Management consultant Peter Drucker famously said, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” That’s true in the business world, but it’s also true in the life of the local church.

In this episode of the Influence Podcast, Influence magazine senior editor John Davidson talks to Greg Ford about how to make your church’s culture healthy. Ford is lead pastor of One Church in Gahanna, Ohio, a church he and his wife Shailyn planted seven years ago. He is also a member of the Lead Team of the Church Multiplication Network, the church planting arm of the Assemblies of God.

You can follow Greg Ford on Facebook and Twitter.

Episode 127 Notes

• 00:00 Introduction of podcast topic
• 00:26 Trending Up sponsor ad
• 01:15 Welcome to Greg Ford
• 01:46 Defining culture
• 04:49 One Church’s cultural behaviors: (1) Selfless generosity
• 06:35 (2) Genuine affirmation
• 09:06 (3) Honest evaluation
• 10:40 (4) Missional commitment
• 11:55 Who’s ultimately responsible for church culture?
• 16:44 How to make an unhealthy church culture healthy
• 20:39 How to manage culture when change is constant
• 24:48 Why listeners should come to the CMN Conference
• 28:03 Conclusion

Generation Z is the name of the demographic cohort born between 1999 and 2015. It is a large, diverse generation, whose ideas, experiences and values present both challenges and opportunities for Christian ministry.

In this podcast, Influence magazine executive editor George P. Wood talks to David Kinnaman about the new Barna Group report, Gen Z: The Culture, Beliefs and Motivations Shaping the Next Generation.

Kinnaman is president of Barna Group and coauthor of numerous books about how the next generation views Christianity, including unChristian, You Lost Me, and Good Faith.

You can follow Barna Group on Facebook and Twitter.

Episode 126 Notes

• 00:00 Introduction of podcast topic
• 00:32 MEGA Sports Camp ad copy
• 01:10 Welcome to David Kinnaman
• 01:47 Why pastors and other church leaders should pay attention to generational research
• 04:00 Demographics of Generation Z
• 07:18 Big themes of Barna’s Gen Z report
• 12:10 Nominal Christianity vs. biblical worldview
• 15:51 Diversity of race/ethnicity and gender/sexuality
• 21:22 Materialistic values
• 25:04 Best practices for ministry to Generation Z
• 27:55 Gen Z and Barna Trends 2018
• 29:04 Conclusion

America is becoming an increasingly diverse nation, and so are American churches. How should pastors and other church leaders preach and minister in this new cultural context? That’s the question Influence magazine executive editor George P. Wood explores with Matthew D. Kim in this episode of the Influence Podcast.

Dr. Kim is associate professor of preaching and ministry at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in South Hamilton, Massachusetts, and author of the book, Preaching with Cultural Intelligence: Understanding the People Who Hear our Sermons (Baker Academic). Follow him on Facebook and Twitter.

Episode 125 Notes

• 00:00 Introduction
• 00:40 Sponsor ad
• 01:20 Conversation begins
• 01:58 Cultural intelligence defined
• 04:03 The need for culturally intelligent preaching/ministry
• 05:17 Racial and ethnic diversity
• 10:29 Other forms of diversity: denomination, gender, location, religion
• 19:07 The homiletical template
• 21:55 Follow your HABIT
• 25:02 Build the BRIDGE
• 27:59 Speak their dialect DIALECT
• 29:02 The homiletical template as instinct, not methodlogy
• 30:50 Cultural intelligence as growth in empathy
• 32:44 Conclusion

In this episode of the Influence Podcast, Influence magazine senior editor John Davidson interviews John Van Pay about what the faith heroes of Hebrews 11 can teach us regarding spiritual endurance.

John Van Pay is pastor of Gateway Fellowship Church in San Antonio, Texas, which Outreach magazine named the fastest growing church in America in 2016. He is also author of Marathon Faith: Motivation from the Greatest Endurance Runners of the Bible. For more information about the book or to download book-related leadership resources, visit marathonfaith.org.

Episode 124 Notes:

• 00:00 Welcome
• 00:26 Sponsor Ad: Mega Sports Camp
• 01:23 Introduction of John Van Pay
• 02:27 Why JVP wrote Marathon Faith
• 05:53 How often ministry leaders hit the wall, and why
• 08:24 Why JVP calls faith a "marathon"
• 11:36 How Hebrews 11 illustrates marathon faith
• 17:08 The importance of keeping life's problems in perspective
• 19:41 Ways that spiritual life is like an endurance sport
• 23:09 Check out marathonfaith.org and mygateway.tv
• 24:52 Conclusion

Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day. In honor of Dr. King’s Christian vision of the “beloved community” and his Civil Rights activism, Influence magazine executive editor George P. Wood talks with Pastor Walter Harvey about what Pentecostals can do to promote racial justice and reconciliation in America today.

Harvey is pastor of Parklawn Assembly of God in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as well as vice president of the National Black Fellowship of the Assemblies of God. He also has the lead article in the January-February 2018 issue of Influence magazine, titled, “A Place Called Sherman Park: Eight ministry lessons that can help bring renewal to communities in chaos.”

In this episode, Influence magazine executive editor George P. Wood talks to Dr. Jim Bradford about the personal, pastoral and congregational dimensions of prayer.

Dr. Bradford is general secretary of the Assemblies of God (USA) and pastor of Central Assembly of God in Springfield, Missouri. You can listen to his weekly sermons here.

Learn more about Influence and subscribe to the magazine: InfluenceMagazine.com.

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In this episode, Influence magazine executive editor George P. Wood talks to Dr. Mimi Haddad about the whys and hows of biblical equality, the notion that God calls and empowers both men and women for leadership in home, church, and society.

Dr. Haddad is president of CBE International and an adjunct professor of historical theology at Fuller Theological Seminary and Olivet University. She has her Ph.D. from the University of Durham in England.

To learn more about Dr. Mimi Haddad, visit cbeinternational.org.

Learn more about Influence and subscribe to the magazine: InfluenceMagazine.com.

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In this episode, Influence magazine executive editor George P. Wood talks to Rev. Rick DuBose about the process God uses to turn a mess into a masterpiece, whether personally or congregationally.

Rev. DuBose is general treasurer of the Assemblies of God, having been elected to that position at the denomination’s 57th General Council in Anaheim, California.

To learn more about Rev. Rick DuBose, visit generaltreasurer.ag.org.

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In this episode, Influence magazine executive editor George P. Wood talks to Rev. Doug Clay about his hopes, dreams and vision for the Assemblies of God. Rev. Clay is the 13th general superintendent of the Assemblies of God, having been elected to that position at the denomination’s 57th General Council in Anaheim, California.

To learn more about Rev. Doug Clay, visit DougClay.com, and follow him on Facebook and Twitter.

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Today’s episode of the Influence Podcast features Mike Quinn and Chris Sonksen talking about how churches can break the 200 barrier in attendance. This episode was recorded during a breakout session at the August 2017 Influence Conference in Anaheim, California.

Quinn is lead pastor of NewBreak Church, a multisite congregation in San Diego, California. Sonksen is lead pastor of South Hills Church, a multisite church in Southern California, as well as founder of Church Boom, which coaches churches about how to experience growth at every stage of development.

Learn more about Influence and subscribe to the magazine: InfluenceMagazine.com.

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Follow us on Twitter: @TheInfluenceMag

Send us your feedback: [email protected]