“One of my biggest pet peeves is hearing shepherds say, ‘Ministry would be great if it weren’t for the people,’” writes Craig T. Owens. “In essence they are saying, ‘I am happy to do this, as long as there aren’t any difficult sheep to deal with.”

He goes on to conclude: “Sheep are your ministry! Even the sheep that bite you, kick you, betray you, and abandon you.”

The question pastors need to ask is how to minister to people who cause them pain.

That’s the question I ask Owens in this episode of the Influence Podcast. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.

Craig T. Owens is pastor of Calvary Assembly of God in Cedar Springs, Mich.; cohost of The Craig and Greg show, a leadership podcast; and author of When Sheep Bite.

—————

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 adult small group resources that build Bible-based small groups. With these resources, your small group will learn how to dig into the Bible and apply it to life. Enriching videos and intriguing discussion questions will create the kind of moments that inspire members to continue engaging deeply with the Bible all week long.

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

Happy Reformation Day!

On this date in 1517, Martin Luther, an Augustinian monk and theology professor at the University of Wittenberg, posted his famous “Ninety-five Theses” protesting the sale of indulgences on the door of Wittenberg’s Castle Church.

Luther intended to reform the Catholic church from the inside. His critique of the church went beyond its corrupt practices to the bad theology underlying them, however. Over time, this critique led Luther and like-minded reformers to break with Catholicism and form new churches — Protestant churches.

In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I talk with church historian Charlie Self about the Protestant Reformation, why there are in fact five Reformations, and what Pentecostals should make of the event. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.

Charlie Self, Ph.D., is visiting professor of church history at the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary in Springfield, Missouri, an ordained Assemblies of God minister, and co-author with Johan Mostert and Jamé Bolds of Life in 5D: A New Vision of Discipleship.

—————

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.

“Evangelical giving is down. Way down. Nearly every measure. Across the board.”

So states The Giving Gap: Changes in Evangelical Generosity, a new report from Grey Matter Research and Infinity Concepts.

The report goes on to say: “The numbers paint an increasingly bleak picture of evangelical generosity — a situation which has the potential to impact every church, every denomination, every parachurch ministry, and even many secular nonprofits.”

In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I talk with Ron Sellers about the details of the report, as well as what ministry leaders can do in response to the trend of declining generosity. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influencemagazine and your host.

Ron Sellers is president of Grey Matter Research & Consulting, a firm that regularly serves Christian ministries, denominations, and churches to solve their information needs. He wrote “How Evangelicals Come to Faith” for the summer 2024 issue of Influence.

—————

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 2025 is In Your Element. This VBS invites kids to discover who Jesus has made them to be. This new theme is designed for kids to engage with the science that supports sports, and it will teach kids about faith and sports in a fun, engaging setting.

For more information about MEGA Sports Camp VBS, or to preorder In Your Element, visit MEGASportsCamp.com.

“Today, we see real trouble in America’s churches, and many wonder whether Christianity can survive,” writes Joseph Castleberry.

“I believe that we will not only survive, but we will see our greatest numerical growth, our greatest season of anointing, and our most important time of influence in the next 30 to 40 years — if Jesus tarries.” Impressive revivals will come to American churches over the next 25 years, setting the stage for the next Great Awakening —the sixth such Awakening in American history.”

In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I talk to Castleberry about why he thinks generational theory predicts a Great Awakening in the coming decades, as well as what Christian churches must do to prepare for it. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.

Joseph Castleberry, Ed.D., is president of Northwest University in Kirkland, Wash., and author of The Sixth Great Awakening and the Coming Renewal of the American Church.

—————

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 2025 is In Your Element. This VBS invites kids to discover who Jesus has made them to be. This new theme is designed for kids to engage with the science that supports sports, and it will teach kids about faith and sports in a fun, engaging setting.

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

“Despite the Western church’s slow pace developing women leaders, Western culture is increasingly producing women leaders in business, the academy, entertainment, medicine, and government,” writes Anna Morgan. “If we do not provide leadership development opportunities for gifted young Christian women inside our local churches, then they may well pursue leadership opportunities outside the church, thus weakening it.”

In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I talk to Morgan about how egalitarian denominations such as the Assemblies of God can better develop the women leaders God has called and empowered for ministry. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.

Anna Morgan is an ordained minister with the Australian Christian Churches, a member of the World Assemblies of God Fellowship. She earned her Doctor of Intercultural Studies degree at Fuller Theological Seminary. She is vice president of academics at Ascent College and copastor with her husband, John, of Word of Life, an Assemblies of God church in the metro Washington, DC, area. She is author of Growing Women in Ministry, published by Baker Academic.

—————

This episode of the Influence podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Made for This.

With Made for This, kids can intentionally engage in their own spiritual walk. In this easy-to-follow journal, kids will start their lifelong discovery of who God is and pursuing the adventure He has in store for their life. 

For more information about Made for This, visit MyHealthyChurch.com.

“Establishing the Church among all peoples everywhere by reaching, planting, training, and serving” is the mission of Assemblies of God World Missions. AGWM divides its work into five regions: Africa, Asia Pacific, Eurasia, Europe, and Latin America. During the fall of 2024, I plan to interview AGWM’s five regional directors about the challenges, opportunities, and key initiatives they lead.

I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host. In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I talk to Joe G. about Assemblies of God World Missions’ efforts in Eurasia. Because of the sensitive nature of AGWM work in this region, I won’t be using Joe G’s last name in this podcast.

Joe G. serves as AGWM’s Eurasia Regional Director. In that role, he oversees ministries in 44 nations within seven distinct areas: India, Southern Asia, Arab World, Central Eurasia, Eurasia Northwest, Russia/Belarus, and Israel/Palestine. He also serves as a liaison between the U. S. Assemblies of God and its fraternal fellowships in Eurasia.

—————

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 adult small group resources that build Bible-based small groups. With these resources, your small group will learn how to dig into the Bible and apply it to life. Enriching videos and intriguing discussion questions will create the kind of moments that inspire members to continue engaging deeply with the Bible all week long.

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

“As parents and followers of Christ, few areas of our lives can prompt more guilt, insecurity, and anxiety than discipling our children,” writes Brian Dembowczyk. “We want to disciple. We try to disciple. But more often than not, we fail to disciple.”

In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I talk to Dembowczyk about why we fail to disciple our kids and how we can begin to do so effectively. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.

Brian Dembowczyk, Ph.D., is associate publisher for Thomas Nelson Bibles. He was previously the managing editor of The Gospel Project, a Bible study curriculum used by over 1.6 million adults, teens, and children each week, and he has also been a pastor, discipleship pastor, and family pastor. He is author of Family Discipleship That Works, published by InterVarsity Press, as well as “No Place Like Home: Equipping families for children’s discipleship” in the fall 2024 issue of Influence. He lives in Tennessee with his wife and three children.

—————

This episode of the Influence podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Including Children with Disabilities.

Including Children with Disabilities will help you understand common disabilities and equip you with the practical tools and information you need to effectively teach them.

For more information about Including Children with Disabilities, visit MyHealthyChurch.com.

“Studying the Bible is of essential importance in our Christian discipleship; therefore, we need to take seriously the interpretive enterprise.”

So write Jacqui Grey and Paul Lewis in their new book, Introduction to Biblical Interpretation, part of the Foundation for Spirit-Empowered Christianity series published by BakerAcademic. In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I talk to them about what Pentecostals bring to the task of biblical interpretation, and how to do it well.

I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host. In this episode of the Influence Podcast.

Jacqui Grey, Ph.D., is professor of biblical studies at Alphacrucis University College in Sydney, Australia. She is also a research fellow with the University of South Africa and the Centre for Pentecostal Theology and an ordained minister with Australian Christian Churches.

Paul Lewis, Ph.D., is professor of historical theology and intercultural studies at the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary, Evangel University, in Springfield, Missouri, and an ordained AG minister.

They wrote “Making Bible Study PERSONAL,” based on their book, for the summer 2024 issue of Influence.

—————

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 adult small group resources that build Bible-based small groups. With these resources, your small group will learn how to dig into the Bible and apply it to life. Enriching videos and intriguing discussion questions will create the kind of moments that inspire members to continue engaging deeply with the Bible all week long.

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

“History is, paradoxically, unalterable and in constant need of revision. The past does not change, after all, but we can change our understanding of it based on new facts or better interpretive frameworks. Daniel Isgrigg carefully examines stories (and myths) of Assemblies of God origins in this book, providing the kind of revision AG history needs today.”

That’s what I wrote in a back-cover blurb for Isgrigg’s forthcoming book, Aspects of Assemblies of God Origins. In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I talk with him about why it’s important to revisit what we think we know about the history of the AG. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.

Daniel Isgrigg is associate professor of History of Spirit-Empowered Christianity at Oral Roberts University and an ordained AG minister. His forthcoming book is Aspects of Assemblies of God Origins, out later this month from Pickwick Publications. He is currently writing a popular history of the AG. 

—————

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

In In Jesus’ Name, 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.

According to 2020 Assemblies of God statistics, approximately one in five AG adherents is a kid 12 years old or younger. In a Fellowship with three million adherents, that amounts to roughly 600,000 kids who cycle through churches’ ministries on a regular basis.

Does your church have a discipleship strategy in place to help these kids become lifelong followers of Jesus Christ?

KidminRoadmap was designed to help your church answer that question with an enthusiastic and well-prepared “Yes”! In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I talk with Julie Pratt about how KidminRoadmap can help kids in your church take next steps in their walk with Christ. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.

Julie Pratt is an ordained Assemblies of God minister and serves as the National Kidmin Discipleship Director for the AG national office. She has authored articles for Influence, including “Abused and Neglected Kids,”  “Telling the Greatest Story,” and “Partnering with Parents.”

—————

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.

In Matthew 28:19–20, Jesus gave the Great Commission to the Church: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Jesus’ words are well known, but how well is the Church carrying out His commission? The Lausanne Movementexamines that question in depth in its State of the Great Commission Report.  In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I talk with Dr. Matthew Niermann about that report. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.

Dr. Niermann has served the Lausanne Movement since 2010 in a variety of roles, including research and operations. He is currently director of the State of the Great Commission Report. In addition, he serves as a dean and professor of architectural design at California Baptist University, where his research partially focuses on the relationship between creativity and Christian witness.

—————

This episode of the Influence podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of NextGen High Scores.

Grounded in research and illustrated with real-life experience, NextGen High Scores explains in practical language the most common behaviors, practices, and strategies of kids and youth pastors who make a lasting impact.

For more information about NextGen High Scores visit MyHealthyChurch.com.