Influence Podcast

"As long as he sought the Lord, God gave him success."

That is what 2 Chronicles 26:5 says about Uzziah, king of Judah in the early eighth century B.C.

According to Warren D. Bullock, this verse is key to understanding Uzziah's success as a king, as well as his ultimate failure. "When [Uzziah] prayed, all went well; he had amazing success," Bullock writes. "When he failed to seek the Lord, he acted out of pride, violated the boundaries of his calling, and was cursed with leprosy."

What lessons does Uzziah's example of both prayerfulness and prayerlessness teach spiritual leaders today? That's the question I ask Bullock in this episode of the Influence Podcast. I'm George P. Wood, executive editor of Influencemagazine and your host.

Warren D. Bullock is a veteran Assemblies of God minister with six decades of experience as a pastor, superintendent of the Northwest Ministry Network, and General Council executive presbyter. He is author of Seven Life-Changing Words: The Power of Persevering Prayer, published by Trilogy.

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This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of The Holy Spirit in the Life of the Discipler.

The Holy Spirit in the Life of the Discipler equips you with an understanding of the Holy Spirit's role in your life. As a resource for both laypeople and ministry leaders, it also imparts practical insight for anyone discipling others in receiving the baptism in the Holy Spirit.

For more information about The Holy Spirit in the Life of the Discipler visit MyHealthyChurch.com.

April is Autism Acceptance Month.

According to the website, Autism Speaks, autism or autism spectrum disorder refers to "a broad range of conditions characterized by challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviors, speech and nonverbal communication. According to the Centers for Disease Control, autism affects an estimated 1 in 36 children and 1 in 45 adults in the United States today."

How should Christian churches minister to people with autism? Just as importantly, how should they facilitate ministry by people with autism?

Those are the questions I ask Ron Sandison in this episode of the Influence Podcast. I'm George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.

Ron Sandison is a speaker and teacher specializing in autism issues, a credentialed Assemblies of God minister, and author of several books on autism, including A Parent's Guide to Autism, Views from the Spectrum, and most recently, Adulting on the Spectrum, published by Kregel Publications. He is also author of the article, "Ministry on the Spectrum," in the Spring 2025 issue of Influence.

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This episode of the Influence podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of the Ignite Parenting Conversation Cards.

Strengthen your family's relationships with God and each other with these easy-to-use Conversation Cards. Each card is uniquely designed with a question, faith builder statement, and a Bible verse to spark meaningful conversations that cultivate an open and nurturing environment in your home.

For more information about the Ignite Parenting Conversation Cards visit MyHealthyChurch.com.

In 1 Corinthians 15:1–2, the apostle Paul wrote:

"Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain."

We typically interpret Paul's gospel in terms of the doctrine of justification by faith, with good reason. In Romans 1:17, for example, Paul wrote, "For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed — a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: 'The righteous will live by faith.'"

And yet, in 1 Corinthians 15:3–7, Paul focused on what happened to Jesus Christ — His death and resurrection, not on what happened through Jesus Christ. Christ's death and resurrection are the cause, and our justification — including our own resurrection from the dead — is the effect.

As we approach the holiest days in the Christian calendar — Good Friday and Easter — I want to devote a podcast to discussing the theological foundations of the gospel with Allen Tennison. 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 the Commission on Doctrines and Practices.

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This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of The Holy Spirit in the Life of the Discipler.

The Holy Spirit in the Life of the Discipler equips you with an understanding of the Holy Spirit's role in your life. As a resource for both laypeople and ministry leaders, it also imparts practical insight for anyone discipling others in receiving the baptism in the Holy Spirit.

For more information about The Holy Spirit in the Life of the Discipler visit MyHealthyChurch.com.

Jesus asked His disciples an important question in Matthew 16:15: "Who do you say I am?"

Ligonier Ministries surveyed Americans in 2022 about how they perceived Jesus. Responses to three statements in particular are worth highlighting.

First, 54% of Americans and 80% of American evangelicals strongly agreed with the statement, "There is one true God in three persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit." This statement summarizes the doctrine of the Trinity.

But 40% of all Americans and 48% of evangelicals strongly agreed with the statement, "Jesus is the first and greatest being created by God." This statement is a Christological heresy known as Arianism, not to mention an implicit rejection of the Trinity.

Finally, 31% of all Americans and 29% of evangelicals strongly agreed with the statement, "Jesus was a great teacher, but he was not God." How 80% of evangelicals can affirm the Trinity but 29% deny Jesus' deity is an unsolvable math problem.

But it's a solvable problem for Christian discipleship. Churches need to do a better job of inculcating what the Bible teaches about who Jesus Christ is.

Toward that end, I talk with Robert M. Bowman Jr. about a biblical case for Jesus' deity in this episode of the Influence Podcast. I'm George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.

Robert M. Bowman Jr. is president of the Institute for Religious Research, which provides "evidence-oriented answers to criticisms of the Bible and alternative views of Jesus Christ advocated by skeptics and members of other religions." He is author, with J. Ed Komoszewski, of The Incarnate Christ and His Critics, published by Kregel Academic.

If you could travel back in time and share life lessons with your younger self, what would they be?

That's the premise of Doug Clay's new book, Conversations with My Younger Self.

"If I could go back in time," he asks, "what mistakes would I correct? What choices would I change? What words would I say or leave unsaid? What path would I take?"

Clay answers those questions by drawing on his personal experiences as well as the biblical stories of Samuel, Saul, Jonathan, and David.

I talk to Clay about what he would say to his younger self in this episode of the Influence Podcast. I'm George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.

Doug Clay is general superintendent of the Assemblies of God, a U.S. fellowship with nearly three million adherents, 13,000 churches and 38,000 ministers. He is author of Conversations with My Younger Self, forthcoming from Gospel Publishing House.

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This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of The Holy Spirit in the Life of the Discipler.

The Holy Spirit in the Life of the Discipler equips you with an understanding of the Holy Spirit's role in your life. As a resource for both laypeople and ministry leaders, it also imparts practical insight for anyone discipling others in receiving the baptism in the Holy Spirit.

For more information about The Holy Spirit in the Life of the Discipler visit MyHealthyChurch.com.

"The future is coming, and you're not in it."

That's what Rear Admiral Chester Cain (played by Ed Harris) says to Captain Pete Mitchell (played by Tom Cruise) in Top Gun: Maverick.

Cain's reasoning? Mitchell will be replaced by AI. "These planes you've been testing, Captain, one day, sooner or later, they won't need pilots at all."

Technological advances initiate a process of creative destruction, in which old ways of doing things give way to new ways, in the process displacing people who do things the old way. The Luddites, for example, were weavers whose livelihoods were threatened by the adoption of automated weaving machines.

The concern with AI is not merely that it will replace people's jobs, but that it will fundamentally redefine what it means to be human.

How should pastors respond to this concern? That's the question I ask Paul A. Hoffman in this episode of the Influence Podcast. I'm George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.

Paul A. Hoffman is senior pastor of Evangelical Friends Church of Newport, Rhode Island, and coauthor with Sean O'Callaghan of AI Shepherds and Electric Sheep, published by Baker Academic.

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This episode of the Influence podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Open When . . . Parenting through Foster and Adoption.

Christian professionals delve into the unique challenges and struggles encountered by foster parents, adoptive parents, or kinship caregivers. Readers will be equipped with practical tools and strategies to navigate the complexities of guiding and nurturing children in nontraditional family structures.

For more information about Open When . . . Parenting through Foster and Adoption visit MyHealthyChurch.com.

Some time ago, a pastor called Chris Sonksen and confessed, "Our church is stuck, and I feel empty. I don't know what to do. I don't know how much longer I can keep doing this."

A lot of pastors feel this way. One Lifeway Research study found that six in 10 Protestant churches are plateaued or declining. More than half of churches saw fewer than 10 converts in the previous year.

Another Lifeway Research study reported that more than 60% of pastors say that stress weighs heavily on them, with at least half reporting that their burdens have robbed them of joy in ministry.

These pastors and the churches they lead seem like trains stuck on the tracks. What can they do to gain traction and get moving again?

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

Chris Sonksen is founding pastor of South Hills Church, a multi-state, multi-campus church based in Southern California, CEO and founder of Church Boom, and an ordained Assemblies of God minister. Most recently, he is author of Traction: Five Proven Principles for Unstoppable Growth, published by Avail.

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

This six-week women's Bible study will define biblical faith, address questions head-on, and unpack what it means to have audacious faith. Learn how to replace hopelessness and despair with vibrant faith that pleases the Lord and repels the enemy.

For more information about Audacious Faith visit MyHealthyChurch.com.

"The best days of the church are ahead," write Kara Powell, Jake Mulder, and Raymond Chang.

"Don't get us wrong. We are under no illusion that churches have it easy in this season. These days the church can feel … So fractured, So distracted. So divided and politicized. So exhausting. So hard to lead. Like everything is an uphill battle."

So why are these authors confident about the future of the church? That's the question I ask Kara Powell in this episode of the Influence Podcast. I'm George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.

Kara Powell is chief of leadership formation and executive director of the Fuller Youth Institute at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California, and a credentialed Assemblies of God minister. She is coauthor, with Mulder and Chang, of Future-Focused Church: Leading Through Change, Engaging the Next Generation, and Building a More Diverse Tomorrow, published by Baker Books.

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This episode of the Influence podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of the Ignite Parenting Conversation Cards.

Strengthen your family's relationships with God and each other with these easy-to-use Conversation Cards. Each card is uniquely designed with a question, faith builder statement, and a Bible verse to spark meaningful conversations that cultivate an open and nurturing environment in your home.

For more information about the Ignite Parenting Conversation Cards visit MyHealthyChurch.com.

"God could have spoken the heavens and earth into existence with a single word on a single day," writes Rick DuBose. "He did not need seven days in which to do His work."

"But that is not how Genesis records it. God, for all His creative power, intentionally chose to work through seven days of creation. God worked in seven creative stages. Our world exists because of that process. And it's in that process you can begin to better understand how God continues to work in your life."

In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I talk to DuBose about why God uses a process to transform our lives, and what the stages of that process are like. I'm George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.

Rick DuBose is assistant general superintendent of the Assemblies of God and author of The Creator's Wheel: 7 Phases of Godly Transformation, published in January by Chosen Books.

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This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of The Holy Spirit in the Life of the Discipler.

The Holy Spirit in the Life of the Discipler equips you with an understanding of the Holy Spirit's role in your life. As a resource for both laypeople and ministry leaders, it also imparts practical insight for anyone discipling others in receiving the baptism in the Holy Spirit.

For more information about The Holy Spirit in the Life of the Discipler visit MyHealthyChurch.com.

"Pentecostal historians have always acknowledged the miraculous stories accompanying the Azusa Street revival as an integral part of the Pentecostal experience," writes Ruthie Edgerly Oberg.

"However, the pressing question is whether the dubious and exaggerated claims of [author Tommy] Welchel will overshadow the genuine stories of ordinary men and women transformed by the Spirit, who carried the Pentecostal message into towns, cities, and nations, sparking a global movement."

In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I talk to Oberg about numerous problems with the histories of the Azusa Street Revival authored by Tommy Welchel. I'm George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.

Ruthie Edgerly Oberg is an ordained Assemblies of God minister and a conference speaker for the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center in Springfield, Missouri. Our conversation is based on an academic paper Oberg presented at the 53rdAnnual Meeting of the Society for Pentecostal Studies, which was titled, "The Mythologizing of Pentecostal History."

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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.