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“How did you go bankrupt?” one character asks another in Ernest Hemingway’s The Son Also Rises. “Two ways,” the other character responds. “Gradually and then suddenly.”

But as Mark Batterson points out in his new book, “That’s also how you get out of debt. That’s how you start a business, write a book, or run a marathon — and a thousand other things.”

“Regardless of craft or career, dreams don’t become reality overnight,” he writes. “Reverse engineer any success story, and I daresay it happened two ways — gradually then suddenly.”

In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I talk to Mark Batterson about how to succeed in ministry, based on insights from his new book. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.

Mark Batterson is lead pastor at National Community Church in Washington, DC, and an ordained Assemblies of God minister. A New York Times-bestselling author, his newest book is Gradually Then Suddenly: How to Dream Bigger, Decide Better, and Leave a Lasting Legacy, published by Multnomah.

P.S. This podcast is crossposted from InfluenceMagazine.com by permission.

Which way are American young adults going when it comes to religion?

Pew Research Center’s Religious Landscape Survey reports that only 45% of Americans 18–29 years old identify as Christians, compared to 54% of those aged 30–49, 72% of 50–64, and 74% of 65+.

Barna Group’s State of the Church initiative reports that young adults are leading “a resurgence in church attendance.” Gen Z (born 1999–2015) and Millennials (born 1984–98) attend church 1.9 and 1.8 weekends a month, respectively. By contrast, Gen X (born 1965–83), Boomers (born 1946–64), and Elders (born pre-1946) attend 1.6, 1.4, and 1.4 weekends monthly, respectively.

So are American young adults secularizing or experiencing a revival? It’s impossible to say for sure. The only way for Christians to find out is to do the work of evangelism and discipleship.

In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I talk to Josh Wellborn about ministry to the next generation of adults. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.

Josh Wellborn is director of the Assemblies of God’s Young Adults ministry and author of 30 Under 30.

P.S. This podcast is crossposted from InfluenceMagazine.com by permission.

The Preamble to the Assemblies of God “Statement of Fundamental Truth” says:

“The Bible is our all-sufficient rule for faith and practice. This Statement of Fundamental Truths is intended simply as a basis of fellowship among us …. The phraseology employed in this statement is not inspired or contended for, but the truth set forth is held to be essential to a full-gospel ministry. No claim is made that it contains all biblical truth, only that it covers our need as to these fundamental doctrines.”

This Preamble serves as the epigraph of Mike Ivaska’s new book, A Basis of Fellowship, which contains sermons he preached about the “Statement of Fundamental Truths” at Vachon Island Community Church in the Fall of 2024.

In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I talk to Ivaska about why and how he preached those sermons, and why and how AG ministers should do something similar. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.

Mike Ivaska is pastor of Vashon Island Community Church in Washington state and an ordained Assemblies of God minister. He wrote “Preaching Doctrine” in the Summer 2025 issue of Influence magazine and is author of A Basis of Fellowship, published by Resource Publications.

P.S. This podcast is crossposted from InfluenceMagazine.com by permission.

“Christians are called to be ‘in the world’ and ‘not of the world’,” says a new Assemblies of God position paper, citing John 17:11–16.

“We must embrace our identity as Christian citizens, as public witnesses, and as salt and light,” it continues, “Believers must also maintain their Christian character while engaging in politics. We prioritize our calling in Christ and do not condone the demonization of fellow citizens with whom we disagree. Such negative conduct can detract from the mission of Christ and the aligned Assemblies of God mission to evangelize, worship God, build disciples, and show compassion.”

In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I talk to Allen Tennison about “Christians and Citizenship,” a new position paper adopted by the General Presbytery of the Assemblies of God during its August 2025 meeting. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.

Allen Tennison is theological counsel of the General Council of the Assemblies of God and chair of its Commission on Doctrines and Practices.

P.S. This podcast is cross-posted from InfluenceMagazine.com by permission.

“The Assemblies of God was founded as a cooperative fellowship that honors the calling and gifting of all Spirit-filled believers, not as a clerical hierarchy,” says a new Assemblies of God position paper.

“As we seek to cultivate healthy spiritual leadership,” it continues, “we must resist any drift toward positional superiority and instead affirm diverse models of leadership found throughout the global church. To walk in step with the Spirit, we must honor the voices of those God has raised up from within, not just those with titles. The nature of spiritual leadership listens, learns, and leads in discernment within community.”

In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I talk to Allen Tennison about “Misuse of Spiritual Leadership” (also in Spanish), a new position paper adopted by the General Presbytery of the Assemblies of God during its August 2025 meeting. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.

Allen Tennison is theological counsel of the General Council of the Assemblies of God and chair of its Commission on Doctrines and Practices.

P.S. This podcast is cross-posted from InfluenceMagazine.com by permission.

What is the center of Paul’s theology? Traditionally, Protestants taught that justification by faith was the center. More recently, scholars proposed reconciliation, union with Christ, and transformation as the center. In The Affections of Christ Jesus, Nijay K. Gupta proposes love as the center.

“The language of love in one form or another occurs over one hundred times in the Pauline corpus,” he writes. “Furthermore, every single letter contains love language — that cannot be said for other contenders for the so-called center of Paul’s thought.”

In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I talk to Gupta about what love is and why it may be “the bull’s-eye center” of Pauline theology. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.

Nijay K. Gupta is Julius R. Mantey Professor of New Testament at Northern Seminary. He is editor of Dictionary of Paul and His Letters (2nd ed.), The State of Pauline Theology, and most recently, The Affections of Christ Jesus: Love at the Heart of Paul’s Theology, published by Eerdmans.

P.S. This episode of the Influence Podcast is cross-posted from InfluenceMagazine.com by permission.

“Christian ministry includes fully supported church workers, those bivocational only out of financial necessity, and those who have chosen to serve covocationally. All should be honored, but one’s attitude makes a difference.”

 So writes Richard D. Oliver in his new book,  A Covocational Attitude: Sharing the Motivational Convictions of the Apostle Paul.

In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I talk to Oliver regarding the apostle Paul’s attitude to receiving financial support, and how the apostle’s attitude should influence our own. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influencemagazine and your host.

Richard D. Oliver is an ordained Assemblies of God minister with five decades of experience as a bivocational pastor in Michigan, Indiana, and Missouri. A Covocational Attitude draws on research from his Doctor of Ministry project at Assemblies of God Theological Seminary in Springfield, Missouri.

P.S. This episode of the Influence Podcast is cross-posted from InfluenceMagazine.com by permission.

“Churches in North America face an uncertain future,” writes Joseph Lear.

“Seventy percent of churches have an average weekly attendance of under 100 people, which means that should nearly three-quarters of the churches in America lose a few families, they’d face a financial, volunteer, and leadership crisis.”

 “God is not done with the small church,” he writes. “The kingdom of God is still present, which means there’s a path forward for renewal. It’s not going to come with marketing campaigns and managerial ingenuity. It’s going to come when small congregations get back to the basics of worshipping in Spirit and truth.”

In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I talk with Lear about what he calls “slow burn revival.” I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.

Joseph Lear is pastor of theology and preaching at Resurrection Assembly of God in Iowa City, and director of theology and global church ministries at Evangel University in Springfield, Missouri. He is author of Resurrecting Worship: A Pentecostal Liturgy for Slow Burn Revival, published by Cascade Books.

P.S. This episode of the Influence Podcast is cross-posted from InfluenceMagazine.com by permission.

Doug Clay is the 13th general superintendent of the Assemblies of God, which explains the title of his most recent book —13: Leadership Is More than Luck. The book explores leadership principles and stories from Clay’s predecessors in that office.

“As I studied the lives of our past general superintendents, I was inspired by their timeless insights and timely sensitivity to the Lord. Though each faced his own set of challenges, placing hope and trust in the Lord was a hallmark of each former leader,” Clay writes.

“We have been called by God for this moment. If we will have the humility to learn from our history and the faith to press ahead, we will see the Lord’s favor and anointing upon our Fellowship for decades, until he comes,” Clay concludes

In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I talk to Clay about leadership principles and stories from his book, but also about the state of the Assemblies of God. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.

P.S. This podcast is cross-posted from InfluenceMagazine.com by permission.

“Few would argue against the proposition that Paul’s letter to the Romans is his magnum opus,” writes Glen Menzies.

“Romans is an exceedingly important book. The impact it has made is literally incalculable, for it is impossible to imagine how Christianity would have developed without it.”

In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I talk to Menzies about how to interpret Romans. We start with introductory issues about the letter and its recipients before moving on to points of debate about Romans specifically and Pauline theology generally. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.

Glen Menzies is an ordained Assemblies of God minister. For 27 years, he served as professor of New Testament and Early Christianity and dean of the Institute for Biblical and Theological Studies at North Central University in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is now retired. He is author of A Pentecostal Commentary on Romans, published by Wipf & Stock.

P.S. This podcast is cross-posted from InfluenceMagazine.com by permission.