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.

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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.

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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.

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This episode of the Influence podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Reclaim His Promises: A Nehemiah Study Journal.

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