“The first Christians were weird,” writes Nijay Gupta. “I am not talking about their clothing, music preferences, or hobbies. When I say ‘weird’ or ‘strange,’ I am talking about deviation from cultural norms and society’s expectations for how things ought to be done. Especially when it came to religion … the Christians were as backwards and as odd as you could be.”

Well, that’s how the Romans viewed them anyway.

In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I talk to Gupta about how Christianity deviated from Roman cultural norms and expectations, and why Romans viewed them as weird and dangerous — but also compelling.

I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.

Nijay Gupta, Ph.D., is professor of New Testament at Northern Seminary, a Pauline scholar, and most recently author of Strange Religion: How the First Christians Were Weird, Dangerous, and Compelling, published by Brazos Press.

We talked about his previous book, Tell Her Story: How Women Led, Taught, and Ministered in the Early Church, published by IVP Academic, in Episode 315 of the Influence Podcast.

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This episode of the Influence podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of MEGA Sports Camp.

The MEGA Sports Camp theme for 2024 is Blaze a Trail. This VBS invites kids to live an adventure with Jesus. Kids will learn that Jesus blazed the trail for our salvation, and as they follow Jesus, they can live their own adventure that points people to Him.

For more information about MEGA Sports Camp VBS, visit MEGASportsCamp.com.

“The complex challenges and demands faced by today’s leaders will not be overcome by simply applying administrative techniques or business best practices,” writes Justin A. Irving. “Today’s leaders need something more — they need wisdom to lead their communities through complex times.”

In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I talk to Irving about what that wisdom looks like in terms of self-leadership; people and teams; organizational dynamics, especially culture; and external dynamics, including crises and change.

I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.

Justin Irving, Ph.D., is Duke K. McCall Professor of Christian Leadership and chair of the department of Leadership and Discipleship at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, as well as author of Healthy Leadership for Thriving Organizations, published in 2023 by Baker Academic.

He and Mark Strauss wrote “Humility and the Celebrity Leader,” the cover story of the November/December 2019 issue 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.

The MEGA Sports Camp theme for 2024 is Blaze a Trail. This VBS invites kids to live an adventure with Jesus. Kids will learn that Jesus blazed the trail for our salvation, and as they follow Jesus, they can live their own adventure that points people to Him.

For more information about MEGA Sports Camp VBS, visit MEGASportsCamp.com.