Month: March 2019

Book ReviewsLeave a comment

The Miracle Lady | Book Review

georgepwood

Readers of a certain age remember Kathryn Kuhlman (1907–1976). She was “the miracle lady,” whose catchphrase, “I believe in miracles because I believe in God,” inspired millions to seek faith in Jesus Christ and the life-changing power of the Holy Spirit. The New International Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements even described her as the “world’s most widely known female evangelist.” Younger readers are likely unfamiliar with Kuhlman, however. Her miracle services, radio ministry, and syndicated television show, though well attended and widely consumed in her day, lost influence after her death. This decline was not unexpected. The ministries of … Continue reading The Miracle Lady | Book Review

Influence PodcastLeave a comment

Truth + Love = Influence | Influence Podcast

georgepwood

Jesus Christ is the greatest news the world has ever heard, and the internet and social media give contemporary Christians effective means to share it. Unfortunately, a lot of Christians are blowing their chance, as even a quick glance at Christians online shows. How can we better use these communication tools for greater gospel influence? I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influencemagazine and your host. In Episode 172 of the Influence Podcast, I’m talking to Matt Brown about the biblical formula for influence, whether you’re online or off. Matt is an Assemblies of God minister, founder of the online … Continue reading Truth + Love = Influence | Influence Podcast

Book ReviewsLeave a comment

Nothing to Lose | Book Review

georgepwood

Nothing to Lose is the second book in Victoria Selman’s mystery series featuring Ziba MacKenzie, a freelance criminal profiler who consults with New Scotland Yard. (I reviewed the first book, Blood for Blood, here.) In it, Ziba investigates two crimes: the  recent serial murders of young Persian women who look remarkably like herself and the murder of her husband some two years earlier. The story begins in the third person, with the Saturday interrogation of a suspect. It then moves backward in time three days to Wednesday, when the serial murders started. The plot develops rapidly, and the time frame of … Continue reading Nothing to Lose | Book Review

Book ReviewsLeave a comment

Wings of Fire | Book Review

georgepwood

I read Wings of Fire along with my fourth-grade son’s lunchtime reading group, and the boys loved the story. I hated it…intensely. To split the difference between the boys’ positive opinion of the book and my negative one, I’ve given the book three stars. Wings of Fire is the first in a series of books by Tui T. Sutherland set in Pyrrhia, the land of seven warring dragon tribes. Three sisters—Burn, Blister, and Blaze—are fighting to succeed their dead mother as queen of the SandWings. This war has spread throughout Pyrrhia, and individual sisters have made alliances with other dragon tribes in … Continue reading Wings of Fire | Book Review

Book ReviewsLeave a comment

Captain Nobody | Book Review

georgepwood

Newton Newman—“Newt” to friends and family—is a short, skinny, freckled ten-year-old boy who lives in the shadow of his small-town-famous older brother, Chris. Chris is varsity quarterback of the Ferocious Ferrets of Filmore High School, who, as Captain Nobody begins, face off against their cross-town rivals, the Chargers of Merrimac High, in the annual “big game.” In the opening chapter, Newt watches as his brother simultaneously scores the winning touchdown at the last second, gets a concussion, and goes into a coma as a result of the injury. Newt may be invisible to most people—a running gag throughout the book is … Continue reading Captain Nobody | Book Review

Book ReviewsLeave a comment

The Unsaved Christian | Book Review

georgepwood

Matthew 7:21–23 is one of the most sobering passages of the Bible. “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven,” Jesus tells His disciples, “but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” What does it mean to say, “Lord, Lord”? Jesus explains: “Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’” Regardless of their displays of spiritual power, Jesus’ verdict is negative: “Then I will … Continue reading The Unsaved Christian | Book Review

Book Reviews, Influence PodcastLeave a comment

Pentecostals and Social Injustice | Influence Podcast

georgepwood

According to the International Labour Organization of the United Nations, approximately 40 million people around the world are victims of modern slavery. Nearly 5 million are victims of forced sexual exploitation. Women and girls are disproportionally affected by this exploitation, accounting for 99 percent of victims in the commercial sex industry. How should Pentecostals respond to this particular evil? More broadly, how should they speak out prophetically against social injustice? That’s the question I’m exploring with Dr. Beth Grant in Episode 171 of the Influence Podcast. Dr. Grant is coufounder, with her husband David, of Project Rescue, whose mission is “to … Continue reading Pentecostals and Social Injustice | Influence Podcast

Book ReviewsLeave a comment

A Serial Killer’s Daughter | Book Review

georgepwood

Dennis Rader is a serial murderer whose self-chosen moniker, BTK, was an acronym for “bind, torture, kill.” Between 1974 and 1991, he killed ten people in Wichita, Kansas, including two children. Throughout this period, he lived an outwardly normal life, working full time, raising a family, volunteering with Boy Scouts, and serving as president of his church council. Kerri Rawson is BTK’s daughter. In A Serial Killer’s Daughter, she recounts her life with Rader until the moment that life fell apart on February 25, 2005, when her father was arrested. Over the next decade, she suffered anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic … Continue reading A Serial Killer’s Daughter | Book Review

Influence PodcastLeave a comment

Praying through All the Seasons of Life | Influence Podcast

georgepwood

The Book of Psalms is the prayer book of the Church. It shows Christians all the ways to pray through all the seasons of life, the good and the bad, the high and the low. No wonder the New Testament quotes it more than any other Old Testament book! In this episode of the Influence Podcast, Dr. George O. Wood–aka, Dad–explains how to read the Book of Psalms for preaching and pastoral ministry. Dr. Wood is chairman of the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, former general superintendent of the Assemblies of God (USA), and author of A Psalm in Your … Continue reading Praying through All the Seasons of Life | Influence Podcast

Book ReviewsLeave a comment

The Fire That Consumes | Book Review

georgepwood

Edward William Fudge’s The Fire That Consumes (3rded.) makes an exhaustive—and occasionally exhausting—biblical and historical case for a conditionalist understanding of hell. Traditionalism teaches that “God will make the wicked immortal, to suffer unending conscious torment in hell.” By contrast, conditionalism teaches that “the wicked will finally and truly die, perish, and become extinct forever, through a destructive process that encompasses whatever degree and duration of conscious torment God might sovereign and just impose in each case.” According to Fudge, the duration of hell’s torments is the only issue that divides the two camps. The biblical component of Fudge’s case occupies … Continue reading The Fire That Consumes | Book Review