According to Stephen Covey, one of the seven habits of highly effective people is beginning with the end in mind. I doubt Covey was thinking about the Book of Revelation when he identified that habit, but I can’t think of … Continue reading The End Times and the Church’s Mission | Influence Podcast
Gavin D’ Costa, Paul Knitter, and Daniel Strange compare and contrast three models of how Christianity relates to other world religions in their book Only One Way? D’ Costa is a Catholic theologian and outlines the formal position of the … Continue reading Only One Way? | Book Review
In Christianity Encountering World Religions, Terry Muck and Frances S. Adeney provide an “explanation of and argument for giftive mission” (7). They state their thesis up front: Mission to peoples of historically resistant religions [i.e., non-Christian religions] could be made … Continue reading Christianity Encountering World Religions | Book Review
Compassion and the Mission of God has two purposes, which Rupen Das articulates in the book’s Introduction, the first as a statement and the second as a question. First, the statement: “This book will revision some of the biblical narratives … Continue reading Compassion and the Mission of God | Book Review
Welcome to the Influence Podcast, a collection of inspiring and challenging conversations, aimed at empowering the entire spectrum of church leadership, from lead pastor to lead volunteer In Episode 207, I’m talking to Doug Clay about the good things God … Continue reading What’s Happening in the Assemblies of God Today? | Influence Podcast
Pentecostals and the Poor began to take shape when the Asia Pacific Theological Association invited Ivan Satyavrata to present four lectures on the theme, “Power, Tradition, and Social Engagement,” at its fall 2011 General Assembly in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Satyavrata … Continue reading Pentecostals and the Poor | Book Review
“When compassionate missions stand apart from evangelistic efforts and apart from the work of the local church, the uniquely redemptive role of the church is either diminished or lost altogether,” writes Dr. Jerry Ireland in For the Love of God. … Continue reading Evangelism, Compassion, and Mission(s) | Influence Podcast
For the Love of God, edited by Jerry M. Ireland, examines “principles and practice of compassion in missions,” as the subtitle puts it. Part 1 examines principles, and Part 2 examines practices. Contributors are for the most part missionaries with … Continue reading For the Love of God | Book Review
When it comes to American churches, I have bad news, and I have good news. Bad news first: Most churches in America are plateaued or declining, and fewer Americans self-identify as Christians. If you’re a pastor or church leader, you … Continue reading You Found Me | Book Review
America is angry. Turn on TV news, tune into talk radio, check your timeline on social media, and chances are good you’ll see someone angry—outraged!—about something. Some commentators even worry that our nation is on the verge of a civil war. It would be nice to say that Christians in America are tamping down the fires of outrage, but unfortunately, that’s not always true. Instead, some Christians are fanning the flames. They’re kicking outrage up to 11. One Christian leader who’s trying to turn the outrage down is Ed Stetzer. He thinks outrage is unbiblical and anti-Great Commission. In his … Continue reading Christians in the Age of Outrage | Influence Podcast
