Influence Podcast: Recent Episodes
Influence Magazine
The Influence Magazine Podcast is a chance for you to hear from the premiere voices in church leadership…voices who are redefining what church leadership looks like. It's the audio companion to Influence Magazine, a resource full of practical tools, informative news and powerful biblical principals aimed at empowering all leaders. Visit us online at InfluenceMagazine.com
“We don’t have to look far to realize there’s a void of godly voices in modern youth culture. When we look around and see students struggling with self-harm, gender identity, as well as depression and anxiety, to name a few, we can see the void of godly voices,” writes Ashton Peters.
“There’s a void of Christ-honoring love, biblical discipleship, and authentic mentorship. There’s a void of spiritual mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, who deeply love a generation and want them to be all that God calls them to be.”
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I talk to Ashton Peters about why youth ministries need to fill that void with good adult mentors, and how they can best do so. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Ashton Peters is national Fine Arts coordinator for the Assemblies of God and author of The Third Voice, forthcoming from Gospel Publishing House.
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This episode of the Influence podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of the Ignite Parenting Conversation Cards.
Strengthen your family's relationships with God and each other with these easy-to-use Conversation Cards. Each card is uniquely designed with a question, faith builder statement, and a Bible verse to spark meaningful conversations that cultivate an open and nurturing environment in your home.
For more information about the Ignite Parenting Conversation Cards visit MyHealthyChurch.com.
In Episode 383 of the Influence Podcast, I talked to Allen Tennison about the good news of Christ’s death and resurrection. The biblical narrative doesn’t end with Christ rising from the dead, however. Consider Acts 2:32–36, for example, where Peter says:
“God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it. Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said,
‘The Lord said to my Lord: Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.’
Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”
Pentecostals rightly emphasize the second half of verse 33 about the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. But we often overlook the first half of that verse, which alludes to Christ’s ascension and enthronement at God’s right hand.
This episode releases on May 29, 2025, which happens to be Ascension Day, so in this episode, I talk to Allen Tennison about how Ascension and Pentecost are part of the gospel. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Allen Tennison is theological counsel of The General Council of the Assemblies of God.
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This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of The Holy Spirit in the Life of the Discipler.
The Holy Spirit in the Life of the Discipler equips you with an understanding of the Holy Spirit's role in your life. As a resource for both laypeople and ministry leaders, it also imparts practical insight for anyone discipling others in receiving the baptism in the Holy Spirit.
For more information about The Holy Spirit in the Life of the Discipler visit MyHealthyChurch.com.
This summer marks the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicea, which promulgated the Nicene Creed. Along with Catholics and the Orthodox, many Protestant churches affirm the theology of the Nicene Creed, whether or not they use it in their liturgy or formal theological statements.
But what about Pentecostals? What should we make of the creed? That’s what I ask Frank Macchia in this episode of the Influence Podcast. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Frank Macchia is professor of systematic theology at Vanguard University of Southern California and associate director of the Centre for Pentecostal and Charismatic Studies at Bangor University in Wales. He is author of Tongues of Fire: A Systematic Theology of the Christian Faith, published by Cascade Books, and of Introduction to Theology: Declaring the Wonders of God, published by Baker Academic.
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This episode of the Influence podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Open When . . . Parenting through Foster and Adoption.
Christian professionals delve into the unique challenges and struggles encountered by foster parents, adoptive parents, or kinship caregivers. Readers will be equipped with practical tools and strategies to navigate the complexities of guiding and nurturing children in nontraditional family structures.
For more information about Open When . . . Parenting through Foster and Adoption visit MyHealthyChurch.com.
“I am a survivor of child abuse,” writes Samantha Rose Jones.
“The abuse impacted every aspect of my humanity — physically, emotionally, socially, mentally, and spiritually. All the instances were in a severe category, and the evil I faced was unfathomable. My starting point is bleak, but my current story is miraculous. I am a miracle because I am a child of the living Miracle Worker — God.”
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I talk to Jones about her journey from the pain of abuse to the miracle of love and joy. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Samantha Rose Jones is a grant writer for Evangel University. A credentialed Assemblies of God minister, she copastors Lifehouse Assembly of God in Cadillac, Michigan, with her husband Keith. She is author of God and Trauma: The Lessons I’m Learning
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This episode of the Influence podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of the Ignite Parenting Conversation Cards.
Strengthen your family's relationships with God and each other with these easy-to-use Conversation Cards. Each card is uniquely designed with a question, faith builder statement, and a Bible verse to spark meaningful conversations that cultivate an open and nurturing environment in your home.
For more information about the Ignite Parenting Conversation Cards visit MyHealthyChurch.com.
“As long as he sought the Lord, God gave him success.”
That is what 2 Chronicles 26:5 says about Uzziah, king of Judah in the early eighth century B.C.
According to Warren D. Bullock, this verse is key to understanding Uzziah’s success as a king, as well as his ultimate failure. “When [Uzziah] prayed, all went well; he had amazing success,” Bullock writes. “When he failed to seek the Lord, he acted out of pride, violated the boundaries of his calling, and was cursed with leprosy.”
What lessons does Uzziah’s example of both prayerfulness and prayerlessness teach spiritual leaders today? That’s the question I ask Bullock in this episode of the Influence Podcast. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influencemagazine and your host.
Warren D. Bullock is a veteran Assemblies of God minister with six decades of experience as a pastor, superintendent of the Northwest Ministry Network, and General Council executive presbyter. He is author of Seven Life-Changing Words: The Power of Persevering Prayer, published by Trilogy.
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This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of The Holy Spirit in the Life of the Discipler.
The Holy Spirit in the Life of the Discipler equips you with an understanding of the Holy Spirit's role in your life. As a resource for both laypeople and ministry leaders, it also imparts practical insight for anyone discipling others in receiving the baptism in the Holy Spirit.
For more information about The Holy Spirit in the Life of the Discipler visit MyHealthyChurch.com.
April is Autism Acceptance Month.
According to the website, Autism Speaks, autism or autism spectrum disorder refers to “a broad range of conditions characterized by challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviors, speech and nonverbal communication. According to the Centers for Disease Control, autism affects an estimated 1 in 36 children and 1 in 45 adults in the United States today.”
How should Christian churches minister to people with autism? Just as importantly, how should they facilitate ministry by people with autism?
Those are the questions I ask Ron Sandison in this episode of the Influence Podcast. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Ron Sandison is a speaker and teacher specializing in autism issues, a credentialed Assemblies of God minister, and author of several books on autism, including A Parent’s Guide to Autism, Views from the Spectrum, and most recently, Adulting on the Spectrum, published by Kregel Publications. He is also author of the article, “Ministry on the Spectrum,” in the Spring 2025 issue of Influence.
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This episode of the Influence podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of the Ignite Parenting Conversation Cards.
Strengthen your family's relationships with God and each other with these easy-to-use Conversation Cards. Each card is uniquely designed with a question, faith builder statement, and a Bible verse to spark meaningful conversations that cultivate an open and nurturing environment in your home.
For more information about the Ignite Parenting Conversation Cards visit MyHealthyChurch.com.
In 1 Corinthians 15:1–2, the apostle Paul wrote:
“Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.”
We typically interpret Paul’s gospel in terms of the doctrine of justification by faith, with good reason. In Romans 1:17, for example, Paul wrote, “For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed — a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: ‘The righteous will live by faith.’”
And yet, in 1 Corinthians 15:3–7, Paul focused on what happened to Jesus Christ — His death and resurrection, not on what happened through Jesus Christ. Christ’s death and resurrection are the cause, and our justification — including our own resurrection from the dead — is the effect.
As we approach the holiest days in the Christian calendar — Good Friday and Easter — I want to devote a podcast to discussing the theological foundations of the gospel with Allen Tennison. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Allen Tennison is theological counsel of The General Council of the Assemblies of God and chair of the Commission on Doctrines and Practices.
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This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of The Holy Spirit in the Life of the Discipler.
The Holy Spirit in the Life of the Discipler equips you with an understanding of the Holy Spirit's role in your life. As a resource for both laypeople and ministry leaders, it also imparts practical insight for anyone discipling others in receiving the baptism in the Holy Spirit.
For more information about The Holy Spirit in the Life of the Discipler visit MyHealthyChurch.com.
Jesus asked His disciples an important question in Matthew 16:15: “Who do you say I am?”
Ligonier Ministries surveyed Americans in 2022 about how they perceived Jesus. Responses to three statements in particular are worth highlighting.
First, 54% of Americans and 80% of American evangelicals strongly agreed with the statement, “There is one true God in three persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.” This statement summarizes the doctrine of the Trinity.
But 40% of all Americans and 48% of evangelicals strongly agreed with the statement, “Jesus is the first and greatest being created by God.” This statement is a Christological heresy known as Arianism, not to mention an implicit rejection of the Trinity.
Finally, 31% of all Americans and 29% of evangelicals strongly agreed with the statement, “Jesus was a great teacher, but he was not God.” How 80% of evangelicals can affirm the Trinity but 29% deny Jesus’ deity is an unsolvable math problem.
But it’s a solvable problem for Christian discipleship. Churches need to do a better job of inculcating what the Bible teaches about who Jesus Christ is.
Toward that end, I talk with Robert M. Bowman Jr. about a biblical case for Jesus’ deity in this episode of the Influence Podcast. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Robert M. Bowman Jr. is president of the Institute for Religious Research, which provides “evidence-oriented answers to criticisms of the Bible and alternative views of Jesus Christ advocated by skeptics and members of other religions.” He is author, with J. Ed Komoszewski, of The Incarnate Christ and His Critics, published by Kregel Academic.
If you could travel back in time and share life lessons with your younger self, what would they be?
That’s the premise of Doug Clay’s new book, Conversations with My Younger Self.
“If I could go back in time,” he asks, “what mistakes would I correct? What choices would I change? What words would I say or leave unsaid? What path would I take?”
Clay answers those questions by drawing on his personal experiences as well as the biblical stories of Samuel, Saul, Jonathan, and David.
I talk to Clay about what he would say to his younger self in this episode of the Influence Podcast. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Doug Clay is general superintendent of the Assemblies of God, a U.S. fellowship with nearly three million adherents, 13,000 churches and 38,000 ministers. He is author of Conversations with My Younger Self, forthcoming from Gospel Publishing House.
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This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of The Holy Spirit in the Life of the Discipler.
The Holy Spirit in the Life of the Discipler equips you with an understanding of the Holy Spirit's role in your life. As a resource for both laypeople and ministry leaders, it also imparts practical insight for anyone discipling others in receiving the baptism in the Holy Spirit.
For more information about The Holy Spirit in the Life of the Discipler visit MyHealthyChurch.com.
“The future is coming, and you’re not in it.”
That’s what Rear Admiral Chester Cain (played by Ed Harris) says to Captain Pete Mitchell (played by Tom Cruise) in Top Gun: Maverick.
Cain’s reasoning? Mitchell will be replaced by AI. “These planes you’ve been testing, Captain, one day, sooner or later, they won’t need pilots at all.”
Technological advances initiate a process of creative destruction, in which old ways of doing things give way to new ways, in the process displacing people who do things the old way. The Luddites, for example, were weavers whose livelihoods were threatened by the adoption of automated weaving machines.
The concern with AI is not merely that it will replace people’s jobs, but that it will fundamentally redefine what it means to be human.
How should pastors respond to this concern? That’s the question I ask Paul A. Hoffman in this episode of the Influence Podcast. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Paul A. Hoffman is senior pastor of Evangelical Friends Church of Newport, Rhode Island, and coauthor with Sean O’Callaghan of AI Shepherds and Electric Sheep, published by Baker Academic.
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This episode of the Influence podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Open When . . . Parenting through Foster and Adoption.
Christian professionals delve into the unique challenges and struggles encountered by foster parents, adoptive parents, or kinship caregivers. Readers will be equipped with practical tools and strategies to navigate the complexities of guiding and nurturing children in nontraditional family structures.
For more information about Open When . . . Parenting through Foster and Adoption visit MyHealthyChurch.com.
Some time ago, a pastor called Chris Sonksen and confessed, “Our church is stuck, and I feel empty. I don’t know what to do. I don’t know how much longer I can keep doing this.”
A lot of pastors feel this way. One Lifeway Research study found that six in 10 Protestant churches are plateaued or declining. More than half of churches saw fewer than 10 converts in the previous year.
Another Lifeway Research study reported that more than 60% of pastors say that stress weighs heavily on them, with at least half reporting that their burdens have robbed them of joy in ministry.
These pastors and the churches they lead seem like trains stuck on the tracks. What can they do to gain traction and get moving again?
That’s the question I ask Chris Sonksen in this episode of the Influence Podcast. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Chris Sonksen is founding pastor of South Hills Church, a multi-state, multi-campus church based in Southern California, CEO and founder of Church Boom, and an ordained Assemblies of God minister. Most recently, he is author of Traction: Five Proven Principles for Unstoppable Growth, published by Avail.
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This episode of the Influence podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Audacious Faith.
This six-week women’s Bible study will define biblical faith, address questions head-on, and unpack what it means to have audacious faith. Learn how to replace hopelessness and despair with vibrant faith that pleases the Lord and repels the enemy.
For more information about Audacious Faith visit MyHealthyChurch.com.
“The best days of the church are ahead,” write Kara Powell, Jake Mulder, and Raymond Chang.
“Don’t get us wrong. We are under no illusion that churches have it easy in this season. These days the church can feel … So fractured, So distracted. So divided and politicized. So exhausting. So hard to lead. Like everything is an uphill battle.”
So why are these authors confident about the future of the church? That’s the question I ask Kara Powell in this episode of the Influence Podcast. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Kara Powell is chief of leadership formation and executive director of the Fuller Youth Institute at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California, and a credentialed Assemblies of God minister. She is coauthor, with Mulder and Chang, of Future-Focused Church: Leading Through Change, Engaging the Next Generation, and Building a More Diverse Tomorrow, published by Baker Books.
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This episode of the Influence podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of the Ignite Parenting Conversation Cards.
Strengthen your family's relationships with God and each other with these easy-to-use Conversation Cards. Each card is uniquely designed with a question, faith builder statement, and a Bible verse to spark meaningful conversations that cultivate an open and nurturing environment in your home.
For more information about the Ignite Parenting Conversation Cards visit MyHealthyChurch.com.
“God could have spoken the heavens and earth into existence with a single word on a single day,” writes Rick DuBose. “He did not need seven days in which to do His work.”
“But that is not how Genesis records it. God, for all His creative power, intentionally chose to work through seven days of creation. God worked in seven creative stages. Our world exists because of that process. And it’s in that process you can begin to better understand how God continues to work in your life.”
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I talk to DuBose about why God uses a process to transform our lives, and what the stages of that process are like. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Rick DuBose is assistant general superintendent of the Assemblies of God and author of The Creator’s Wheel: 7 Phases of Godly Transformation, published in January by Chosen Books.
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This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of The Holy Spirit in the Life of the Discipler.
The Holy Spirit in the Life of the Discipler equips you with an understanding of the Holy Spirit's role in your life. As a resource for both laypeople and ministry leaders, it also imparts practical insight for anyone discipling others in receiving the baptism in the Holy Spirit.
For more information about The Holy Spirit in the Life of the Discipler visit MyHealthyChurch.com.
“Pentecostal historians have always acknowledged the miraculous stories accompanying the Azusa Street revival as an integral part of the Pentecostal experience,” writes Ruthie Edgerly Oberg.
“However, the pressing question is whether the dubious and exaggerated claims of [author Tommy] Welchel will overshadow the genuine stories of ordinary men and women transformed by the Spirit, who carried the Pentecostal message into towns, cities, and nations, sparking a global movement.”
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I talk to Oberg about numerous problems with the histories of the Azusa Street Revival authored by Tommy Welchel. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Ruthie Edgerly Oberg is an ordained Assemblies of God minister and a conference speaker for the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center in Springfield, Missouri. Our conversation is based on an academic paper Oberg presented at the 53rdAnnual Meeting of the Society for Pentecostal Studies, which was titled, “The Mythologizing of Pentecostal History.”
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This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of The Creator’s Wheel by Rick DuBose, coming out from Chosen Books on February 11.
Our world demands faster speeds, quicker deliveries. We want change now, transformation in a moment. But God, who spoke galaxies into existence with a single word, took seven days to bring about His full and magnificent creation — and He takes His time with us.
In The Creator’s Wheel, Rick DuBose shows how, just as God reached into that dark and chaotic mess to form space and time, He reaches into the mess of our lives, initiating a process that transforms us into masterpieces.
Visit MyHealthyChurch.com to pre-order your copy of The Creator’s Wheel.
If you are a Christian, chances are you know someone who has deconstructed their faith or is doing so right now. You want to help them reconstruct their faith in Jesus, but you don’t know how to act or what to say.
“The truth is that we can’t control someone’s reconstruction,” writes Ian Harber.
“What we can do is create environments — both in our interpersonal relationships and in our churches — that help minimize the intensity of someone’s deconstruction by being a non-anxious presence, creating healthy relationships and churches full of trust and care, and having a more robust understanding of our faith to talk through with them.”
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I talk to Harber about what deconstruction is and how to be a better Christian friend and church community for someone who is experiencing a crisis of faith. I'm George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Ian Harber is author of Walking Through Deconstruction, published by InterVarsity Press. A writer and Christian media producer, he has written for The Gospel Coalition, Mere Orthodoxy, and RELEVANT. He writes about reconstructing faith in his newsletter Back Again, and about faith, media, and technology at Endeavor. He lives in Denton, Texas, with his wife and sons.
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This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of The Holy Spirit in the Life of the Discipler.
The Holy Spirit in the Life of the Discipler equips you with an understanding of the Holy Spirit's role in your life. As a resource for both laypeople and ministry leaders, it also imparts practical insight for anyone discipling others in receiving the baptism in the Holy Spirit.
For more information about The Holy Spirit in the Life of the Discipler visit MyHealthyChurch.com.
In Matthew 12:38–40, Jesus compared himself to Jonah. “For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”
That comparison got Gerad Strong thinking about other points where Jonah and Jesus present a study in contrasts. He recently spoke about those contrasts at the biweekly chapel service of the Assemblies of God national office.
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I talk to Strong about those contrasts. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Gerad Strong is the director of Training and Church Health with the Church Multiplication Network of the Assemblies of God. Formerly lead pastor of a rural church, Strong led a revitalization effort, resulting in the establishment of seven new church campuses in two years. He is author of The Forgotten Field: Using Multisite Models to Reach and Revive Rural Communities with the Gospel, published in 2022 by Baxter Press.
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This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of The Creator’s Wheel by Rick DuBose, coming out from Chosen Books on February 11.
Our world demands faster speeds, quicker deliveries. We want change now, transformation in a moment. But God, who spoke galaxies into existence with a single word, took seven days to bring about His full and magnificent creation — and He takes His time with us.
In The Creator’s Wheel, Rick DuBose shows how, just as God reached into that dark and chaotic mess to form space and time, He reaches into the mess of our lives, initiating a process that transforms us into masterpieces.
Visit MyHealthyChurch.com to pre-order your copy of The Creator’s Wheel.
“Extensive research reveals that only 10 percent of people possess the raw talent to manage,” writes Stephen Blandino. “And while there are clear differences between leading and managing, Gallup merges the two by defining a manager as ‘someone responsible for leading a team toward common objectives.’”
Blandino goes on to say that while most people are not “natural leaders,” they can become “learned leaders.” In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I talk to him about learning to lead. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influencemagazine and your host.
Stephen Blandino is lead pastor of 7 City Church in Fort Worth, Texas; a leadership coach, blogger, and host of the Leader Fluent Podcast; and author of Insanely Practical Leadership: 12 No-Nonsense Keys to Master the Art of Leading Yourself and Others, published by Avail.
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This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Bible Engagement Project.
The Bible Engagement Project library includes free adult small group resources that build Bible-based small groups. With these resources, your small group will learn how to dig into the Bible and apply it to life. Enriching videos and intriguing discussion questions will create the kind of moments that inspire members to continue engaging deeply with the Bible all week long.
Visit BibleEngagementProject.com to create your free account and get started.
“Establishing the Church among all peoples everywhere by reaching, planting, training, and serving” is the mission of Assemblies of God World Missions. AGWM divides its work into five regions: Africa, Asia Pacific, Eurasia, Europe, and Latin America. Over the next few months, I plan to interview AGWM’s five regional directors about the challenges, opportunities, and key initiatives they lead.
I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host. In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I talk to Larry Henderson about Assemblies of God World Missions’ efforts in Europe.
Larry Henderson serves as AGWM’s Europe Regional Director. In that role, he oversees 504 missionaries and associates. He also serves as a liaison between the U. S. Assemblies of God and its fraternal fellowships in the region.
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This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Bible Engagement Project.
The Bible Engagement Project library includes free adult small group resources that build Bible-based small groups. With these resources, your small group will learn how to dig into the Bible and apply it to life. Enriching videos and intriguing discussion questions will create the kind of moments that inspire members to continue engaging deeply with the Bible all week long.
Visit BibleEngagementProject.com to create your free account and get started.
“Establishing the Church among all peoples everywhere by reaching, planting, training, and serving” is the mission of Assemblies of God World Missions. AGWM divides its work into five regions: Africa, Asia Pacific, Eurasia, Europe, and Latin America. Over the next few months, I plan to interview AGWM’s five regional directors about the challenges, opportunities, and key initiatives they lead.
I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host. In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I talk to Jeff Hartensveld about Assemblies of God World Missions’ efforts in Asia Pacific.
Jeff Hartensveld serves as AGWM’s Asia Pacific Regional Director. In that role, he oversees 505 missionaries and associates. He also serves as a liaison between the U. S. Assemblies of God and its fraternal fellowships in the region.
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This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Bible Engagement Project.
The Bible Engagement Project library includes free adult small group resources that build Bible-based small groups. With these resources, your small group will learn how to dig into the Bible and apply it to life. Enriching videos and intriguing discussion questions will create the kind of moments that inspire members to continue engaging deeply with the Bible all week long.
Visit BibleEngagementProject.com to create your free account and get started.
“Establishing the Church among all peoples everywhere by reaching, planting, training, and serving” is the mission of Assemblies of God World Missions. AGWM divides its work into five regions: Africa, Asia Pacific, Eurasia, Europe, and Latin America. Over the next few months, I plan to interview AGWM’s five regional directors about the challenges, opportunities, and key initiatives they lead.
I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host. In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I talk to Greg Beggs about Assemblies of God World Missions’ efforts in Africa.
Greg Beggs serves as AGWM’s Africa Regional Director. In that role, he oversees 350 missionaries and associates. He also serves as a liaison between the U. S. Assemblies of God and its fraternal fellowships in the region.
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This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Bible Engagement Project.
The Bible Engagement Project library includes free adult small group resources that build Bible-based small groups. With these resources, your small group will learn how to dig into the Bible and apply it to life. Enriching videos and intriguing discussion questions will create the kind of moments that inspire members to continue engaging deeply with the Bible all week long.
Visit BibleEngagementProject.com to create your free account and get started.
“We tend to think of miracles as the exceptions to the rule, and that’s one kind of miracle. There are miracles that defy the laws of nature, but the laws of nature are miraculous and mysterious in and of themselves. ‘We should always endeavor to wonder at the permanent thing, not the mere exception, said G. K. Chesterton. ‘We should be startled by the sun, and not by the eclipse.’”
So writes Mark Batterson in his new book, A Million Little Miracles: Rediscover the God Who Is Bigger Than Big, Closer Than Close, and Gooder Than Good, published by Multnomah.
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I talk to Batterson about developing what he calls “holy curiosity” in light of these truths ab out God. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Mark Batterson is pastor of National Community Church in Washington D.C., an ordained Assemblies of God minister, and a best-selling author.
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This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Bible Engagement Project.
The Bible Engagement Project library includes free adult small group resources that build Bible-based small groups. With these resources, your small group will learn how to dig into the Bible and apply it to life. Enriching videos and intriguing discussion questions will create the kind of moments that inspire members to continue engaging deeply with the Bible all week long.
Visit BibleEngagementProject.com to create your free account and get started.
“One of my biggest pet peeves is hearing shepherds say, ‘Ministry would be great if it weren’t for the people,’” writes Craig T. Owens. “In essence they are saying, ‘I am happy to do this, as long as there aren’t any difficult sheep to deal with.”
He goes on to conclude: “Sheep are your ministry! Even the sheep that bite you, kick you, betray you, and abandon you.”
The question pastors need to ask is how to minister to people who cause them pain.
That’s the question I ask Owens in this episode of the Influence Podcast. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Craig T. Owens is pastor of Calvary Assembly of God in Cedar Springs, Mich.; cohost of The Craig and Greg show, a leadership podcast; and author of When Sheep Bite.
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This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Bible Engagement Project.
The Bible Engagement Project library includes free adult small group resources that build Bible-based small groups. With these resources, your small group will learn how to dig into the Bible and apply it to life. Enriching videos and intriguing discussion questions will create the kind of moments that inspire members to continue engaging deeply with the Bible all week long.
Visit BibleEngagementProject.com to create your free account and get started.
Happy Reformation Day!
On this date in 1517, Martin Luther, an Augustinian monk and theology professor at the University of Wittenberg, posted his famous “Ninety-five Theses” protesting the sale of indulgences on the door of Wittenberg’s Castle Church.
Luther intended to reform the Catholic church from the inside. His critique of the church went beyond its corrupt practices to the bad theology underlying them, however. Over time, this critique led Luther and like-minded reformers to break with Catholicism and form new churches — Protestant churches.
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I talk with church historian Charlie Self about the Protestant Reformation, why there are in fact five Reformations, and what Pentecostals should make of the event. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Charlie Self, Ph.D., is visiting professor of church history at the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary in Springfield, Missouri, an ordained Assemblies of God minister, and co-author with Johan Mostert and Jamé Bolds of Life in 5D: A New Vision of Discipleship.
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This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Bible Engagement Project.
Bible Engagement Project equips churches with free curriculum for preschool, kids, youth, and adults, available in both English and Spanish. The curriculum library provides you with discipleship resources that transform lives and anchor your church in the Bible.
Visit BibleEngagementProject.com to create your free account.
“Evangelical giving is down. Way down. Nearly every measure. Across the board.”
So states The Giving Gap: Changes in Evangelical Generosity, a new report from Grey Matter Research and Infinity Concepts.
The report goes on to say: “The numbers paint an increasingly bleak picture of evangelical generosity — a situation which has the potential to impact every church, every denomination, every parachurch ministry, and even many secular nonprofits.”
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I talk with Ron Sellers about the details of the report, as well as what ministry leaders can do in response to the trend of declining generosity. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influencemagazine and your host.
Ron Sellers is president of Grey Matter Research & Consulting, a firm that regularly serves Christian ministries, denominations, and churches to solve their information needs. He wrote “How Evangelicals Come to Faith” for the summer 2024 issue of Influence.
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This episode of the Influence podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of MEGA Sports Camp.
The MEGA Sports Camp theme for 2025 is In Your Element. This VBS invites kids to discover who Jesus has made them to be. This new theme is designed for kids to engage with the science that supports sports, and it will teach kids about faith and sports in a fun, engaging setting.
For more information about MEGA Sports Camp VBS, or to preorder In Your Element, visit MEGASportsCamp.com.
“Today, we see real trouble in America’s churches, and many wonder whether Christianity can survive,” writes Joseph Castleberry.
“I believe that we will not only survive, but we will see our greatest numerical growth, our greatest season of anointing, and our most important time of influence in the next 30 to 40 years — if Jesus tarries.” Impressive revivals will come to American churches over the next 25 years, setting the stage for the next Great Awakening —the sixth such Awakening in American history.”
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I talk to Castleberry about why he thinks generational theory predicts a Great Awakening in the coming decades, as well as what Christian churches must do to prepare for it. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Joseph Castleberry, Ed.D., is president of Northwest University in Kirkland, Wash., and author of The Sixth Great Awakening and the Coming Renewal of the American Church.
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This episode of the Influence podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of MEGA Sports Camp.
The MEGA Sports Camp theme for 2025 is In Your Element. This VBS invites kids to discover who Jesus has made them to be. This new theme is designed for kids to engage with the science that supports sports, and it will teach kids about faith and sports in a fun, engaging setting.
For more information about MEGA Sports Camp VBS, visit MEGASportsCamp.com.
“Despite the Western church’s slow pace developing women leaders, Western culture is increasingly producing women leaders in business, the academy, entertainment, medicine, and government,” writes Anna Morgan. “If we do not provide leadership development opportunities for gifted young Christian women inside our local churches, then they may well pursue leadership opportunities outside the church, thus weakening it.”
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I talk to Morgan about how egalitarian denominations such as the Assemblies of God can better develop the women leaders God has called and empowered for ministry. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Anna Morgan is an ordained minister with the Australian Christian Churches, a member of the World Assemblies of God Fellowship. She earned her Doctor of Intercultural Studies degree at Fuller Theological Seminary. She is vice president of academics at Ascent College and copastor with her husband, John, of Word of Life, an Assemblies of God church in the metro Washington, DC, area. She is author of Growing Women in Ministry, published by Baker Academic.
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This episode of the Influence podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Made for This.
With Made for This, kids can intentionally engage in their own spiritual walk. In this easy-to-follow journal, kids will start their lifelong discovery of who God is and pursuing the adventure He has in store for their life.
For more information about Made for This, visit MyHealthyChurch.com.
“Establishing the Church among all peoples everywhere by reaching, planting, training, and serving” is the mission of Assemblies of God World Missions. AGWM divides its work into five regions: Africa, Asia Pacific, Eurasia, Europe, and Latin America. During the fall of 2024, I plan to interview AGWM’s five regional directors about the challenges, opportunities, and key initiatives they lead.
I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host. In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I talk to Joe G. about Assemblies of God World Missions’ efforts in Eurasia. Because of the sensitive nature of AGWM work in this region, I won’t be using Joe G’s last name in this podcast.
Joe G. serves as AGWM’s Eurasia Regional Director. In that role, he oversees ministries in 44 nations within seven distinct areas: India, Southern Asia, Arab World, Central Eurasia, Eurasia Northwest, Russia/Belarus, and Israel/Palestine. He also serves as a liaison between the U. S. Assemblies of God and its fraternal fellowships in Eurasia.
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This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Bible Engagement Project.
The Bible Engagement Project library includes free adult small group resources that build Bible-based small groups. With these resources, your small group will learn how to dig into the Bible and apply it to life. Enriching videos and intriguing discussion questions will create the kind of moments that inspire members to continue engaging deeply with the Bible all week long.
Visit BibleEngagementProject.com to create your free account and get started.
“As parents and followers of Christ, few areas of our lives can prompt more guilt, insecurity, and anxiety than discipling our children,” writes Brian Dembowczyk. “We want to disciple. We try to disciple. But more often than not, we fail to disciple.”
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I talk to Dembowczyk about why we fail to disciple our kids and how we can begin to do so effectively. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Brian Dembowczyk, Ph.D., is associate publisher for Thomas Nelson Bibles. He was previously the managing editor of The Gospel Project, a Bible study curriculum used by over 1.6 million adults, teens, and children each week, and he has also been a pastor, discipleship pastor, and family pastor. He is author of Family Discipleship That Works, published by InterVarsity Press, as well as “No Place Like Home: Equipping families for children’s discipleship” in the fall 2024 issue of Influence. He lives in Tennessee with his wife and three children.
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This episode of the Influence podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Including Children with Disabilities.
Including Children with Disabilities will help you understand common disabilities and equip you with the practical tools and information you need to effectively teach them.
For more information about Including Children with Disabilities, visit MyHealthyChurch.com.
“Studying the Bible is of essential importance in our Christian discipleship; therefore, we need to take seriously the interpretive enterprise.”
So write Jacqui Grey and Paul Lewis in their new book, Introduction to Biblical Interpretation, part of the Foundation for Spirit-Empowered Christianity series published by BakerAcademic. In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I talk to them about what Pentecostals bring to the task of biblical interpretation, and how to do it well.
I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host. In this episode of the Influence Podcast.
Jacqui Grey, Ph.D., is professor of biblical studies at Alphacrucis University College in Sydney, Australia. She is also a research fellow with the University of South Africa and the Centre for Pentecostal Theology and an ordained minister with Australian Christian Churches.
Paul Lewis, Ph.D., is professor of historical theology and intercultural studies at the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary, Evangel University, in Springfield, Missouri, and an ordained AG minister.
They wrote “Making Bible Study PERSONAL,” based on their book, for the summer 2024 issue of Influence.
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This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Bible Engagement Project.
The Bible Engagement Project library includes free adult small group resources that build Bible-based small groups. With these resources, your small group will learn how to dig into the Bible and apply it to life. Enriching videos and intriguing discussion questions will create the kind of moments that inspire members to continue engaging deeply with the Bible all week long.
Visit BibleEngagementProject.com to create your free account and get started.
“History is, paradoxically, unalterable and in constant need of revision. The past does not change, after all, but we can change our understanding of it based on new facts or better interpretive frameworks. Daniel Isgrigg carefully examines stories (and myths) of Assemblies of God origins in this book, providing the kind of revision AG history needs today.”
That’s what I wrote in a back-cover blurb for Isgrigg’s forthcoming book, Aspects of Assemblies of God Origins. In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I talk with him about why it’s important to revisit what we think we know about the history of the AG. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Daniel Isgrigg is associate professor of History of Spirit-Empowered Christianity at Oral Roberts University and an ordained AG minister. His forthcoming book is Aspects of Assemblies of God Origins, out later this month from Pickwick Publications. He is currently writing a popular history of the AG.
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This episode of the Influence podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, a distributor of In Jesus’ Name.
In In Jesus’ Name, Rick DuBose shows the path back to five forgotten altars — and ultimately, the path to your place in heaven's throne room. Full of real-world application and encouraging inspiration, this book will prepare you to pray with humble authority that moves heaven--and unleashes victory here on earth.
For more information about In Jesus’ Name, visit MyHealthyChurch.com.
According to 2020 Assemblies of God statistics, approximately one in five AG adherents is a kid 12 years old or younger. In a Fellowship with three million adherents, that amounts to roughly 600,000 kids who cycle through churches’ ministries on a regular basis.
Does your church have a discipleship strategy in place to help these kids become lifelong followers of Jesus Christ?
KidminRoadmap was designed to help your church answer that question with an enthusiastic and well-prepared “Yes”! In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I talk with Julie Pratt about how KidminRoadmap can help kids in your church take next steps in their walk with Christ. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Julie Pratt is an ordained Assemblies of God minister and serves as the National Kidmin Discipleship Director for the AG national office. She has authored articles for Influence, including “Abused and Neglected Kids,” “Telling the Greatest Story,” and “Partnering with Parents.”
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This episode of the Influence podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Momentum Training Series.
Momentum Training Series will help you become more effective in your ministry, whether you are a new volunteer or a seasoned leader. The series covers topics such as including children with disabilities, teaching lessons that last, leaving a spiritual legacy, and cultivating a Spirit-empowered kids ministry.
For more information about Momentum Training Series, visit MomentumTrainingSeries.com.
In Matthew 28:19–20, Jesus gave the Great Commission to the Church: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Jesus’ words are well known, but how well is the Church carrying out His commission? The Lausanne Movementexamines that question in depth in its State of the Great Commission Report. In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I talk with Dr. Matthew Niermann about that report. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Dr. Niermann has served the Lausanne Movement since 2010 in a variety of roles, including research and operations. He is currently director of the State of the Great Commission Report. In addition, he serves as a dean and professor of architectural design at California Baptist University, where his research partially focuses on the relationship between creativity and Christian witness.
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This episode of the Influence podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of NextGen High Scores.
Grounded in research and illustrated with real-life experience, NextGen High Scores explains in practical language the most common behaviors, practices, and strategies of kids and youth pastors who make a lasting impact.
For more information about NextGen High Scores visit MyHealthyChurch.com.
“God is infinitely powerful; people are not. Your physical, emotional, and spiritual health affect the well-being of those Jesus has called you to serve. In this way, doing your part to care for yourself is not an act of selfishness — it is a necessary component of selflessness.”
So writes Hal Donaldson in his new book, What Really Matters: How to Care for Yourself and Serve a Hurting World, cowritten with his daughter, Lindsay Donaldson-Kring and published in June by Baker Books.
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I talk to Donaldson about serving others without hurting yourself. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Hal Donaldson is founder, president, and CEO of Convoy of Hope, a global faith-based nonprofit organization that works with communities to address root causes of poverty and hunger.
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This episode of the Influence podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Captivated.
There is a difference between knowing the Word of God and knowing the God of the Word. The Captivated Bible study takes women deeper with God so that they may be firmly rooted, unshakable, and flourishing in His Kingdom.
For more information about Captivated, visit MyHealthyChurch.com.
“As ones who have been shown mercy, may we [Christians] demonstrate God’s compassion toward those who embrace all things LGBTQ” writes Linda Seiler in Transformation.
“At the same time, may we hold fast to God’s Word, refusing to compromise on His sacred design for sexuality that images the gospel. Such compassion without compromise reflects God’s heart and leads to transformation.”
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I talk to Seiler about her former desire to become a man, and how Jesus Christ transformed her from the inside out. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Linda Seiler, Ph.D., is an ordained Assemblies of God minister, a Chi Alpha missionary, and executive director of ReStory ministries. She is author of Transformation: A Former Transgender Responds to LGBTQ.
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This episode of the Influence podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Captivated.
There is a difference between knowing the Word of God and knowing the God of the Word. The Captivated Bible study takes women deeper with God so that they may be firmly rooted, unshakable, and flourishing in His Kingdom.
For more information about Captivated, visit MyHealthyChurch.com.
On June 3, 2024, Rick Ross began serving as general treasurer of the Assemblies of God, succeeding Choco De Jésus, who became executive director of AG U.S. Missions.
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I talk with Ross about what the general treasurer does and how well the AG is doing financially, as well as financial advice for AG congregations and ministers.
I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Rick Ross, D.Min., has deep roots in the AG, and comes to this office with a wide variety of ministry experiences, including as a pastor, district leader, university board chair, and executive presbyter. He has served churches in Illinois, Washington, and North Carolina, most recently as district superintendent in that state.
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This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of NextGen High Scores.
Grounded in research and illustrated with real-life experience, NextGen High Scores explains in practical language the most common behaviors, practices, and strategies of kids and youth pastors who make a lasting impact.
For more information about NextGen High Scores visit MyHealthyChurch.com.
“Crisis communication is a crucial aspect of managing any organization’s reputation and maintaining public trust during a time of great challenge,” writes Phil Cooke in Church on Trial.
“For churches and Christian ministries, crisis communication is particularly important because they are often viewed as trusted institutions in their communities, and their responses to calamity can significantly impact their church members, donors, supporters, and the public’s perception.”
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I talk to Cooke about what churches should do in a crisis. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Phil Cooke, Ph.D., is co-founder and CEO of Cooke Media Group in Los Angeles, as well as the nonprofit organization, The Influence Lab. He has produced media programming and commercials in nearly 70 countries for clients includingπ Hollywood studios, major nonprofits, and faith-based organizations around the world. He is author of Church on Trial: How to Protect Your Congregation, Mission, and Reputation During a Crisis, published by Avail.
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This episode of the Influence podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Captivated.
There is a difference between knowing the Word of God and knowing the God of the Word. The Captivated Bible study takes women deeper with God so that they may be firmly rooted, unshakable, and flourishing in His Kingdom.
For more information about Captivated, visit MyHealthyChurch.com.
“Do you find your inner life compromised by repeated yielding to sexual temptation?” So asked Arnold Fleagle and Don Lichi in their book, Broken Windows of the Soul.
They went on to say: “You are not alone. The moral fabric of our culture is being ripped apart as large numbers of men and women are indulging in infidelity, perverted sexuality and pornography. … It is becoming increasingly difficult to find any individuals who are healthy and whole in their lifestyle.”
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I talk to Lichi about the baleful impact of pornography and what Christians can do when they’re affected by it. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Don Lichi, Ph.D., is a licensed psychologist in the State of Ohio and vice president emeritus of EMERGE Counseling Ministries, where he served for nearly 30 years. He is coauthor, with Arnold Fleagle, of Broken Windows of the Soul: A Pastor and a Christian Psychologist Discuss Sexual Sins and the Prescription to Heal Them, published by Moody Press.
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This episode of the Influence podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Cultivating a Spirit-Empowered Kids Ministry.
Cultivating a Spirit-Empowered Kids Ministry will equip you with practical tools to intentionally make room for the Holy Spirit in your kids ministry. It includes practical tips for leading kids to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit, respond to the Holy Spirit, and receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit.
For more information about Cultivating a Spirit-Empowered Kids Ministry, visit MyHealthyChurch.com.
“Christian Nationalism has garnered significant attention in recent years, owing to the potential dangers it poses for American democracy. Its specter has spurred newfound interest in the role of religion in American public life with fresh considerations of familiar questions: Is religion resurging as a force in politics? Will America’s Christian majority restrict the rights of religious minorities? Is Christian nationalism a real threat, or a small, extreme faction with outsized press coverage?”
So asks Christian Nationalism: A New Approach, a December 2023 report by Neighborly Faith. In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I talk to Kevin Singer, Ryan Burge, and Mark David Hall about that report and the questions it raises.
I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Kevin Singer is president of Neighborly Faith, a nonprofit whose mission is to provide “research and events introducing Christians to neighbors of every faith.” Ryan Burge is associate professor of political science at Eastern Illinois University and an ordained Baptist pastor; he posts regularly at Graphs About Religion. Mark David Hall is a professor at Regent University’s Robertson School of Government and a senior fellow at the Center for Religion, Culture, and Democracy, where he directs its Religious Liberty in the States initiative.
My conversation with them is coming up after a brief word from our sponsor.
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This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Bible Engagement Project.
The Bible Engagement Project library includes free preschool curriculum that brings Bible time and play time together. Each lesson is designed to engage young minds during the lesson and make sure the principles they’re learning stay with them when they get home, as well as while they grow.
Visit BibleEngagementProject.com to create your free account and get started.
On May 2, 1870, a baby was born in Centerville, Louisiana, to formerly enslaved parents. Raised in poverty, segregated by a white supremacist society, he nonetheless went on to lead one of the most significant revival movements of the twentieth century. I’m talking about William J. Seymour, of course, and the Azusa Street Revival he led from 1906–1909. This revival was a critical node in the social network of early Pentecostalism.
Today is the 154th anniversary of Seymour’s birth; in honor of which, I’ve invited Dr. Larry Martin to talk about the significance of his life and ministry.
I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Martin is an ordained Assemblies of God minister, founder of River of Revival Ministries, and Pentecostal historian. His most recent book is William J. Seymour: Pentecostal Trailblazer and Revered Pastor of the Azusa Street Revival, published this year by Whitaker House.
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This episode of the Influence podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Cultivating a Spirit-Empowered Kids Ministry.
Cultivating a Spirit-Empowered Kids Ministry will equip you with practical tools to intentionally make room for the Holy Spirit in your kids ministry. It includes practical tips for leading kids to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit, respond to the Holy Spirit, and receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit.
For more information about Cultivating a Spirit-Empowered Kids Ministry, visit MyHealthyChurch.com.
“God didn’t call the perfect version of you, the version that has years of experience or the version that has it all figured out.” writes John Zick. “In fact, He has no desire for a version of you that does not desperately need him. Paul understood this when he said in 2 Corinthians 12:9 [NLT], ‘I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.’”
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I talk to Zick about being called into ministry, recognizing personal imperfections, and learning from others on the leadership journey.
I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
John Zick is an ordained Assemblies of God minister, director of the AG’s Called initiative, and editor of From Leaders For Leaders: A Guide for Those Called Into Ministry, published by GPH.
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This episode of the Influence podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Guided Student Devotional.
Guided Student Devotional will help youth develop a habit of spending time with God and reading His Word every day. Each devotion will focus on a dimension of a Spirit-filled disciple: Bible, Holy Spirit, Mission, Prayer, Worship, Service, and Generosity.
For more information about the Guided Student Devotional, visit MyHealthyChurch.com.
“Church size matters to us far more than it should. From the pride it brings when the numbers are up to the shame and frustration it causes when the numbers are static or down, none of this provides a healthy foundation on which to build a healthy church body,” writes Karl Vaters.
He goes on to suggest a solution: “We need to de-size the church.”
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I talk to Vaters about why bigness is a problem, why de-sizing the church is a solution, and how to do it.
I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Karl Vaters has served in small-church ministry for over 40 years, so he speaks and writes from decades of hands-on pastoral experience. An ordained Assemblies of God minister, he is author most recently of De-Sizing the Church: How Church Growth Became a Science, Then an Obsession, and What’s Next, published this month by Moody Press.
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This episode of the Influence podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Momentum Training Series.
Momentum Training Series will help you become more effective in your ministry, whether you are a new volunteer or a seasoned leader. The series covers topics such as including children with disabilities, teaching lessons that last, leaving a spiritual legacy, and cultivating a Spirit-empowered kids ministry.
For more information about Momentum Training Series, visit MomentumTrainingSeries.com.
“To invest one’s life in the next generation for the sake of the kingdom of God is to do the work that Jesus did,” writes Lee Rogers. “Few will notice the nobility and spiritual richness of the work, yet for those who minister to the next generation, the value is high — and the impact is eternal.”
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I talk to Rogers about what NextGen ministry is, why it’s important, and what factors contribute to long-term effectiveness.
I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Lee Rogers is a NextGen ministry veteran with over 25 years of experience working with young people. He serves as director of Student Evangelism for Assemblies of God Youth Ministries and is author of NextGen High Scores: How to Win at Ministry to the Next Generation, published by GPH.
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This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Bible Engagement Project.
Bible Engagement Project equips churches with free curriculum for preschool, kids, youth, and adults, available in both English and Spanish. The curriculum library provides you with discipleship resources that transform lives and anchor your church in the Bible.
Visit BibleEngagementProject.com to create your free account.
“The entire second half of 1 Samuel is the story of an abuser hunting down a victim,” according to Jim Bradford. The abuser is King Saul, and his intended victim is David. “Saul literally threw spears,” Bradford notes; “abusive leaders do so figuratively.
I recently heard Bradford preach a sermon about responding to abusive authority based on 1 Samuel and thought it would make an excellent podcast. After all, it seems that every few weeks news breaks about a pastor who has used their position trust for selfish gain. Christians — whether church leaders or laypeople — need to know how to respond.
So, I’ve invited Bradford onto the podcast today to talk about how to deal with spiritual abusers. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Jim Bradford, Ph.D., is an ordained Assemblies of God minister; lead pastor at Central Assembly in Springfield, Missouri; former AG general secretary; and a longtime mentor and friend.
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This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Bible Engagement Project.
Bible Engagement Project equips churches with free curriculum for preschool, kids, youth, and adults, available in both English and Spanish. The curriculum library provides you with discipleship resources that transform lives and anchor your church in the Bible.
Visit BibleEngagementProject.com to create your free account.
“There has never been a better day to plant churches than now in the Assemblies of God.”
Mike McCrary recently made that statement in a presentation to the employees of the AG national office. I was so impressed by the presentation that I invited him to join me on the Influence Podcast.
So, in this episode, I talk to him about why he thinks that’s the case. Along the way, we also talk about why America needs more churches, church planting myths, and how every church — even already existing churches — can support church multiplication.
I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Mike McCrary, D.Min., is national director of Funding and Strategic Partnerships for the Church Multiplication Network of the Assemblies of God, an ordained AG minister, and a longtime friend.
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This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Bible Engagement Project.
Bible Engagement Project equips churches with free curriculum for preschool, kids, youth, and adults, available in both English and Spanish. The curriculum library provides you with discipleship resources that transform lives and anchor your church in the Bible.
Visit BibleEngagementProject.com to create your free account.
“The first Christians were weird,” writes Nijay Gupta. “I am not talking about their clothing, music preferences, or hobbies. When I say ‘weird’ or ‘strange,’ I am talking about deviation from cultural norms and society’s expectations for how things ought to be done. Especially when it came to religion … the Christians were as backwards and as odd as you could be.”
Well, that’s how the Romans viewed them anyway.
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I talk to Gupta about how Christianity deviated from Roman cultural norms and expectations, and why Romans viewed them as weird and dangerous — but also compelling.
I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Nijay Gupta, Ph.D., is professor of New Testament at Northern Seminary, a Pauline scholar, and most recently author of Strange Religion: How the First Christians Were Weird, Dangerous, and Compelling, published by Brazos Press.
We talked about his previous book, Tell Her Story: How Women Led, Taught, and Ministered in the Early Church, published by IVP Academic, in Episode 315 of the Influence Podcast.
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This episode of the Influence podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of MEGA Sports Camp.
The MEGA Sports Camp theme for 2024 is Blaze a Trail. This VBS invites kids to live an adventure with Jesus. Kids will learn that Jesus blazed the trail for our salvation, and as they follow Jesus, they can live their own adventure that points people to Him.
For more information about MEGA Sports Camp VBS, visit MEGASportsCamp.com.
“The complex challenges and demands faced by today’s leaders will not be overcome by simply applying administrative techniques or business best practices,” writes Justin A. Irving. “Today’s leaders need something more — they need wisdom to lead their communities through complex times.”
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I talk to Irving about what that wisdom looks like in terms of self-leadership; people and teams; organizational dynamics, especially culture; and external dynamics, including crises and change.
I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Justin Irving, Ph.D., is Duke K. McCall Professor of Christian Leadership and chair of the department of Leadership and Discipleship at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, as well as author of Healthy Leadership for Thriving Organizations, published in 2023 by Baker Academic.
He and Mark Strauss wrote “Humility and the Celebrity Leader,” the cover story of the November/December 2019 issue of Influence magazine.
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This episode of the Influence podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of MEGA Sports Camp.
The MEGA Sports Camp theme for 2024 is Blaze a Trail. This VBS invites kids to live an adventure with Jesus. Kids will learn that Jesus blazed the trail for our salvation, and as they follow Jesus, they can live their own adventure that points people to Him.
For more information about MEGA Sports Camp VBS, visit MEGASportsCamp.com.
On January 22, 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its decision in Roe v. Wade, effectively overturning numerous state laws against abortion and legalizing the practice throughout the land.
That decision stood until June 24, 2022, when the Supreme Court reversed itself in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization and overturned Roe. This didn’t end the abortion debate, however. Rather, it returned the debates about whether and how to restrict abortion to the states. Ever since, Americans have engaged in a renewed, vigorous debate about what the law should say about abortion.
This past Monday was the 51st anniversary of Roe, and therefore a good occasion to talk about abortion from a Christian perspective.
So, in this episode of the Influence Podcast, I’m talking to Allen Tennison about the Assemblies of God’s stance on the sanctity of life, which begins in the womb.
I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host. (Influence is published by the Assemblies of God.)
Allen Tennison, Ph.D., is theological counsel of The General Council of the Assemblies of God, chair of its Commission on Doctrines and Practices, and an ordained AG minister.
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This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Bible Engagement Project.
Bible Engagement Project equips churches with free curriculum for preschool, kids, youth, and adults, available in both English and Spanish. The curriculum library provides you with discipleship resources that transform lives and anchor your church in the Bible.
Visit BibleEngagementProject.com to create your free account.
In their new book, Faith Beyond Youth Group, Kara Powell, Jen Bradbury and Brad M. Griffin offer this startling statistic about students’ faith after high school graduation:
“While spiritual and religious activity under age eighteen seems to slightly increase the odds of faith lasting after youth group, a compilation of studies indicates that about 40 to 50 percent of youth group kids drift from God and the faith community after graduation.”
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I’m talking to Kara Powell about how churches can address this problem by cultivating lifelong faith in youth.
I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Kara Powell, Ph.D., is executive director of the Fuller Youth Institute, a faculty member at Fuller Theological Seminary, where she also serves as Fuller’s chief of leadership formation. A credentialed Assemblies of God minister, she is author or coauthor of numerous books about ministry to youth.
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This episode of the Influence podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, a distributor of In Jesus’ Name.
In this book, Rick DuBose shows the path back to five forgotten altars — and ultimately, the path to your place in heaven's throne room. Full of real-world application and encouraging inspiration, this book will prepare you to pray with humble authority that moves heaven — and unleashes victory here on earth.
For more information about In Jesus’ Name, visit MyHealthyChurch.com.
“An intentional prayer life is the nonnegotiable constant of lasting, fruitful Christian life and ministry,” write Ryan Skoog, Peter Greer and Cameron Doolittle in Lead with Prayer.
Unfortunately, most Christian leaders report having lackluster prayer lives. A 2005 study by Lifeway Resources found that just 16% of pastors are “very satisfied” with their prayer lives. A 2021 Lifeway study found that 72% percent struggle with consistent personal prayer.
Lead with Prayer aims to help Christian leaders narrow the gap between what they aspire to do and what they actually do by showing them how to prioritize prayer, grow in prayerfulness, and build a culture of prayer in their organizations.
Those are also the topics I’m talking to Ryan Skoog about in this episode of the Influence Podcast. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Ryan Skoog is cofounder and president of Venture, a Christian ministry to “the least reached and least resourced” parts of the world that partners with “local leaders in those communities to end some of the world’s greatest injustices.”
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This episode of the Influence podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of MEGA Sports Camp.
The MEGA Sports Camp theme for 2024 is Blaze a Trail. This VBS invites kids to live an adventure with Jesus. Kids will learn that Jesus blazed the trail for our salvation, and as they follow Jesus, they can live their own adventure that points people to Him.
For more information about MEGA Sports Camp VBS, visit MEGASportsCamp.com.
William E. Vaughan once wrote, “An optimist stays up until midnight to see the new year in. A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves.”
There’s a lot of truth in Vaughan’s statement. Opportunities abound in 2024. What are we doing to welcome them? No doubt there will also be challenges to face, however. The crucial question is how do we face them both and make progress at the same time?
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I’m talking to Doug Clay about big events, challenges opportunities the Assemblies of God faces in the coming year. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Doug Clay is general superintendent of the Assemblies of God.
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This episode of the Influence podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of MEGA Sports Camp.
The MEGA Sports Camp theme for 2024 is Blaze a Trail. This vacation Bible school program invites kids to live an adventure with Jesus. Kids will learn that Jesus blazed the trail for our salvation, and as they follow Jesus, they can live their own adventure that points people to Him.
For more information about MEGA Sports Camp VBS, visit MEGASportsCamp.com.
January 7–13, 2024 is the 82nd Annual Assemblies of God Week of Prayer.
The theme verse of the week is Habakkuk 3:2: “Lord, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, Lord. Repeat them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy.”
For more information about this event, as well as for daily prayer points, print resources, free downloads, and videos, visit WeekOfPrayer.AG.org.
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I’m talking to Joe Oden about how prayer ignites revival and catalyzes spiritual awakening. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Joe Oden, D.Min, is an ordained Assemblies of God minister, national prayer and evangelism director for the AG, director of its World Prayer Center, and evangelism commission chair for the Pentecostal/Charismatic Churches of North America. He is author of Prayer That Ignites Revival, forthcoming from Chosen Books in April 2024.
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This episode of the Influence podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, a distributor of In Jesus’ Name.
In this book, Rick DuBose shows the path back to five forgotten altars — and ultimately, the path to your place in heaven's throne room. Full of real-world application and encouraging inspiration, this book will prepare you to pray with humble authority that moves heaven — and unleashes victory here on earth.
For more information about In Jesus’ Name, visit MyHealthyChurch.com.
This is part two of my conversation with Craig Keener about the historicity of the details of Jesus’ birth.
According to the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, Christ’s birth was attended by many miracles: angelic visitations, prophetic dreams, the miraculous birth of John the Baptist, and the virginal conception of Christ himself. The first Christmas, then, was a thoroughly supernatural event.
Those miraculous elements have led many to question whether Jesus was born the way the Gospels say He was.
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I conclude my conversation with Craig Keener about whether Christmas really happened. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Craig Keener, Ph.D., is the F.M. and Ada Thompson Professor of Biblical Studies at Asbury Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky, and an ordained AG minister. He is author of numerous books on the historicity of the New Testament, including The Historical Jesus of the Gospels, Miracles: The Credibility of the New Testament Accounts, and Christobiography: Memory, History, and the Reliability of the Gospels,
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This episode of the Influence podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Life of Jesus.
With this 12-part series, the life of Jesus will come alive in your heart as you examine His teachings in their cultural, historical, geographical, and spiritual context. The series includes 12 study videos, study guides, and full sermons.
For more information about Life of Jesus, visit TheCHLS.org/LifeofJesus.
According to the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, the birth of Jesus Christ was attended by many miracles: angelic visitations, prophetic dreams, the miraculous birth of John the Baptist, and the virginal conception of Christ himself. The first Christmas, then, was a thoroughly supernatural event.
Those miraculous elements have led many to question whether Jesus was born the way the Gospels say He was, however.
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I’m talking to Craig Keener about whether Christmas really happened. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Craig Keener, Ph.D., is the F.M. and Ada Thompson Professor of Biblical Studies at Asbury Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky, and an ordained AG minister. He is author of numerous books on the historicity of the New Testament, including The Historical Jesus of the Gospels, Miracles: The Credibility of the New Testament Accounts, and Christobiography: Memory, History, and the Reliability of the Gospels.
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This episode of the Influence podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Life of Jesus.
With this 12-part series, the life of Jesus will come alive in your heart as you examine His teachings in their cultural, historical, geographical, and spiritual context. The series includes 12 study videos, study guides, and full sermons.
For more information about Life of Jesus, visit TheCHLS.org/LifeofJesus.
The October 7, 2023, attack on Israel by Hamas, and Israel’s response to it, has raised anew questions about the morality of warfare.
Throughout their long history, Christian thinkers have not had one mind about these questions, but the majority of them have adhered to the just war tradition. This tradition acknowledges that “political authorities are responsible for promoting the good and deterring evil,” as Eric Patterson puts it. That responsibility may involve waging war.
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I’m talking to Patterson about how war can be just. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Eric Patterson, Ph.D., is president of the Religious Freedom Institute and scholar-at-large and former dean of the Robertson School of Government at Regent University in Virginia Beach, Virginia. He previously served in the United States military and at the U.S. State Department. He has authored and edited numerous books on the ethics of war, most recently, A Basic Guide to the Just War Tradition, published in October by Baker Academic.
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This episode of the Influence podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Momentum Training Series.
Momentum Training Series will help you become more effective in your ministry, whether you are a new volunteer or a seasoned leader. The series covers topics such as including children with disabilities, teaching lessons that last, leaving a spiritual legacy, and cultivating a Spirit-empowered kids ministry.
For more information about Momentum Training Series, visit MomentumTrainingSeries.com.
On October 1, Dr. John Easter began his duties as executive director of Assemblies of God World Missions (AGWM), succeeding the retiring Greg Mundis. Delegates elected Easter to the position this past August during General Council in Columbus, Ohio.
In a leadership profile published in the fall 2023 issue of Influence, Easter said, “We need to increase the missionary sending capacity of the local church.”
He went on to explain, “Missionaries don’t fall out of the sky. They are nurtured within the community of faith. Congregations participate by praying, giving, and releasing their sons and daughters to establish the Church among all peoples everywhere.”
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I’m talking with him about the local church as the seedbed of missions. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
As noted above, Dr. John Easter is the recently elected executive director of AG World Missions.
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This episode of the Influence podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Cultivating a Spirit-Empowered Kids Ministry.
Cultivating a Spirit-Empowered Kids Ministry will equip you with practical tools to intentionally make room for the Holy Spirit in your kids ministry. It includes practical tips for leading kids to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit, respond to the Holy Spirit, and receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit.
For more information about Cultivating a Spirit-Empowered Kids Ministry, visit MyHealthyChurch.com.
“To live holistically in the Spirit requires knowing that the Spirit guides us toward beauty, goodness and truth,” write Dr. Steven Félix-Jäger and Dr. Yoon Shin in their new book, Renewing Christian Worldview.
“It also requires living out and desiring beauty, goodness, and truth as week to truly know them. If we don’t embody beauty, goodness, and truth as we seek to truly know them, they’ll persist as ideal abstractions, betraying our renewal spirituality,” they go on to explain.
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I’m talking with them about how the experience of the Holy Spirit changes our worldview. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Dr. Steven Félix-Jäger is associate professor and chair of the Worship Arts and Media program at Life Pacific University in San Dimas, California. Dr. Yoon Shin is coleader of the Philosophy Interest Group in the Society for Pentecostal Studies. They are authors of Renewing Christian Worldview, published by Baker Academic.
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This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Bible Engagement Project.
The Bible Engagement Project library includes free adult small group resources that build Bible-based small groups. With these resources, your small group will learn how to dig into the Bible and apply it to life. Enriching videos and intriguing discussion questions will create the kind of moments that inspire members to continue engaging deeply with the Bible all week long.
Visit BibleEngagementProject.com to create your free account and get started.
“The church’s growing irrelevance in parts of the United States as well as some other places in the world is not because Christianity has lost its brain but because it seems to have lost its heart,” writes Dr. Dennis Edwards.
The solution to this problem is straightforward, he believes: “The church … needs to recover, respect, and reenact biblical humility.”
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I talk with him about humility as a biblical path back to Christian character. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Dr. Dennis Edwards is dean and vice president of Church Relations at North Park Theological Seminary in Chicago, Illinois. In his three decades of urban ministry, he has planted and pastored churches in Brooklyn, New York; Washington, DC; and Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is author of Humility Illuminated, published by IVP Academic.
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This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, a distributor of In Jesus’ Name.
In this book, Rick DuBose shows the path back to five forgotten altars — and ultimately, the path to your place in heaven’s throne room. Full of real-world application and encouraging inspiration, this book will prepare you to pray with humble authority that moves heaven — and unleashes victory here on earth.
For more information about In Jesus’ Name, visit MyHealthyChurch.com.
“Imagine a treasure hunter on a new expedition,” writes Dr. Ian Vaillancourt. “Although they are equipped with the best digging and locating equipment available, they don’t need it for this venture: as soon as they arrive at their destination, they find masses of treasure on the surface of the ground” (emphasis in original).
“This is a little bit like encountering the book of Psalms for the first time: even an initial reading turns up glorious, surface-level gospel treasure for the taking,” he explains.
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I’m talking with him about how to mine those treasures as Christians — how to read Psalms Christianly, in other words. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Dr. Ian Vaillancourt is associate professor of Old Testament and Hebrew at Heritage Theological Seminary in Cambridge, Ontario, and author of Treasuring the Psalms, published in August by IVP Academic.
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This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Bible Engagement Project.
The Bible Engagement Project library includes free youth small group resources that equip students to take ownership of their faith. Each session includes discussion-focused group time and coordinating personal devotions that help students explore Scripture on their own.
Visit BibleEngagementProject.com to create your free account and get started.
Ministry is “packed with difficult choices that require wisdom; and often, we have to face problems we’ve never encountered before,” writes Brian Dollar.
“Mistakes are inevitable — sometimes really big ones! No matter how hard we try to do things right, the question isn’t, ‘Will I make mistakes?’ but ‘How will I respond to my mistakes?’”
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I’m talking with Dollar about how to learn from your ministry mistakes. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Brian Dollar is associate pastor at First Assembly of God in North Little Rock, Arkansas, where he leads over 500 volunteers in nearly a dozen ministries. In 1998, he founded High Voltage Kids Ministry Resources, which have been used in more than 15,000 churches around the world. He is the author of I Blew It! The Biggest Mistakes I’ve Made in Ministry … and How You Can Avoid Them, recently revised and published by Arrows & Stones.
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This episode of the Influence podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, a distributor of In Jesus’ Name.
In Jesus’ Name, Rick DuBose shows the path back to five forgotten altars--and ultimately, the path to your place in heaven's throne room. Full of real-world application and encouraging inspiration, this book will prepare you to pray with humble authority that moves heaven--and unleashes victory here on earth.
For more information about In Jesus’ Name, visit MyHealthyChurch.com.
When John the Baptist began his ministry, he proclaimed, “The axe is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire” (Luke 3:9).
The crowd responded by asking, “What should we do then?” John’s answer? “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same” (3:10–11).
We see a similar pattern in Acts 2, where Peter’s messages about “the last days” results in a community that “sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need” (2:17,45).
Why does Luke link eschatology and ethics in these two passages? Why does he emphasize sharing? And how should we apply this message today?
Those are the questions I’m asking Dr. Joseph Lear in this episode of the Influence Podcast. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Dr. Joseph Lear is director of Theology and Global Church Ministries at Evangel University in Springfield, Missouri, and pastor of Preaching and Theology at Resurrection Assembly of God in Iowa City, Iowa. He is author of What Shall We Do? Eschatology and Ethics in Luke-Acts, published by Pickwick.
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This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Bible Engagement Project.
The Bible Engagement Project library includes free kids curriculum that gets kids excited about the Bible. With engaging videos and interactive lessons, Bible learning and excitement are all combined to ensure that your kids are fully engaged in the lesson and in Scripture.
Visit BibleEngagementProject.com to create your free account and get started.
“Grief is normal,” writes Natasha Smith.
She goes on to describe her personal experience how difficult grief can be, however: “I walked around in a fog, hoping, praying, and wishing for the grief to go away. Pushing it down, pushing it away, and choosing to block uncomfortable memories. But I realized to pretend grief doesn’t exist won’t heal or fix it. So I learned to let it out in safe places, to safe people.”
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I talk with Smith about how Christians can grieve in better, healthier ways, whether they’re the people who’ve experienced a loss or they’re ministering to others who have.
I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Natasha Smith is a wife, mother, and writer from North Carolina, whose work has appeared at outlets such as Her View from Home, Focus on the Family, and TODAY Parents. She is author of Can You Just Sit With Me?, published recently by InterVarsity Press.
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This episode of the Influence podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Life of Jesus.
The life of Jesus will come alive in your heart through this 12-part video series as you examine Christ’s teachings in their cultural, historical, geographical, and spiritual contexts. The series includes 12 videos and study guides, as well as full sermons for use in corporate worship.
For more information about Life of Jesus, visit TheCHLS.org/LifeofJesus.
“In the United States, we are currently experiencing the largest and fastest religious shift in the history of our country, as tens of millions of formerly regular Christian worshipers nationwide have decided they no longer desire to attend church at all.”
So write Jim Davis and Michael Graham in their new book, The Great Dechurching. In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I’m talking with Davis and Graham about what dechurching is, why it’s happening, and how churches can respond effectively. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Jim Davis is teaching pastor at Orlando Grace Church and host of the As In Heaven podcast. Michael Graham is program director for the Keller Center for Cultural Apologetics, executive producer of As In Heaven, and a member at Orlando Grace Church.
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This episode of the Influence podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of MEGA Sports Camp.
MEGA Sports Camp is a unique VBS that makes it easy to reach new families, engage new volunteers, and reach unchurched kids in your community. This year kids at your MEGA Sports Camp VBS will learn how to live an adventurous life that points people to Jesus.
For more information about MEGA Sports Camp VBS, visit MEGASportsCamp.com.
In a January 27, 1855, sermon, C. H. Spurgeon proclaimed, “I know nothing which can so comfort the soul; so calm the swelling billows of sorrow and grief; so speak peace to the winds of trial, as a devout musing upon the subject of the Godhead.”
Spurgeon clearly believed that theology matters to life, and because he was a preacher, to ministry as well. The question is, do we?
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I’m talking with Dr. Allen Tennison about the practical importance of theology. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Dr. Allen Tennison is theological counsel to the Assemblies of God and chair of its Commission on Doctrines and Practices. An ordained AG minister, he holds a Ph.D. in systematic theology from Fuller Theological Seminary. Before coming to the national office, he served as a professor and dean of the College of Church Leadership at North Central University in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
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This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by ReStory Ministries, host of Compassion Without Compromise.
Whether you are a Christian leader, concerned parent, or conflicted adult, you will leave this conference equipped with theological, scientific and restorative responses to LGBTQ issues. The main conference speaker is Dr. Linda Seiler, who experienced an 11-year spiritual journey to Jesus Christ and away from transgender desires and same-sex attractions.
The conference takes place October 6–7, 2023, at Connection Point Church in West Lafayette, Indiana.
Visit ReStoryMinistries.org/Conferences for more information and to register.
“Over the past few years, I’ve been diving deeply into the Book of Proverbs — especially the first nine chapters,” writes Dr. Greg Mundis. “Here’s what I’ve concluded from Proverbs: Wise words have no effect if they are not received by willing hearts.”
That’s a valuable life lesson for everyone, but especially for leaders. So, in this episode of the Influence Podcast, I’m talking to Dr. Mundis about what wisdom the Book of Proverbs shines on the task of leadership.
I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
For the past 12 years, Dr. Greg Mundis has served as executive director of Assemblies of God World Missions. AGWM is the missions arm of the U.S. Assemblies of God and fields 2,640 missionaries serving 252 countries, territories and provinces. He recently announced his retirement, effective September 30, 2023. He is author of Wisdom to Lead: The Guided and Guarded Heart.
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This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Bible Engagement Project.
A subscription to Bible Engagement Project equips you with kids curriculum for elementary and preschoolers and small group resources for youth and adults. The curriculum library will give your church a deeper understanding of the Bible and help every age grow in their faith. The resources are available in English and Spanish.
Visit BibleEngagementProject.com to download sample lessons.
The Assemblies of God held its 60th General Council two weeks ago in Columbus, Ohio. Dr. Michael Clarensau presented a report to the General Presbytery about statistical trends among AG churches and ministers.
“2022 data demonstrated a strong step forward in many important measures, suggesting that recovery from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is clearly underway,” he wrote.
“Consider the following: Main worship attendance increased 10% over 2021, the largest single-year increase of this millennium. Total Spirit baptisms grew by 11% and total water baptisms grew by 8% when compared to 2021. The rate of growing churches increased for the first time in a decade (since 2012).”
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I’m talking with Dr. Clarensau about these hopeful trends, as well as more challenging ones that need to be monitored. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Dr. Michael Clarensau is Statistician of the Assemblies of God. An ordained AG minister with decades of experience as a minister, leadership coach, and church revitalization consultant. He is the author, most recently, of When Prophets Want to Die: The Hardest Lessons God Will Ever Try to Teach You.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
· “Measuring Up: How to use church statistics more effectively”
· “Acts 2 Journey Special Report: Measuring Church Health”
SPONSOR COPY
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Bible Engagement Project.
A subscription to Bible Engagement Project equips you with kids curriculum for elementary and preschoolers and small group resources for youth and adults. The curriculum library will give your church a deeper understanding of the Bible and help every age grow in their faith. The resources are available in English and Spanish.
Visit BibleEngagementProject.com to download sample lessons.
This past June, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its decision in 303 Creative v. Elenis. That case involved a website designer named Lorie Smith who believed that a provision of the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act violated her rights under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Specifically, Smith believed that CADA compelled her to create speech contrary to her personal convictions.
The Supreme Court found in Smith’s favor, ruling: “The First Amendment prohibits Colorado from forcing a website designer to creative expressive designs speaking messages with which the designer disagrees.”
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I’m talking with Kristen Waggoner, who successfully argued Lorie Smith’s case before the U.S. Supreme Court.
I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Kristen Waggoner is CEO, president, and general counsel of Alliance Defending Freedom, the world’s largest Christian legal organization. Waggoner and the ADF team serve as legal counsel to The General Council of the Assemblies of God as a part of ADF’s church and ministry alliance program. She is an AG layperson.
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This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Bible Engagement Project.
A subscription to Bible Engagement Project equips you with kids curriculum for elementary and preschoolers and small group resources for youth and adults. The curriculum library will give your church a deeper understanding of the Bible and help every age grow in their faith. The resources are available in English and Spanish.
Visit BibleEngagementProject.com to download sample lessons.
“By prayer, God invites us to participate in the outcomes of our world,” writes Rick DuBose. “That is a profound and humbling truth. You need to recognize the responsibility of the authority God has given you.”
He goes on to say, “The future of all you are responsible for is determined at the altar. It is determined by your willingness to go there and pray.”
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I’m talking with DuBose about five altars Christians must build if they and their churches want to have effective ministries of prayer.
I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Rick DuBose is assistant general superintendent of the Assemblies of God and author of In Jesus’ Name: Five Altars of Prayer That Move Heaven and Earth, published by Chosen.
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This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Bible Engagement Project.
A subscription to Bible Engagement Project equips you with kids curriculum for elementary and preschoolers and small group resources for youth and adults. The curriculum library will give your church a deeper understanding of the Bible and help every age grow in their faith. The resources are available in English and Spanish.
Visit BibleEngagementProject.com to download sample lessons.
“Whether or not women are on an equal plane with men in work and ministry does not seem like it should be a subject of debate,” writes Dr. JoAnn Butrin. “Many Christian organizations … would say they welcome female leadership and make opportunities for them.”
Even so, many women leaders experience a gap between what is theologically affirmed and what is actually practiced. “The best chance of seeing this hurt and needy world won for Jesus is when men and women join forces,” Butrin argues. “We need each other to be the very best we can be as strategic agents of God’s mission.”
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I’m talking with Butrin about how best to normalize men and women working together in church and ministry contexts.
I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Dr. JoAnn Butrin is chief operating officer and team lead for Health Initiatives with CompassionLink, an Assemblies of God World Missions ministry offering sustainable solutions for communities in need. She is author, most recently, of The Men and Me: Tips for Being the Only Female on the Team.
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This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by The General Council of the Assemblies of God.
General Council is the AG’s premier conference. It occurs every two years the first week in August and incorporates spiritual inspiration, practical leadership training, and denominational business. The theme of the 2023 General Council is “Our Church, Our Family.” The conference will take place July 31–August 4 in Columbus, Ohio.
Visit GeneralCouncil.AG.org for more information and to register.
On Monday, March 16, 2020, EMTs rushed Greg Mundis to the hospital. He had a high fever, was very weak, and worryingly, his oxygen level was 60. (Normal is 90 or higher.) At the hospital, doctors immediately intubated him and put him on a ventilator, beginning a 60-day battle with COVID.
He was the first patient to be ventilated at a local hospital in Springfield, Missouri.
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I’m talking with Greg’s wife Sandra about what it’s like to go through an extreme medical event on the other side of the hospital bed. How do we embrace hope in times of despair? Why does God allow these things to happen? What should we do when God brings us through? Those are the questions we’ll being talking about.
I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Sandra Mundis is a veteran Assemblies of God missionary, founder of Europe’s Children — a gospel outreach to kids on that continent — and co-author, with her husband Greg, of Patient 1: Embracing Hope in Times of Despair.
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This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by The General Council of the Assemblies of God.
General Council is the AG’s premier conference. It occurs every two years the first week in August and incorporates spiritual inspiration, practical leadership training, and denominational business. The theme of the 2023 General Council is “Our Church, Our Family.” The conference will take place July 31–August 4 in Columbus, Ohio.
Visit GeneralCouncil.AG.org for more information and to register.
“The Incarnation declares that God loves us, isn’t scared of us, and wants us to be unafraid of him. So how do we declare these truths to the masters of suspicion in our age? The deconstructing, disoriented, disengaged skeptic,” writes Preston Ulmer.
He goes to say, surprisingly, “We become like him, minus the skepticism.”
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I’m talking with Preston Ulmer about the spiritual discipline of deconstruction, based on his new book, Deconstruct Faith, Discover Jesus, published recently by NavPress.
I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Preston Ulmer is the founder and director of The Doubters’ Club, an organization that teaches Christians and atheists to model friendship and pursue truth together. He is also on staff at North Point Church in Springfield, Missouri.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by The General Council of the Assemblies of God.
General Council is the AG’s premier conference. It occurs every two years the first week in August and incorporates spiritual inspiration, practical leadership training, and denominational business. The theme of the 2023 General Council is “Our Church, Our Family.” The conference will take place July 31–August 4 in Columbus, Ohio.
Visit GeneralCouncil.AG.org for more information and to register.
“The tongues of Pentecost declare the wonders of God,” writes Dr. Frank Macchia. “Theology as speech about God speaks about such mysteries and their roots in the divine self-giving to us in Christ and the Spirit.”
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I’m talking to Dr. Macchia about key themes in his new systematic theology, Tongues of Fire. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Frank Macchia is professor of systematic theology at Vanguard University of Southern California and associate director of the Centre for Pentecostal and Charismatic Studies at Bangor University in Wales. He is author of Tongues of Fire: A Systematic Theology of the Christian Faith, published by Cascade Books, and of Introduction to Theology: Declaring the Wonders of God, published by Baker Academic.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of MEGA Sports Camp.
MEGA Sports Camp is a unique VBS that makes it easy to reach new families, engage new volunteers, and reach unchurched kids in your community. This year kids at your MEGA Sports Camp VBS will discover they can have a positive influence on others because their confidence comes from God.
For more information about MEGA Sports Camp VBS, visit MEGASportsCamp.com.
“It is possible for a Christian spirituality to be theistic — to have room for God in it — but only in a philosophical, conceptual sense,” writes Dr. Gary Tyra.
In Introduction to Spirituality, he makes the case for an alternative approach: “a fully trinitarian understanding of God that is not only theistic but also theologically real.” According to a theologically real spirituality, “it is possible for God’s human image-bearers … to really know and experience their Creator in some real, phenomenal, life-story-shaping ways.”
I’m talking to Dr. Tyra about the convictions, commitments, and customs of a theologically real Christian spirituality in this episode of the Influence Podcast. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Gary Tyra is professor of biblical and practical theology at Vanguard University of Southern California. An ordained Assemblies of God minister, he has served as senior pastor of three churches, but now devotes his time to teaching, writing, and speaking. He is author of Introduction to Spirituality, published by Baker Academic.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Bible Engagement Project.
A subscription to Bible Engagement Project equips you with kids curriculum for elementary and preschoolers and small group resources for youth and adults. The curriculum library will give your church a deeper understanding of the Bible and help every age grow in their faith. The resources are available in English and Spanish.
Visit BibleEngagementProject.com to download sample lessons.
Those of us who grew up in church are familiar with the children’s song about Zacchaeus. “Zacchaeus was a wee little man, and a wee little man was he.” What we often forget is that Zacchaeus’ encounter with the Lord ended with Jesus clearly stating his mission on earth: “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10).
Founded in 2022, Seek and Save is an Assemblies of God ministry that organizes “collaborative outreach events to bring hope to communities in America.” It partners with other AG churches and ministries, as well as nongovernmental charities, to offer spiritual hope and material help to under-resourced neighborhoods.
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I’m talking to Choco De Jesús about Seek and Save. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Choco De Jesús is general treasurer of the Assemblies of God. For many years, he pastored New Life Covenant Church in Chicago, Illinois, and has authored several books, including Love Them Anyway. De Jesús founded and provides leadership to Seek and Save.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by The General Council of the Assemblies of God.
General Council is the AG’s premier conference. It occurs every two years the first week in August and incorporates spiritual inspiration, practical leadership training, and denominational business. The theme of the 2023 General Council is “Our Church, Our Family.” The conference will take place July 31–August 4 in Columbus, Ohio.
Visit GeneralCouncil.AG.org for more information and to register.
A well-known evangelical pastor recently announced that he will not speak at conferences that include women speakers. “There’s a line at which you can’t cross because someone is blatantly disobedient to Scripture,” he said. “ A conference that platforms men and women is “a total violation of Scripture,” he explained.
But does Scripture actually prohibit women speaking to conferences or leading Christian ministries?
Dr. Nijay Gupta doesn’t think so. In Tell Her Story, published in March by IVP Academic, he argues that the Bible shows women as co-laborers with men in all aspects of ministry. “Where men have sometimes said, ‘Women can’t,’ the Old and New Testaments testify: they did.” he writes.
I’ll be talking to Dr. Gupta about his book in this episode of the Influence Podcast. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Dr. Nijay Gupta is professor of New Testament at Northern Seminary in Lisle, Illinois. A specialist on Paul’s letters and theology, he has published commentaries on Galatians, Philippians, Colossians, and 1–2 Thessalonians, and is co-editor of the second edition of Dictionary of Paul and His Letters.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by The General Council of the Assemblies of God.
General Council is the AG’s premier conference. It occurs every two years the first week in August and incorporates spiritual inspiration, practical leadership training, and denominational business. The theme of the 2023 General Council is “Our Church, Our Family.” The conference will take place July 31–August 4 in Columbus, Ohio.
Visit GeneralCouncil.AG.org for more information and to register.
For the past 12 years, Dr. Greg Mundis has served as executive director of Assemblies of God World Missions. AGWM is the missions arm of the U.S. Assemblies of God and fields 2,640 missionaries serving 252 countries, territories and provinces.
Mundis has announced his retirement, effective September 30, 2023. In a statement announcing his retirement, Mundis and his wife Sandie wrote this to AGWM personnel: “Our hearts are filled with gratitude as we reflect on your faithfulness and prayers for us over these past 12 years. It is truly humbling, and we have the deepest respect for you.”
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I’m talking to Mundis about his personal experiences as a missionary, as well as his take on the past, present, and future of the AG’s global church-planting mission.
I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by The General Council of the Assemblies of God.
General Council is the AG’s premier conference. It occurs every two years the first week in August and incorporates spiritual inspiration, practical leadership training, and denominational business. The theme of the 2023 General Council is “Our Church, Our Family.” The conference will take place July 31–August 4 in Columbus, Ohio.
Visit GeneralCouncil.AG.org for more information and to register.
“Words create worlds,” writes Mark Batterson in Please, Sorry, Thanks. If so, what kinds of worlds are we creating? Do our words give life or deal death (Proverbs 18:21)?
Batterson is pastor of National Community Church in Washington DC. More than any other city in America, our capital is a place where people eat the fruit of their words, turning the nation’s stomach sour. And what happens in DC doesn’t stay in DC. It radiates out to every nook and cranny of America. Our public discourse is poisoned.
Please, Sorry, Thanks offers a different way — a loving way — of speaking. It is a short, simple book with a timely message. If sin is “culpable disturbance of shalom,” as Cornelius Plantinga puts it, then, as Batterson writes, “please, sorry, and thanks are the way shalom is restored.”
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Bible Engagement Project.
A subscription to Bible Engagement Project equips you with kids curriculum for elementary and preschoolers and small group resources for youth and adults. The curriculum library will give your church a deeper understanding of the Bible and help every age grow in their faith. The resources are available in English and Spanish.
Visit BibleEngagementProject.com to download sample lessons.
The Assemblies of God is comprised of 12,830 congregations in the United States. Between 2013 and 2022, the AG chartered 2,985 churches. During that same time, though, it closed 2,958 churches.
In other words, just to remain the same size, the AG had to plant nearly one-quarter of its churches over the last ten years. That’s certainly a statistical argument for church planting. But what if we had been able to strengthen the other churches so that they didn’t have to close?
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I’m talking to Jeffery Portmann about how church-planting principles can contribute to revitalizing the local church.
I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Jeffery Portmann is director of the Church Multiplication Network, the AG’s church-planting agency, an ordained minister, and author of Delayed Destiny: Embracing Slow Motion Growth in a Fast Paced World. (We talked about that book in Episode 292.)
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, the distributors of Created for Purpose: An Esther Study Journal.
These days, women increasingly struggle to find their identity amidst the chaos of living. In Created for Purpose, Esther’s story shows you how to navigate the uncertainty of everyday life by reminding you that your identity is found in Jesus, not in the world. In this 4-week study, your group will see how the story of Esther models how to activate your trust, embrace your assignment, find your voice, and walk in victory.
For more information, visit MyHealthyChurch.com/Fashioned.
In Episode 310 of the Influence Podcast, I talked with Dr. Allen Tennison about the New Apostolic Reformation. We focused on describing the four distinctive theological doctrines and practices of that movement.
In this episode, we are going to take a more critical look at those doctrines and practices.
The central claim of the New Apostolic Reformation is that the contemporary church needs to be led by apostles and prophets. Other doctrines and practices are associated with the movement, but that seems to be what really drives the movement.
As classical Pentecostals, Dr. Tennison and I have a perspective on these NAR claims, which we want to share with you.
I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Dr. Allen Tennison is dean of the College of Church Leadership and professor of theology at North Central University in Minneapolis, Minnesota. An Assemblies of God minister, he also chairs the AG’s Commission on Doctrines and Practices.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of MEGA Sports Camp.
MEGA Sports Camp is a unique VBS that makes it easy to reach new families, engage new volunteers, and reach unchurched kids in your community. This year kids at your MEGA Sports Camp VBS will discover they can have a positive influence on others because their confidence comes from God.
For more information about MEGA Sports Camp VBS, visit MEGASportsCamp.com.
Must the contemporary church be led by apostles and prophets?
Advocates of the so-called New Apostolic Reformation answer that question with a hearty yes. Others, including classical Pentecostals, aren’t so sure.
The idea that churches must be led by apostles and prophets isn’t the only controversial teaching associated with the New Apostolic Reformation. Others include strategic-level spiritual warfare, ordinary believers as a miracle-workers, and Christian dominion in society.
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I talk with Dr. Allen Tennison about what the New Apostolic Reformation is and how classical Pentecostals should assess it.
I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Dr. Allen Tennison is dean of the College of Church Leadership and professor of theology at North Central University in Minneapolis, Minnesota. An Assemblies of God minister, he also chairs the AG’s Commission on Doctrines and Practices.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of MEGA Sports Camp.
MEGA Sports Camp is a unique VBS that makes it easy to reach new families, engage new volunteers, and reach unchurched kids in your community. This year kids at your MEGA Sports Camp VBS will discover they can have a positive influence on others because their confidence comes from God.
For more information about MEGA Sports Camp VBS, visit MEGASportsCamp.com.
Philip Graham, the Washington Post’s legendary publisher, once said, “Journalism is the first rough draft of history.” If that’s the case, then with approximately 2,000 stories to his credit, John Kennedy has been writing the first draft of Assemblies of God history for nearly a quarter of a century.
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I talk with him about what led him into journalism, his favorite stories, and what pastors can learn from journalists about more effective communication.
I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
John Kennedy is a friend, colleague, and editor of AG News, the official news source for the Assemblies of God. He retires at the end of April.
This podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, the distributors of Created for Purpose: An Esther Study Journal.
These days, women increasingly struggle to find their identity amidst the chaos of living. In Created for Purpose, Esther’s story shows you how to navigate the uncertainty of everyday life by reminding you that your identity is found in Jesus, not in the world. In this 4-week study, your group will see how the story of Esther models how to activate your trust, embrace your assignment, find your voice, and walk in victory.
For more information, visit MyHealthyChurch.com/Fashioned.
“The average pastor’s job is harder than average,” Lyle Schaller once quipped. That’s especially true of the majority of American pastors who lead their churches alone. They face a variety of unique challenges that make their jobs especially difficult.
How to lead church effectively when you’re the only staff member is the subject of Dr. Gary McIntosh’s new book, The Solo Pastor. In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I talk to him about how to overcome the unique challenges of pastoring alone.
I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Dr. Gary McIntosh is president of Church Growth Network and distinguished affiliate professor of Christian ministry and leadership at Talbot School of Theology in La Mirada, California. His most recent book is The Solo Pastor, published by Baker Books.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by The General Council of the Assemblies of God.
General Council is the AG’s premier conference. It occurs every two years the first week in August and incorporates spiritual inspiration, practical leadership training, and denominational business. The theme of the 2023 General Council is “Our Church, Our Family.” The conference will take place July 31–August 4 in Columbus, Ohio.
Visit GeneralCouncil.AG.org for more information and to register.
Christianity is the world’s largest religion. In 1900, approximately 558 million people around the globe identified as Christian. By 2020, that number had grown to approximately 2.5 billion.
Despite that numerical growth, Christianity shrank as a percentage of the world’s population, from 34% in 1900 to 32% in 2020. Atheism and agnosticism grew from 0.2% to 12% of the global population during the same time period, and Islam doubled from 12% to 24%. Demographers estimate that by 2050, Christians will constitute 35% of the world population and Muslims 29%.
What should Christians do with these statistics?
That’s the question I ask Dr. Gina Zurlo in this episode of the Influence Podcast. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Dr. Zurlo is codirector of the Center for the Study of Global Christianity at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in South Hamilton, Massachusetts, and a research fellow at Boston University’s Institute on Culture, Religion, and World Affairs. She is author of Global Christianity: A Guide to the World’s Largest Religion from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, published by Zondervan Academic.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by The General Council of the Assemblies of God.
General Council is the AG’s premier conference. It occurs every two years the first week in August and incorporates spiritual inspiration, practical leadership training, and denominational business. The theme of the 2023 General Council is “Our Church, Our Family.” The conference will take place July 31–August 4 in Columbus, Ohio.
Visit GeneralCouncil.AG.org for more information and to register.
The words of the Great Commission are well known: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”
Christians often interpret the Great Commission as their mandate for evangelism. According to Jesus, though, it’s about holistic discipleship. What does it mean to follow Jesus in every dimension of life?
That’s the question I ask Charlie Self, Johan Mostert, and Jamé Bolds in this episode of the Influence Podcast. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Self, Mostert, and Bolds are ordained Assemblies of God ministers and authors of Life in 5D: A New Vision of Discipleship.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by The General Council of the Assemblies of God.
General Council is the AG’s premier conference. It occurs every two years the first week in August and incorporates spiritual inspiration, practical leadership training, and denominational business. The theme of the 2023 General Council is “Our Church, Our Family.” The conference will take place July 31–August 4 in Columbus, Ohio.
Visit GeneralCouncil.AG.org for more information and to register.
On average, American adults read 12.6 books a year, according to a January 2022 Gallup survey. That’s about a book a month. Reliable data on pastor-readers is harder to come by, but a 2013 Barna study found that pastors bought 3.8 books a month. If pastors read what they buy, they read about a book a week.
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I’m talking with pastor-reader Heather Weber about why pastors should read, as well as how often and what they should read. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Heather Weber is a writer, certified leadership coach, and ordained Assemblies of God minister. She serves as sectional presbyter for the Iowa Ministry Network and director of the Network of Women Ministers in Iowa and the North Central Region of the AG.
She also hosts Your Pastor Reads Books, a podcast devoted to “conversations about the books pastors are reading that are helping to shape them into whole-hearted followers of Jesus and healthier givers of spiritual care to others.” It’s available on Apple and Spotify.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by The General Council of the Assemblies of God.
General Council is the AG’s premier conference. It occurs every two years the first week in August and incorporates spiritual inspiration, practical leadership training, and denominational business. The theme of the 2023 General Council is “Our Church, Our Family.” The conference will take place July 31–August 4 in Columbus, Ohio.
Visit GeneralCouncil.AG.org for more information and to register.
On behalf of the staff of Influence magazine, I’d like to wish all our readers — especially those who listen to the Influence Podcast — a very happy new year!
In this episode of the podcast, the first of many to come in 2023, I talk to Doug Clay about the state of the Assemblies of God. What is going well in our Fellowship? What is challenging? And what is forthcoming? We’ll talk about those questions and more.
I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host. Doug Clay is general superintendent of the Assemblies of God.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by The General Council of the Assemblies of God.
General Council is the AG’s premier conference. It occurs every two years the first week in August and incorporates spiritual inspiration, practical leadership training, and denominational business. The theme of the 2023 General Council is “Our Church, Our Family.” The conference will take place July 31–August 4 in Columbus, Ohio.
Visit GeneralCouncil.AG.org for more information and to register.
Prayer is a hallmark of Pentecostal spirituality, both in the New Testament and today. Acts 2:42 says of the first generation of believers, “They devoted themselves … to prayer.” According to the Assemblies of God Constitution, “the priority reason for being of the Assemblies of God is to be … a corporate body in which man may worship God.”
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I talk to Rick DuBose about why and how believers should pray in 2023, as well about prayer initiatives that the AG is sponsoring throughout the year. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Rick DuBose is assistant general superintendent of the Assemblies of God. In that position, he provides leadership and direction to General Council-sponsored prayer initiatives.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by The General Council of the Assemblies of God.
General Council is the AG’s premier conference. It occurs every two years the first week in August and incorporates spiritual inspiration, practical leadership training, and denominational business. The theme of the 2023 General Council is “Our Church, Our Family.” The conference will take place July 31–August 4 in Columbus, Ohio.
Visit GeneralCouncil.AG.org for more information and to register.
When the Christmas season begins, you can always count on at least one major media company to publish a story debunking the myths of Christmas. The effect, if not the intent, of such stories is to question the historical value of the New Testament. From a Christian perspective, that’s not a good thing.
But the reality is that there are Christmas myths that need to be debunked. Some of those are popular myths that conflate details of birth stories in the Gospels. Other popular myths are based on holiday traditions.
There are scholarly myths that need to be debunked too, however, such as the belief that the Gospel birth stories are contradictory or historically unreliable.
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I talk to Amy Flattery about the facts and the fictions of Jesus’ birth. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Amy Flattery is co-founder and director of the Assemblies of God Center for Holy Lands Studies and an ordained Assemblies of God minister. She has taught at Continental Theological Seminary in Brussels, Belgium, and led scores of tours to the Holy Lands.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by The General Council of the Assemblies of God.
General Council is the AG’s premier conference. It occurs every two years the first week in August and incorporates spiritual inspiration, practical leadership training, and denominational business. The theme of the 2023 General Council is “Our Church, Our Family.” The conference will take place July 31–August 4 in Columbus, Ohio.
Visit GeneralCouncil.AG.org for more information and to register.
“There have always been people with mental and relational health problems in the church,” writes Dr. Jared Pingleton. “Unfortunately, we just haven’t done a very good job helping pastors to know how to recognize and minister effectively to these pronounced and realistic needs.”
How can churches improve their ministries in this critical area? And why should they?
Those are the questions I ask Dr. Pingleton in this episode of the Influence Podcast. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Dr. Pingleton is a licensed clinical psychologist and an ordained Assemblies of God minister. In addition to his private practice and preaching ministry, he serves as director of Mental Health Care and Ministry for The American Association of Christian Counselors. His new book is Mental Health Ministry: The Struggle Is Real, published by Trilogy Christian Publishing.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Bible Engagement Project.
Bible Engagement Project gives churches access to a library of kids curriculum and small group resources all in one subscription.
Visit BibleEngagementProject.com to download sample lessons.
“Many transition specialists, denominational leaders, and local churches are starting to question whether the traditional method of pastoral selection is effective,” writes Gene Roncone in Mentored Succession. “The model of bringing in outsiders with no understanding of the church culture, community, and congregation seems to be creating a continual cycle of short-term pastorates.”
Is there a better way for churches to plan for pastoral succession?
That’s the question I ask Gene Roncone in this episode of the Influence Podcast. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Gene Roncone is district superintendent of the Rocky Mountain Ministry Network of the Assemblies of God, a position he has held since 2019. An ordained AG minister with decades of pastoral experience, he has authored two resources on pastoral succession: Mentored Succession: A Smarter Way for Pastoral Transition and Rise Up: A Practical and Comprehensive Reference for Pastoral Successions and Transitions. Both resources can be downloaded free from GeneRoncone.org/AGSPE.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Bible Engagement Project.
Bible Engagement Project gives churches access to a library of kids curriculum and small group resources all in one subscription.
Visit BibleEngagementProject.com to download sample lessons.
“The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction,” wrote the atheist Richard Dawkins. He went on to describe God as “jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully.”
Dawkins, who is frequently wrong but never in doubt, isn’t the only person to perceive problems with God in the Old Testament. The second-century heretic Marcion was so struck by the difference between the Old Testament and New Testament that he believed they taught about different gods altogether. He went on to delete the Old Testament from the biblical canon, along with any New Testament book he perceived as being too friendly with the Old Testament.
So, how do we reconcile the portrayals of God in the two testaments of Christian Scripture? That’s the question I pose to Paul Copan in this episode of the Influence Podcast. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Paul Copan is the Pledger Family Chair of Philosophy and Ethics at Palm Beach Atlantic University in West Palm Beach, Florida. He is the author of numerous books dealing with questions in philosophy, ethics, and apologetics. His most recent book is, Is God a Vindictive Bully? published by Baker Academic.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Bible Engagement Project.
Bible Engagement Project gives churches access to a library of kids curriculum and small group resources all in one subscription.
Visit BibleEngagementProject.com to download sample lessons.
“Opportunity awaits every single day, and God wants you to tap into each opportunity,” writes Jonathan Hardy. “When you remain faithful to God’s purposes, you’ll see how you can easily step into opportunities and give a wholehearted effort toward achieving His will every day.”
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I talk to Hardy about how to lead a church with an opportunity mentality. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Jonathan Hardy is an ordained Assemblies of God minister and cofounder of Leaders.Church and Church University. These online platforms help pastors develop their ministry and leadership skills. Hardy is author of Arrow Striker: Live with Purpose and Leave an Eternal Impact Every Single Day.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Bible Engagement Project.
Bible Engagement Project gives churches access to a library of kids curriculum and small group resources all in one subscription.
Visit BibleEngagementProject.com to download sample lessons.
“I am convinced that if you want to see an increase in hope, understanding, and unity amid the engulfing mercilessness of today — indeed, if you want to communicate anything approaching grace — you must begin with a low anthropology.”
So writes David Zahl in his new book, Low Anthropology, published by Brazos Press. Zahl considers such a view of humanity “the unlikely key to a gracious view of others (and yourself),” as the book’s subtitle puts it.
I talk with Zahl about what low anthropology is and how it makes room for grace in this episode of the Influence Podcast. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
David Zahl is the founder and director of Mockingbird Ministries, editor-in-chief of the popular Mockingbird website (www.mbird.com), and cohost of The Mockingcast. He and his family live in Charlottesville, Virginia, where he also serves on the staff of Christ Episcopal Church.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Bible Engagement Project.
Bible Engagement Project gives churches access to a library of kids curriculum and small group resources all in one subscription.
Visit BibleEngagementProject.com to download sample lessons.
“Countless pastors, preachers, teachers, and ministry leaders are dismayed at the dysfunction engulfing the church and the wider culture,” write Matt Kim and Paul Hoffman.
“Every day, headlines reveal a world divided across ethnic, class, sex, and political lines. We are simultaneous a nation and a church with comparable cavernous disagreements. Make no mistake: these chasms are expanding and feel increasingly insurmountable.”
Even so, Kim and Hoffman go to write, “We are convinced that all gospel heralds now have a greater opportunity to intentionally and winsomely use their platforms to proclaim the Holy Scriptures in a way that promotes reconciliation and unity.”
I talk with Hoffman about how to do that in this episode of the Influence Podcast. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Paul Hoffman is senior pastor of Evangelical Friends Church of Newport, Rhode Island, and coauthor with Matt Kim of Preaching to a Divided Nation, published by Baker Academic. They also coauthored the topically related cover story of the summer 2022 issue of Influence magazine.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Bible Engagement Project.
Bible Engagement Project gives churches access to a library of kids curriculum and small group resources all in one subscription.
Visit BibleEngagementProject.com to download sample lessons.
“When the enemy takes a run at your church, he won’t do it through those who attend it; he will do it through those who lead it,” writes Chris Sonksen. “One of his most effective plans against the local church can be summed up in one word: Leaderdrift.”
I talk with Sonksen about what leaderdrift is and how to stop it in this episode of the Influence Podcast. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Chris Sonksen is an ordained Assemblies of God minister with extensive ministry experience as a senior pastor and church consultant. He is founder and CEO of Church BOOM, a coaching agency for churches and leaders, and author of Saving Your Church From Itself: Six Subtle Behaviors That Tear Teams Apart and How to Stop Them, published recently by Baker Books.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Bible Engagement Project.
Bible Engagement Project gives churches access to a library of kids curriculum and small group resources all in one subscription.
Visit BibleEngagementProject.com to download sample lessons.
Many Gospels circulated in early Christianity. Everyone knows about Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, but what about the Gospel of Peter or the Gospel of Thomas? Why were some Gospels included in the New Testament but not others?
Scholars such as Bart Ehrman reduce the debate to politics: “one of the competing groups in Christianity succeeded in overwhelming all the others,” he writes.
“This group became ‘orthodox,’ and once it had sealed its victory over all of its opponents, it rewrote the history of the engagement — claiming that it had always been the majority opinion of Christianity, that its views had always been the views of the apostolic Churches and of the apostles, that its creeds were rooted directly in in the teachings of Jesus. The books that it accepted as Scripture proved the point, for Matthew, Mark, Luke and John all tell the story as the proto-orthodox had grown accustomed to hearing it.”
But is politics the real explanation for why those four Gospels were canonized? Or is there a deeper reason?
That’s what I’m discussing with Prof. Simon Gathercole in this episode of the Influence Podcast. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Simon Gathercole is professor of New Testament and early Christianity at the University of Cambridge, editor of New Testament Studies, and coeditor of Early Christianity. His new book is The Gospel and the Gospels: Christian Proclamation and Early Jesus Books, recently published by Eerdmans.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Bible Engagement Project.
Bible Engagement Project gives churches access to a library of kids curriculum and small group resources all in one subscription.
Visit BibleEngagementProject.com to download sample lessons.
“Ordinary people are the primary way God has worked in and through the world over the centuries,” writes Katelyn Beaty. “More and more, though, it seems that a lot of us aren’t content to be ordinary Christians.” Instead, we want to be celebrities.
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I talk to Beaty about how the desire to become a celebrity, or the need to follow one, hurts the Church. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Katelyn Beaty is a writer, journalist, editor, and keen observer of trends in the American church. Her new book is Celebrities for Jesus, published in August by Brazos Press.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Bible Engagement Project.
Bible Engagement Project gives churches access to a library of kids curriculum and small group resources all in one subscription.
Visit BibleEngagementProject.com to download sample lessons.
“Ever been in a season of life that seemed to lack forward momentum?” asks Jeffery Portmann “You’re doing everything you can to experience growth, maybe even repeating what’s worked before. But then there’s a moment … where what you expected, hoped, and prayed for just isn’t happening.”
Portmann calls this experience “delayed destiny.” In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I talk to him about delayed destiny using the biblical example of Joseph. We talk about what hinders and what helps in such moments, and we also talk about how God uses those seasons for our benefit. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Jeffery Portmann is an ordained Assemblies of God minister and director of the Church Multiplication Network, the AG’s church-planting agency. He is author of Delayed Destiny: Embracing Slow-Motion Growth in a Fast-Paced World.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Bible Engagement Project.
Bible Engagement Project gives churches access to a library of kids curriculum and small group resources all in one subscription.
Visit BibleEngagementProject.com to download sample lessons.
In contemporary culture, people who identify as LGBT have a clear narrative. Their lives became better after they “came out” as lesbian, gay, or transgender. Society should celebrate with them. Individuals who don’t are “homophobic” and “transphobic.”
ReStory Ministries believes that the coming-out narrative is not the only story. They believe people find true life when they give their hearts to Jesus Christ and live out sexuality according to biblical norms.
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I’m talking to Linda Seiler and Joe Dallas about this second story. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Linda Seiler, Ph.D., is executive director of ReStory Ministries, which helps Assemblies of God churches more effectively minister to LGBT persons and their families. Joe Dallas is a board member of ReStory, a Christian counselor, and author of numerous books on LGBT topics.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you the ReStoried 2022 Conference. This year’s theme is “Beyond LGBT — Stories of Redemption, Tools of Ministry.”
ReStoried 2022 is a one-day conference about effective ministry to LGBT people. It meets on Saturday, September 24, at Central Assembly in Springfield, Missouri.
Visit ReStoryministries.org/ReStoried22 for more information and to register.
Phillips Brooks, the nineteenth-century minister who wrote “O Little Town of Bethlehem,” defined preaching as “the communication of Truth through Personality.”
Truth is “the most authoritative statement of God’s will,” he said. Personality refers to a preacher’s “character, his affections, his whole intellectual and moral being.” (As Pentecostals, we would add “or her” to Brooks’ statement.)
Absent genuine character, a preacher is merely a “printing machine” or a “trumpet,” not “a real messenger of God.”
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I’m talking to Bob Eby about the relationship of preaching to the character or virtues of the preacher. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Bob Eby is director of the Cordas C. Burnett Preaching Center and associate professor of Biblical Exposition and Preaching at Assemblies of God Theological Seminary in Springfield, Missouri. He is author of Virtue Hermeneutics: New Horizons in Textual Understanding, published by Pickwick Publications.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Bible Engagement Project.
Bible Engagement Project gives churches access to a library of kids curriculum and small group resources all in one subscription.
Visit BibleEngagementProject.com to download sample lessons.
When it comes to planting and revitalizing churches, rural America is a forgotten field. It faces a variety of demographic and economic challenges, and the rural pastorate often means bivocational ministry in small congregations. In consequence, rural ministry is not an option for many would-be pastors.
Gerad Strong thinks it should be. I’ll be talking to him about effective ministry in small rural churches in this episode of the Influence Podcast. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Gerad Strong served as lead pastor of Bethel Church in Rapid City, South Dakota, before becoming director of Discovery and Development for the Church Multiplication Network in Springfield, Missouri. He pioneered Bethel’s use of multisite models to serve rural churches in his region, and is author of The Forgotten Field: Using Multisite Models to Reach and Revive Rural Communities with the Gospel, published by Baxter Press.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Bible Engagement Project.
Bible Engagement Project gives churches access to a library of kids curriculum and small group resources all in one subscription.
Visit BibleEngagementProject.com to download sample lessons.
Independence Day commemorates the ratification of the Declaration of Independence by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776. The Declaration is a legal brief, making a case that “these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States.”
The Declaration also makes theological claims, however. It begins with reference to “the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and Nature’s God entitle [the colonists].” It ends with the signers appealing to “the Supreme Judge of the world” and expressing “a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence.”
But its most important theological statement is this: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I’m talking to Prof. Thomas S. Kidd about religion and the American Founding. Specifically, I’m talking to him about the faith of Thomas Jefferson — the Founding Father who drafted the Declaration of Independence. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Thomas S. Kidd is Research Professor of Church History at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, Mo., and a Senior Research Scholar at Baylor University’s Institute for Studies of Religion. His most recent book is Thomas Jefferson: A Biography of Spirit and Flesh, published this year by Yale University Press.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Bible Engagement Project.
Bible Engagement Project gives churches access to a library of kids curriculum and small group resources all in one subscription.
Visit BibleEngagementProject.com to download sample lessons.
“In today’s culture, it’s not popular to be against something unless it’s blatantly immoral or illegal,” writes Roger Olson. However, he adds: “If Christianity is to mean something, it has to have some shape, if not boundaries” (emphasis in original).
The thesis of his new book, Against Liberal Theology, is that “liberal Christianity cuts the cord of continuity between itself and biblical, historical, classical, orthodox Christianity so thoroughly that it ought to call itself something other than Christian.”
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I’m talking to Olson about that thesis — what liberal theology is, why it’s not authentically Christian, and why progressive Christians especially need to know these things. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Roger Olson is emeritus professor of theology at George W. Truett Theological Seminary of Baylor University, and author of Against Liberal Theology: Putting the Brakes on Progressive Christianity, published by Zondervan Reflective.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Bible Engagement Project.
Bible Engagement Project gives churches access to a library of kids curriculum and small group resources all in one subscription.
Visit BibleEngagementProject.com to download sample lessons.
“Our culture has become highly skilled in pointing out the problems [of masculinity], but, beyond public service campaigns and news headlines, we haven’t developed the same expertise in helping men solve those problems,” writes Chase Replogle. “We have lost the wisdom by which men become better, by which they mature into a better manhood.”
In this podcast, I talk to Replogle about how to find that wisdom again. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Chase Replogle is pastor of Bent Oak Church in Springfield, Missouri and author of The 5 Masculine Instincts, published by Moody.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Bible Engagement Project.
Bible Engagement Project gives churches access to a library of kids curriculum and small group resources all in one subscription.
Visit BibleEngagementProject.com to download sample lessons.
On May 2, 2022, Politico made headlines when it leaked the draft of a Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.
That draft overturns Roe v. Wade, a 1973 decision, which together with Doe v. Boltoneffectively legalized abortion throughout a woman’s pregnancy. And it returns regulation of abortion to state legislatures, rather than federal courts, which is where the matter lay prior to 1973.
A decision overturning Roe would be a momentous legal event, but would it change the way Christians minister to women who are considering abortion?
That’s the question I ask Cindi Boston in this episode of the Influence Podcast. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Cindi Boston is vice president of Heartbeat International. Founded in 1971 to provide alternatives to abortion, Heartbeat International is the first network of pro-life pregnancy resource centers in the U.S. and the largest such network in the world.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Bible Engagement Project.
Bible Engagement Project gives churches access to a library of kids curriculum and small group resources all in one subscription.
Visit BibleEngagementProject.com to download sample lessons.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the central claim of Christian theology. As the apostle Paul put it in 1 Corinthians 15:14, “if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.” But is belief in Christ’s resurrection a matter of faith only, or can it also be demonstrated historically?
That is the question I ask Dr. Gary Habermas in this episode of the Influence Podcast. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Dr. Gary Habermas is Distinguished Research Professor and chair of the department of philosophy at Liberty University. He is the author or coauthor of more than 30 books, most recently, Risen Indeed: A Historical Investigation into the Resurrection of Jesus, published in 2021 by Lexham Academic. Habermas is widely considered the nation’s foremost apologist on the historicity of Christ’s resurrection.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Bible Engagement Project.
Bible Engagement Project gives churches access to a library of kids curriculum and small group resources all in one subscription.
Visit BibleEngagementProject.com to download sample lessons.
“Life is like walking downhill over the rocks,” writes Chris Maxwell. “The slopes and sharp rocks remind us of danger.” Consequently, he goes on to say, “Healthy equilibrium isn’t staying away from the downhill slants or the harsh drops; it is gaining a better perspective on obtaining and maintaining stability there.” In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I talk with Maxwell about how pastors — and the churches they lead — can get and keep spiritual and emotional equilibrium. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host. Chris Maxwell is director of Spiritual Life and campus pastor at Emmanuel College in Franklin Springs, Georgia, and an ordained minister with the International Pentecostal Holiness Church. He is author of Equilibrium: 31 Ways to Stay Balanced on Life’s Uneven Surfaces, published by True Potential.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of MEGA Sports Camp.
MEGA Sports Camp outreaches create connection between your church and community and introduce kids to a life-changing relationship with Jesus. This year, choose from two great sports-based themes for your next VBS outreach.
Visit MEGASportsCamp.com for more information.
On January 6, 2002, reporters for the The Boston Globe began publishing a series of stories about clergy sexual abuse of minors in the Catholic Archdiocese of Boston. Their revelations went on to garner a Pulitzer Prize and shine a spotlight on similar scandals in other dioceses. Evangelical churches weren’t immune from criticism either, and not just on the topic of clergy sexual abuse. The past few years have revealed scandals among some of America’s best-known and largest ministries, ranging from sexual abuse to financial fraud to spiritual abuse. In Faith-Based Fraud, Warren Cole Smith writes, “The problems I recount in this book are not organizational problems that can be solved with new regulations and procedures. The problems are spiritual and theological ones that merely manifest themselves as organizational problems.”
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I talk with Smith about what churches should learn from religious scandals. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Warren Cole Smith is president of MinistryWatch, whose purpose is to be “an advocate for transparency, accountability, and the renewed credibility of Christian ministries.” He is author of Faith-Based Fraud: Learning from the Great Religious Scandals of Our Time, published by WildBlue Press.
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This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of MEGA Sports Camp.
MEGA Sports Camp outreaches create connection between your church and community and introduce kids to a life-changing relationship with Jesus. This year, choose from two great sports-based themes for your next VBS outreach.
Visit MEGASportsCamp.com for more information.
The American Muslim population is growing. According to Pew Research Center, there were 2.35 million Muslims in the U.S. in 2007 and 3.85 million in 2020. Pew estimates that by 2050, there will be 8.1 million Muslims in the U.S. “This represents a significant mission field,” writes Christina Quick in her profile of Lynda Hausfeld in the spring 2022 issue of Influence. “Yet many Christians are hesitant to reach out to their Muslim neighbors.”
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I talk with Mark and Lynda Hausfeld about how to share the gospel with Muslim neighbors. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Mark Hausfeld is vice president for Institutional Innovation and director of the Center for the Study of World Religions at Trinity Bible College and Graduate School in Ellendale, North Dakota. Lynda Hausfeld is founder and director of Say Hello: Serving Muslim Women, a ministry of Assemblies of God World Missions. Both are ordained AG ministers.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Bible Engagement Project.
Bible Engagement Project gives churches access to a library of kids curriculum and small group resources all in one subscription.
Visit BibleEngagementProject.com to download sample lessons.
Leading change is one of a pastor’s most important jobs.
The changes pastors lead are spiritual, moral, and missional in nature. In other words, they help people come to Christ (spiritual), become like Christ (moral), and go out as witnesses to Christ (missional).
The changes pastors lead are also organizational. In other words, pastors help congregations change their methods and structures to make sure that the means of ministry actually accomplish its spiritual, moral, and missional ends.
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I talk with Mike Clarensau about how pastors can lead congregational change in collaboration with church members. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Mike Clarensau is an ordained Assemblies of God minister, church consultant, and author of several books. His new book is Subject to Change: What People Want Their Pastor to Know Before Asking Them to Change, published by Arrows & Stones.
My conversation with him is coming up after a brief word from our sponsor.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Bible Engagement Project.
Bible Engagement Project gives churches access to a library of kids curriculum and small group resources all in one subscription.
Visit BibleEngagementProject.com to download sample lessons.
“Imagine a steep and deadly cliff,” write Shayne Moore, Sandra Morgan, and Kimberly McOwen Yim. “Today, most churches and nonprofit organizations working in anti-human-trafficking efforts are focused solely on the victims who have already fallen or been thrown off the cliff of modern slavery.”
Unfortunately, the authors continue, “we will never end human trafficking and modern slavery with this as our only strategy. Together, we must erect an impervious fence so that women, men, and children never fall off the cliff in the first place.”
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I talk with Sandra Morgan about how the church can help do this. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Sandra Morgan is director of the Global Center for Women and Justice at Vanguard University in Costa Mesa, California. An ordained Assemblies of God minister, she serves as co-chair of the World Assemblies of God Commission on Sexual Exploitation, Slavery and Trafficking. She is co-author of Ending Human Trafficking, published by IVP Academic.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of MEGA Sports Camp.
MEGA Sports Camp outreaches create connection between your church and community and introduce kids to a life-changing relationship with Jesus. This year, choose from two great sports-based themes for your next VBS outreach.
Visit MEGASportsCamp.com for more information.
The Israelite destruction of the Canaanites, found in biblical passages such as Deuteronomy 7:1–2, presents a conundrum to Christians. Here’s what that passage says:
"When the Lord your God brings you into the land you are entering to possess and drives out before you many nations — the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites, seven nations larger and stronger than you — and when the Lord your God has delivered them over to you and you have defeated them, then you must destroy them totally. Make no treaty with them, and show them no mercy."
Here’s the conundrum: On the one hand, the Bible is inspired and inerrant, and the God it presents is morally perfect. On the other hand, the commandment to destroy the Canaanites seems genocidal. How can a morally perfect God issue such commands?
That’s the question I ask Prof. Charlie Trimm in this episode of the Influence Podcast. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Prof. Trimm is author of The Destruction of the Canaanites: God, Genocide, and Biblical Interpretation, which comes out March 15 from Eerdmans Publishing Company. He is associate professor of biblical and theological studies at Talbott School of Theology in La Mirada, California.
This episode of the Influence podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Reclaim His Promises: A Nehemiah Study Journal.
Many women feel they don’t have enough time or knowledge to study the Bible effectively. Reclaim His Promises is designed to make it simple for everyone to engage with God’s Word. It helps you unpack and apply the life-impacting truths found in the story of Nehemiah through engaging Scripture readings and guided journaling.
Visit MyHealthyChurch.com/Reclaim for a free chapter.
“Recent studies of Pentecostal origins have demonstrated that eschatology and pneumatology were inexorably connected in the historical development of Pentecostal theology,” writes Prof. Daniel Isgrigg. Why? Early Pentecostals “believed that the Holy Spirit was being poured out because they were in the last days” [emphasis added]. Spirit baptism, then, was a sign of the end times. In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I talk with Prof. Daniel Isgrigg about what the Assemblies of God teaches about the end times. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host. (The AG is publishers of both the magazine and the podcast.)
Daniel Isgrigg is an ordained AG minister; assistant professor and director of the Holy Spirit Research Center and Archives at Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma; and author of Imagining the Future: The Origin, Development, and Future of Assemblies of God Eschatology.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of MEGA Sports Camp.
MEGA Sports Camp outreaches create connection between your church and community and introduce kids to a life-changing relationship with Jesus. This year, choose from two great sports-based themes for your next VBS outreach.
Visit MEGASportsCamp.com for more information.
In the middle of the twentieth century, two theological ideas began to reshape Protestant worship. The first focused on how churchgoers could experience the manifest presence of God. The second focused on how churches could overcome the gap between themselves and the people they were trying to reach. In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I talk with Prof. Lester Ruth about those two theological ideas — presence and power. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Lester Ruth is research professor of Christian worship at Duke Divinity School in Durham, North Carolina. He is coauthor, with Lim Swee Hong, of A History of Contemporary Praise & Worship, published in November 2021 by Baker Academic.
This episode of the Influence podcast is brought to you by the Next Generation Leaders Conference.
No matter what age group you work with, or what programs you utilize, we are gathering together for the next generation who are at the heart of our ministries. Join us this March in Orlando, for a leadership conference for those shaping the Next Generation, through kids, youth, and family ministry!
For details and registration, visit NextGen.AG.org.
Two years after Covid arrived in the United States, the pandemic seems to be winding down and normalcy seems to be returning. Even so, the pandemic and the governmental responses to it were incredibly disruptive. So, what does the new normal look like for churches? Specifically, where is the Assemblies of God headed now? Those are the questions I ask Doug Clay in this episode of the Influence Podcast. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Doug Clay is general superintendent of the Assemblies of God and publisher of Influence magazine.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of MEGA Sports Camp.
MEGA Sports Camp outreaches create connection between your church and community and introduce kids to a life-changing relationship with Jesus. This year, choose from two great sports-based themes for your next VBS outreach.
Visit MEGASportsCamp.com for more information.
Every Pentecostal knows that William J. Seymour was the leader of the Azusa Street Mission in Los Angeles, California. The revival that happened at that mission from 1906–1909 played a central role in the history of early Pentecostalism. Even after revival fires cooled, however, Seymour continued to lead the mission until his death in 1922, and the church continued to meet until the death of his wife, Jenny Evans Moore in 1936. What lessons can Pentecostals learn from Seymour’s leadership of this storied church both during and after the revival? That’s the question I ask Prof. Mel Robeck in this episode of the Influence Podcast. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Mel Robeck is senior professor of Church History and Ecumenics at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California, and an ordained Assemblies of God minister. A leading historian of early Pentecostalism, Robeck is author of The Azusa Street Mission and Revival.
This episode of the Influence podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Reclaim His Promises: A Nehemiah Study Journal.
Lots of women feel like they don’t have enough time or knowledge to study the Bible effectively. That’s why this study is designed to make it simple for everyone to engage with God’s Word. Reclaim His Promises helps you unpack and apply the life-impacting truths found in the story of Nehemiah through engaging Scripture readings and guided journaling.
Visit MyHealthyChurch.com/Reclaim for a free chapter.
Pastors often hear complaints about church from members of their congregations. These negative comments can create a doom-and-gloom mentality among church leaders, as if everything in their congregation is going wrong. According to The Congregational Scorecard, a new report from Grey Matter Research & Consulting and Infinity Concepts, the reality is quite the opposite. “[T]he vast majority of American evangelical Protestant churchgoers are actually largely satisfied with their church,” says the report. “An average of 74% of evangelical Protestants do not want their church to change in each of the 14 areas we explored” In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I’m talking to Ron Sellers about what pastors and church leaders should learn from The Congregational Scorecard. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Ron Sellers is president of Grey Matter Research & Consulting in Phoenix, Arizona. He is lead researcher of The Congregational Scorecard: What Evangelicals Want in a Church, published in partnership with Infinity Concepts.
My conversation with him is coming up after a brief word from our sponsor.
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This episode of the Influence podcast is brought to you by the Next Generation Leaders Conference.
No matter what age group you work with, or what programs you utilize, we are gathering together for the next generation who are at the heart of our ministries. Join us this March in Orlando, for a leadership conference for those shaping the Next Generation, through kids, youth, and family ministry!
For details and registration, visit NextGenConference.AG.org.
Rod Wilson believes three short statements have power to change the world: “Thank you!” “I’m sorry!” And “Tell me more!” These statements are ways all people, but especially Christians, can live out the meaning of Jesus’ Great Commandment.
“How we relate to others flows from our relationship with God. Love is the action. People are the recipients,” Wilson writes. “Expressing ‘Thank you,’ ‘I’m sorry,’ and ‘Tell me more’ to people is putting words to love. I see you. I notice you. We impact each other. For Jesus, loving God but not loving others is the ultimate contradiction,” he concludes.
I’ll be talking to Rod Wilson about these statements in this episode of the Influence Podcast. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Rod Wilson has worked as a psychologist, pastor, and college president. He currently works with Lumara Grief and Bereavement Care Society, A Rocha, the Society of Christian Schools in BC, and In Trust Center for Theological Schools, as well as maintaining an international teaching and mentoring ministry. He is author of Thank You. I’m Sorry. Tell Me More.: How to Change the World with 3 Sacred Sayings, recently published by NavPress.
This episode of the Influence podcast is brought to you by the Next Generation Leaders Conference.
No matter what age group you work with, or what programs you utilize, we are gathering together for the next generation who are at the heart of our ministries. Join us tthis March in Orlando, for a leadership conference for those shaping the Next Generation, through kids, youth, and family ministry!
For details and registration, visit NextGenConference.AG.org.
“At your greatest point of injustice is your greatest opportunity for Christlikeness,” writes Brian Noble. Christ reconciled us to God on the Cross and gave us what Paul calls “the ministry of reconciliation” in 2 Corinthians 5:19. The Church’s job is to urge people to be reconciled to God — and to one another.
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I am talking to Noble about the necessary attitudes and practices of this ministry of reconciliation. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Brian Noble is CEO and executive director of Peacemaker Ministries, as well as executive pastor of Valley Assembly of God in Spokane, Washington. His forthcoming book, Living Reconciled, published by Baker Books, goes on sale January 11, 2022.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Bible Engagement Project.
Most people have access to the Bible, but few regularly engage with it. Bible Engagement Project equips churches with digital Bible study resources to help people of all ages read and understand Scripture so they can become more like Jesus and live radically changed lives. Bible Engagement Project is available in both English and Spanish.
Visit BibleEngagementProject.com to learn more.
“All of us long for Easy Street,” writes Stephen Blandino. “It’s paved with comfort and lined with safety. It travels through the trouble-free hills of security, and its road signs point to a pain-free destination where blessings abound.” There’s only one problem, he concludes: “Easy Street is a dead-end street.”
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I talk to Stephen Blandino about why Christians — church leaders and church members alike — should stop chasing easy and start pursuing lives that count. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Stephen Blandino is lead pastor of 7 City Church in Fort Worth, Texas, and author of the forthcoming book, Stop Chasing Easy. An ordained Assemblies of God minister, he writes the Make It Count leadership development curriculum for each issue of Influence magazine, where he is also an online columnist.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Bible Engagement Project.
Most people have access to the Bible, but few regularly engage with it. Bible Engagement Project equips churches with digital Bible study resources to help people of all ages read and understand Scripture so they can become more like Jesus and live radically changed lives. Bible Engagement Project is available in both English and Spanish.
Visit BibleEngagementProject.com to learn more.
New Year’s Day is just around the corner, so now’s a good time to start thinking about your New Year’s resolutions for 2022. What new habits do you want to make in the coming year? What old habits do you want to break?
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I’m talking to Mark Batterson about how to make — or break — any habit.. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Mark Batterson is lead pastor of National Community Church in Washington, DC, a New York Times bestselling author, and a fellow Assemblies of God minister. His new book is Do It for a Day, published this past November by Multnomah.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Bible Engagement Project.
Most people have access to the Bible, but few regularly engage with it. Bible Engagement Project equips churches with digital Bible study resources to help people of all ages read and understand Scripture so they can become more like Jesus and live radically changed lives. Bible Engagement Project is available in both English and Spanish.
Visit BibleEngagementProject.com to learn more.
Speaking in tongues is one of Pentecostalism’s most distinctive practices. And yet, in his doctoral research, Timothy Laurito found that “a majority of self-identified Pentecostal participants did not feel like they had even been adequately taught about speaking in tongues.” He goes on to argue that this fact “should be of concern for Pentecostals.”
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I’m talking to Timothy Laurito about how pastors and other church leaders can help people understand glossolalia from a multidisciplinary perspective. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Timothy Laurito is an ordained Assemblies of God minister, assistant pastor at Faith Tabernacle in Denton, Texas, and an adjunct professor at Northpoint Bible College and Graduate School. He is author of Speaking in Tongues: A Multidisciplinary Defense, published by Wipf & Stock.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Bible Engagement Project.
Most people have access to the Bible, but few regularly engage with it. Bible Engagement Project equips churches with digital Bible study resources to help people of all ages read and understand Scripture so they can become more like Jesus and live radically changed lives. Bible Engagement Project is available in both English and Spanish.
Visit BibleEngagementProject.com to learn more.
Early in his ministry, Jeff Leake faced a problem common to growing churches: He needed a new larger building but didn’t have enough money. So he prayed, “God, we have a problem, and it seems that You are not offering any solutions here!”
The thing about talking to God is that He talks back, and Leake felt God saying this to him: “Have you considered that I have a problem too?” God’s problem, it turned out, was that too many pastors were interested in growing their churches and too few interested in reaching their cities.
That encounter with God took Leake on a church-planting journey. In Twelve Trends in Church Multiplication, he talks about different ways local churches can reproduce themselves in new congregations. I’ll be talking to him about this book in this episode of the Influence Podcast.
I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host. Jeff Leake is lead pastor of Allison Park Church in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, which has seven campuses and has planted 31 new churches.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Bible Engagement Project.
Most people have access to the Bible, but few regularly engage with it. Bible Engagement Project equips churches with digital Bible study resources to help people of all ages read and understand Scripture so they can become more like Jesus and live radically changed lives. Bible Engagement Project is available in both English and Spanish.
Visit BibleEngagementProject.com to learn more.
“Young people are increasingly less likely to be engaged with institutional forms of religious expression,” writes Josh Packard. “Decades-long trends continue: for a large and growing segment of young people, religiosity is increasingly decoupled from institutions, even as they express high levels of religious belief, practice, and identity.”
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I’m talking to Packard about why young people aren’t affiliating with religious institutions. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Josh Packard is executive director of Springtide Research Institute and former professor of sociology at the University of Northern Colorado. Springtide’s 2021 State of Religion & Young People report, titled Navigating Uncertainty, published October 25 and forms the basis of this conversation.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Bible Engagement Project.
Most people have access to the Bible, but few regularly engage with it. Bible Engagement Project equips churches with digital Bible study resources to help people of all ages read and understand Scripture so they can become more like Jesus and live radically changed lives. Bible Engagement Project is available in both English and Spanish.
Visit BibleEngagementProject.com to learn more.
“Many people simply take it for granted that miracles don’t happen,” writes Craig Keener. But is that assumption true? Or is it the case that God performs miracles in the modern world?
In Miracles Today, Keener answers those questions by describing scores of documented reports of healing and even resurrection. These reports don’t come from long ago or faraway places. They’re happening here and now.
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I’m talking with Keener about this empirical case for miracles. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Craig Keener is F.M. and Ada Thompson Professor of Biblical Studies at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky, and author, most recently, of Miracles Today: The Supernatural Work of God in the Modern World, published by Baker Academic.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Bible Engagement Project.
Most people have access to the Bible, but few regularly engage with it. Bible Engagement Project equips churches with digital Bible study resources to help people of all ages read and understand Scripture so they can become more like Jesus and live radically changed lives. Bible Engagement Project is available in both English and Spanish.
Visit BibleEngagementProject.com to learn more.
Personal evangelism doesn’t require you to use a method that feels forced and unnatural. In his new book, Contagious Faith, Mark Mittelberg writes, “There are a variety of natural approaches we can take to reach the people around us — things we can say and do that fit our own God-given personalities.” That’s what Mittelberg calls “the good news about the Good News.”
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I’m talking to Mittelberg about the five styles of personal evangelism he describes in his book. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Mark Mittelberg is executive director of the Lee Strobel Center for Evangelism and Applied Apologetics at Colorado Christianity University in Lakewood, Colorado, as well as a best-selling author and international speaker. His most recent book is Contagious Faith: Discover Your Natural Style for Sharing Jesus with Others.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Bible Engagement Project.
Most people have access to the Bible, but few regularly engage with it. Bible Engagement Project equips churches with digital Bible study resources to help people of all ages read and understand Scripture so they can become more like Jesus and live radically changed lives. Bible Engagement Project is available in both English and Spanish.
Visit BibleEngagementProject.com to learn more.
According to Jay Moon and Bud Simon, intercultural evangelism is “the process of putting Christ at the center of someone’s worldview in order to initiate them into Christian discipleship through culturally relevant starting points.”
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I’m talking to Moon and Simon about why it’s important for Christians to practice such evangelism, as well as how to do it more effectively. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Jay Moon is professor of church planting and evangelism at Asbury Theological Seminary and a veteran missionary to Ghana. Bud Simon is a mission consultant with TMS Global and a veteran missionary to Brazil. They are coauthors of Effective Intercultural Evangelism, published by InterVarsity Press.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Bible Engagement Project.
Most people have access to the Bible, but few regularly engage with it. Bible Engagement Project equips churches with digital Bible study resources to help people of all ages read and understand Scripture so they can become more like Jesus and live radically changed lives. Bible Engagement Project is available in both English and Spanish.
Visit BibleEngagementProject.com to learn more.
According to church growth expert Thom Rainer, “The median tenure of a pastor at a church is around four years. Simply stated, over one-half of pastors leave a church before their fourth anniversary.” The question is not whether church staff transition is happening, then, but whether it is happening well.
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I’m talking to Mike Burnette about how pastors can effectively transition themselves and staff pastors both out of and into new ministry assignments. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Mike Burnette is lead pastor of LifePoint Church in Clarksville, Tennessee, and an Assemblies of God minister. LifePoint was Outreach magazine’s fastest growing church in America in 2018. He is also author of Parable Church, which we discussed in Episode 248 of the Influence Podcast.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Bible Engagement Project.
Most people have access to the Bible, but few regularly engage with it. Bible Engagement Project equips churches with digital Bible study resources to help people of all ages read and understand Scripture so they can become more like Jesus and live radically changed lives. Bible Engagement Project is available in both English and Spanish.
Visit BibleEngagementProject.com to learn more.
Ask pastors whether they are frustrated, and most of them will say they are, for a variety of reasons. Too often, they think their people problems are outside their control. “If we change our perspective and transform our leadership strategy,” writes Scott Wilson, however, “the people near us right now can become exponential leaders who have an impact on generation after generation of others.”
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I’m talking to Wilson about five ways pastors can build relationships for effective leadership in the local church. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Scott Wilson is Global Pastor at Oaks Church in Red Oak, Texas, which he led for nearly 20 years. He is founder of Ready Set Grow, a “a ministry to help churches breakthrough their growth barriers,” as well as 415 Leaders, whose vision for mentoring is “multiplying spiritual fathers and mothers to multiply churches.” He is author of Impact: Releasing the Power of Influence, published earlier this year by Avail Books.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Bible Engagement Project.
Most people have access to the Bible, but few regularly engage with it. Bible Engagement Project equips churches with digital Bible study resources to help people of all ages read and understand Scripture so they can become more like Jesus and live radically changed lives. Bible Engagement Project is available in both English and Spanish.
Visit BibleEngagementProject.com to learn more.
Social media is filled with stories of well-known Christians who have deconstructed their faith or are in the process of doing so. Some deconvert from Christianity entirely. Others identify themselves as “exvangelicals” who now advocate a progressive form of Christianity.
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I’m talking to Preston Ulmer about how Christians, whether ministers or laypersons, can help people who are in the process of deconstructing their faith. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Preston Ulmer is director of Discovery for the Church Multiplication Network in Springfield, Missouri, and an Assemblies of God minister. He is author of The Doubters’ Club: Good-Faith Conversations with Skeptics, Atheists, and the Spiritually Wounded, just published by NavPress.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Bible Engagement Project.
Most people have access to the Bible, but few regularly engage with it. Bible Engagement Project equips churches with digital Bible study resources to help people of all ages read and understand Scripture so they can become more like Jesus and live radically changed lives. Bible Engagement Project is available in both English and Spanish.
Visit BibleEngagementProject.com to learn more.
“People who don’t take risks generally make about two big mistakes a year,” says Peter Drucker. “People who do take risks generally make about two big mistakes a year.” In other words, one way or another, you’re going to make mistakes. The only question is whether you make them well.
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I’m talking to John Pearson about how to make mistakes well. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
John Pearson served more than 30 years as a nonprofit CEO at organizations such as the Christian Camp and Conference Association, the Global Leadership Network of the Willow Creek Association, and the Christian Leadership Alliance. He is author, most recently, of Mastering Mistake-Making: My 25 Memorable Mistakes — and What I Learned.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Bible Engagement Project.
Most people have access to the Bible, but few regularly engage with it. Bible Engagement Project equips churches with digital Bible study resources to help people of all ages read and understand Scripture so they can become more like Jesus and live radically changed lives. Bible Engagement Project is available in both English and Spanish.
Visit BibleEngagementProject.com to learn more.
“Every teenager is a walking bundle of questions,” write Kara Powell and Brad Griffin in their new book. “Almost every question young people are asking ultimately finds its genesis in these 3 big questions: Who am I? Where do I fit? What difference can I make?
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I’m talking to Kara Powell about these three big questions — perhaps life’s biggest. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Kara Powell is executive director of the Fuller Youth Institute at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California, and an Assemblies of God minister. Together with Brad Griffin, she is coauthor of 3 Big Questions That Change Every Teenager, recently published by Baker Books.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Bible Engagement Project.
Most people have access to the Bible, but few regularly engage with it. Bible Engagement Project equips churches with digital Bible study resources to help people of all ages read and understand Scripture so they can become more like Jesus and live radically changed lives. Bible Engagement Project is available in both English and Spanish.
Visit BibleEngagementProject.com to learn more.
“What troubles me is that much of the modern evangelical movement in America does not seem to grasp the priority of the call of apprenticeship to Jesus,” writes Ryan Post. “Rather than teaching people to obey everything Jesus has commanded us, many churches seem to treat discipleship as an optional accessory, choosing instead to focus on selling the basic ‘conversion’ package (afterlife insurance included).”
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I’m talking to Post about how the Beatitudes from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount are a solution to the problem of discipleship-free American Christianity. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Ryan Post is the lead pastor of Village Church in Burbank, California. An ordained Assemblies of God minister, he is author of Jesus People: Communities Formed by the Beatitudes and Healthy Prayer: Integrating Structure, Silence & Spontaneity.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Bible Engagement Project.
Most people have access to the Bible, but few regularly engage with it. Bible Engagement Project equips churches with digital Bible study resources to help people of all ages read and understand Scripture so they can become more like Jesus and live radically changed lives. Bible Engagement Project is available in both English and Spanish.
Visit BibleEngagementProject.com to learn more.
“The currency of the kingdom of God isn’t prayer, Bible study, missions, or service; it’s love,” writes Choco De Jesus in his new book, Love Them Anyway (Charisma House). “All the disciplines are means to put us in touch with the love of God so it overflows into the lives of those around us. Whom does God want us to love? Everyone. Our love should know no bounds.”
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I’m talking to De Jesus about why boundless love is so important, as well as why it’s so difficult. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Choco De Jesus is general treasurer of the Assemblies of God.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Bible Engagement Project.
Most people have access to the Bible, but few regularly engage with it. Bible Engagement Project equips churches with digital Bible study resources to help people of all ages read and understand Scripture so they can become more like Jesus and live radically changed lives. Bible Engagement Project is available in both English and Spanish.
Visit BibleEngagementProject.com to learn more.
“In twenty-first-century America, three forces have united to make living as a follower of Jesus more complicated and nuanced than at any other time in Christian history: capitalism, consumerism, and celebrity culture,” writes Ben Kirby. “These forces are raising questions that most Christian leaders, perhaps due to fear, are brave enough to ask only in private. It’s time to drag these questions out of the shadows.”
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I’m talking to Ben Kirby about how these forces are shaping—or misshaping—Christian faith. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Ben Kirby is the creator of PreachersNSneakers, the Instagram account that put a price tag on the clothes worn by America’s celebrity preachers. He is author of PreacherNSneakers: Authenticity in an Age of For-Profit Faith and (Wannabe) Celebrities, published by W Publishing Group.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Bible Engagement Project.
Most people have access to the Bible, but few regularly engage with it. Bible Engagement Project equips churches with digital Bible study resources to help people of all ages read and understand Scripture so they can become more like Jesus and live radically changed lives. Bible Engagement Project is available in both English and Spanish.
Visit BibleEngagementProject.com to learn more.
“Suffering is ubiquitous, success is not,” writes Matthew D. Kim in Preaching to People in Pain. Ironically, the content of many, if not most, sermons focuses on success more than suffering, however. Are pastors missing an opportunity to speak into the painful experiences of their church members with the hope of the gospel? And if they decide to make the most of the opportunity, how do they go about preaching to suffering people?
Those are the questions I’m talking to Kim about in this episode of the Influence Podcast. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Matthew D. Kim is the George F. Bennett Professor of Preaching and Practical Theology, director of the Haddon W. Robinson Center for Preaching, and director of Mentored Ministry at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in Hamilton, Massachusetts. He is author, most recently, of Preaching to People in Pain: How Suffering Can Shape Your Sermons and Connect with Your Congregation, published by Baker Academic.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Bible Engagement Project.
Most people have access to the Bible, but few regularly engage with it. Bible Engagement Project equips churches with digital Bible study resources to help people of all ages read and understand Scripture so they can become more like Jesus and live radically changed lives. Bible Engagement Project is available in both English and Spanish.
Visit BibleEngagementProject.com to learn more.
“[Black] dignity has lingered in a state of confusion for generations in this country as we’ve faced constant harassment, false theologies, white supremacy, syncretistic evangelicalism, and civic oppression,” writes Dr. Eric Mason. Consequently, the task of such apologetics is to “restore Black dignity with the gospel.”
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I’m talking to Mason about the nature and necessity of urban apologetics. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Dr. Eric Mason is founder and lead pastor of Epiphany Fellowship in Philadelphia, as well as founder and president of Thriving, an urban resource organization committed to developing leaders for ministry in urban contexts. He is editor of Urban Apologetics: Restoring Black Dignity with the Gospel, published by Zondervan.
My conversation with him is coming up after a brief word from our sponsor.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Bible Engagement Project.
Most people have access to the Bible, but few regularly engage with it. Bible Engagement Project equips churches with digital Bible study resources to help people of all ages read and understand Scripture so they can become more like Jesus and live radically changed lives. Bible Engagement Project is available in both English and Spanish.
Visit BibleEngagementProject.com to learn more.
“In 2020,” according to Barna Group’s Five Changing Contexts for Digital Evangelism report, “churches around the world woke up to the extraordinary, urgent need to embrace digital platforms in fresh ways in order to engage with—and sustain—their congregations during the pandemic.”
Now that the immediate crises of 2020 are well behind us, two questions come quickly to mind: Do we need to continue using digital platforms for ministry, especially evangelism? And if we do, how do we use them effectively?
Those are the questions I’m asking Shaila Visser in this episode of the Influence Podcast. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Shaila Visser is director of Alpha Canada, global senior vice president for Alpha International, and Executive Producer of both The Alpha Youth Film Series (2013) and The Alpha Film Series (2016). She is a long-time “ of evangelism and evangelistic responses in non-profits and the Church.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Bible Engagement Project.
Most people have access to the Bible, but few regularly engage with it. Bible Engagement Project equips churches with digital Bible study resources to help people of all ages read and understand Scripture so they can become more like Jesus and live radically changed lives. Bible Engagement Project is available in both English and Spanish.
Visit BibleEngagementProject.com to learn more.
“The U.S. Assemblies of God has a mandate, a problem, and a need,” writes John Zick in the newest issue of Influencemagazine. The mandate is to evangelize the world. The problem is that youth are underrepresented among AG ministers. And the need is to develop the next generation of vocational ministers.
That need—how to help youth discern a call to vocational ministry—is the topic of today’s conversation with John Zick. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
John Zick is director of Operations and Strategic Partnerships for Assemblies of God Youth Ministries. He is author of Called: Cover the Earth with the Love of Jesus, published by Gospel Publishing House.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Bible Engagement Project.
Most people have access to the Bible, but few regularly engage with it. Bible Engagement Project equips churches with digital Bible study resources to help people of all ages read and understand Scripture so they can become more like Jesus and live radically changed lives. Bible Engagement Project is available in both English and Spanish.
Visit BibleEngagementProject.com to learn more.
“To say the events of 2020 have been disruptive to our lives is the understatement of the decade,” writes John Davidson. For pastors, however, those disruptions provide an opportunity to rethink ministry in order to increase “the effectiveness of their church in making disciples.”
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I’m talking to Davidson about how pastors can rethink their church’s ministries after COVID. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine, and your host.
John Davidson is director of Church Leadership and Development for the Assemblies of God’s Church Multiplication Network and author of The Top 5 Things Thinking Pastors Are Rethinking, and Why You Should Too. He writes the Leadership Ethics column for Influence magazine and blogs at ChurchMaven.com.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Bible Engagement Project.
Most people have access to the Bible, but few regularly engage with it. Bible Engagement Project equips churches with digital Bible study resources to help people of all ages read and understand Scripture so they can become more like Jesus and live radically changed lives. Bible Engagement Project is available in both English and Spanish.
Visit BibleEngagementProject.com to learn more.
The past year has been tough one. Millions have experienced grief and loss as a result of the COVID pandemic. Unfortunately, many American Christians have a hard time processing these negative experiences. “When we fail to attend to them,” Peter Scazzero writes, “they prevent us from living freely and honestly with God and others.”
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I’m talking to Scazzero about how Christians — especially Christian leaders — can process grief and loss after COVID. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Peter Scazzero is cofounder of Emotionally Healthy Discipleship with his wife, Geri. Its mission is to “equip church leaders to lead from their inner life with Christ and move to raise up mature disciples in their church, community and the world.” He is author of The Emotionally Healthy Leader, Emotionally Healthy Spirituality, and a new book, Emotionally Healthy Discipleship, published March 30 by Zondervan.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Bible Engagement Project.
Most people have access to the Bible, but few regularly engage with it. Bible Engagement Project equips churches with digital Bible study resources to help people of all ages read and understand Scripture so they can become more like Jesus and live radically changed lives. Bible Engagement Project is available in both English and Spanish.
Visit BibleEngagementProject.com to learn more.
“Jesus never told us how to ‘do church’,” writes Mike Burnette. Instead, Christ talked about “how to be his church,” and He did that through parables. Burnette examines what three of those parables say about the organizational culture of a church in his new book, Parable Church: How the Teachings of Jesus Shape the Culture of Our Faith, published by Zondervan.
I’ll be talking to Pastor Burnette about his new book in this episode of the Influence Podcast. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Mike Burnette is lead pastor of LifePoint Church in Clarksville, Tennessee, and an Assemblies of God minister. LifePoint was Outreach magazine’s fastest growing church in America in 2018. Parable Church is Pastor Burnette’s first book.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Bible Engagement Project.
Most people have access to the Bible, but few regularly engage with it. Bible Engagement Project equips churches with digital Bible study resources to help people of all ages read and understand Scripture so they can become more like Jesus and live radically changed lives. Bible Engagement Project is available in both English and Spanish.
Visit BibleEngagementProject.com to learn more.
A 2019 survey by Barna Group reported the startling statistic that 47% of Millennial Christians think evangelizing others is wrong. Craig Springer cites this statistic in the introduction to his new book, How to Revive Evangelism, and writes, “In the US especially, the instinct to evangelize is eroding.” The obvious questions church leaders need to ask are why is this happening and what can we do about it?
Those are the questions I’m discussing with Springer in Episode 247 of the Influence Podcast. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Craig Springer is executive director of Alpha USA, a program that runs in over 6,500 churches across every major denomination and 500 prisons throughout the country. Most recently, he is author of How to Revive Evangelism: 7 Vital Shifts in How We Share Our Faith, published by Zondervan.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Bible Engagement Project.
Most people have access to the Bible, but few regularly engage with it. Bible Engagement Project equips churches with digital Bible study resources to help people of all ages read and understand Scripture so they can become more like Jesus and live radically changed lives. Bible Engagement Project is available in both English and Spanish.
Visit BibleEngagementProject.com to learn more.
Between 1972 and 2018, the percentage of Americans who identify as Christian declined, while the percentage who claim no religious affiliation increased by nearly 500%. This growing segment of “nones” is younger than the general population, but Ryan Burge writes that “no segment of American society that has been immune to the rise of religious disaffiliation.”
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I’m talking to Burge about everything church leaders need to know about the rise of the nones. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Ryan Burge is an assistant professor of political science at Eastern Illinois University and an American Baptist Church pastor. His most recent book is The Nones: Where They Came From, Who They Are, and Where They Are Going, just published by Fortress Press..
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Bible Engagement Project.
Most people have access to the Bible, but few regularly engage with it. Bible Engagement Project equips churches with digital Bible study resources to help people of all ages read and understand Scripture so they can become more like Jesus and live radically changed lives. Bible Engagement Project is available in both English and Spanish.
Visit BibleEngagementProject.com to learn more.
“Young people are experiencing record loneliness,” notes The State of Religion and Young People 2020, a report from Springtide Research Institute. “They have low levels of trust in most traditional institutions, and they are likely not responding to the efforts these institutions are making to connect with them. But they are — amid all these realities — seeking meaning, navigating questions of identity, and pursuing community.”
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I’m talking to Dr. Josh Packard about Springtide’s report and its implications for the ministries of the local church. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Dr. Packard is executive director of Springtide Research Institute, whose mission is to listen to the distinct ways youth (ages 13–25) experience and express community, identity, and meaning. An accomplished researcher with an expertise in the sociology of religion and new forms of religious expression, he has been published widely in both academic and popular outlets. He earned his Ph.D. in sociology from Vanderbilt University.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Bible Engagement Project.
Most people have access to the Bible, but few regularly engage with it. Bible Engagement Project equips churches with digital Bible study resources to help people of all ages read and understand Scripture so they can become more like Jesus and live radically changed lives. Bible Engagement Project is available in both English and Spanish.
Visit BibleEngagementProject.com to learn more.
According to Pew Research Center, the Assemblies of God is one of the most diverse Protestant denominations in the United States. AG statistics show that 56% of AG adherents are white and 44% ethnic minority. However, statistics also show that two-thirds of AG ministers are white.
The obvious question is how to diversify AG ministers so that our pastors better represent the diversity of our adherents. That’s the question I’m asking Dr. Darnell Williams in this episode of the Influence Podcast. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Dr. Williams is an ordained Assemblies of God minister; pastor of One Church in Lima, Ohio; vice president of the AG’s National Black Fellowship; and an executive presbyter of the AG’s General Council. Most recently, he is author of Wings to Rise: Blacks, Leadership, and the Assemblies of God.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Bible Engagement Project.
Most people have access to the Bible, but few regularly engage with it. Bible Engagement Project equips churches with digital Bible study resources to help people of all ages read and understand Scripture so they can become more like Jesus and live radically changed lives. Bible Engagement Project is available in both English and Spanish.
Visit BibleEngagementProject.com to learn more.
Christians believe that marriage is God’s idea and that divorce is a usually bad idea. And yet, Christians — including Christian leaders — get divorced too. The question that needs to be answered is what married couples can do to cultivate a healthy future for their relationship.
That’s the question I’m talking about with Toni Nieuwhof in Episode 242 of the Influence Podcast. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Toni Nieuwhof is a family law mediator, former divorce attorney, co-host of the Smart Family Podcast, and author of Before You Split, published by WaterBrook. She is the wife of Carey Nieuwhof, an influential pastor, leadership author and podcaster, and international speaker. They live in Barrie, Ontario, Canada.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Bible Engagement Project.
Most people have access to the Bible, but few regularly engage with it. Bible Engagement Project equips churches with digital Bible study resources to help people of all ages read and understand Scripture so they can become more like Jesus and live radically changed lives. Bible Engagement Project is available in both English and Spanish.
Visit BibleEngagementProject.com to learn more.
February is Black History Month, and in this episode of the Influence Podcast, we’re celebrating the National Black Fellowship of the Assemblies of God, which just completed 40 years of service.
I’ll be talking with Bishop Walter Harvey about the history, growth, and mission of this vital network within the broader AG community. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Bishop Walter Harvey is president of the National Black Fellowship and pastor emeritus at Parklawn Assembly of God in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Bible Engagement Project.
Most people have access to the Bible, but few regularly engage with it. Bible Engagement Project equips churches with digital Bible study resources to help people of all ages read and understand Scripture so they can become more like Jesus and live radically changed lives. Bible Engagement Project is available in both English and Spanish.
Visit BibleEngagementProject.com to learn more.
Many Christians begin the New Year with a renewed determination to read their Bibles. Their intention is good, obviously, but it needs to partner with understanding and action if it’s to do us any good. In his new book, Missionary God, Missionary Bible, Dr. Dick Brogden argues that the Bible has a missional message: God desires to bless all nations.
That’s the message I’m talking to Dr. Brogden about in Episode 241 of the Influence Podcast. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Dick Brogden is an ordained missionary with Assemblies of God World Missions. He has ministered among Muslims in East Africa and the Middle East for nearly a quarter-century. Together with his wife, he is cofounder of Live Dead, a church-planting movement among people groups not yet reached by the gospel.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Bible Engagement Project.
Most people have access to the Bible, but few regularly engage with it. Bible Engagement Project equips churches with digital Bible study resources to help people of all ages read and understand Scripture so they can become more like Jesus and live radically changed lives. Bible Engagement Project is available in both English and Spanish.
Visit BibleEngagementProject.com to learn more.
This past year was an unsettling one. I like to think of it as the Year of Three Ps: pandemic, protests, and politics. Each one fomented conflict, but taken together, they were a conflict force multiplier. And that doesn’t even taken into account the normal stressors we face every year.
How can followers of Jesus Christ experience settled souls in the midst of unsettling times? That’s the question I’m talking about with Dr. Jodi Detrick in this episode of the Influence Podcast. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Dr. Detrick is a personal coach, public speaker, and most recently author of The Settled Soul: Tenaciously Abiding with a Tender God, published by Gospel Publishing House. An ordained Assemblies of God minister, she loves to talk to people at the heart level about things that matter most.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Bible Engagement Project.
Most people have access to the Bible, but few regularly engage with it. Bible Engagement Project equips churches with digital Bible study resources to help people of all ages read and understand Scripture so they can become more like Jesus and live radically changed lives. Bible Engagement Project is available in both English and Spanish.
Visit BibleEngagementProject.com to learn more.
According to Stephen Covey, one of the seven habits of highly effective people is beginning with the end in mind. I doubt Covey was thinking about the Book of Revelation when he identified that habit, but I can’t think of a better way to begin the New Year than by talking about the end times. So that’s what I’ll be doing with Dr. Chris Carter in this episode of the Influence Podcast, the first podcast of the 2021 season.
I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host. Dr. Chris Carter is an ordained Assemblies of God minister, missionary to Japan, and author of Revelation: The End Times and the Never Reached, published in December 2020 by Assemblies of God World Missions. He holds a Ph.D. in New Testament Studies from the University of Aberdeen in Scotland.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Bible Engagement Project.
Most people have access to the Bible, but few regularly engage with it. Bible Engagement Project equips churches with digital Bible study resources to help people of all ages read and understand Scripture so they can become more like Jesus and live radically changed lives. Bible Engagement Project is available in both English and Spanish.
Visit BibleEngagementProject.com to learn more.
“Jesus uses his power to protect, to expose, and to restore dignity,” writes Dr. Diane Langberg in her book, Redeeming Power. “He calls his people to be in the world using our power under his authority, displaying his character by speaking truth, shedding light, and tending and protecting the vulnerable. How does this become a reality in the lives of individual Christ followers?”
That’s the question I’m exploring with Dr. Langberg in this episode of the Influence Podcast, the final episode of the 2020 season. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Dr. Diane Langberg is an internationally recognized psychologist and experienced counselor. She directs her own counseling practice, cofounded the Global Trauma Recovery Institute at Missio Seminary in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and serves on the board of GRACE (Godly Response to Abuse in a Christian Environment). Her most recent book is Redeeming Power: Understanding Authority and Abuse in the Church, published by Brazos Press.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Bible Engagement Project.
Most people have access to the Bible, but few regularly engage with it. Bible Engagement Project equips churches with digital Bible study resources to help people of all ages read and understand Scripture so they can become more like Jesus and live radically changed lives. Bible Engagement Project is available in both English and Spanish.
Visit BibleEngagementProject.com to learn more.
“Almost anybody can accomplish anything if they work at it long enough, hard enough, and smart enough,” writes Mark Batterson. In his new book, Win the Day, he identifies seven “daily habits” that will help readers “stress less and accomplish more.” As 2020 draws to a close, now is a good time to start planning (and working) for a new year better than the old one.
I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host. Mark Batterson is lead pastor of National Community Church in Washington, DC, a New York Times bestselling author, and a fellow Assemblies of God minister. Win the Day is published by Multnomah and comes out later this month.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Bible Engagement Project.
Most people have access to the Bible, but few regularly engage with it. Bible Engagement Project equips churches with digital Bible study resources to help people of all ages read and understand Scripture so they can become more like Jesus and live radically changed lives. Bible Engagement Project is available in both English and Spanish.
Visit BibleEngagementProject.com to learn more.
“There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils,” wrote C. S. Lewis in The Screwtape Letters. “One is to disbelieve their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors and hail a materialist or a magician with the same delight.”
With Lewis’s insight on the need for a balanced view in mind, in this episode, I’m talking with Gary Tyra about what the Bible teaches Christians about why and how to deal with the devil.
I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine, and your host.
Gary Tyra is professor of Biblical and Practical Theology at Vanguard University of Southern California, an ordained Assemblies of God minister, and author of The Dark Side of Discipleship, recently published by Cascade Books.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Bible Engagement Project.
Most people have access to the Bible, but few regularly engage with it. Bible Engagement Project equips churches with digital Bible study resources to help people of all ages read and understand Scripture so they can become more like Jesus and live radically changed lives. Bible Engagement Project is available in both English and Spanish.
Visit BibleEngagementProject.com to learn more.
Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “It is appalling that the most segregated hour of Christian America is 11 o’clock on Sunday morning.”
King said this about race in 1963, but it is still largely true today. According to sociologist Michael O. Emerson, a multiracial or multiethnic church is one in which at least 20% of attendees do not belong to the majority race or ethnicity. In 2019, just 23% of churches crossed that threshold.
And there is evidence of a growing class divide in church attendance, with working class Americans less likely to attend church than middle class Americans, at least among whites.
The questions pastors and other church leaders need to ask themselves is this: Does this concern me? And what can I do about it? Those are two questions, among others, that I am asking David Docusen in this episode of the Influence Podcast.
I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine, and your host.
David Docusen is author of Neighborliness: Finding the Beauty of God Across Dividing Lines. A credentialed Assemblies of God minister, he has 20 years of ministry experience as a pastor, church planter, and community developer.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Bible Engagement Project.
Most people have access to the Bible, but few regularly engage with it. Bible Engagement Project equips churches with digital Bible study resources to help people of all ages read and understand Scripture so they can become more like Jesus and live radically changed lives. Bible Engagement Project is available in both English and Spanish.
Visit BibleEngagementProject.com to learn more.
After a D. L. Moody revival meeting, a woman approached the 19th-century evangelist and said, “I don’t like the way you do evangelism.”
Moody responded, “Well, ma’am, let me ask you, how do you do it?”
She said, “I don’t.”
To which Moody replied, “I like my way of doing it better than your way of not doing it!”
Moody’s answer is the right one, and it also points to the variety of ways Christians can do evangelism. In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I’m talking to Priscilla Pope-Levison about eight models of evangelism that have stood the test of time.
I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Priscilla Pope-Levison is associate dean for external programs and professor of ministerial studies at Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University, in Dallas, Texas. She is author of Models of Evangelism, recently published by Baker Academic.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Bible Engagement Project.
Most people have access to the Bible, but few regularly engage with it. Bible Engagement Project equips churches with digital Bible study resources to help people of all ages read and understand Scripture so they can become more like Jesus and live radically changed lives. Bible Engagement Project is available in both English and Spanish.
Visit BibleEngagementProject.com to learn more.
This podcast begins with a paradox: On the one hand, the Assemblies of God recognizes the credentialed ministry of women at whatever level God has called and empowered them. On the other hand, AG women often face barriers to ministry leadership simply because they are women.
In this podcast, I’m talking with Beth Grant and Crystal Martin about how to resolve this paradox, that is, about how to move the ministry of women from something we affirm theologically to something we practice routinely.
I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host. Beth Grant is co-founder and executive director of Project Rescue, an international ministry to survivors of sex trafficking; an executive presbyter of the Assemblies of God; and author of Courageous Compassion: Confronting Social Injustice God’s Way. Crystal Martin is director of the Assemblies of God’s Network of Women Ministers, director of Cross-Cultural Missions for Chi Alphacampus ministry, and associate pastor of Central Assembly in Springfield, Missouri. Both women are ordained Assemblies of God ministers.
My conversation with them is coming up after a brief word from our sponsor.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Bible Engagement Project.
Most people have access to the Bible, but few regularly engage with it. Bible Engagement Project equips churches with digital Bible study resources to help people of all ages read and understand Scripture so they can become more like Jesus and live radically changed lives. Bible Engagement Project is available in both English and Spanish.
Visit BibleEngagementProject.com to learn more.
Preaching is one of a pastor’s most important duties. It’s also one of the most difficult. Every week, pastors stand before their congregations and proclaim the Word of God. And often, they leave the pulpit feeling that they have failed.
So, how can preachers get better at their craft? That’s the question I’m talking about with Chris Colvin and Dick Hardy in this episode of the Influence Podcast.
I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host. Chris Colvin is a sermon consultant, author, and regular contributor to Influence, both print and online. He teaches The Preaching Track at ChurchUniversity.com. Dick Hardy is is cofounder of ChurchUniversity.com, which provides “online resources to unlock your church’s growth.”
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Bible Engagement Project.
Most people have access to the Bible, but few regularly engage with it. Bible Engagement Project equips churches with digital Bible study resources to help people of all ages read and understand Scripture so they can become more like Jesus and live radically changed lives. Bible Engagement Project is available in both English and Spanish.
Visit BibleEngagementProject.com to learn more.
“God calls people to pioneer,” says Jeffery Portmann, “and simultaneously He calls others to become settlers.” Portmann isn’t talking about the settlement of new frontiers, however. He’s talking about ministry through the local church.
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I’m talking to Portmann about why the Church needs both pioneers and settlers, as well as how best to be one or the other.
I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host. Jeffery Portmann is executive director of the Church Multiplication Network, the church planting arm of the Assemblies of God (USA). He authored “Developing Leaders from Within” in the July/August 2020 issue of Influence magazine.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Bible Engagement Project.
Most people have access to the Bible, but few regularly engage with it. Bible Engagement Project equips churches with digital Bible study resources to help people of all ages read and understand Scripture so they can become more like Jesus and live radically changed lives. Bible Engagement Project is available in both English and Spanish.
Visit BibleEngagementProject.com to learn more.
While the divisiveness of our current moment in the United States may be regrettable and fatiguing, it also represents an incredible opportunity for Christians,” writes Don Everts in the current issue of Influence magazine. He goes on to say, “As church leaders, our job is not only to help Christians recognize the temptations we’re facing, but also to highlight another way: a way of neighborly love that can cut through all the yelling and point others to the beauty of the gospel.”
I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host. In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I’m talking to Everts about how Christians can be good neighbors in a divided culture. This conversation arises from his Influence cover story, “Neighboring for the Common Good,” which is based on his forthcoming book, The Hopeful Neighborhood, published by InterVarsity Press.
Don Everts is a writer for Lutheran Hour Ministries and associate pastor at Bonhomme Presbyterian Church in St. Louis, Missouri.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Bible Engagement Project.
Most people have access to the Bible, but few regularly engage with it. Bible Engagement Project equips churches with digital Bible study resources to help people of all ages read and understand Scripture so they can become more like Jesus and live radically changed lives. Bible Engagement Project is available in both English and Spanish.
Visit BibleEngagementProject.com to learn more.
“With the massive disruptions we’re facing as a result of the COVID-19 crisis of 2020 and beyond, the problems could not be more disruptive or obvious,” writes Karl Vaters. “From the lockdowns, to the unspeakable pain of the illness and death of loved ones, to the colossal financial upheavals, it is likely that we’ve never faced such a long-term disruption in our lifetimes, possibly even surpassing those that resulted from the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.”
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I’m talking to Karl Vaters about what churches—especially smaller churches—can do to recover from the massive disruptions of the COVID pandemic. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Karl Vaters is teaching pastor at Cornerstone Christian Fellowship in Fountain Valley, California; a small-church leadership guru; and author of The Church Recovery Guide, published by Moody. (He’s also a longtime friend and fellow Assemblies of God minister.) He blogs regularly at KarlVaters.com.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Bible Engagement Project.
Most people have access to the Bible, but few regularly engage with it. Bible Engagement Project equips churches with digital Bible study resources to help people of all ages read and understand Scripture so they can become more like Jesus and live radically changed lives. Bible Engagement Project is available in both English and Spanish.
Visit BibleEngagementProject.com to learn more.
Small groups are a vital component of a church’s ministry. They extend the span of pastoral care, deepen group members’ spiritual formation, and provide a motivated cadre of volunteers for a church’s various ministries. At least that’s what they’re supposed to do. Too often, however, small groups get stuck in a rut, frustrating leaders and group members alike.
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I’m talking to Jason Sniff about how to take your small group to the next level. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Jason Sniff is small groups pastor at Eastview Christian Church in Normal, Illinois, and a licensed professional counselor with more than 15 years of experience developing healthy groups in private and public sectors. He is coauthor with Ryan Hartwig and Courtney Davis of Leading Small Groups That Thrive, recently published by Zondervan.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Bible Engagement Project.
Most people have access to the Bible, but few regularly engage with it. Bible Engagement Project equips churches with digital Bible study resources to help people of all ages read and understand Scripture so they can become more like Jesus and live radically changed lives. Bible Engagement Project is available in both English and Spanish.
Visit BibleEngagementProject.com to learn more.
In late 2014, Slate magazine published a series of articles under the title, “The Year of Outrage.”
If anything, the outrage in America has only worsened since then. Even Christians have jumped onto the outrage train. The results haven’t been pretty, for either society generally or churches specifically.
What would Jesus do? And how should Christians follow His example? Scott Sauls thinks gentleness is the answer to both questions: “Jesus has been gentle toward us,” he writes, “so we have good reason to become gentle toward others, including those who treat us like enemies.”
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I’m talking to Pastor Sauls about how Jesus’ gentleness is the antithesis of outrage culture. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host. Scott Sauls is senior pastor of Christ Presbyterian Church in Nashville, Tennessee, and author of A Gentle Answer: Our “Secret Weapon” in an Age of Us Against Them, published in June by Thomas Nelson.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Tru Fire Curriculum:
Kidmin leaders often feel worn down by curriculum that doesn’t give them what they need to be effective. Tru Fireprovides leaders with engaging lessons and empowers them to connect kids to the Holy Spirit so that they can feel confident their kids are developing lifetime faith through experiences with God they’ll never forget.
To download free sample lessons, visit TruFireCurriculum.com.
In 1 Peter 3:15, the apostle wrote: “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” The Greek word the NIV translates as “answer” is apología, from which we get the word apologetics. Apologetics is that branch of Christian theology which offers reasonable answers to skeptical questions about the faith.
Apologetics is a necessary component of evangelism and discipleship, especially in an America that is becoming increasingly post-Christian. But apologetics is not always done well. Too often, it is perceived as a logic-chopping exercise in answering abstract questions no one is asking by faith-defenders who are more concerned with winning arguments than people.
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I’m exploring a better way of doing apologetics with Joshua Chatraw. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Dr. Chatraw is executive director of the Center for Public Christianity at Holy Trinity Anglican Church in Raleigh, North Carolina, and author of numerous books on apologetics, including Apologetics at the Cross, The History of Apologetics, and most recently, Telling a Better Story. All these books are published by Zondervan.
My conversation with Dr. Chatraw is coming up after a brief word from our sponsor.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Now What? for Youth.
Written in a style that connects with young people, Now What? for Youth booklets walk students through common questions about discipleship. The Salvation edition and Baptism in the Holy Spirit edition can help curious teens unpack the spiritual journey that follows. Help them connect to God now, and for a lifetime to come.
For more information about Now What? for Youth, visit MyHealthyChurch.com/NowWhat.
On June 15th of this year, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its decision in Bostock v. Clayton County, ruling that the prohibition of sex discrimination in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act extends to sexual orientation and gender identity as well. LGBT rights groups hailed the decision as a major victory, but churches and other faith-based organizations worried that it would impinge on their religious freedom.
In three cases since Bostock, however, the Supreme Court has vindicated religious freedom. Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue struck down that state’s (and by extension every other state’s) “Blaine Amendment.” Little Sisters of the Poor v. Pennsylvania upheld an exemption from the Affordable Care Act’s contraception mandate based on religious or moral reasons. And Our Lady of Guadalupe v. Morrisey-Berru (in which the Assemblies of God was joined a friend-of-the-court brief) expanded the scope of the “ministerial exception.”
Given the divergent outcomes of these four cases—Bostock pulling one way, the three other cases pulling the other—many people are asking: Where is the Supreme Court heading with religious freedom?
That’s the question Eric Kniffin and I will discuss in this episode of the Influence Podcast. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Eric Kniffin is a partner in the law firm of Lewis Roca Rothgerber Christie, where he works in the Religious Institutions Practice Group. Before joining the firm, he worked as a trial attorney for the United States Department of Justice, practicing in the Civil Rights Division. He also served as legal counsel for Becket Law, a leading religious freedom litigator.
The death of George Floyd has sparked a nationwide conversation about racism. As our fellow citizens talk about how to reform public policy, it’s also important for the Church to look inward and see how we can better embody the truth of Galatians 3:28: “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I’m talking to Mark DeYmaz about how the multiethnic church offers a solution to the problem of racism. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
One of the architects of the contemporary multiethnic church movement, Mark DeYmaz is the cofounder, CEO, and president of Mosaix, “a relational network of pastors and planters, denominational and network leaders, educators, authors, and researchers alike, that exists to establish healthy multiethnic and economically diverse churches for the sake of the gospel throughout North America and beyond.” This October, Fortress Press will release a new version of his classic book, Building a Healthy Multi-Ethnic Church.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Radiant Life Sunday Schoolcurriculum.
As a leader, it can be frustrating when you don't have the tools your teachers need to engage students in the Bible. Radiant Life Sunday School curriculum is designed to be engaging and easy to use for any teacher, so that leaders can create a thriving ministry that changes lives. Radiant Life is also available in Spanish.
Visit RadiantLifeCurriculum.com to learn more.
In a 2019 article for InfluenceMagazine.com, Mark Entzminger wrote: “[A] poorly designed or implemented safety plan can not only damage the church’s reputation in the community but, more importantly, it can also damage the heart and spirit of a child for a lifetime.”
He was talking about emotional, physical, and sexual abuse, but what he said also applies to the spiritual life of a child. There is such a thing as spiritual abuse, and it’s the job of church leaders to keep their kids spiritually safe.
I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host. In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I’m talking to Mark Entzminger about why churches must put the spiritual safety of their kids first and how they can do so. Entzminger is national director of Children’s Ministries for the Assemblies of God (USA).
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Bible Engagement Project.
Most people have access to the Bible, but few regularly engage with it. Bible Engagement Project equips churches with digital Bible study resources to help of all ages read and understand Scripture so they can become more like Jesus and live radically changed lives. Bible Engagement Project is available in both English and Spanish.
Visit BibleEngagementProject.com to learn more.
The events of the past week have set America on fire.
It began on Monday, March 25th, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with the death of George Floyd, a black man. Video of the event showed the white arresting officer, Derek Chauvin, kneeling on Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes, despite cries from both Floyd and onlookers to relent. “I can’t breathe,” Floyd said. Floyd died soon after, and Chauvin has since been arrested and charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.
As the video of Floyd’s death went viral, protestors in Minneapolis and other cities across the nation gathered to protest racism and police brutality. Some of those protests were marred by violence, looting, and arson. But the obvious injustice of George Floyd’s death is forcing Americans to ask, Where do we go from here? And the question the Church needs to ask is this: What does racial reconciliation require?
Those are the questions I ask Alex Bryant in this episode of the Influence Podcast. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host. Alex Bryant is an ordained Assemblies of God minister, campus pastor at AG Theological Seminary, and an evangelist. Bryant, who is black, and his wife Angela, who is white, are authors of Let’s Start Again: A Biracial Couple’s on Race, Racial Ignorance, and Racial Insensitivity.
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This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Tru Fire Curriculum:
Kidmin leaders often feel worn down by curriculum that doesn’t give them what they need to be effective. Tru Fireprovides leaders with engaging lessons and empowers them to connect kids to the Holy Spirit so that they can feel confident their kids are developing lifetime faith through experiences with God they’ll never forget.
To download free sample lessons, visit TruFireCurriculum.com.
One of the hallmarks of classical Pentecostalism is its emphasis on baptism in the Holy Spirit, both theologically and experientially. This is certainly true in the Assemblies of God, which includes two articles on the doctrine—Articles 7 and 8—in our Statement of Fundamental Truths. Why we emphasize this doctrine, and how to make sure it moves from mere doctrine to vibrant experience, is the topic of my Influence Podcast with Tim Enloe.
I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host. Tim Enloe is an evangelist ordained by the Assemblies of God. He and his wife Rochelle lead Holy Spirit Conferences throughout the nation and internationally, helping people to experience healing and Spirit baptism. He’s also author of several books, including—and I love this title—Goodbye, Chicken! Hello, Dove!
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Bible Engagement Project.
Most people have access to the Bible, but few regularly engage with it. Bible Engagement Project equips churches with digital Bible study resources to help of all ages read and understand Scripture so they can become more like Jesus and live radically changed lives. Bible Engagement Project is available in both English and Spanish.
Visit BibleEngagementProject.com to learn more.
After weeks of being closed by state and local public health orders, many churches are beginning to reopen their doors for ministry to their communities. Rather than merely reopen, however, the present moment offers churches an opportunity to relaunch. We’ll explore what relaunching your church might look like in this episode of the Influence Podcast.
I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host. My guest today is Dr. John Davidson. He is director of Leadership and Development for the Church Multiplication Network of the Assemblies of God. In that capacity, he oversees CMNLead.com , a website providing free resources for pastors.
Over the past few weeks, CMNLead.com has published—and will continue to publish—resources to help local churches respond to the coronavirus pandemic. Spanish-language resources are available at CMNLead.com/Spanish. One resource you’ll want to look at particularly is the Church Relaunch Kit, which we’ll talk about in this conversation.
“While it seems as if the church should be the last place narcissism shows up,” writes Chuck DeGroat, “it does indeed—in ordinary laypeople, in clergy across all theological spectrums, and in systems that protect narcissistic people and foster abuse.”
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I’m talking with DeGroat about what narcissism is, how it deforms both individuals and systems, and how churches can heal from the emotional and spiritual abuse that come in narcissism’s wake. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Chuck DeGroat is professor of pastoral care and Christian spirituality at Western Theological Seminary in Holland, Michigan. He’s also author of When Narcissism Comes to Church, published earlier this year by InterVarsity Press.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by the Assemblies of God, publisher of the Church Relaunch Kit.
For more than a month, public health orders have closed church doors throughout the United States in order to slow the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. When those order are lifted, don’t just re-open your church, relaunch it! The Church Relaunch Kit offers church leaders valuable insights about relaunching your church’s ministries to the community.
To download this free resource, as well as other related resources for your church, go to COVID19.AG.org.
Over the past few weeks, churches have creatively responded to public health orders that closed their doors by going digital, offering worship experiences and small group meetings online. Is this use of digital technology a “new normal”? Or is it merely a temporary expedient to for extraordinary circumstances?
Those are some of the questions I talk with Jay Kim about in this episode of the Influence Podcast. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Jay Kim is pastor of teaching and leadership at Vintage Faith Church in Santa Cruz, California, and author of Analog Church: Why We Need Real People, Places, and Things in the Digital Age, published by InterVarsity Press.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by the Assemblies of God, publisher of the Church Relaunch Kit.For more than a month, public health orders have closed church doors throughout the United States in order to slow the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. When those order are lifted, don’t just re-open your church, relaunch it! The Church Relaunch Kit offers church leaders valuable insights about relaunching your church’s ministries to the community.
To download this free resource, as well as other related resources for your church, go to COVID19.AG.org.
“While God can (and does) interact with individuals in a vacuum,” writes Don Everts, “he often uses the household as a reliable laboratory for discipleship.”
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I’m talking to Everts about three characteristics of spiritually vibrant homes. This conversation arises from his book, The Spiritually Vibrant Home, published earlier this year by InterVarsity Press.
Don Everts is a writer for Lutheran Hour Ministries and associate pastor at Bonhomme Presbyterian Church in St. Louis, Missouri.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by the Assemblies of God, publisher of the Church Relaunch Kit.
For more than a month, public health orders have closed church doors through the United States in order to slow the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. When those order are lifted, don’t just re-open your church, relaunch it! The Church Relaunch Kit offers church leaders valuable insights about relaunching your church’s ministries to the community.
To download this free resource, as well as other related resources for your church, go to COVID19.AG.org.
“How do you make big decisions?” asks Dr. Alan Ehler. “Making a bad decision can cost a lot. Making no decision can cost even more.”
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I’m talking to Ehler about the topic of how to make big decisions wisely, which also happens to be the title of his new book, published by Zondervan. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influencemagazine and your host.
Dr. Alan Ehler is a professor and dean of Barnett College of Ministry and Theology at Southeastern University in Lakeland Florida. A former pastor and ordained Assemblies of God minister, he is a lifelong student of the art and science of decision-making.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of MEGA Sports Camp, a unique VBS that makes it easy to reach new families.
Children’s ministry leaders often feel frustrated and disappointed that their summer outreach program doesn’t bring in new kids. MEGA Sports Camp gives leaders a fun, unique summer outreach program so that they can welcome new families, engage new volunteers, and impact the community.
To find out more, visit MegaSportsCamp.com.
The coronavirus pandemic is temporarily changing the way Americans live, work, and use their free time. The federal government has asked citizens voluntarily to “[a]void social gatherings in groups of more than 10 people,” but many state and local governments are imposing bans on such gatherings. This negatively affects the ability of local churches to gather for worship, most immediately, but it also may have other longer term effects.
How should—how can—pastors lead their congregations when their churches are closed?
That’s the question I’m asking Dr. John Davidson in this episode of the Influence Podcast. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host. Davidson is director of Leadership and Development for the Church Multiplication Network of the Assemblies of God. In that capacity, he oversees CMNLead.com, a website providing free resources for pastors. Over the next few weeks, CMNLead.com will publish resources to help local churches respond innovatively during the coronavirus pandemic. Spanish-language resources are available at CMNLead.com/Spanish.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Balanced Budget, Balanced Life:
People don't plan on having money troubles, which is exactly the problem: they don’t plan! Rollie Dimos shows you how to make a Biblically sound financial plan and stick to it. Get back the time and resources you need to stop stressing out about money, and start enjoying the balance of a truly abundant life. Balanced Budget, Balanced Life is also available in Spanish.
For more information visit BalancedBudgetBalancedLife.com.
“AI is changing everything about our world and society. And we aren’t prepared.”
So writes Jason Thacker in The Age of AI: Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Humanity. In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I’m talking to him about his book, focusing on how Christians should evaluate and use AI technology.
I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host. Jason Thacker is the creative director and an associate research fellow at The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission. In addition to writing The Age of AI, he helped write the ERLC’s “Artificial Intelligence: An Evangelical Statement of Principles.”
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Including Children with Disabilities, part of the Momentum Training Series.
Whether you already have children in your church with disabilities or just want to be prepared for all students, this resource will show you how to share the love of Jesus with everyone who enters your class. Including Children with Disabilities is also available in Spanish.
For more information, visit MomentumTrainingSeries.com.
According to Pew Research Center, the percentage of Americans who say homosexuality should be approved by society grew from 46% in 1994 to 70% in 2017. Over the same period, the share who say it should be discouraged declined from 49% to 24%. Public attitudes toward same-sex marriage have followed a similar trajectory. Pew reports that in 2004, 60% of Americans opposed same-sex marriage, while 31% favored it. By 2019, those numbers had reversed, with 61% favoring it and 31% opposing it.
These data points create tensions for Christians who want to uphold the biblical view of sexual morality: fidelity within marriage, defined as the lifelong union of a man and a woman, and chastity outside of it. In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I’m talking with Joe Dallas about the most poignant tension: what to do when someone you love is gay.
I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host. Joe Dallas is a Christian counselor and author of numerous books about a Christian view of sexuality, including When Homosexuality Hits Home: What to Do When a Loved One Says, “I’m Gay.” He serves on the Board of Directors for ReStory Ministries, whose mission is “resourcing local [Assemblies of God] churches to address homosexuality and gender identity.”
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Tru Fire Curriculum:
Children’s leaders often feel worn down by curriculum that doesn’t give them what they need to be effective. Tru Fire provides leaders with engaging lessons and empowers them to connect kids to the Holy Spirit so that they can feel confident their kids are developing lifetime faith through experiences with God they’ll never forget.
“Life is complicated, and it’s easy to lose clarity in the face of daily, pressing needs,” writes Dr. Brandon Crowe. “To cut through the complexity and begin to make progress, you need a plan of attack.” In Every Day Matters, Dr. Crowe offers sound advice for how to “think biblically about how to get things done,” as well as how to maximize “your time and energy toward the most important things in everyday life.”
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I’m talking to Dr. Crowe about this biblical approach to productivity. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Dr. Brandon Crowe is associate professor of New Testament at Westminster Theological Seminary, book review editor for the Westminster Theological Journal, and author of Every Day Matters: A Biblical Approach to Productivity, one of three leadership book recommendations in the March/April 2020 issue of Influence magazine.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, the distributors of Trustworthy, a Bible study on the life and character of Daniel.
As someone who walks the same path you do, author Kay Burnett shows how lessons from Daniel’s life connect to the struggles you face daily. Embark on this 7-week study and answer God’s call to be faithful and trustworthy, becoming the woman of integrity God designed you to be. Trustworthy is also available in Spanish.
For more information, visit TrustworthyBook.com.
John Mark Comer lived many pastors’ dream. He led a growing congregation (adding 1,000 adherents annually for seven years running) in the Pacific Northwest (one of the nation’s most secular regions). You’d think he’d be happy, but he wasn’t. He was burnt out, enduring most pastors’ nightmare.
Busyness, which according to Comer is “where your life is full with things that matter,” wasn’t the problem. The problem was hurriedness, “when you have too much to do and the only way to keep the quota up is to hurry.” Jesus was busy, but He never hurried. Hurry is of the devil.
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I’m talking to John Mark Comer about how to ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life and ministry. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
John Mark Comer is pastor for teaching and vision at Bridgetown Church in Portland, Oregon, whose mission is to practice the way of Jesus, together, in Portland. He is also author of The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry, published by Waterbrook.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Leveling the Praying Field:
Ever felt like prayer's just not your “thing”? This book is for you. Donna Barrett shows you how easy it is to shift your prayer perspective so you can stop feeling uneasy about talking to God and start having conversations you enjoy. Leveling the Praying Field is also available in Spanish.
For more information, or to purchase your copy of the book, visit LevelingthePrayingField.com.
When I went off to college, my mom concluded every letter she sent me by quoting Proverbs 3:5–6:
Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight.
Those verses capture the essence of the Book of Proverbs. They teach us about God, our relationship to Him, and how we ought to live in a pithy, memorable way. Indeed, the whole book is filled with gems like this one. That probably explains why Proverbs is so popular with Christians.
And yet, anyone who has preached or taught from the book of Proverbs knows that it’s harder than it looks. This is especially true if you’re trying to organize an expository series on the book. In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I’m talking to Dr. Meghan Musy about how to read Proverbs for preaching. We’ll talk about both how to interpret individual proverbs as well as how to organize a sermon or series on the book.
I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence Magazine and your host. Dr. Meghan Musy is an ordained Assemblies of God minister, director of Competency-Based Theological Education, and assistant professor of Old Testament at Evangel University in Springfield, Missouri.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Leaving a Spiritual Legacy, part of the Momentum Training Series.
Discover how to model and mentor God’s message throughout all your teaching. With this resource, you can be assured your influence not only shows your students how to be caring, compassionate people, but also advances God’s kingdom.
For more information visit MomentumTrainingSeries.com.
“Church boards exist in all shapes and sizes, and they vary across theologies and tradition. But what if you compared those boards that view themselves as ‘effective’ against those who do not? What would you learn?”
That’s the question asked in Unleashing Your Church Board’s Potential, a new study by the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA). It’s also the question I’m asking Dan Busby and Warren Bird in Episode 209 of the Influence Podcast. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Dan Busby and Warren Bird serve with ECFA, whose mission is “Enhancing trust in Christ-centered nonprofits.” Busby is president of ECFA, and Bird is vice president of Research and Equipping. Both are published authors. Most recently, Busby coauthored More Lessons from the Nonprofit Boardroom with John Pearson, and Bird coauthored Liquid Churchwith Tim Lucas.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of MEGA Sports Camp, a unique VBS that makes it easy to reach new families.
Children’s ministry leaders often feel frustrated and disappointed that their summer outreach program doesn’t bring in new kids. MEGA Sports Camp gives leaders a fun, unique summer outreach program so that they can welcome new families, engage new volunteers, and impact the community.
To find out more, visit MegaSportsCamp.com.
“Throughout my life,” writes Pastor Tommy Barnett in his new memoir, “God has continually prodded and prompted me to ask, ‘What if?’” He goes on to say, “Through all these years, ‘What if?’ has been quickly followed by ‘Why not?’ and then ‘Wow! God is doing amazing things.’”
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I’m talking to Pastor Barnett about this what-if-why-not-wow dynamic of spiritual leadership. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Tommy Barnett is the Global Pastor of Dream City Church in Phoenix, Arizona, founder of the LA Dream Center, and chancellor of Southeastern University in Lakeland, Florida. He is author, most recently, of What If? My Story of Believing God for More…Always More, published by ARC Resources. It goes on sale Tuesday, February 4, 2020.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Tru Fire Curriculum:
Children’s leaders often feel worn down by curriculum that doesn’t give them what they need to be effective. Tru Fireprovides leaders with engaging lessons and empowers them to connect kids to the Holy Spirit so that they can feel confident their kids are developing lifetime faith through experiences with God they’ll never forget.
To download free sample lessons, visit TruFireCurriculum.com.
Welcome to the Influence Podcast, a collection of inspiring and challenging conversations, aimed at empowering the entire spectrum of church leadership, from lead pastor to lead volunteer
In Episode 207, I’m talking to Doug Clay about the good things God is doing in the Assemblies of God. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host. Doug Clay is general superintendent of the Assemblies of God. He will share his unique perspective on our Fellowship after a brief word from our sponsor.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Including Children with Disabilities, part of the Momentum Training Series.
Whether you already have children in your church with disabilities or just want to be prepared for all students, this resource will show you how to share the love of Jesus with everyone who enters your class. Including Children with Disabilities is also available in Spanish.
For more information visit MomentumTrainingSeries.com.
According to the National Sexual Violence Research Center, “One in five women and one in 71 men will be raped at some point in their lives.” The center also reports that “one in three women and one in six men [will experience] some form of contact sexual violence in their lifetime.” These statistics show that sexual violence affects millions of women and men.
But when was the last time you heard a sermon or Sunday school lesson about sexual violence? If churches aren’t aware of or talking about the problem of sexual violence, how can we effectively minister to those who have experienced it?
That’s the question I’m talking to Amy Farley about in Episode 206 of the Influence Podcast. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host. Amy Farley is an ordained Assemblies of God minister; senior pastor of an international church in Southeast Asia; and a survivor of sexual violence.
She’ll bring her unique perspective to bear on this topic in today's podcast.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Sticky Lessons, part of the Momentum Training Series.
Get the tips you need to teach lessons that stick in kids’ memories, are thought about over and over again in quiet moments, and get discussed at kitchen tables.
For more information visit MomentumTrainingSeries.com.
Preaching and teaching God’s Word is an essential skill in pastoral ministry, whether you’re a senior pastor, youth pastor, children’s pastor, or the like. As with any skill, your preaching can improve with intentional practice. In Episode 205 of the Influence Podcast, the second podcast of the New Year, I’m talking with Matthew Kim about how to improve your preaching in 2020.
I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
My guest is associate professor of preaching and ministry at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in South Hamilton, Massachusetts, as well as director of its Haddon W. Robinson Center for Preaching. He is author of A Little Book for New Preachers (IVP Academic) and Preaching with Cultural Intelligence (Baker Academic), among other books.
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This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Balanced Budget, Balanced Life:
People don’t plan on having money troubles, which is exactly the problem: they don’t plan! Rollie Dimos shows you how to make a biblically sound financial plan and stick to it. Get back the time and resources you need to stop stressing out about money, and start enjoying the balance of a truly abundant life.
For more information visit BalancedBudgetBalancedLife.com.
“At Oaks Church we don’t open the agenda with prayer,” writes Scott Wilson, “we set the agenda with prayer.” He goes on: “We don’t want to just acknowledge God when we meet, we want to hear Him speak and lead us.”
In Episode 204 of the Influence Podcast—the first episode of 2020—I’m talking with Scott Wilson about how prayer can set the agenda for your church. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Scott Wilson is pastor of Oaks Church in Red Oak, Texas, and author of several books. His most recent is P3: Praying…in the Spirit, with Understanding, and in Agreement, which can be downloaded free at P3Book.org.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of MEGA Sports Camp, a unique VBS that makes it easy to reach new families.
Children’s ministry leaders often feel frustrated and disappointed that their summer outreach programs don’t bring in new kids. MEGA Sports Camp gives leaders a fun, unique summer outreach program so that they can welcome new families, engage new volunteers, and impact the community.
To find out more, visit MegaSportsCamp.com.
Speaking of the first generation of Christians, 2 Peter 1:16 says, “we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.” Though written nearly two millennia ago, Peter’s statement still describes the choice before readers of the Gospels: Are the Gospels made-up stories or truthful biographies?
That’s the question I ask Craig Keener in Episode 203 of the Influence Podcast—the final podcast episode for 2019. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Craig Keener is F. M. and Ada Thompson Professor of Biblical Studies at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky. His most recent book is Christobiography: Memory, History, and the Reliability of the Gospels, published by Eerdmans.
It is also the winner of Christianity Today’s 2020 Book Award for “Biblical Studies.” That magazine praises Christobiography with these words: “This is a groundbreaking work by a prolific scholar. It strengthens our confidence that the Gospels provide accurate information about Jesus.”
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Balanced Budget, Balanced Life:
People don’t plan on having money troubles, which is exactly the problem: they don’t plan! Rollie Dimos shows you how to make a biblically sound financial plan and stick to it. Get back the time and resources you need to stop stressing out about money, and start enjoying the balance of a truly abundant life.
For more information visit BalancedBudgetBalancedLife.com.
reater emotional intelligence leads to reduced stress and increased influence,” writes Dr. Jeannie Clarkson. Pastor, if that sentence appeals to you, you definitely want to listen to this episode of the Influence Podcast because I’m talking with Dr. Clarkson about how emotional intelligence accomplishes those results.
I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Dr. Jeannie Clarkson is a Christian psychologist and founder of Christian Care Connection, a multisite counseling service in the greater Toledo, Ohio, area. Her doctoral dissertation researched the links between emotional intelligence, performance-based self-esteem, and burnout among Christian pastors. She is author of The Emotionally Intelligent Pastor: A Guide for Clergy and Other Church Leaders, published by Wesleyan Publishing House.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Including Children with Disabilities, part of the Momentum Training Series.
Whether you already have children in your church with disabilities or just want to be prepared for all students, this resource will show you how to share the love of Jesus with everyone who enters your class.
For more information visit MomentumTrainingSeries.com.
When compassionate missions stand apart from evangelistic efforts and apart from the work of the local church, the uniquely redemptive role of the church is either diminished or lost altogether,” writes Dr. Jerry Ireland in For the Love of God.
“Therefore, missionaries must find ways to engage in compassion in ways that are more directly linked to the evangelistic calling of the church.”
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I’m talking to Dr. Ireland about the relationship between evangelism and compassion in the Church’s mission. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and host of the Influence Podcast.
Dr. Ireland is chair of the Intercultural Studies and Ministry, Leadership, and Theology departments of the University of Valley Forge, in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania. An ordained Assemblies of God minister and former missionary to sub-Saharan Africa, he is author of Evangelism and Social Concern in the Theology of Carl F. H. Henry and editor For the Love of God: Principles and Practice of Compassion in Missions.
My conversation with Dr. Ireland is coming up after a brief word from our sponsor.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Tru Fire Curriculum:
Children’s leaders often feel worn down by curriculum that doesn’t give them what they need to be effective. Tru Fire provides leaders with engaging lessons and empowers them to connect kids to the Holy Spirit so that they can feel confident their kids are developing lifetime faith through experiences with God they’ll never forget.
To download free sample lessons, visit TruFireCurriculum.com.
Welcome to the 200th episode of the Influence Podcast! I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I’m talking to Dr. Mark Noll about the rise and fall of “evangelical America.”
Dr. Mark Noll is the Francis A. McAnaney Professor Emeritus of History at the University of Notre Dame and author or editor of over 40 books, including the two books we’ll discuss in this episode of the Influence Podcast—A History of Christianity in the United States and Canada and Evangelicals: Who They Have Been, Are Now, and Could Be, both published by Eerdmans.
My conversation with Dr. Noll is coming up after a brief word from our sponsor.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Sticky Lessons, part of the Momentum Training Series.
Get the tips you need to teach lessons that stick in kids’ memories, are thought about over and over again in quiet moments, and get discussed at kitchen tables.
For more information visit MomentumTrainingSeries.com.
“Human trafficking is one of the most heinous crimes on Earth,” writes Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in the U.S. State Department’s 2019 Trafficking in Persons Report. “We must band together and build momentum to defeat human trafficking.”
I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host. In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I’m talking to Dr. Sandra Morgan about one form of human trafficking: sex trafficking and how it relates to pornography and domestic violence.
Dr. Sandra Morgan is an ordained Assemblies of God minister and director of the Global Center for Women and Justice at Vanguard University in Costa Mesa, California. The center is dedicated to educating and training students and professionals locally and globally on collaborative strategies to prevent and counter human trafficking, equitably address immigration and migrant challenges, advocate for victims and promote human rights. The center’s podcast, which Morgan cohosts with Dave Stachowiak, is Ending Human Trafficking.
President Donald Trump recently appointed Dr. Morgan to a two-year term on the administration’s Public-Private Partnership Advisory Council to End Human Trafficking.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of MEGA Sports Camp, a unique VBS that makes it easy to reach new families.
Children’s ministry leaders often feel frustrated and disappointed that their summer outreach program doesn’t bring in new kids. MEGA Sports Camp gives leaders a fun, unique summer outreach program so that they can welcome new families, engage new volunteers, and impact the community.
To find out more, visit MegaSportsCamp.com.
“A still small but growing movement of economic innovation is under way in local churches throughout the United States, one that is indicative of a fundamental, necessary, and systemic shift that is taking place,” write Mark DeYmaz and Harry Li in their new book, The Coming Revolution in Church Economics. “Embracing this shift can help you lead a church from survival to stability and in time from stability to sustainability, where finances and funding are concerned.”
I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host. In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I’m talking to Mark DeYmaz about this coming revolution in church economics, and what you can do about it.
Mark DeYmaz is the founding pastor of Mosaic Church of Central Arkansas and cofounder of the Mosaix Global Network. The author of seven books, he also serves as an adjunct professor at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and Wheaton College. He wrote “Move Over Generosity” for the September-October 2019 issue of Influence magazine.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Tru Fire Curriculum:
From Preschool to Middle School, Tru Fire digital curriculum equips teachers with engaging lessons that help students connect with the Holy Spirit and respond to Him. Tru Fire is the Pentecostal curriculum your church is looking for.
To download free sample lessons, visit TruFireCurriculum.com.
“We’ve long lived in a country where religious freedom was secure, and we didn’t need to give it much thought,” writes Luke Goodrich. “Now we’re realizing the country is changing and we might not enjoy the same degree of religious freedom forever. If we don’t start thinking about it now, we’ll be unprepared.”
I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine, coordinator of Religious Freedom Initiatives for the Assemblies of God (USA), and your host. In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I’m talking to Luke Goodrich about the contemporary state of American religious freedom.
Luke Goodrich is vice president and senior counsel at Becket Law, a leading non-profit, public-interest legal and educational institute with a mission to protect the free expression of all faiths. He was part of the Becket legal team that won four major Supreme Court cases in four years: Little Sisters of the Poor v. Burwell, Holt v. Hobbs, Burwell v. Hobby Lobby, and Hosanna-Tabor v. EEOC. He is the author of Free to Believe: The Battle over Religious Liberty in America, published this past Tuesday by Multnomah.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Help! I’m in Charge:
No matter what kind of leader you are, the pressure to get everything right can plague you with worry. That's why in Help! I’m in Charge, Rod Loy offers the candid advice you need to face the fears and challenges of leadership. Straightforward, light-hearted, but never sugar-coated, Help! I’m in Charge will guide you to develop the kind of practical, Scripture-based leadership skills that can fortify your confidence for years to come.
For more information about Help! I’m in Charge, visit RodLoyBooks.com.
“The blessing of God is the solution to your biggest problem, the answer to your boldest prayer, and the fulfillment of your bravest dream,” writes Mark Battersonin his new book, Double Blessing. But God doesn’t want us merely to receive His blessing, He wants us to give it away too. We are, as Batterson puts it, “blessed to bless.”
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, George P. Wood, Influence magazine’s executive editor, talksto Mark Batterson about this “double blessing.” Batterson is pastor of National Community Church, a multisite congregation in Washington, DC, and the New York Timesbest-selling author of fifteen books, including In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Dayand The Circle Maker.
“Sometimes to follow in the footsteps of Jesus is to walk away from others or to let them walk away from us.” That’s what Gary Thomas writes in his new, When to Walk Away, published this past Tuesday by Zondervan. I’ll be talking with him about how to walk away from toxic people in this episode of the Influence Podcast.
I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host. Gary Thomas is writer-in-residence at Second Baptist Church in Houston, Texas, and adjunct faculty teaching spiritual formation at Western Seminary in Denver, Colorado, as well as Houston Theological Seminary. He’s the author of numerous books, including Sacred Marriage, Sacred Parenting, and Authentic Faith.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Say HELLO Forever Friends:
Sharing Jesus is easy when you “Say Hello!” Help kids build intentional friendships with Muslim friends and others who need to know Jesus with the Say HELLO Forever Friends curriculum kit. Start kids on a path to lifelong evangelism while showing them how important it is to connect to others with compassion and care.
For more information visit MyHealthyChurch.com/SayHello.
This past August, the Assemblies of God Executive Presbytery appointed Wilfredo De Jesús as general treasurer of the denomination. Best known as “Pastor Choco,” De Jesús succeeds Rick DuBose in that office, which is charged with oversight of the Division of Treasury.
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I talk to to Pastor Choco about his life, ministry, and new responsibilities.
Until his appointment as general treasurer, Pastor Choco was senior pastor of New Life Covenant Church, a multisite congregation in Chicago, Illinois, and one of the city’s fastest growing churches. He is author of Amazing Faith, In the Gap, and Move into More, among other titles. You can watch him on TBN’s miniseries, In the Gap.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Balanced Budget, Balanced Life:
People don't plan on having money troubles, which is exactly the problem: they don’t plan! In Balanced Budget, Balanced Life, Rollie Dimos shows you how to make a Biblically sound financial plan and stick to it. Get back the time and resources you need to stop stressing out about money, and start enjoying the balance of a truly abundant life.
For more information visit BalancedBudgetBalancedLife.com.
“Millennials, and now Gen Z, aren’t going to ruin the world or the church,” write David Kinnaman and Mark Matlock in their new book, Faith for Exiles. “We, the Christian community, would do well to put our confidence in them.”
I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host. In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I’m talking to David Kinnaman about how to make disciples of young adults in our current culture. Kinnaman is president of Barna Group and the author or coauthor of numerous books, most recently Faith for Exiles: 5 Ways for a New Genration to Follow Jesus in Digital Babylon, published by Baker Books.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Tru Fire curriculum:
From Preschool to Middle School, Tru Fire digital curriculum equips teachers with engaging lessons that help students connect with the Holy Spirit and respond to Him. Tru Fire is the Pentecostal curriculum your church is looking for.
To download free sample lessons, visit TruFireCurriculum.com.
In a recent articlefor InfluenceMagazine.com, Mark Entzminger wrote: “[A] poorly designed or implemented safety plan can not only damage the church’s reputation in the community but, more importantly, it can also damage the heart and spirit of a child for a lifetime.”
I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host. In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I’m talking to Mark Entzminger about why churches must put child safety first and how they can do so. Entzminger is national director of Children’s Ministriesfor the Assemblies of God (USA).
Richard Hammar’s checklist to prevent child molestation can be accessed here.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Balanced Budget, Balanced Life:
People don’t plan on having money troubles, which is exactly the problem: they don’t plan! In Balanced Budget, Balanced Life, Rollie Dimos shows you how to make a Biblically sound financial plan and stick to it. Get back the time and resources you need to stop stressing out about money, and start enjoying the balance of a truly abundant life.
For more information visit BalancedBudgetBalancedLife.com.
Many Assemblies of God ministers are doing fine financially, but a significant group is experiencing considerable financial difficulty.” That’s the first sentence of the Ministers and Finances Study published by the AG’s Center for Leadership and Stewardship Excellence.
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, George P. Wood talks to Rollie Dimos about the concerning results of that study, as well as what to do about them. Wood is executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Rollie Dimos is director of Internal Audit for The General Council of the Assemblies of God as well as director of its Center for Leadership and Stewardship Excellence. He is author of Balanced Budget, Balanced Life: 10 Steps to Transforming Your Finances (Salubris Resources), which is also available in Spanish as Presupuesto Equilibrado, Vida Equilibrada.
“Americans today are less involved in spiritual conversations than we were twenty-five years ago,” writes Don Everts in his new book, The Reluctant Witness. In this episode of the Influence Podcast, George P. Wood, Influencemagazine’s executive editor, talks to Everts about why this is the case and what we need to do to have better spiritual conversations.
Don Everts is a writer for Lutheran Hour Ministries and associate pastor at Bonhomme Presbyterian Church in St. Louis, Missouri. He is also author of several books about evangelism, most recently, The Reluctant Witness: Discovering the Delight of Spiritual Conversations, published by IVP Books.
For free online resources about how to engage in better spiritual conversations, go here.
“Many churches in America are stalled in their conversion growth, but it doesn’t have to be that way,” writes Rick Richardson in his new book, You Found Me. In this episode of the Influence Podcast, George P. Wood, executive editor of Influencemagazine, talks to Richardson about the best practices of congregations that are “effectively reaching people and having an impact in their communities.”
Rick Richardson is director of the Billy Graham Center Institute and its Church Evangelism Initiative. The institute is the research arm of the Billy Graham Center at Wheaton College, where Richardson also serves in the graduate school as professor of evangelism and leadership. He is author of You Found Me: New Research on How Unchurched Nones, Millennials, and Irreligious Are Surprisingly Open to Christian Faith, published by IVP Books.
Stories about the rise of the “Nones,” that share of the American populace which identifies with no religion, give the impression that religion in America is in steep decline. “What they fail to report,” writes David Zahl, “is that the marketplace in replacement religion is booming.”
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, George P. Wood talks to David Zahl about the contours of this new secular religiosity. George P. Wood is executive editor of Influencemagazine, and your host.
David Zahl is the founder and director of Mockingbird Ministries, whose mission is “to connect the Christian faith with the realities of everyday life in fresh and down-to-earth ways.” He’s also editor-in-chief of the popular Mockingbird website and cohost of the Mockingcast. Most recently, he’s author of Seculosity: How Career, Parenting, Technology, Food, Politics, and Romance Became Our New Religion and What to Do About It, published by Fortress Press.
Read the headlines, and you just might come to the conclusion that Christianity in America is dying. “Christianity Faces Sharp Decline as Americans Are Becoming Even Less Affiliated with Religion,” according to a Washington Postheadline. A BeliefNet story was titled, “Declining Christianity: The Exodus of the Young and the Rise of Atheists.” According to National Public Radio, “Christians in the U.S. on Decline as Number of ‘Nones’ Grows, Survey Finds.”
So is American Christianity really declining? That’s the question George P. Wood asks Glenn Stanton in this episode of the Influence Podcast. George P. Wood is executive editor of Influencemagazine and your host. Glenn Stanton is the director of Global Family Formation Studies at Focus on the Family in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and author of The Myth of the Dying Church, just out from Worthy Publishing.
“Too often,” writes Donna Barrett, “prayer looks like an activity on a sports field. You know, a select group of athletes make up two teams who are in fantastic shape, well-practiced, and highly trained. They do their thing at such a level of expertise that the spectators in the stands are awed and amazed. Though a fan may toss the ball around in their backyard, that person knows full well they can’t play at the level of the pros down on the field.”
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, Influence magazine’s executive editor, George P. Wood, talks to Rev. Donna Barrett about how to level the prayingfield so that everyone in a church can pray. Barrett is general secretary of the Assemblies of God (USA) and author of Leveling the Praying Field: Helping Every Person Talk to God and Hear from God, published by Gospel Publishing House.
P.S. Here is a linkto Ken Sande’s Relational Wisdom website, which was discussed in this podcast.
“Every movement begins with revolutionaries who grow disillusioned with how things are and imagine how things could be,” writes Hal Donaldson in his new book, Disruptive Compassion: Becoming the Revolutionary You Were Born to Be.
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine, talks with Donaldson about how to become a compassion revolutionary who changes the world … starting with yourself.
Hal Donaldson is CEO of Convoy of Hope, a faith-based, nonprofit organization with a driving passion to feed the world through children’s feeding initiatives, community outreaches, and disaster response. He is also author of 30 books, the most recent of which is Disruptive Compassion, just published by Zondervan/HarperCollins.
In Ephesians 4:11–12, the apostle Paul writes, “Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up.”
Pentecostals believe this fivefold ministry continues today. Any spiritual gift can be abused, however. And when it comes to the apostolic and the prophetic specifically, unfortunately, abuses are all too common. How, then, should Pentecostals develop the proper use of apostolic and prophetic gifts, even as they discern their misuse and abuse?
That’s the question George P. Wood, Influence magazine’s executive editor, asks Dr. Joseph Girdler and Dr. Carolyn Tennant in this episode of the Influence Podcast. Girdler is superintendent of the Kentucky Ministry Network of the Assemblies of God, and Tennant is professor emerita at North Central University in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They are coauthors of Keys to the Apostolic and Prophetic: Embracing the Authentic — Avoiding the Bizarre, just out from Meadow Stream Publishing.
“There is power available to you that can unlock your soul and all of its hidden longings,” writes John Lindell—“the buried hopes of the past, the strength needed for the moment, and the dreams for a beautiful future. That is the power of the best news: the gospel is able to change your life at this moment, even now.”
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, George P. Wood, executive editor of Influencemagazine, and your host, talks with John Lindell about this power, which is the power of God’s grace. Lindell is pastor of James River Church, a multisite congregation in Springfield, Missouri. He is devoted to seeing the local church thrive and standing boldly for the cause of Christ. Most recently, Lindell is also of Soul Set Free: Why Grace Is More Liberating than You Believe, just published by Charisma House.
If you’d like to listen to John Lindell’s thoughts about expository preaching, listen to Episode 97of the Influence Podcast.
Women constitute a majority of church attendees but a minority of its pastoral leaders. In the Assemblies of God, for example, women and girls account for 55 percent of all Sunday morning attendees, but only 25 percent of credentialed ministers. This is true even though AG theology affirmsthat “God pours out His Spirit upon both men and women and thereby gifts both sexes for ministry in His Church.” This raises the obvious question: How can we do better at developing women leaders?
That’s the question George P. Wood explores with Kadi Cole in this episode of the Influence Podcast. Wood is executive editor of Influencemagazine, and your host. Cole is author of Developing Female Leadersand president of Kadi Cole & Company. One of the first women leaders to serve in an executive role at a large, multisite church, she is now a leadership consultant for both ministry and business. She is a founding member of the Women Executive Pastors Groupand the founder of MinistryChick.com.
Sixty-three percent of U.S. adults “agree somewhat or strongly that the Bible contains everything a person needs to know to live a meaningful life,” with 38 percent “strongly” agreeing. That seems like a good thing, right? Unfortunately, the “data shows a continuing downward trend from the previous year (42% who agree strongly) and the all-time high of 53% in 2011.”
For the past decade, the American Bible Society, in conjunction with the Barna Group, has released an annual State of the Biblereport, surveying what Americans believe about and how they use the Bible. In this episode of the Influence Podcast, George P. Wood talks with John F. Plake, Ph.D., about Bible engagement trends, based on the 2019 report.
Wood is executive editor of Influencemagazine, and your host. Plake is senior manager of Ministry Intelligence for the U.S. Ministry section of the American Bible Society, as well as an ordained Assemblies of God minister. Founded in 1816, the mission of the American Bible Society is “making the Bible available to every person in a language and format each can understand and afford, so all people may experience its life-changing message.”
“The stories of honor contained in the Word of God start from the first verses in Genesis and continue to the last words in Revelation.” So writes Rich Wilkerson Sr. in his new book, I Choose Honor.
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, George P. Wood, Influencemagazine’s executive editor, talks to Wilkerson about why honor is the key to relationships, faith, and life.
Rich Wilkerson Sr. senior pastor of Trinity Church in Miami, Florida, and founder of Peacemakers, a Christian, nonprofit social services organization. His book, I Choose Honor, is just out from Charisma House.
“Christians believe the kingdom of God is our ultimate commitment, and we should confuse no temporal nation with that kingdom,” writes evangelical historian Thomas S. Kidd in his new, two-volume history of the United States. “But we are also thankful for the ways God has moved in American history, redeeming untold millions of people and building his church in each generation.”
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, Influence magazine Executive Editor George P. Wood talks to Thomas S. Kidd about how to think Christianly about American history. Kidd is distinguished professor of history, James Vardaman Endowed Professor of History, and associate director of the Institute for Studies of Religion at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. A noted scholar of colonial America, he is author most recently of American History, a two-volume textbook just published by B&H Academic.
On the Day of Pentecost, the first Christians preached the gospel of Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit. Soon after, they also organized ministries to help the poor. This combination of evangelism and compassion is a biblical hallmark of Spirit-filled ministry. It’s also a template for action today.
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, George P. Wood, executive editor of Influencemagazine, interviews Dave Donaldson and Wendell Vinson about how the local church can serve the city through compassionate ministry.
Dave Donaldson and Wendell Vinson are editors of CityServe: Your Guide to Church-Based Compassion, just published by Salubris Resources. Donaldson is co-founder and chairman for CityServe International, whose visionis “to see the local church fulfill its calling to be a stronger catalyst for healthier communities and the restoration of broken lives.” Vinson is also co-founder of CityServe and pastor of Canyon Hills Church in Bakersfield, California.
According to the Pew Research Center, “the share of Americans who believe in God with absolute certainty has declined in recent years, while the share saying they have doubts about God’s existence – or that they do not believe in God at all – has grown.” And while most Americans continue to believe in God, the god in whom they believe is not necessarily the God of the Bible. The decline of belief in God, together with changes in the way people understand the word god, poses profound ministry challenges for pastors and other Christian leaders.
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, George P. Wood, Influence magazine's executive editor, talks to Preston Ulmer about how to talk to doubters about Jesus. Preston is founder of the Doubters Club, whose goal is to bring Christians and non-Christians together in order “to model friendship and pursue truth together.” The former lead pastor of Discover Church in Denver, Colorado, Preston is now director of Discovery for the Church Multiplication Network of the Assemblies of God.
Paul’s letter to the Galatians is brief but theologically profound. It centers on the nature and implications of the gospel itself. The letter was born out of Paul’s controversy with the so-called Judaizers, and it continues to be a source of controversy among scholars today because of the so-called New Perspective on Paul.
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, Influencemagazine’s executive editor, George P. Wood, talks to Craig S. Keener about how to read Galatians for preaching and teaching. Keener is F. M. and Ada Thompson Professor of Biblical Studies at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky, and a world-renowned New Testament scholar. He is author of numerous books and commentaries, including a commentary on Galatians, forthcoming from Baker Academic on May 21, 2019.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
- Craig S. Keener’s website, Facebook, and Twitter
- “Jesus Followers in Step with the Spirit: A closer look at Paul’s letter to the Galatians”
- “Spirit: Why power and love always go together”
- Galatians: A Commentary(Baker Academic, 2019).
If Christian book publishing trends are any indication, contemplative spirituality is a hot topic among Christian readers — hotin the dual sense that it arouses intense interest as well as intense opposition. Proponents claim it is an ancient Christian practice capable of deepening a person’s love for God and neighbor. Opponents counterclaim that it is biblically subpar, smacks of medieval Catholicism, and opens the door to New Age mysticism.
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, George P. Wood, executive editor of Influencemagazine, talks to John Coe and Kyle Strobel about whether contemplative spirituality is Christian, and if so, how. Coe and Strobel are professors at the Talbott Theological Seminary of Biola University in La Mirada, California. Both are active in the seminary’s Institute for Spiritual Formation, Coe as the director and Strobel as a teacher. They are the editors of Embracing Contemplation: Reclaiming a Christian Spiritual Practice, published by IVP Academic earlier this year.
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN PODCAST
- John Coe’s spiritual formation lecture series
- Institute for Spiritual Formaition courses on Biola LEARN
“The Bible Belt is the most difficult place in America to pastor a local church.” That’s what Dean Inserra’s friend Matt told him as they left seminary to plant churches, Dean in Florida and Matt in California. “In California, there is rarely confusion. Either you’re a Christian or you’re not. In the Bible Belt, many people think they’re Christians but have no concept of…the overall message of the gospel.”
In Episode 174 of the Influence Podcast, Influence magazine’s executive editor, George P. Wood, talks with Dean Inserra about eight types of cultural Christians and how to share the gospel with them. Inserra is author of The Unsaved Christian: Reaching Cultural Christianity with the Gospel, just out from Moody Publishers. A Southern Baptist church planter, he is founding pastor of City Church in Tallahassee, Florida, where he lives with his wife and his three children.