In Matthew 12:38–40, Jesus compared himself to Jonah. "For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth."

That comparison got Gerad Strong thinking about other points where Jonah and Jesus present a study in contrasts. He recently spoke about those contrasts at the biweekly chapel service of the Assemblies of God national office.

In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I talk to Strong about those contrasts. I'm George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.

Gerad Strong is the director of Training and Church Health with the Church Multiplication Network of the Assemblies of God. Formerly lead pastor of a rural church, Strong led a revitalization effort, resulting in the establishment of seven new church campuses in two years. He is author of The Forgotten Field: Using Multisite Models to Reach and Revive Rural Communities with the Gospel, published in 2022 by Baxter Press.

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This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of The Creator's Wheel by Rick DuBose, coming out from Chosen Books on February 11.

Our world demands faster speeds, quicker deliveries. We want change now, transformation in a moment. But God, who spoke galaxies into existence with a single word, took seven days to bring about His full and magnificent creation — and He takes His time with us.

In The Creator's Wheel, Rick DuBose shows how, just as God reached into that dark and chaotic mess to form space and time, He reaches into the mess of our lives, initiating a process that transforms us into masterpieces.

Visit MyHealthyChurch.com to pre-order your copy of The Creator's Wheel.