God Wants You To Be An Influencer

An Introduction to the Study

(to watch a narrated version of this introduction, click here)

I tried to get one of my kids to eat peas the other day. It wasn’t pretty. I insisted, he resisted. Locked in a stalemate, I had to pull out my influence principles. And for this battle, it looked like I might need all fifteen principles that we’ll cover in this study.

In the span of about 30 seconds, I mentally rifled through some options. I could use the “authority” principle (“do it because I say so”); I could use the “social evidence” principle (“look how nicely your brother is eating his peas”); I could use the “limited availability” principle (“I’m setting the timer—you have two minutes to be done”); I could take the softer approach of focusing on some benefit for him (“did you know that eating vegetables makes you grow tall?”); I could try to be likable (“you make me so proud when you eat your veggies”); I could even tell him an inspirational story (“let me tell you about some kids I saw in Brazil who spend their day begging for food”).

In the end, though, I defaulted to the old, efficient stand-by: creating consequences. Eat or else. Since the “or else” was one part credible and two parts uncomfortable, it culminated in the boy’s compliance. But in an epilogue of silent protest, he swallowed each pea like a pill, placing one at a time in the back of his throat and washing it down with a big gulp of water.

Well, problem solved…at least until next time. And unfortunately, next time was the next dinner.

Friend, this is not influence. I have to admit, too, that it’s not uncommon for me either. When it comes to being genuinely influential and producing long-term change, I probably fail more than I succeed. That’s why I’ve delved into scripture to pull out God’s principles of persuasion. There’s gotta be a better way.

As it turns out, there is—a lot of better ways, in fact. God’s ways. What I’ve discovered as I’ve studied and taught this material over the past couple years is that the Judeo-Christian scriptures offer all sorts of instruction about becoming more influential. From Genesis to Revelation, there’s an abundance of divine counsel available to those of us who want to make a difference in the world, or at least our small corner of it.

Read the entire Introduction to the study