“Young people are increasingly less likely to be engaged with institutional forms of religious expression,” writes Josh Packard. “Decades-long trends continue: for a large and growing segment of young people, religiosity is increasingly decoupled from institutions, even as they express … Continue reading Why Aren’t Young People Going to Church | Influence Podcast
“What troubles me is that much of the modern evangelical movement in America does not seem to grasp the priority of the call of apprenticeship to Jesus,” writes Ryan Post. “Rather than teaching people to obey everything Jesus has commanded … Continue reading How the Beatitudes Shape Discipleship | Influence Podcast
“There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils,” wrote C. S. Lewis in The Screwtape Letters. “One is to disbelieve their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive … Continue reading The Dark Side of Discipleship | Influence Podcast
In a 2019 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 … Continue reading How to Make Your Church Spiritually Safe for Kids | Influence Podcast
“While God can (and does) interact with individuals in a vacuum,” writes Don Everts, “he often uses the household as a reliable laboratory for discipleship.” In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I’m talking to Everts about three characteristics of … Continue reading Messy Prayers, Loud Tables, and Open Doors | Influence Podcast
John Mark Comer lived many pastors’ dream. He led a growing congregation (adding 1,000 adherents annually for seven years running) in the Pacific Northwest (one of the nation’s most secular regions). You’d think he’d be happy, but he wasn’t. He … Continue reading How to Ruthlessly Eliminate Hurry from Your Life and Ministry | Influence Podcast
“Americans today are less involved in spiritual conversations than we were twenty-five years ago,” writes Don Everts in his new book, The Reluctant Witness. In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I talk to Everts about why this is the case … Continue reading How to Have Better Spiritual Conversations | Influence Podcast
“Too often,” writes Donna Barrett, “prayer looks like an activity on a sports field. You know, a select group of athletes make up two teams who are in fantastic shape, well-practiced, and highly trained. They do their thing at such a level of expertise that the spectators in the stands are awed and amazed. Though a fan may toss the ball around in their backyard, that person knows full well they can’t play at the level of the pros down on the field.” In this episode of the Influence Podcast, Influence magazine’s executive editor, George P. Wood, talks to Rev. … Continue reading Leveling the Praying Field | Influence Podcast
If Christian book publishing trends are any indication, contemplative spirituality is a hot topic among Christian readers — hotin the dual sense that it arouses intense interest as well as intense opposition. Proponents claim it is an ancient Christian practice capable of deepening a person’s love for God and neighbor. Opponents counterclaim that it is biblically subpar, smacks of medieval Catholicism, and opens the door to New Age mysticism. In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I’m talking to John Coe and Kyle Strobel about whether contemplative spirituality is Christian, and if so, how. Coe and Strobel are professors at … Continue reading Is Contemplative Spirituality Christian? | Influence Podcast
“We are all living according to a specific regimen of habits,” writes Justin Whitmel Earley, “and those habits shape most of our life.” Even more, “they form our hearts.” In The Common Rule, Earley outlines a “rule of life” or “program of habits” to help readers fulfill the biblical commandment to love God and neighbor (Matthew 22:34–40). Earley calls this program “the common rule” because it has to do with “common practice by common people.” Its focus on laity rather than clergy distinguishes it from the well-known “rules” of Benedict or Augustine, although its basic purpose is the same as theirs. The … Continue reading The Common Rule | Book Review
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