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.
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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.
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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.
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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.