Jesus never said, “Well done, good and successful servant.” He said, “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:23, ...

The complete Spring 2026 issue of Influence magazine is now available online. John Easter writes in the cover story that now is the time to “move mountains” and evangelize the world’s unreached people ...

The face-to-face meeting with the pastor and his leadership team was a normal setting for me, as the focus of my leadership ministry is on helping leaders. The atmosphere was an open, lighthearted ...

A well-known evangelical pastor recently announced that he will not speak at conferences that include women speakers. “There’s a line at which you can’t cross because someone is blatantly disobedient ...

When was the last time you thought about membership? For some churches, it’s very important. But for others, it’s become an afterthought. I have not taken any serious poll on the matter. If I did, ...

American Christianity has often been described as “a mile wide but an inch deep.” In other words, there is a mismatch between the quantity of believers and the quality of their discipleship. The rise ...

We had been sitting in standstill traffic for over an hour, waiting for a bike race to clear the two-lane road we were traveling. I rubbed my pregnant belly and glanced back at our two young daughters ...

In recent years, some churches have stopped having altar calls. Yet time in the service for seeking God is more than just a holdover from a bygone era. The altar call still serves an important ...

While I was never a rebellious preacher’s kid, my behavior once shocked a deacon. Our church used pieces of delicious sourdough bread in celebrating the Lord’s Supper. One Sunday just after Communion, ...

After graduating from Central Bible College in Springfield, Missouri, I took classes at a local university and volunteered at Victory Mission. Wages from my fast-food restaurant job barely covered ...

Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The United States established this federal holiday to honor him and to serve as “a time for Americans to reflect on the principles of racial equality and ...

In nearly every family, there is someone who is awkward, occasionally entertaining, and never predictable. This person’s antics elicit uncomfortable glances between family members and bewildered ...