Everyone acknowledges that there are gaps between white and Black Americans with regard to a number of metrics, such as wealth, education, employment, and incarceration. The question is why these gaps persist. Answers range along a spectrum from structures at … Continue reading False Black Power | Book Review
J. I. Packer’s Knowing God was the first serious work of theology I read. It was my entrée into the Reformed evangelical tradition. While I am not and never have been a Calvinist, I still find Knowing God a helpful … Continue reading Pointing to the Pasturelands | Book Review
In 2018, Outreach magazine named LifePoint Church (AG) in Clarksville, Tennessee, the fastest-growing church in America. Church leaders around the nation began calling Pastor Mike Burnette for advice. “What three or four things did you do to experience such fast … Continue reading Parable Church | Book Review
“Jesus never told us how to ‘do church’,” writes Mike Burnette. Instead, Christ talked about “how to be his church,” and He did that through parables. Burnette examines what three of those parables say about the organizational culture of a … Continue reading Jesus’ Parables and Your Church’s Culture | Influence Podcast
Preaching and teaching God’s Word is an essential skill in pastoral ministry, whether you’re a senior pastor, youth pastor, children’s pastor, or the like. As with any skill, your preaching can improve with intentional practice. In Episode 205 of the … Continue reading How to Improve Your Preaching in 2020 | Influence Podcast
What do pastors do? A lot of things. Perhaps too many things. They preach and teach; plan worship services; officiate at major life events such as baby dedications, weddings, and funerals (“hatch, match, and dispatch,” as one wag puts it); … Continue reading Pastor Paul | Book Review
“Millennials, and now Gen Z, aren’t going to ruin the world or the church,” write David Kinnaman and Mark Matlock in their new book, Faith for Exiles. “We, the Christian community, would do well to put our confidence in them.” … Continue reading How to Make Disciples in Digital Babylon | Influence Podcast
In a recent article for InfluenceMagazine.com, Mark Entzminger wrote: “[A] poorly designed or implemented safety plan can not only damage the church’s reputation in the community but, more importantly, it can also damage the heart and spirit of a child for a … Continue reading Make Your Church Safe for Kids! | Influence Podcast
As a Pentecostal minister, I support women’s leadership in the church. I believe the Holy Spirit calls and empowers women to exercise their spiritual gifts, just as He does for men, whether those gifts prepare them for service as a lead pastor, a leading volunteer, or something in between. And I am grateful to be an ordained minister in the Assemblies of God, a denomination that affirms women’s leadership in both its theology and governing documents. Even so, I recognize that women continue to face obstacles on the road to fulfilling their God-given callings. One major obstacle is theological: Too … Continue reading Developing Female Leaders | Book Review
“The Bible Belt is the most difficult place in America to pastor a local church.” That’s what Dean Inserra’s friend Matt told him as they left seminary to plant churches, Dean in Florida and Matt in California. “In California, there is rarely confusion. Either you’re a Christian or you’re not. In the Bible Belt, many people think they’re Christians but have no concept of … the overall message of the gospel.” In Episode 174 of the Influence Podcast, Influencemagazine’s executive editor, George P. Wood, talks with Dean Inserra about eight types of cultural Christians and how to share the gospel … Continue reading Evangelizing the Unsaved Christian | Influence Podcast
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