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.
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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.
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.
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.
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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.
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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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.
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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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.
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.
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.
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.
SPONSOR COPY
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.
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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 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.