Guest Post

New today from the Century: Lee Hull Moses on trying the Narrative Lectionary, Jason Byassee on the Duck at prayer, more.

Eugene Peterson notes that when we read scripture, "we find that we are not being led to see God in our stories but to see our stories in God's. God is the larger context and plot.” This fall, I'm using the the Narrative Lectionary, put together in 2010 by the good folks at Luther Seminary and Working Preacher.

New today from the Century: Amy Frykholm interviews Syrian Orthodox leader Cyril Karim, Melissa Florer-Bixler on Yoder and his victims, more.

New today from the Century: Steve Thorngate on alternatives to the common lectionary, Carol Howard Merritt on "mainline" and the importance of labels, more.

New today from the Century: Pastor Francis, Obamacare's unimpressive first two weeks, more.

New today from the Century: Carol Howard Merritt on avoiding tokenism, John Buchanan on cynicism about government, more.

New today from the Century: Bromleigh McCleneghan on National Coming Out Day, Mark Braverman reviews Rashid Khalidi, more.

New today from the Century: Katherine Willis Pershey reviews Debbie Blue, Carol Howard Merritt on the intergenerational self, more.

I don’t have a sob story. My family is healthy; we’ve never been denied coverage. We are simply self-employed and want to stay that way. And paying for private, individual health insurance is an ongoing dilemma.

New today from the Century: Craig Barnes says a few words, Amy Frykholm shops for health insurance, more.

New today from the Century: Some non-park governmental things that are shut down, how pastors can help their successors succeed, more.

New today from the Century: Lillian Daniel talks to Will Willimon, essential books on Revelation and evangelism, more.

I try to keep worship to an hour, even on communion Sundays. I keep a side-eye on the clock and move certain things along, because I want to take plenty of time when the congregation comes forward. I look each person in the eye as I give the bread. But that morning they seemed to barrel toward me two by two.

New today from the Century: Robert Westbrook reviews Nick Turse, Dennis Sanders on Asperger's and pastoral leadership, more.

New today from the Century: Amy Frykholm reviews Najla Said; Obamacare and being open to changing your mind; more.

Driving in northern Indiana one recent evening, I came to the conclusion that religious broadcasters pretty much own the FM band in this part of the country. One station was playing contemporary Christian music, another gospel music. And three different stations were airing James Dobson’s radio program. Dobson, formerly of Focus on the Family, was touting a new novel he has coauthored, which fictionalizes all the bad things supposedly resulting from a decline in the American birthrate.

New today from the Century: Kathryn Reklis on Orange Is the New Black, Timothy Renick reviews Andrew Bacevich, more.

New today from the Century: Faith formation and answerless questions, eight things the chaos on Capitol Hill isn't about, more.