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Influence Podcast

The Influence Podcast is a collection of inspiring and challenging conversations, aimed at empowering the entire spectrum of church leadership, from lead pastor to lead volunteer. It is a chance for you to hear from the premier 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 principles. Visit us online at InfluenceMagazine.com
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Now displaying: 2021
Dec 16, 2021

“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.

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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.

Dec 9, 2021

“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.

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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.

Dec 2, 2021

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.

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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.

Nov 11, 2021

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.

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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.

Nov 4, 2021

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.

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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.

Oct 28, 2021

“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.

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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.

Oct 21, 2021

“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.

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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.

Oct 14, 2021

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.

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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.

Oct 7, 2021

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.

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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.

Sep 30, 2021

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.

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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.

Sep 16, 2021

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.

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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.

Sep 9, 2021

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.

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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.

Sep 2, 2021

“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.

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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.

Aug 26, 2021

“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.

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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.

Jun 3, 2021

“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.

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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.

May 25, 2021

“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.

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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.

May 13, 2021

“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.

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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.

May 6, 2021

“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.

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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.

Apr 29, 2021

“[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.

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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.

Apr 22, 2021

“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.

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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.

Apr 15, 2021

“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.

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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.

Apr 9, 2021

“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.

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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.

Apr 1, 2021

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.

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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.

Mar 19, 2021

“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.

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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.

Mar 11, 2021

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.

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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.

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