“Christian Nationalism has garnered significant attention in recent years, owing to the potential dangers it poses for American democracy. Its specter has spurred newfound interest in the role of religion in American public life with fresh considerations of familiar questions: Is religion resurging as a force in politics? Will America’s Christian majority restrict the rights of religious minorities? Is Christian nationalism a real threat, or a small, extreme faction with outsized press coverage?”

So asks Christian Nationalism: A New Approach, a December 2023 report by Neighborly Faith. In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I talk to Kevin Singer, Ryan Burge, and Mark David Hall about that report and the questions it raises.

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

Kevin Singer is president of Neighborly Faith, a nonprofit whose mission is to provide “research and events introducing Christians to neighbors of every faith.” Ryan Burge is associate professor of political science at Eastern Illinois University and an ordained Baptist pastor; he posts regularly at Graphs About Religion. Mark David Hall is a professor at Regent University’s Robertson School of Government and a senior fellow at the Center for Religion, Culture, and Democracy, where he directs its Religious Liberty in the States initiative.

My conversation with them 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.

The Bible Engagement Project library includes free preschool curriculum that brings Bible time and play time together. Each lesson is designed to engage young minds during the lesson and make sure the principles they’re learning stay with them when they get home, as well as while they grow.

Visit BibleEngagementProject.com to create your free account and get started.

On May 2, 1870, a baby was born in Centerville, Louisiana, to formerly enslaved parents. Raised in poverty, segregated by a white supremacist society, he nonetheless went on to lead one of the most significant revival movements of the twentieth century. I’m talking about William J. Seymour, of course, and the Azusa Street Revival he led from 1906–1909. This revival was a critical node in the social network of early Pentecostalism.

Today is the 154th anniversary of Seymour’s birth; in honor of which, I’ve invited Dr. Larry Martin to talk about the significance of his life and ministry.

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

Martin is an ordained Assemblies of God minister, founder of River of Revival Ministries, and Pentecostal historian. His most recent book is William J. Seymour: Pentecostal Trailblazer and Revered Pastor of the Azusa Street Revival, published this year by Whitaker House.

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This episode of the Influence podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Cultivating a Spirit-Empowered Kids Ministry.

Cultivating a Spirit-Empowered Kids Ministry will equip you with practical tools to intentionally make room for the Holy Spirit in your kids ministry. It includes practical tips for leading kids to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit, respond to the Holy Spirit, and receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit.

For more information about Cultivating a Spirit-Empowered Kids Ministry, visit MyHealthyChurch.com.

“God didn’t call the perfect version of you, the version that has years of experience or the version that has it all figured out.” writes John Zick. “In fact, He has no desire for a version of you that does not desperately need him. Paul understood this when he said in 2 Corinthians 12:9 [NLT], ‘I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.’”

In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I talk to Zick about being called into ministry, recognizing personal imperfections, and learning from others on the leadership journey.

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

John Zick is an ordained Assemblies of God minister, director of the AG’s Called initiative, and editor of From Leaders For Leaders: A Guide for Those Called Into Ministry, published by GPH.

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This episode of the Influence podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Guided Student Devotional.

Guided Student Devotional will help youth develop a habit of spending time with God and reading His Word every day. Each devotion will focus on a dimension of a Spirit-filled disciple: Bible, Holy Spirit, Mission, Prayer, Worship, Service, and Generosity.

For more information about the Guided Student Devotional, visit MyHealthyChurch.com.

“Church size matters to us far more than it should. From the pride it brings when the numbers are up to the shame and frustration it causes when the numbers are static or down, none of this provides a healthy foundation on which to build a healthy church body,” writes Karl Vaters.

He goes on to suggest a solution: “We need to de-size the church.”

In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I talk to Vaters about why bigness is a problem, why de-sizing the church is a solution, and how to do it.

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

Karl Vaters has served in small-church ministry for over 40 years, so he speaks and writes from decades of hands-on pastoral experience. An ordained Assemblies of God minister, he is author most recently of De-Sizing the Church: How Church Growth Became a Science, Then an Obsession, and What’s Next, published this month by Moody Press.

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This episode of the Influence podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Momentum Training Series.

Momentum Training Series will help you become more effective in your ministry, whether you are a new volunteer or a seasoned leader. The series covers topics such as including children with disabilities, teaching lessons that last, leaving a spiritual legacy, and cultivating a Spirit-empowered kids ministry.

For more information about Momentum Training Series, visit MomentumTrainingSeries.com.

“To invest one’s life in the next generation for the sake of the kingdom of God is to do the work that Jesus did,” writes Lee Rogers. “Few will notice the nobility and spiritual richness of the work, yet for those who minister to the next generation, the value is high — and the impact is eternal.”

In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I talk to Rogers about what NextGen ministry is, why it’s important, and what factors contribute to long-term effectiveness.

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

Lee Rogers is a NextGen ministry veteran with over 25 years of experience working with young people. He serves as director of Student Evangelism for Assemblies of God Youth Ministries and is author of NextGen High Scores: How to Win at Ministry to the Next Generation, published by GPH.

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This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Bible Engagement Project.

Bible Engagement Project equips churches with free curriculum for preschool, kids, youth, and adults, available in both English and Spanish. The curriculum library provides you with discipleship resources that transform lives and anchor your church in the Bible.

Visit BibleEngagementProject.com to create your free account.

“The entire second half of 1 Samuel is the story of an abuser hunting down a victim,” according to Jim Bradford. The abuser is King Saul, and his intended victim is David. “Saul literally threw spears,” Bradford notes; “abusive leaders do so figuratively.

I recently heard Bradford preach a sermon about responding to abusive authority based on 1 Samuel and thought it would make an excellent podcast. After all, it seems that every few weeks news breaks about a pastor who has used their position trust for selfish gain. Christians — whether church leaders or laypeople — need to know how to respond.

So, I’ve invited Bradford onto the podcast today to talk about how to deal with spiritual abusers. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.

Jim Bradford, Ph.D., is an ordained Assemblies of God minister; lead pastor at Central Assembly in Springfield, Missouri; former AG general secretary; and a longtime mentor and friend.

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This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Bible Engagement Project.

Bible Engagement Project equips churches with free curriculum for preschool, kids, youth, and adults, available in both English and Spanish. The curriculum library provides you with discipleship resources that transform lives and anchor your church in the Bible.

Visit BibleEngagementProject.com to create your free account.

“There has never been a better day to plant churches than now in the Assemblies of God.”

Mike McCrary recently made that statement in a presentation to the employees of the AG national office. I was so impressed by the presentation that I invited him to join me on the Influence Podcast.

So, in this episode, I talk to him about why he thinks that’s the case. Along the way, we also talk about why America needs more churches, church planting myths, and how every church — even already existing churches — can support church multiplication.

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

Mike McCrary, D.Min., is national director of Funding and Strategic Partnerships for the Church Multiplication Network of the Assemblies of God, an ordained AG minister, and a longtime friend.

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This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Bible Engagement Project.

Bible Engagement Project equips churches with free curriculum for preschool, kids, youth, and adults, available in both English and Spanish. The curriculum library provides you with discipleship resources that transform lives and anchor your church in the Bible.

Visit BibleEngagementProject.com to create your free account.

“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.

On January 22, 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its decision in Roe v. Wade, effectively overturning numerous state laws against abortion and legalizing the practice throughout the land.

That decision stood until June 24, 2022, when the Supreme Court reversed itself in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization and overturned Roe. This didn’t end the abortion debate, however. Rather, it returned the debates about whether and how to restrict abortion to the states. Ever since, Americans have engaged in a renewed, vigorous debate about what the law should say about abortion.

This past Monday was the 51st anniversary of Roe, and therefore a good occasion to talk about abortion from a Christian perspective.

So, in this episode of the Influence Podcast, I’m talking to Allen Tennison about the Assemblies of God’s stance on the sanctity of life, which begins in the womb.

I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host. (Influence is published by the Assemblies of God.)

Allen Tennison, Ph.D., is theological counsel of The General Council of the Assemblies of God, chair of its Commission on Doctrines and Practices, and an ordained AG minister.

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This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Bible Engagement Project.

Bible Engagement Project equips churches with free curriculum for preschool, kids, youth, and adults, available in both English and Spanish. The curriculum library provides you with discipleship resources that transform lives and anchor your church in the Bible.

Visit BibleEngagementProject.com to create your free account.

In their new book, Faith Beyond Youth Group, Kara Powell, Jen Bradbury and Brad M. Griffin offer this startling statistic about students’ faith after high school graduation:

“While spiritual and religious activity under age eighteen seems to slightly increase the odds of faith lasting after youth group, a compilation of studies indicates that about 40 to 50 percent of youth group kids drift from God and the faith community after graduation.”

In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I’m talking to Kara Powell about how churches can address this problem by cultivating lifelong faith in youth.

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

Kara Powell, Ph.D., is executive director of the Fuller Youth Institute, a faculty member at Fuller Theological Seminary, where she also serves as Fuller’s chief of leadership formation. A credentialed Assemblies of God minister, she is author or coauthor of numerous books about ministry to youth.

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This episode of the Influence podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, a distributor of In Jesus’ Name.

In this book, Rick DuBose shows the path back to five forgotten altars — and ultimately, the path to your place in heaven's throne room. Full of real-world application and encouraging inspiration, this book will prepare you to pray with humble authority that moves heaven — and unleashes victory here on earth.

For more information about In Jesus’ Name, visit MyHealthyChurch.com.