Speaking of the first generation of Christians, 2 Peter 1:16 says, “we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.” Though written nearly two millennia ago, Peter’s statement still describes the choice before readers of the Gospels: Are the Gospels made-up stories or truthful biographies?
That’s the question I ask Craig Keener in Episode 203 of the Influence Podcast—the final podcast episode for 2019. 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. His most recent book is Christobiography: Memory, History, and the Reliability of the Gospels, published by Eerdmans.
It is also the winner of Christianity Today’s 2020 Book Award for “Biblical Studies.” That magazine praises Christobiography with these words: “This is a groundbreaking work by a prolific scholar. It strengthens our confidence that the Gospels provide accurate information about Jesus.”
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This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Balanced Budget, Balanced Life:
People don’t plan on having money troubles, which is exactly the problem: they don’t plan! Rollie Dimos shows you how to make a biblically sound financial plan and stick to it. Get back the time and resources you need to stop stressing out about money, and start enjoying the balance of a truly abundant life.
For more information visit BalancedBudgetBalancedLife.com.
reater emotional intelligence leads to reduced stress and increased influence,” writes Dr. Jeannie Clarkson. Pastor, if that sentence appeals to you, you definitely want to listen to this episode of the Influence Podcast because I’m talking with Dr. Clarkson about how emotional intelligence accomplishes those results.
I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Dr. Jeannie Clarkson is a Christian psychologist and founder of Christian Care Connection, a multisite counseling service in the greater Toledo, Ohio, area. Her doctoral dissertation researched the links between emotional intelligence, performance-based self-esteem, and burnout among Christian pastors. She is author of The Emotionally Intelligent Pastor: A Guide for Clergy and Other Church Leaders, published by Wesleyan Publishing House.
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This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Including Children with Disabilities, part of the Momentum Training Series.
Whether you already have children in your church with disabilities or just want to be prepared for all students, this resource will show you how to share the love of Jesus with everyone who enters your class.
For more information visit MomentumTrainingSeries.com.
When compassionate missions stand apart from evangelistic efforts and apart from the work of the local church, the uniquely redemptive role of the church is either diminished or lost altogether,” writes Dr. Jerry Ireland in For the Love of God.
“Therefore, missionaries must find ways to engage in compassion in ways that are more directly linked to the evangelistic calling of the church.”
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I’m talking to Dr. Ireland about the relationship between evangelism and compassion in the Church’s mission. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and host of the Influence Podcast.
Dr. Ireland is chair of the Intercultural Studies and Ministry, Leadership, and Theology departments of the University of Valley Forge, in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania. An ordained Assemblies of God minister and former missionary to sub-Saharan Africa, he is author of Evangelism and Social Concern in the Theology of Carl F. H. Henry and editor For the Love of God: Principles and Practice of Compassion in Missions.
My conversation with Dr. Ireland 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 Tru Fire Curriculum:
Children’s leaders often feel worn down by curriculum that doesn’t give them what they need to be effective. Tru Fire provides leaders with engaging lessons and empowers them to connect kids to the Holy Spirit so that they can feel confident their kids are developing lifetime faith through experiences with God they’ll never forget.
To download free sample lessons, visit TruFireCurriculum.com.
Welcome to the 200th episode of the Influence Podcast! I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I’m talking to Dr. Mark Noll about the rise and fall of “evangelical America.”
Dr. Mark Noll is the Francis A. McAnaney Professor Emeritus of History at the University of Notre Dame and author or editor of over 40 books, including the two books we’ll discuss in this episode of the Influence Podcast—A History of Christianity in the United States and Canada and Evangelicals: Who They Have Been, Are Now, and Could Be, both published by Eerdmans.
My conversation with Dr. Noll 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 Sticky Lessons, part of the Momentum Training Series.
Get the tips you need to teach lessons that stick in kids’ memories, are thought about over and over again in quiet moments, and get discussed at kitchen tables.
For more information visit MomentumTrainingSeries.com.
“Human trafficking is one of the most heinous crimes on Earth,” writes Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in the U.S. State Department’s 2019 Trafficking in Persons Report. “We must band together and build momentum to defeat human trafficking.”
I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host. In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I’m talking to Dr. Sandra Morgan about one form of human trafficking: sex trafficking and how it relates to pornography and domestic violence.
Dr. Sandra Morgan is an ordained Assemblies of God minister and director of the Global Center for Women and Justice at Vanguard University in Costa Mesa, California. The center is dedicated to educating and training students and professionals locally and globally on collaborative strategies to prevent and counter human trafficking, equitably address immigration and migrant challenges, advocate for victims and promote human rights. The center’s podcast, which Morgan cohosts with Dave Stachowiak, is Ending Human Trafficking.
President Donald Trump recently appointed Dr. Morgan to a two-year term on the administration’s Public-Private Partnership Advisory Council to End Human Trafficking.
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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.
“A still small but growing movement of economic innovation is under way in local churches throughout the United States, one that is indicative of a fundamental, necessary, and systemic shift that is taking place,” write Mark DeYmaz and Harry Li in their new book, The Coming Revolution in Church Economics. “Embracing this shift can help you lead a church from survival to stability and in time from stability to sustainability, where finances and funding are concerned.”
I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host. In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I’m talking to Mark DeYmaz about this coming revolution in church economics, and what you can do about it.
Mark DeYmaz is the founding pastor of Mosaic Church of Central Arkansas and cofounder of the Mosaix Global Network. The author of seven books, he also serves as an adjunct professor at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and Wheaton College. He wrote “Move Over Generosity” for the September-October 2019 issue of Influence magazine.
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Tru Fire Curriculum:
From Preschool to Middle School, Tru Fire digital curriculum equips teachers with engaging lessons that help students connect with the Holy Spirit and respond to Him. Tru Fire is the Pentecostal curriculum your church is looking for.
To download free sample lessons, visit TruFireCurriculum.com.
“We’ve long lived in a country where religious freedom was secure, and we didn’t need to give it much thought,” writes Luke Goodrich. “Now we’re realizing the country is changing and we might not enjoy the same degree of religious freedom forever. If we don’t start thinking about it now, we’ll be unprepared.”
I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine, coordinator of Religious Freedom Initiatives for the Assemblies of God (USA), and your host. In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I’m talking to Luke Goodrich about the contemporary state of American religious freedom.
Luke Goodrich is vice president and senior counsel at Becket Law, a leading non-profit, public-interest legal and educational institute with a mission to protect the free expression of all faiths. He was part of the Becket legal team that won four major Supreme Court cases in four years: Little Sisters of the Poor v. Burwell, Holt v. Hobbs, Burwell v. Hobby Lobby, and Hosanna-Tabor v. EEOC. He is the author of Free to Believe: The Battle over Religious Liberty in America, published this past Tuesday by Multnomah.
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This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Help! I’m in Charge:
No matter what kind of leader you are, the pressure to get everything right can plague you with worry. That's why in Help! I’m in Charge, Rod Loy offers the candid advice you need to face the fears and challenges of leadership. Straightforward, light-hearted, but never sugar-coated, Help! I’m in Charge will guide you to develop the kind of practical, Scripture-based leadership skills that can fortify your confidence for years to come.
For more information about Help! I’m in Charge, visit RodLoyBooks.com.
“The blessing of God is the solution to your biggest problem, the answer to your boldest prayer, and the fulfillment of your bravest dream,” writes Mark Battersonin his new book, Double Blessing. But God doesn’t want us merely to receive His blessing, He wants us to give it away too. We are, as Batterson puts it, “blessed to bless.”
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, George P. Wood, Influence magazine’s executive editor, talksto Mark Batterson about this “double blessing.” Batterson is pastor of National Community Church, a multisite congregation in Washington, DC, and the New York Timesbest-selling author of fifteen books, including In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Dayand The Circle Maker.
“Sometimes to follow in the footsteps of Jesus is to walk away from others or to let them walk away from us.” That’s what Gary Thomas writes in his new, When to Walk Away, published this past Tuesday by Zondervan. I’ll be talking with him about how to walk away from toxic people in this episode of the Influence Podcast.
I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host. Gary Thomas is writer-in-residence at Second Baptist Church in Houston, Texas, and adjunct faculty teaching spiritual formation at Western Seminary in Denver, Colorado, as well as Houston Theological Seminary. He’s the author of numerous books, including Sacred Marriage, Sacred Parenting, and Authentic Faith.
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This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Say HELLO Forever Friends:
Sharing Jesus is easy when you “Say Hello!” Help kids build intentional friendships with Muslim friends and others who need to know Jesus with the Say HELLO Forever Friends curriculum kit. Start kids on a path to lifelong evangelism while showing them how important it is to connect to others with compassion and care.
For more information visit MyHealthyChurch.com/SayHello.
This past August, the Assemblies of God Executive Presbytery appointed Wilfredo De Jesús as general treasurer of the denomination. Best known as “Pastor Choco,” De Jesús succeeds Rick DuBose in that office, which is charged with oversight of the Division of Treasury.
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I talk to to Pastor Choco about his life, ministry, and new responsibilities.
Until his appointment as general treasurer, Pastor Choco was senior pastor of New Life Covenant Church, a multisite congregation in Chicago, Illinois, and one of the city’s fastest growing churches. He is author of Amazing Faith, In the Gap, and Move into More, among other titles. You can watch him on TBN’s miniseries, In the Gap.
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This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Balanced Budget, Balanced Life:
People don't plan on having money troubles, which is exactly the problem: they don’t plan! In Balanced Budget, Balanced Life, Rollie Dimos shows you how to make a Biblically sound financial plan and stick to it. Get back the time and resources you need to stop stressing out about money, and start enjoying the balance of a truly abundant life.
For more information visit BalancedBudgetBalancedLife.com.
“Millennials, and now Gen Z, aren’t going to ruin the world or the church,” write David Kinnaman and Mark Matlock in their new book, Faith for Exiles. “We, the Christian community, would do well to put our confidence in them.”
I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host. In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I’m talking to David Kinnaman about how to make disciples of young adults in our current culture. Kinnaman is president of Barna Group and the author or coauthor of numerous books, most recently Faith for Exiles: 5 Ways for a New Genration to Follow Jesus in Digital Babylon, published by Baker Books.
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This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Tru Fire curriculum:
From Preschool to Middle School, Tru Fire digital curriculum equips teachers with engaging lessons that help students connect with the Holy Spirit and respond to Him. Tru Fire is the Pentecostal curriculum your church is looking for.
To download free sample lessons, visit TruFireCurriculum.com.
In a recent articlefor InfluenceMagazine.com, Mark Entzminger wrote: “[A] poorly designed or implemented safety plan can not only damage the church’s reputation in the community but, more importantly, it can also damage the heart and spirit of a child for a lifetime.”
I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host. In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I’m talking to Mark Entzminger about why churches must put child safety first and how they can do so. Entzminger is national director of Children’s Ministriesfor the Assemblies of God (USA).
Richard Hammar’s checklist to prevent child molestation can be accessed here.
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This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Balanced Budget, Balanced Life:
People don’t plan on having money troubles, which is exactly the problem: they don’t plan! In Balanced Budget, Balanced Life, Rollie Dimos shows you how to make a Biblically sound financial plan and stick to it. Get back the time and resources you need to stop stressing out about money, and start enjoying the balance of a truly abundant life.
For more information visit BalancedBudgetBalancedLife.com.
Many Assemblies of God ministers are doing fine financially, but a significant group is experiencing considerable financial difficulty.” That’s the first sentence of the Ministers and Finances Study published by the AG’s Center for Leadership and Stewardship Excellence.
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, George P. Wood talks to Rollie Dimos about the concerning results of that study, as well as what to do about them. Wood is executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Rollie Dimos is director of Internal Audit for The General Council of the Assemblies of God as well as director of its Center for Leadership and Stewardship Excellence. He is author of Balanced Budget, Balanced Life: 10 Steps to Transforming Your Finances (Salubris Resources), which is also available in Spanish as Presupuesto Equilibrado, Vida Equilibrada.
“Americans today are less involved in spiritual conversations than we were twenty-five years ago,” writes Don Everts in his new book, The Reluctant Witness. In this episode of the Influence Podcast, George P. Wood, Influencemagazine’s executive editor, talks to Everts about why this is the case and what we need to do to have better spiritual conversations.
Don Everts is a writer for Lutheran Hour Ministries and associate pastor at Bonhomme Presbyterian Church in St. Louis, Missouri. He is also author of several books about evangelism, most recently, The Reluctant Witness: Discovering the Delight of Spiritual Conversations, published by IVP Books.
For free online resources about how to engage in better spiritual conversations, go here.
“Many churches in America are stalled in their conversion growth, but it doesn’t have to be that way,” writes Rick Richardson in his new book, You Found Me. In this episode of the Influence Podcast, George P. Wood, executive editor of Influencemagazine, talks to Richardson about the best practices of congregations that are “effectively reaching people and having an impact in their communities.”
Rick Richardson is director of the Billy Graham Center Institute and its Church Evangelism Initiative. The institute is the research arm of the Billy Graham Center at Wheaton College, where Richardson also serves in the graduate school as professor of evangelism and leadership. He is author of You Found Me: New Research on How Unchurched Nones, Millennials, and Irreligious Are Surprisingly Open to Christian Faith, published by IVP Books.
Stories about the rise of the “Nones,” that share of the American populace which identifies with no religion, give the impression that religion in America is in steep decline. “What they fail to report,” writes David Zahl, “is that the marketplace in replacement religion is booming.”
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, George P. Wood talks to David Zahl about the contours of this new secular religiosity. George P. Wood is executive editor of Influencemagazine, and your host.
David Zahl is the founder and director of Mockingbird Ministries, whose mission is “to connect the Christian faith with the realities of everyday life in fresh and down-to-earth ways.” He’s also editor-in-chief of the popular Mockingbird website and cohost of the Mockingcast. Most recently, he’s author of Seculosity: How Career, Parenting, Technology, Food, Politics, and Romance Became Our New Religion and What to Do About It, published by Fortress Press.
Read the headlines, and you just might come to the conclusion that Christianity in America is dying. “Christianity Faces Sharp Decline as Americans Are Becoming Even Less Affiliated with Religion,” according to a Washington Postheadline. A BeliefNet story was titled, “Declining Christianity: The Exodus of the Young and the Rise of Atheists.” According to National Public Radio, “Christians in the U.S. on Decline as Number of ‘Nones’ Grows, Survey Finds.”
So is American Christianity really declining? That’s the question George P. Wood asks Glenn Stanton in this episode of the Influence Podcast. George P. Wood is executive editor of Influencemagazine and your host. Glenn Stanton is the director of Global Family Formation Studies at Focus on the Family in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and author of The Myth of the Dying Church, just out from Worthy Publishing.
“Too often,” writes Donna Barrett, “prayer looks like an activity on a sports field. You know, a select group of athletes make up two teams who are in fantastic shape, well-practiced, and highly trained. They do their thing at such a level of expertise that the spectators in the stands are awed and amazed. Though a fan may toss the ball around in their backyard, that person knows full well they can’t play at the level of the pros down on the field.”
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, Influence magazine’s executive editor, George P. Wood, talks to Rev. Donna Barrett about how to level the prayingfield so that everyone in a church can pray. Barrett is general secretary of the Assemblies of God (USA) and author of Leveling the Praying Field: Helping Every Person Talk to God and Hear from God, published by Gospel Publishing House.
P.S. Here is a linkto Ken Sande’s Relational Wisdom website, which was discussed in this podcast.
“Every movement begins with revolutionaries who grow disillusioned with how things are and imagine how things could be,” writes Hal Donaldson in his new book, Disruptive Compassion: Becoming the Revolutionary You Were Born to Be.
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine, talks with Donaldson about how to become a compassion revolutionary who changes the world … starting with yourself.
Hal Donaldson is CEO of Convoy of Hope, a faith-based, nonprofit organization with a driving passion to feed the world through children’s feeding initiatives, community outreaches, and disaster response. He is also author of 30 books, the most recent of which is Disruptive Compassion, just published by Zondervan/HarperCollins.
In Ephesians 4:11–12, the apostle Paul writes, “Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up.”
Pentecostals believe this fivefold ministry continues today. Any spiritual gift can be abused, however. And when it comes to the apostolic and the prophetic specifically, unfortunately, abuses are all too common. How, then, should Pentecostals develop the proper use of apostolic and prophetic gifts, even as they discern their misuse and abuse?
That’s the question George P. Wood, Influence magazine’s executive editor, asks Dr. Joseph Girdler and Dr. Carolyn Tennant in this episode of the Influence Podcast. Girdler is superintendent of the Kentucky Ministry Network of the Assemblies of God, and Tennant is professor emerita at North Central University in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They are coauthors of Keys to the Apostolic and Prophetic: Embracing the Authentic — Avoiding the Bizarre, just out from Meadow Stream Publishing.
“There is power available to you that can unlock your soul and all of its hidden longings,” writes John Lindell—“the buried hopes of the past, the strength needed for the moment, and the dreams for a beautiful future. That is the power of the best news: the gospel is able to change your life at this moment, even now.”
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, George P. Wood, executive editor of Influencemagazine, and your host, talks with John Lindell about this power, which is the power of God’s grace. Lindell is pastor of James River Church, a multisite congregation in Springfield, Missouri. He is devoted to seeing the local church thrive and standing boldly for the cause of Christ. Most recently, Lindell is also of Soul Set Free: Why Grace Is More Liberating than You Believe, just published by Charisma House.
If you’d like to listen to John Lindell’s thoughts about expository preaching, listen to Episode 97of the Influence Podcast.
Women constitute a majority of church attendees but a minority of its pastoral leaders. In the Assemblies of God, for example, women and girls account for 55 percent of all Sunday morning attendees, but only 25 percent of credentialed ministers. This is true even though AG theology affirmsthat “God pours out His Spirit upon both men and women and thereby gifts both sexes for ministry in His Church.” This raises the obvious question: How can we do better at developing women leaders?
That’s the question George P. Wood explores with Kadi Cole in this episode of the Influence Podcast. Wood is executive editor of Influencemagazine, and your host. Cole is author of Developing Female Leadersand president of Kadi Cole & Company. One of the first women leaders to serve in an executive role at a large, multisite church, she is now a leadership consultant for both ministry and business. She is a founding member of the Women Executive Pastors Groupand the founder of MinistryChick.com.
Sixty-three percent of U.S. adults “agree somewhat or strongly that the Bible contains everything a person needs to know to live a meaningful life,” with 38 percent “strongly” agreeing. That seems like a good thing, right? Unfortunately, the “data shows a continuing downward trend from the previous year (42% who agree strongly) and the all-time high of 53% in 2011.”
For the past decade, the American Bible Society, in conjunction with the Barna Group, has released an annual State of the Biblereport, surveying what Americans believe about and how they use the Bible. In this episode of the Influence Podcast, George P. Wood talks with John F. Plake, Ph.D., about Bible engagement trends, based on the 2019 report.
Wood is executive editor of Influencemagazine, and your host. Plake is senior manager of Ministry Intelligence for the U.S. Ministry section of the American Bible Society, as well as an ordained Assemblies of God minister. Founded in 1816, the mission of the American Bible Society is “making the Bible available to every person in a language and format each can understand and afford, so all people may experience its life-changing message.”
“The stories of honor contained in the Word of God start from the first verses in Genesis and continue to the last words in Revelation.” So writes Rich Wilkerson Sr. in his new book, I Choose Honor.
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, George P. Wood, Influencemagazine’s executive editor, talks to Wilkerson about why honor is the key to relationships, faith, and life.
Rich Wilkerson Sr. senior pastor of Trinity Church in Miami, Florida, and founder of Peacemakers, a Christian, nonprofit social services organization. His book, I Choose Honor, is just out from Charisma House.
“Christians believe the kingdom of God is our ultimate commitment, and we should confuse no temporal nation with that kingdom,” writes evangelical historian Thomas S. Kidd in his new, two-volume history of the United States. “But we are also thankful for the ways God has moved in American history, redeeming untold millions of people and building his church in each generation.”
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, Influence magazine Executive Editor George P. Wood talks to Thomas S. Kidd about how to think Christianly about American history. Kidd is distinguished professor of history, James Vardaman Endowed Professor of History, and associate director of the Institute for Studies of Religion at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. A noted scholar of colonial America, he is author most recently of American History, a two-volume textbook just published by B&H Academic.