Two years ago, you were enthralled by my top 10 stories of the decade.

Last year, you were moved again.

It’s time for me to captivate you once more.

With no further humor — er, adieu — my top 10 bylines of 2011:

10. Funding on the decline for children’s homes across the nation.

DUNCAN, S.C. - Southeastern Children’s Home cares for neglected and abused children on a 50-acre campus overlooking the Smoky Mountains.

Boys row out in a boat to catch bass and bream in a spring-fed pond. A beekeeper teaches girls how to cultivate honey.

The home’s residents ride horses as part of therapy and enjoy swing sets, basketball goals and a volleyball court.

As the Christian child-care agency meets physical needs, it fulfills a more important mission: sharing Jesus with children and families, executive director Robert Kimberly said.

“We’ve had eight of our kids become Christians this year, and so it’s been wonderful,” Kimberly said.

Yet he and many colleagues across the nation question if Churches of Christ are as passionate about caring for children in need as they once were.

In a survey of 20 children’s homes in more than a dozen states, The Christian Chronicle found widespread concern about declining church support amid trying economic times and shifting ministry priorities.

9. In Big Sky country, three congregations merge.

HELENA, Mont. - Welcome to the Gunslingers Church of Christ.

Not really.

But that characterization might not be too far off in describing the Lord’s body in this Wild West state capital over the past 25 years.

In a Big Sky community founded with the 1864 discovery of gold, personal disputes, doctrinal issues, allegiances to ministers and sins by leaders all have contributed to repeated church splits and hurt feelings.

“I think it’s been like, this is kind of the Old West, and if we don’t like something, we’re going to draw our gun and shoot,” said Jerry Botts, who joined the ministry staff of the Rocky Mountain Church of Christ eight years ago. “And that’s not the nature of Jesus.”

On a recent Sunday, however, Helena’s three remaining Churches of Christ came together under an open-air tent to make a fresh start — as a single, merged body.

At the construction site for what will become the newly named South Hills Church of Christ, about 170 men, women and children sat in folding chairs overlooking the cloud-covered Rocky Mountains.

Noisy tractor-trailer rigs buzzed along Interstate 15 as church members shared blue and maroon hymnals and gold and silver communion trays. The mix of colors reflected the coming together of the 125-member Rocky Mountain Church of Christ, the 50-member Helena Church of Christ and the 25-member Big Sky Church of Christ.

8. ‘This is what the Lord made me for’ — motocross champion Trey Canard.

SHAWNEE, Okla. - Out of his racing uniform, Trey Canard seems an unassuming presence, especially for someone known for performing high-speed, bone-jarring exploits in front of 30,000 to 60,000 fans.

However, the toughness and quiet confidence of the 5-foot-6, 150-pound Canard shine through as he reflects on his motorcycle racing career and the long list of injuries he has overcome.

“Yeah, I’ve broken my wrists four times,” said the 20-year-old professional motocross racer, the reigning national champion in the sport’s 250 class of smaller cycles. “I’ve broken my collarbone twice. I’ve broken my femur.”

That’s not to mention nagging little injuries involving fingers and toes, ankle sprains and “stuff of that sort.”

Given all the painful spills, what keeps him climbing back on the bike?

Must be the thrills, right?

Yeah, that’s part of it.

But for Canard, the passion to race goes deeper than that.

7. Walk in the cemetery provides odd comfort.

CEDAR GROVE, Tenn. - “Danial Ross. Born: 1791. Died: 1842.”

The name and the dates on the tombstone jump out at me immediately.

My grandfather, father, brother and I have driven out to this middle-of-nowhere cemetery in rural West Tennessee on a lazy Saturday afternoon.

Leaves crumble under my sneakers, and the sun bears down on my balding head, as I explore this piece of my family’s past.

At first glance, I tell myself this could be any old country cemetery. The ugliness of faded plastic flower arrangements and skinny, branch-exposed trees strikes me. I smell dust and see weeds and wonder how often anyone ventures out to this seemingly forgotten patch of God’s green earth.

Yet, I sense that I am experiencing something significant, that somehow this is sacred ground for me.

6. Saving Sin City: Meeting draws preachers, leaders to Las Vegas.

LAS VEGAS - Go ahead. Snicker.

Leo G. Gay has heard all the jokes.

When fellow Christians find out he’s from Sin City, the wisecracks start.

“I get questions like, ‘Do y’all accept chips in your basket?’” said Gay, minister of the North Las Vegas Church of Christ, about nine miles north of the famous stretch of hotels, casinos and resort properties known as “The Strip.”

The largest Church of Christ in Nevada, the 320-member congregation where Gay preaches hosted the recent 48th annual West Coast Preachers and Leaders Forum. The forum, started in San Francisco in 1964, rotates to a different city each year.

Amid the bright lights of an entertainment capital known for its slot machines, quickie wedding chapels and X-rated nightlife, about 300 Christian brothers and sisters came to study the Bible and focus on the theme “The Kingdom of God.”

5. Ministry in Mormon country.

SALT LAKE CITY — To Mormons, the Salt Lake Temple — a magnificent granite structure built in the 1800s — stands as a sacred icon and monument of pioneer faith.

For the 14 million adherents worldwide of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Temple Square represents “Jerusalem and Mecca and Shangri-La all rolled into one,” said Latayne C. Scott, a former Mormon.

“I myself wore a silver charm of the Salt Lake Temple around my neck for many years,” said Scott, author of the Zondervan book “The Mormon Mirage” and a member of the Mountainside Church of Christ in Albuquerque, N.M.

On a recent morning, a dozen teenagers from Texas made their way to the center of Utah’s capital city to tour the Mormon world headquarters. The teens’ aim: familiarize themselves with the region’s predominant religion before starting a weeklong mission trip here.

The youth group came from the 1,200-member Sunset Church of Christ in Lubbock — a West Texas congregation with more members than all the Churches of Christ in Utah combined.

“I wanted the Texas kids to get a perspective” on Mormon life, said Mike Wiist, minister of the Murray Park Church of Christ, a 100-member congregation just south of Salt Lake City that hosted the group.

4. Big storms, bigger hearts: Christians reach out to help after killer tornadoes.

WEBB CITY, Mo. - The Joplin tornado’s path of destruction can be seen all along Range Line Road, where a Home Depot, Walmart and other businesses lie in ruins.

Yellow “Caution” tape and shreds of wood flutter in the breeze amid bulldozers clearing debris and smashed vehicles abandoned after the May 22 twister that claimed 158 lives and left thousands homeless.

Drive a little farther, though, and a different scene unfolds.

“Disaster relief distribution,” say the bold black letters on a portable sign pointing residents two blocks off the main road to the Mt. Hope Church of Christ in Webb City, just north of Joplin.

In the shadow of the church’s white steeple, cases of bottled water are stacked outside the family life center, alongside boxes of all-purpose cleaner and diapers.

Inside the building, volunteers sporting red “Churches of Christ Disaster Response Team” T-shirts fill grocery sacks, help victims pick out shoes and blankets, prepare meals for chainsaw crews and provide stuffed animals for children whose families lost all their belongings.

As USCIRF Faces Possible Closure, Funding Divides Religious Freedom Experts

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom is preparing to shut down. January issue.

Interracial couples and Baptist ‘hierarchy.’ Published Dec. 1.

A natural extension of couple’s love. Published Dec. 2.

No discrimination based on creed? Published Dec. 6.

Evangelical Pujols to the highest bidder? Published Dec. 8.

Textbook example of balanced reporting. Published Dec. 10.

In Lowe’s ‘backlash,’ a fair hearing? Published Dec. 13.

Pod people: Albert Pujols, Macy’s firing. Published Dec. 17.

‘Messenger Angels’ flap media-friendly wings. Published Dec. 20.

FUNDING ON THE DECLINE — Children’s homes: Still a core church ministry? (reporting from Duncan, S.C.). Page 1 lead.

Church planted in hotel ballroom touts ‘New Life’ (reporting from Bridgeton, Mo.). Second Front.

Preach it, brother, but it keep it short (reporting from Terrell, Texas). Inside Story.

2011: Numbers that inspired us. Editorial.

Remembering 2011: The year in quotes. Views.

Leaving Rwanda: Breakaway Anglicans Break Away Again

Dispute between African bishops and Anglican Mission in the Americas prompts U.S. leadership to leave body. Web exclusive published Dec. 7.

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Out of Africa: What AMIA’s Exodus from Rwanda Portends for Global Christianity

Break underscores the difficulty of shifting denominational power across cultures and continents. Web exclusive published Dec. 9.

‘God didn’t do this’: Minister grieves slain wife, son. Page 1.

In Big Sky country, three congregations merge as members heal old wounds (reporting from Helena, Mont.). Page 1.

Finding hope in a red door: Salt, light and housing for inner city (reporting from Oklahoma City). Inside Story.

Breaking church-state news in Oregon. Published Nov. 1.

The nut’s guide to media attention. Published Nov. 6.

The biblical case for spanking. Published Nov. 7.

The politics of religious liberty. Published Nov. 15.

The Baptist pastor said WHAT!? Published Nov. 16.

Pod people: Religious liberty, inflammatory quote. Published Nov. 18.

In atheist blitz, where’s the other side? Published Nov. 22.

A layered portrait of hate. Published Nov. 23.

Stereotypes and backwoods religion. Published Nov. 28.

On the campaign trail: Bad Dad? Published Nov. 30.

Interpretation Sparks a Grave Theology Debate

Apologist’s questioning of Matthew 27 creates theological war of words. November issue.

Healing a wounded town: After a string of suicides, a minister helps bring answers to a small Oregon community (reporting from Alsea, Ore.). Second Front.

A new babe in Christ — at 108 years old. Inside Story.

Not sheepless in Seattle (reporting from Seattle). Churches That Work.

The church’s role in suicide prevention. Editorial.

Best of the News Blog

Enrollment records set — again — at some Christian universities. Published Nov. 2.

Video: ‘Our community is strong, but we are hurting,’ ACU president says after bus crash. Published Nov. 7.

Kentucky teens learning ‘Truth About Sex’ at church workshop (live blog from Russellville, Ky.). Published Nov. 11.

Video: Church member donates kidney to elder’s wife. Published Nov. 19.

‘Meanest city to the homeless’ benefits from River City Ministry. Published Nov. 29.