Guest Post

New today from the Century: Health-care reform survives, bad words in the pulpit, more.

It’s hard not to feel a bit envious. Saddleback Church recently launched the Daniel Plan, a church-based diet regimen that includes small group accountability sessions, expert opinion, recipes and exercise classes before Sunday services. The program appears to be working: so far, some 15,000 participants have lost a collective 260,000 pounds. What can mainline churches learn from the Daniel Plan’s success?

New today from the Century: Reviving the Jordan, losing weight at church, more.

New today (and yesterday) from the Century: Better deal on online subscriptions, the editors on VAWA, John Buchanan on Sen. Lugar, more.

New today from the Century: Prevenient grace, Anne of Green Gables, more.

New today from the Century: Tom Long on predicting the future, Miho Nonaka reviews Angela Alaimo O'Donnell, more.

I’ve been an associate minister for two years. I love associate ministry. While I understand that it is a stepping stone for a lot of people, I feel deeply called to this role--both in general and in the specific context of the church I serve. I used to be in solo ministry. When I made the transition, there were surprisingly few bumps--in large part due to my wonderful colleagues. And one of the big differences between solo and staff ministry is the increase in opportunities to work collaboratively. Another is that I no longer preach every Sunday.

New today from the Century: Associate minister Katherine Willis Pershey on preaching less, Nelson Kraybill reviews Elaine Pagels, more.

New today from the Century: Breaking the cycle of payday loans, blaspheming the holy spirit, more.

New today from the Century: A hopeful universalism, review of Steven Pinker, more.

New today from the Century: Animals in the new creation, it's not about the role of government, more.

New today from the Century: Hard choices in Egypt, William Burrows reviews Douglas Jacobsen, more.

New today from the Century: New "ministry in the 21st century" interview, God's womb, social media catechesis, more.

New today from the Century: The ICC's first verdict, lectionary column by Nadia Bolz-Weber, more.

New today from the Century: The bishops' weak argument about religious liberty, ministry in the midst of wounds, more.

Terry Castle is concerned about students' constant contact with parents. I’m more interested in how they relate face to face.

New today from the Century: Meeting Adam in heaven, virtually dependent young adults, more.

New today from the Century: Thomas Lynch on Michael Moore, Jason Byassee on MI-5, more.

New today from the Century: The editors on Title IX after 40 years, David Heim reviews Alain de Botton, more.

New today from the Century: A shift to group mentoring, the national need to criticize, more.