Cabana.’

43. UPDATE: Kristen LaGuardia, Daughter of PCA Pastor Ralph LaGuardia, Killed in Car Accident

Kristen LaGuardia, 25, was killed in an car accident late Saturday night, April 6, 2013. Kristen is the daughter of Ralph LaGuardia, pastor of Fairfield Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Pensacola, Fla. The accident took place as Kristen was driving home from work.

42. David Norman, President of Erskine College and Seminary – Resigns

The Executive Committee of Erskine College and Theological Seminary’s Board of Trustees has accepted Dr. David Norman’s resignation as President.  Dr. Norman has provided a letter to the Erskine community which I have attached to this message.

41. The Federal Vision and Union With Christ

One area in which the Federal Vision is at odds with historic Reformed theology is the meaning of union with Christ.  This is obviously a huge topic; it’s impossible to discuss it all in a single post.  So for now I just want to point out one area of major difference.  The question is this: is union with Christ permanent or something that can be lost?  The Federal Vision movement says it is losable while Reformed theology says it is an eternal union.