House churches are more likely than conventional churches to satisfy the needs and expectations of their participants. That's one of the key results from this week's Barna Update, which examines the house church phenomenon more closely. You'll also discover what house churches typically do, who is involved, and how people immersed in a conventional church feel about house churches.

Read what Brian McLaren says about the Politics of Joy. Click here.

Patricia Heaton, an outspoken Christian who starred in the long-running sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond, has remained busy. She hosted the standup comedy program Thou Shalt Laugh. Heaton also acted in The Path to 9/11 and The Engagement Ring. She is a producer of Amazing Grace, a feature film about British anti-slavery parliamentarian William Wilberforce, to be released in February. Read what Heaton says on being in Hollywood but not of it. Article here.

With the New Year comes New Year's Resolutions. If you haven't done so already, go ahead and resolve to be a catalyst in culture this year! In this issue of Catalyst Monthly, the team and friends have compiled a few ideas to help you get connected to culture, create opportunities to engage and influence your community, and demonstrate a piece of the Kingdom of God in this world. Check out the list and let us know what you think. Do you have other ideas?

Researchers at the Diffusion Group predict the U.S. podcast audience will climb from 800,000 people in '04 to 56.8 million people by 2010. We encourage you to join the podcast craze now- subscribe to the Catalyst podcast by clicking here.