What You Need to Know About Culture in 2018

If it’s true that we put our money where our mouth is, then this report from Thenumbers.com will help you see how your favorite movies fared in 2017. There were over 700 movies that sold 1,197,554,799 tickets and grossed over $10 billion! Want to know the movies coming in 2018, here’s a calendar with the latest.

Who doesn’t love a good Ted Talk? Check out ted.com’s list of the top-14 Ted Talks in 2017.Megan Phelps-Roper describes life in Westboro Baptist Church, Tim Ferriss on why you should define your fears instead of your goals, Anjan Chatterjee on how your brain decides what’s beautiful…and much more here.

A new word added to Merriam-Webster’s dictionary this year is binge-watch. And these areNetflix’s top-10 binged shows in 2017. No, you don’t have to watch them but it’s a good idea to know what people are talking about when they mention dressing like 11 for Halloween. For more about the over 1,000 new words, read here.

And the words people googled en masse tell us much about what’s on their hearts and minds. Find out the top googled words here.

What You Need to Know About Technology in 2018

For the technophile, check out Time magazine’s top-10 gadgets that no respectable techno geek can be without. To learn more about gadgets you never even knew you needed, read more here.

The 10 most significant scientific discoveries of the year include editing a human embryo and a synthetic device to imitate a woman’s uterus.

And medical discoveries abounded in 2017. Read the Prevention.com list here and the Reader’s Digest list here.

What You Need to Know About Ministry in 2018

When you’re curious about what makes churches grow, check out Outreach Magazine’s top-100 list for insights into the fastest growing churches in America.

And while you’re at it, read the top-12 read articles on churchleaders.com to see what intrigued your peers and gave them ideas for more effective ministry.

Get in touch with what matters to the people you’re trying to reach with this list of demographic trends that affect them from Pew Research.

What You Need to Know About News in 2018

In case you missed it, here were the top-10 news stories in 2017. It was a stormy year! The weather outside was frightful and the boogey-man in Korea was blustery.

And news on the tech front features everything from Facebook to bitcoins. Read more here.

We all know a picture says a thousand words, but what about a political cartoon? These areUSAToday’s top 10.

What to Read if You Haven’t Yet in 2018

Here are just a few lists of the top books in 2017 from various sources.

CNBC: The 13 Best Business Books

Strategy-Business.com’s Top 3 Business Books

Desiringgod.org’s Top 17 Books of 2017

Thegospelcoalition’s best books from Kevin Deyoung

What You Need to Know About 2018

Getting ready for the coming year, check out…

The top-10 Social-Media Trends to Prepare for in 2018 from Entrepreneur.com.

And it looks like it’s going to be “more of the same” with the public agenda, according to a report from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

Here’s to an amazing 2018! We at churchleaders.com are rooting for you and praying this will be a year that you experience God’s presence and blessings in everything.