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.
–––––
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.
—————
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.”
—————
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.
—————
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.