The "Influencers"
Written by Mark Van Steenwyk : April 5, 2007
I’m interested in your perceptions of influence in contrast to those who have actually influence you. Here’s how my little experiment will work. After each of the categories below, add people to the lists. If someone has already “taken your answer” put an “x” behind their name. Make sense? I’m assuming that some folks will add names to the list, but many others will agree…some folks will have lots of x-es after their names.
Once you’ve added to the list and posted on your site, please leave a comment below. I’ll try to keep the list updated. Oh, and please don’t list yourself or your own blog or your own community. 
Who do you think are the two most influential Christian spiritual leaders today (in North America)?
- Rick Warren xxx
- Joel Osteen xx
- T.D. Jakes
- Joyce Meyers x
- Jim Wallis xxx
- Bill Hybels x
- Shane Claiborne
- Dallas Willard
- Rob Bell x
Who do you think are the two most influential emerging Christian spiritual leaders today (in North America)?
- Brian McLaren xxxxx
- Rob Bell xxxx
- Todd Hunter
- Tony Jones x
- Spencer Burke
- Dan Kimball
- Doug Pagitt
Which two Christian spiritual leaders (in North America) do you think are most worthy of being influential?
- Eugene Peterson xxx
- Ched Myers
- Rich Nathan x
- Diana Butler Bass
- Jim Wallis xx
- Brian McLaren xxxx
- Rob Bell xx
- John Piper
- John Armstrong
- Richard Foster xx
- Stanley Hauerwas
- Obery Hendricks x
Which two churchy or theological blogs do you think are the most influential?
- The Jesus Creed xxxxx
- Real Live Preacher x
- Tall Skinny Kiwi xxx
- Jollyblogger
- God’s Politics x
- The Ooze
- Beliefnet.com x
- AKMA’s Random Thoughts
- Internet Monk
Which two churchy or theological blogs have influenced you the most?
- Reclaiming the Mission
- Leaving Munster x
- Internet Monk xx
- The Kinglings Muse
- Jesus Creed xxxx
- Dylan’s Lectionary Blog x
- Conversation at the Edge
- Adrian Warnock
- The God Hungry x
- The Radical Pastor xx
- Vintage Faith
- On Journeying with those in Exile
Which two North American church communities do you believe are the most influential?
- Willow Creek xxxxxxx
- Saddleback xxxxxxx
- Lifechurch.tv
- Vineyard Columbus, Ohio x
- Mars Hill, Grand Rapids x
Which two self-described emerging/missional (North American) communities do you believe are the most influential?
- Solomon’s Porch xxxxxxx
- Mars Hill (take your pick) xxxxxx
- Imagio Dei, Portland xx
- Vintage (Santa Cruz) x
- Cedar Ridge Community Church x
Which two North American church communities do you think are most worthy of being influential?
- Church of the Savior (Washington, D.C.) x
- A Catholic Worker house…take your pick
- Oscar Romero Catholic Worker, Oklahoma City
- Koinonia, Georgia
- Apostles Church, Seattle WA
- Vintage Faith
- St. Sabina (Chicago, IL) x
- Mars Hill, MI xxx
- the simple way, Philadelphia PA
- Redeemer Presbyterian Church
- New Frontiers
- Irving Bible Church x
- Rutba House, NC
- Vineyard Central, OH
- Cedar Ridge Community Church
for further reading . . .
- None Found
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That durn Churchinfo blog popped in the comment before me….
How do I get rid of that rascally thing?
Anyhow, I posted a contribution to the list.
I’ve added my contributions to your list.
Upon further reflection, I changed my answer to the first one from Joyce Meyer to Max Lucado…
Hope you get some good results. It will be interesting to see what folks think. Posted my opinions [here].
I’ve posted my thoughts here.
I’ve posted my votes here.
Tuesday I will post this on my blog and hope to get a bundle of folks linking to you.
Here’s a local event coming up to support action wrt Darfur, in case you’re interested or want to republish it.
http://www.savedarfur.org/page/event/detail/globaldaysfordarfur/wp5
dlw
interesting list…i’ve added it to my site. thanks!
Hey I added this to my blog, thanks it was fun!
Just completed your survey on my blog. Interesting!
I completed posted the poll with my answers to my blog Full Blast. Very interested in seeing the complied results.
See my list at : http://wjbrandomthoughts.blogspot.com/2007/04/influencers.html
Which two churchy or theological blogs have influenced you the most?
Faith and Theology Only Jesus Creed gets near this quality. Of course Ben, unlike Scot, gives credit when blogger part 2 chimes in. Just check out Kim’s lists.
Shouldn’t we be focused on those who have no voice, no influence - the marginalized, the disenfranchised? Didn’t Jesus scold his closest friends for concerning themselves with thoughts of “status” and “influence?”
We live in a culture built and saturated on celebrity. Let’s be different, for Christ’s sake.
I agree, John. I’m hoping to post some concluding thoughts about this informal poll at a future day. My point in asking people to add to this list wasn’t to prop up celebrity, but to subvert it. My suspicion was (and I think it has been somewhat confirmed) that we are often not influenced by the celebrities–but by other, lesser known, folks. We often get so caught up in talking about celebrity leaders that we don’t stop and think about the people whose lives and stories have made the biggest impact in our lives.