Influence Podcast

The Azusa Street Revival began on April 9, 1906, in a prayer meeting on N. Bonnie Brae Street in Los Angeles, California. Soon, crowds grew in response to the dramatic outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and a congregation formed on Azusa Street, with William J. Seymour as its pastor. While other Pentecostal revivals were taking place throughout the U.S. and the world, Azusa Street became the most significance one.

In this episode of the Influence Podcast, Influence magazine executive editor George P. Wood talks with the nation’s foremost historian of Azusa Street about the history and significance of this revival. Prof. Cecil M. Robeck Jr. — “Mel to his friends” —is senior professor of church history and ecumenics at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California. A credentialed Assemblies of God minister for 47 years, he is the author of The Azusa Street Mission and Revival, as well as the editor of the new Azusa Street Series of books from Gospel Publishing House.

Prof. Robeck has also put together a self-guided tour of Pentecostal landmarks in the Los Angeles area that you can download here.

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Stories have a unique ability to capture people’s imagination and move them to action. The Bible itself is filled with well-crafted narratives that tell the history of God’s dealings with people. And Jesus is the master storyteller. He used parables to proclaim the gospel and invite listeners to respond with repentance and faith.

Strangely, many churches don’t use stories to reach others. In this podcast, Influence magazine senior editor John Davidson talks to Jerit Abart and Trey Reynolds of BoldFlame Creative about how to embrace the art of storytelling. They pay special attention to the use of video components in sermons, the problem of limited budgets, and the importance of personal testimonies.

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Many people think authority is a prerequisite for influence. They look at how their church or ministry is run and think, I’ll lead differently when I’m in charge. Until that time, however, they either passively take things as they are or actively start ministries that they can lead without interference.

There’s another way, writes Clay Scroggins in his forthcoming book, How to Lead When You’re Not in Charge. “Practice leading through influence when you’re not in charge,” he says. “It’s the key to leading well when you are in charge.” In this episode of the Influence Podcast, Clay Scroggins shows Christian leaders how to exercise influence at any level of an organization.

Clay Scroggins is lead pastor of North Point Community Church in Alpharetta, Georgia. His book, How to Lead When You’re Not in Charge: Leveraging Influence When You Lack Authority, will be published on August 22, 2017 by Zondervan.

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Dallas Willard liked to say that busyness is a matter of calendar. Hurry, on the other hand, is a matter of soul.

All leaders are busy; they have a lot to do. No leader--especially Christian leaders--should be hurried, however. The question, then, is how to unhurry our leadership. How do we make sure that we who lead Christian congregations integrate spiritual formation and leadership?

In this episode of the Influence Podcast, George P. Wood talks with Alan Fadling about that important question.

Alan is author of An Unhurried Leader: The Lasting Fruit of Daily Influence (IVP Books, 2017), as well as founder and president of Unhurried Living. The mission of Unhurried Living is to help people rest deeper, live fuller, and lead better. He lives in Mission Viejo, California with his wife, Gem, and their three sons.

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There are over 400,000 kids in foster care in the U.S. Of those, 100,000 are ready for adoption and 20,000 age out of the system every year.

“The good news is,” says Eric Porter, “there are 348,000 churches in the U.S. We believe it’s a problem solvable. If every church gets one family to go after one kid, we kind of joke, we’ll go find some other world crisis to conquer.”

In today’s Influence Podcast, Eric Porter talks with Influence magazine senior editor about the many ways churches can minister to orphans, foster kids, and other at-risk kids. Porter is an Assemblies of God U.S. missionary and president of The Keep, a ministry that prepares “the Church to stand ready for orphans.”

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According to LifeWay Research, the average tenure of a church’s senior pastor is 3.6 years. The number may be a bit higher, or lower—researchers disagree. Regardless, all agree that ministers change jobs at some point in the course of their careers.

When ministers change jobs, it is stressful, for ministers, for their families and for their congregations. Change is difficult, after all. But the stresses of job-change can be mitigated by entering a new season of ministry with eyes open to the challenges and opportunities that lay ahead.

In this episode of the Influence Podcast, George P. Wood talks to Mike McCrary about how to navigate transitions in ministry jobs. Mike is Director of Funding for the Church Multiplication Network, a role he began in May 2017 after nearly two decades of ministry in local churches. His recent experience gives him a unique perspective on what happens when ministers change jobs.

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Today's Influence Podcast is our 100th episode. Joining Influence magazine's executive editor, George P. Wood, to celebrate are Chris Railey and John Davidson. Chris is director of Leadership and Church Development Ministries for the Assemblies of God, as well as director of Influence Resources, which includes Influence. John works with Chris as director of Discovery and Development and serves as senior editor of the magazine.

After sharing their favorite moments from the past two years of podcasting, the conversation turns to contemporary challenges facing Christian leaders, as well as books leaders should prioritize reading. The podcast ends with an invitation for listeners to attend the Influence Conference on August 7-8 in Anaheim, California.

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Tomorrow is July the Fourth, the 241st anniversary of America’s independence. In celebration of Independence Day, Influence magazine’s executive editor, George P. Wood, talked with Thomas S. Kidd about faith and the Founding Fathers.

Kidd is Distinguished Professor of History at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, as well as associate director of Baylor’s Institute for Studies of Religion. A noted historian of early American history, he is author of recently published Benjamin Franklin: The Religious Life of a Founding Father, as well as biographies of Patrick Henry and George Whitefield. He has also written God of Liberty: A Religious History of the American.

If you’re looking for an informative discussion about the role religion played in the lives of America’s Founders and the Founding Era, this podcast is a good place to start!

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Can a church really be part of a community, or can it only host community outreach events?

That’s the question Influence magazine’s senior editor, John Davidson, asks Rachel Triska in this episode of the Influence Podcast. Rachel is co-pastor and co-executive director of Life in Deep Ellum, an innovative church in the Deep Ellum arts district of Dallas, Texas. LIDE measures success with a simple question: If we were gone, would our neighbors miss us?

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John Lindell recently reached an important ministry milestone. Lindell is lead pastor of James River Church, a multisite congregation in and around Springfield, Missouri. He has led the congregation since 1991. On Sunday, June 25, he preached a sermon from the final verses in the Gospel of Mark, and in doing so, completed sermons on every book of the New Testament.

To mark this milestone, Influence magazine's executive editor George P. Wood sat down with Lindell for a conversation about expository preaching—that is, preaching through Scripture in a systematic, sequential fashion. In addition to making a case for why preachers should preach expository sermons, Lindell gives practical advice about how to do so more effectively.

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