Welcome to the Influence Podcast!

I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host. In this episode, I talk to Allen Tennison about what Pentecostal ministers should read in 2026. Tennison serves as theological counsel to The General Counsel of the Assemblies of God.

Reading may not be at or even near the top of many ministers’ new year’s resolutions, but it should be. In an August 1760 letter to John Premboth, John Wesley wrote:

What has exceedingly hurt you in time past, nay, and I fear to this day, is want of reading.

I scarce ever knew a preacher read so little. And perhaps, by neglecting it, you have lost the taste for it. Hence your talent in preaching does not increase. It is just the same as it was seven years ago. It is lively, but not deep; there is little variety, there is no compass of thought. Reading only can supply this, with meditation and daily prayer. You wrong yourself greatly by omitting this. You can never be a deep preacher without it, any more than a thorough Christian.

Even if you agree with Wesley, questions remain: How long should I read every day? What should I read? How do I balance reading with my other pastoral responsibilities? Those are the questions Tennison and I discuss in this episode.

IN THIS PODCAST

• 0:00:00 — Introduction
• 0:01:34 — Sponsor Copy
• 0:02:38 — How does reading help ministers deepen their preaching and spiritual formation?
• 0:07:18 — How much time should ministers devote to reading, and what’s a realistic goal for how many books they should read?
• 0:14:43 — What kinds of knowledge should ministers seek in books?
• 0:20:00 — What Bible study books — commentaries, biblical theologies, reference works, etc. — would you recommend?
• 0:37:14 — What theology books would you recommend?
• 0:48:55 — What histories and biographies do you recommend?
• 1:03:10 — What books about ethics and pastoral theology would you recommend?
• 1:08:07 — What books on preaching and church administration would you recommend?
• 1:15:36 — Conclusion

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