423. The Church Friendliness Crisis

Welcome to the Influence Podcast ! I'm George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host. In this episode I talk to Prof. Matthew D. Kim about his new book, Becoming a Friendlier Church: A Pathway to Genuine Community , forthcoming from Baker Books. Our focus is why churches are unfriendly and how they can become friendlier. "In this book, I want to draw attention to a crisis in congregations that may not be on many people's radars: too many churches are less friendly than they realize," Kim writes. "Unfriendliness might be furtively devouring their church's ministry effectiveness, influence, and longevity." Every church thinks it's friendly. But Kim writes, "Just as in the first round of American Idol, where some contestants overstate their singing abilities as they audition, many Christians believe they are good, friendly welcomers even if they're not." Matthew D. Kim, Ph.D., is professor of preaching and pastoral leadership, holder of the George W. Truett Endowed Chair in Preaching and Evangelism, and director of the Ph.D. in preaching program at Baylor University's Truett Seminary. Sponsor Ad This episode of the Influence podcast is brought to you by Gospel Publishing House, distributors of Autism in the Church . Make your church a place where everyone belongs. Many congregations feel unprepared to walk beside individuals with autism and their loved ones. Autism in the Church equips churches to create an environment where individuals with autism are not just present, but known, discipled, and celebrated as vital parts of the body of Christ. For more information about Autism in the Church visit GospelPublishingHouse.com. Show Notes 00:00 — Introduction and Sponsor Ad 02:27 — Defining friendliness and unfriendliness 04:43 — Why church friendliness is at crisis levels 07:03 — Apathy 11:50 — Busyness 17:32 — Prejudice 24:32 — Friendliness during a person's greatest needs 27:27 — What preachers can do 30:04 — What are you reading right now that is interesting, helpful, and/or personally challenging? 32:14 — Conclusion

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423. The Church Friendliness Crisis is an episode from Influence Podcast by George P. Wood.

This episode is 33:12 long.

This episode was published on Apr 30, 2026.

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