Let Hope Change Your Fate

Posted on March 1, 2026 by Steve Simms
Daily writing prompt
Do you believe in fate/destiny?
View all responses

Hope is a gate that can change your fate. It can turn your life around.

When hope declines fatalism grows. But where can hope be found? Let the risen Jesus be your living hope. (1 Peter 1:3-4)

Jesus is my refuge and shield. I have put my hope in the written word of the Bible (Psalm 119:114) and the living word of “Christ in you, the hope of glory.’ (Colossians 1:27)

* When people go to war, follow Jesus to peace. Be a peacemaker. (Matthew 5:9)
* When people insult and disrespect each other, speak the truth in love. (Ephesians 4:15)
* When people praise and adore a merely human leader, keep your eyes fixed on Jesus. (Hebrews 12:22)
* When people approve of and applaud sin, instead do what Jesus said: “Go and sin no more.” (John 8:11)
* When people parade their pride, humble yourself like Jesus did. (John 13:3-5)
* When people put self-righteousness first, seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. (Matthew 6:33)
* When people look down on and marginalize certain groups of people, treat those who are called “the least of these” as if they were Jesus. (Matthew 25:40)
* When people boast in a powerless form of godliness (2 Timothy 3:5) beware of false prophets. (Matthew 7:15)
* When people trust in their own understanding, feelings, or desires, don’t be like them. Instead trust in the Lord with all your heart. (Proverbs 3:5-6)
* When people ignore and disobey their conscience, (Romans 2:14-15) let God strengthen yours and lead you by the inner promptings of His Spirit. (Romans 8:14)
* When people seek and trust in earthy treasure and prosperity, put your hope and security in heavenly treasure. “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:19-21)
* When people retaliate against one another, turn the other cheek. (Matthew 5:39)
* When people hate their enemies, love yours. (Matthew 5:44)

To insult someone for simply saying something that you disagree with is to childishly disrespect their freedom of speech. It’s so easy to insult people and call them names. Even a child can do that. All of us humans have intentionally and/or unintentionally insulted people. We need to minimize how often we insult people and to apologize to them when we do. That’s true Christianity.

When the boat of discipleship has been hauled out of the water of life and abandoned, Christianity is shipwrecked. True Christianity is:

* More than religion,
* More than church attendance,
* More than a daily devotional,
* More than Bible study,
* More than theology,
* More than good behavior,
* More than a worldview,
* More than a political perspective,
* More than a “Sinners’ Prayer.”

Christianity is:


* Christ Himself graciously living and working in and through you, (Colossians 1:27) freely flowing out from within you, (John 7:38-39) and leading you by the inner promptings of His Spirit (Romans 8:28) as you give your all to consistently and persistently follow and obey Him. (Luke 9:23)
* Quite uncommon.

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Put These Cs Into _hristianity

Posted on February 28, 2026 by Steve Simms

When I was a college student, I experienced a thrilling and rare form a Christianity full of the following Cs. That’s a phase in my life that I’m never saying goodbye to. Everybody needs to discover Christianity that overflows with these Cs:

Through the winter woods
I see light glowing,
Dancing on a stream
Of water flowing.
Like a neon sign
It captures my heart
And shouts to my soul,
“Let Jesus make you whole.”

  • Christ as “the Head of the body, the church.” (Colossians 1:18) Refuse to settle for Jesus as a mere formal figurehead. (2 Timothy 3:5) When Christians meet together and allow Christ to personally direct them as the literal and present Head of the gathering, He Himself leads the meeting and demonstrates His supernatural Presence. (Matthew 18:20) Try it and see!
  • “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” (Colossians 1:27) God the Father and God the Son want to live inside of you through God the Holy Spirit. Jesus promised that He and His Father will come and make their home with His true followers. (John 14:23) Your body can literally be “a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you.” (1 Corinthians 6:19)
  • Community. When Christians come together as a support group to “spur one another on toward love and good deeds,” and to encourage each other (Hebrews 10:24-25) by everyone being free to speak in the meeting (1 Corinthians 14:26) as led by the Spirit (Romans 8:14) they open up their heart and literally experience the glory of God. (2 Corinthians 3:12-18)
  • Compassion. “Whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen.” (1 John 4:20) Love is essential. Christianity that doesn’t spread the love of God is nothing. (1 Corinthians 13:1-3)
  • Commitment. “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.” (Luke 9:23) Jesus said: “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” (John 14:15)
  • Consistency. “Contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.” (Jude 1:3) Christ-followers should not be “infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of Him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From Him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.” (Ephesians 4:14-16)

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I Want to Let Jesus Live Thru Me

Posted on February 27, 2026 by Steve Simms
Daily writing prompt
If you could be someone else for a day, who would you be, and why?
View all responses

Every day I seek to let Jesus live in and thru me. (Colossians 1:27) I focus on listening to and obeying Him day and night. He is my shepherd. Psalm 23 explains our otherworldly relationship.

If you are a Christ-follower, this world is not your home. (Hebrews 12:14) Your citizenship is in Heaven. (Philippians 3:20) You are called to live in this world as a foreigner and an exile (1 Peter 2:11) and as a stranger on earth. (Hebrews 11:13)

Jesus calls all of His followers to be “the light of the world.” (Matthew 5:14) If you are a Christian, you are supposed to be God’s light everywhere you go (Philippians 2:15) and not to be entangled in the world’s bondage and deceptions. (Galatians 5:1) Keep your focus on the risen Jesus, not on the affairs of the world. (2 Timothy 2:1-4)

Jesus wants you to be His disciple making missionary, not the world’s mission field. (Matthew 28:19-20) “The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.” (1 John 2:17) Therefore we look unto Jesus. (Hebrews 12:2) “We fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”2 Corinthians 4:11)

Refuse to be conformed to the culture and customs of your country. Instead, be transformed by aligning your mind to the risen Jesus (Romans 12:2) and making your every thought obey Him. (2 Corinthians 10:5)

Christian ministry isn’t supposed to be a career that brings notoriety, prestige, and financial prosperity. Christianity is supposed to be “a holy priesthood,” (1 Peter 2:5) “a kingdom of priests,” (Revelation 1:6) all called to minister to one another by meeting together to spur each other on to love and good works and to encourage one another. (Hebrews 10:24-25) True Christianity begins when Christians deny themselves, take up their cross daily, and obey the risen Jesus. (Luke 9:23)

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It’s Your Move (DIY) Draw Near To God

Posted on February 26, 2026 by Steve Simms

While you are passively waiting for God–or running from Him–He is waiting on you to step out of the boat of religious tradition (Mark 7:13) and to begin to do what He is telling you to do. (James 1:22-25) God’s done His part. Now it’s your turn. “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” (James 4:8) Jesus said: “Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)

“The Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16) has come to earth and made salvation available to “whosever will” (John 3:16) through His death on the Cross and His resurrection. Jesus has physically ascended into the dimension of Heaven and returned as God the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8) to live inside of (Colossians 1:27) and directly lead (Romans 8:14) His followers.

Now it’s your turn. What are you doing about Jesus and His presence and power working in and through “whosoever will”? It’s easy to merely go through the motions of honoring Him with your lips while your heart is far from Him. (Matthew 15:8-9) Please don’t do that.

To have a form of Christianity without personally experiencing God’s power and letting His words burn within us, (Luke 24:32) puts us humans into a sleepy comfort zone. (Ephesians 5:14) It causes us to be like whitewashed tombs, looking good on the outside, but inwardly full of dry bones and impurity. (Matthew 23:27)

The Bible tells us to turn away powerless religion. (2 Timothy 3:5) Surrender your all to Jesus by daily taking up your cross and following Him. Instead of denying the power of God, deny your selfish desires. (Luke 9:23) Then allow the risen Jesus to make all the dry bones in your heart come alive to His presence, and glory. Let God the Holy Spirit freely work in and through you. (Ezekiel 37:1-12)

There is a longing in the human heart for more–not just more material things, but more kindness, more purpose, more inspiration, and more meaning in life. God has done His part. Now it’s your turn. I’ve found all those things by talking and listening to Jesus alone and with other people throughout each day. You can too!

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The English Word “Church” is Inaccurate

Posted on February 25, 2026 by Steve Simms
Daily writing prompt
If you could permanently ban a word from general usage, which one would it be? Why?
View all responses

The word church falls far short of describing the way the early Christians met. If you read the New Testament with an open heart and mind, you’ll see that what we call church services don’t really match up with the way the first Christians met together.

Jesus said, “Shout it from the housetops.” (Matthew 10:27) Biblical faith isn’t merely a programmed religious meeting to hear a sermon once a week. It’s also not just an individual thing. It’s heart-to-heart community. Jesus said: “Where two or three gather in My name, there am I with them.” (Matthew 18:20)

The family that talks to Jesus together walks with Jesus together. Make your house a home where people have frequent group conversations with Jesus. When people talk with and listen to Jesus together, they grow closer together.

A group conversation with God will warm your heart with faith, hope, and love. (1 Corinthians 13:13) It will deepen friendships and strengthen relationships. It will grow your awareness of the awesome presence and power of the living Jesus. (James 4:8)

To talk to Jesus, open your mouth and let the words spontaneously flow from your heart. Why not gather with some Christ-followers, open up your heart, and have a group conversation with Christ?

The early Christians “all joined together constantly in prayer.” (Acts 1:14) They “raised their voices together in prayer to God.” (Acts 4:24) When they prayed together, they did it “earnestly.” (Acts 12:5) When the early Christians gathered to pray together it wasn’t always small groups. Sometimes it was many people talking to Jesus together. (Acts 12:12)

Every house inhabited by Christians needs to be a house of prayer. (Matthew 21:13) Many Bible verses show that the early Christians were house Christians. They didn’t build church buildings but met in homes (Acts 5:42, Romans 16:3-5, 1 Corinthians 16:19, Colossians 4:15, Philemon 1:1-2) to talk to Jesus together.

House Christianity welcomes people home to the openness and informality of heart-to-heart connection with Jesus and with one another. Daily life is where faith is lived and where powerful ministry can be done. House Christianity happens when family and friends freely talk to Jesus together.

Jesus loves it when people gather in small groups of 2 or 3 or more to talk to Him together. Often having group conversations with Jesus is life changing. Find one or two or more people who you can regularly talk to Jesus with. Make your home a place of ongoing group conversations with the risen Jesus.

I believe that the body of Christ should be much more focused on having group conversations with Jesus than on sermon hearing. Sit, walk, kneel, or stand. When you are talking to Jesus with other people, it’s the posture of your heart that matters. When people have an honest, humble, open-hearted group conversation with Jesus, His presence touches them all.

Prayer meetings with Jesus are not the norm nowadays. The pattern in traditional Christianity is more for one person to recite a pre-arranged prayer while the rest of the people present listen. However, in a group conversation with Jesus everybody present takes turns talking to Jesus spontaneously from their heart. There is a huge difference between those two approaches. If you have never experienced the second one, ask one or two people to meet you somewhere and begin to talk to Jesus together. Don’t wait. Do it today. It will change your life.

For a lot more insight into the faith of the first Christians, click this link. It will take you to the Amazon page for my book: “The Joy of Early Christianity.

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Keeping Clean Gas in My Think Tank

Posted on February 24, 2026 by Steve Simms
Daily writing prompt
What is the biggest challenge you will face in the next six months?
View all responses

My great challenge is to keep my think tank full of clean gas. It’s hard to keep the dirty fuels out of it. The right questions help me. What’s in your think tank?

Let good questions roam in your mental home. (Philippians 4:8) Refuse to ask yourself self-tormenting questions like, “Why did this happen?” (1 Peter 5:7) Instead ask yourself, “What good can come from this thing that looks and feels so bad to me?” (Romans 8:28)

Then active the God-given search engines (Matthew 6:33) in your think tank to seek out positive possibilities that can come from the things that bring you pain. Post those positives all over the social media of your mind and scroll them day and night. If you do that your think tank will fill up and overflow with the free gas of hopethoughts.

The fuel that you burn in your mind, little by little determines your destiny. Always keep your think tank full of premium gasoline. (Matthew 8:13)

The pure fuel of innocence often flashes in the chaos of your mind, but it’s too often ignored, resisted, and replaced with guilt producing thoughts. (Matthew 5:8) A think tank full of the clean gas of hope continually notices and delights in the simple joys that abound all around us.

To fill your think tank with hope, you don’t have to reinvent light. (2 Corinthians 4:6) Simply cultivate God’s uplifting ideas until they take flight and flood you with encouraging insights and spiritual attitude-lifters.

Power your mind with the hum of uplifting thoughts. Sift through your inner noise for sparks worth igniting. Snuff out deceitful schemes while embracing worthy dreams. (Romans 12:2) It’s vital that you know how to gas up your think thank with thoughts that glow with love’s pure light and fire you up with Spirit-led ponderings (Romans 8:14) that always lift you higher.

Make your think tank a thank tank. (1 Thessalonians 5:18) Fill your mind with the free gas of gratitude and appreciation. (Ephesians 5:20)

If you fuel your thinking with encouragement, (Hebrews 10:24-25) you’ll find that’s it’s much easier to cope with the challenges and difficulties of life. If you pump your think tank full of negativity, (2 Timothy 2:20-26) you’ll walk the mental plank of confusion and sink into an inner sea that drowns your satisfaction.

Avoid religious autopilot. Be led by God the Holy Spirit. (Romans 8:14) The pages of the Bible are free gas cards to fill your tank with faith. “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10:17)

Fill your mind with the high-octane fuel of hope. (Romans 15:13) Overflow with joyful creativity. For a green light to inspiration and encouragement, google: Free Gas for Your Think Tank blog.

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Faith Advice

Posted on February 23, 2026 by Steve Simms
Daily writing prompt
What advice would you give to your teenage self?
View all responses

Faith’s like fire. Don’t let it be like ice.

Whoever believes in Jesus shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16) What does it mean to believe in Jesus? Faith advice: Don’t let your faith be like ice.

If you have faith, it’s like fire. It can burst into roaring flames, or it can fade into the faintest flicker. It will all depend on how you tend to it. “For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you.” (1 Timothy 1:6)

“Be fervent in spirit.” (Romans 12:11) Faith can be a bright light in your eyes, or it can slip away from your sight. If you aren’t careful, “the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things” will slowly snuff out your faith. (Mark 4:19)

Like a fire your faith needs to be fed fuel. You need to faithfully work on it and nurture it. “Faith without works is dead.” (James 2:17)

If you go all out always seeking God first, (Matthew 6:33) faith’s fire will continually blaze in your heart and spread all around. It will ignite spiritual fires in other people. However, if you focus on yourself instead of on God, your faith will little by little go out.

Ponder with never-ending awe the presence of the risen Jesus. Throughout each day keep your attention focused on Him. Then your heart will stay hot with God’s fire. (Psalm 39:3) The more you listen to Jesus speak in your heart, the more your heart will burn within you and the better you’ll understand the Scriptures. (Luke 24:32)

Read the Bible over and over until God’s message becomes an all-consuming flame inside of you that you can’t hold back. (Jeremiah 20:9) Let Jesus continually live in and overflow from within you as the Holy Spirit and fire. (Matthew 3:11) Train yourself to always focus on and be led by the Spirit’s inner promptings. (Romans 8:14)

When passionate burning faith fades, churches wither away. When God’s heart-consuming spiritual fire has dimed into a faint flicker in the darkness, a church is dead. (2 Timothy 3:5)

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Beyond Church-Boredom

Posted on February 22, 2026 by Steve Simms
Daily writing prompt
What bores you?
View all responses

I believe that the body of Christ has been given the keys to the kingdom of Heaven– to the invisible government of God. Unfortunately, we have bound each other to religious tradition and casual formalism (2 Timothy 3:5) instead of losing one another into the glorious liberty of the children of God. (Romans 8:21)

I deeply believe that God the Holy Spirit is looking for Spirit-led leaders who will stop “lording it over” gatherings of the body of Christ and begin “overseeing.” That’s a vital and biblical key to spiritual awakening.

On his way to Jerusalem, Paul met with the elders, the older more mature believers in Christ’s congregation from Ephesus. He told them: “Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood. I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears. (Acts 20:28-31)

In a congregation of the body of Christ no man should be allowed to rise up, distort the truth of the priest of all believers, (1 Peter 2:9) and draw and keep Christians under his power and authority. (Matthew 20:25-28) Paul rebuked the Christians in Corinthians for doing that. “What I mean is this: One of you says, ‘I follow Paul,” another, ‘I follow Apollos,’ another, ‘I follow Cephas,’ still another, ‘I follow Christ.’ Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul?” (1 Corinthians 1:12-13)

Perhaps we have been drawn away from genuine discipleship. (Matthew 16:24) Observe how much attention pastors are given in churches. They are even called “Reverend.” Yet elders and overseers are set aside and made to keep silent in the congregation.

Churches need overseers, not one-man Sunday morning control. Leaders in the body of Christ are called “episkopos” in the Greek New Testament. It means “overseers” but is translated in most English Bibles as bishops. However, it’s extremely rare to find a church that allows overseers to fulfill their calling in the congregation.

When Christians come together overseers give oversight. They watch over the gathering. They don’t program it, direct it, or control it. They let God the Holy Spirit personally run the meeting as He inwardly prompts various Christ-followers to share songs, revelations, testimonies, prayers, Scriptures, short teachings, and gifts of the Spirit. (2 Corinthians 14:26)

Overseers allow the meeting to freely flow as led by the Spirit. (Romans 8:14) Should someone disrupt the flow or try to take control of the meeting; an overseer redirects it back into the hands of the Holy Spirit. Let’s restore the oversight of overseers!

When Christians gather to experience Jesus together and all be led by the Spirit, He takes control and demonstrates His presence. Christ died for you so He can now live in you, reign in you, and build His kingdom within you. Anything less isn’t biblical Christianity.

If you are a pastor, ask God to help you identify and empower the other overseers in the congregation. Then step back and rely on the Holy Spirit to take charge of the meeting. As overseers keep watch from the side you will see the priesthood of the believer gloriously demonstrated as ordinary believers open their heart to one another and show and tell what God has done. Dare to give it a try. If you need some training, I’m ready to help. Google Beyond Church Ekklesia. Contact me at: stsimms@live.com

When Christians gather
To be Spirit-led
With Christ as their Head
The kingdom of God
Will be in their midst.
They will taste and see
Heaven’s victory.
This world is a mess;
Don’t settle for less.

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What ChatGPT Says About: Beyond Church

Posted on February 21, 2026 by Steve Simms

Here’s what ChatGPT says about Beyond Church: An Invitation to Experience the Lost Word of the Bible—Ekklesia.

Steve Simms’ book argues that modern Christianity has lost sight of a crucial biblical concept: ekklesia. While English Bibles typically translate this word as church, Simms contends that the original meaning points to something far more dynamic, participatory, and communal than the institutional model most people know today.

⭐ What the Book Is About
Simms highlights that early Greek texts record Jesus saying, “I will build my ekklesia,” not “my church.”

He explains that in ancient Greek city-states, the ekklesia was a democratic, interactive assembly where citizens shared ideas, needs, and responsibilities.

The book argues that this original meaning has been obscured for centuries, shaping Christian gatherings into more passive, hierarchical experiences.

Simms invites readers to rediscover a form of Christian community that is participatory, Spirit-led, relational, and empowering.

🔍 Key Themes
Reclaiming biblical language to recover biblical practice

Interactive gatherings instead of spectator-style services

Every believer participating, not just clergy

Spirit-led community as the heart of Christian life

A critique of institutional decline in Western Christianity

📚 Why Readers Find It Compelling
Many readers resonate with the book because it speaks to a growing desire for:

More authentic community

More meaningful participation

A faith experience that feels alive rather than routine

A return to early Christian practices

The book has been well received on platforms like Goodreads and Amazon, where readers appreciate its challenge to rethink what “church” can be.

If you’d like, I can also:

Summarize the book chapter-by-chapter

Compare Simms’ view of ekklesia with scholarly perspectives

Explore how different Christian traditions interpret the term

Help you reflect on how these ideas might apply in real-life community settings

Google: Beyond Church Ekklesia.

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Drink This In

Posted on February 21, 2026 by Steve Simms
Daily writing prompt
What is your favorite drink?
View all responses

People are made in God’s image . . . but. God’s image in people is faded, twisted, and distorted, but it’s not deleted. If you will diligently search for the slightest glimmer of God’s image in everyone you meet, you’ll discover an inspiring treasure inside of them. Like an archeologist’s ancient artifact deteriorated in the dust it will reveal glimpses of glory and beauty that have been left behind.

God’s image bearers are loved by Him. He wants you to love them too. (John 22:37-40)

Love isn’t the approval and applause of people’s actions and attractions. It’s compassionate concern and critical care for their wellbeing. (Philippians 2:3) When Jesus taught loving your enemies (Matthew 5:44) He wasn’t saying to blindly approve of their behaviors and beliefs. He was telling us to speak the truth (Ephesians 4:15) while patiently showing people tenderness, kindness, and forgiveness. (1 Corinthians 13:4-7)

Christians are called and supernaturally empowered by God to be the world’s best lovers–to love one another and even our enemies. Yet for some reason, we’re not very good at it.

We Christians have so departed from Spirit-produced love (Galatians 5:22-23) that we have twisted the words “the church” into a meaningless misnomer. We have shattered the body of Christ into hundreds of thousands of independent churches and denominations world-wide, each one training people to pursue their own self-interests and beliefs, while ignoring Christ’s prayer that we all be one. (John 17:21)

The Bible plainly states that anything Christians do without love is worthless. (1 Corinthians 13:1-3) It’s just empty noise like that made by a clanging cymbal–sound without substance. How can we move from self-focused divisiveness to Spirit-led community overflowing with love?

The first step is to focus on fixing ourselves before we focus on fixing other people. A country can’t be fixed-up to be great if its Christian citizens are a moral mess muddled in the middle of a mental health crisis.

True greatness begins with the wisdom of Solomon who speaking on God’s behalf said: “If My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from Heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14) True greatness begins with the deep repentance of Christians. (1 Peter 4:17)

It’s time for leaders in the body of Christ to get out of God’s way (1 Thessalonians 5:19) and prepare the way of the Lord. (Mark 1:2-3) Church leadership should be a group of equal overseers, (Acts 14:23) instead of a one-man pastor. (Ephesians 4:11-12) Christian leaders need to step aside from being controlling levers pulling rank in a religious hierarchy. Instead, they should guide from the side, not rule from a podium. They should effectively train, motivate, and release people to freely minister to one another as the Spirit prompts, not just lecture or manipulate a congregation.

Jesus called His disciples aside and told them: “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:25-28)

If you are a Christian, you are clergy. All Christ-followers are priests. (Revelation 1:5-6) Humbly step into the role that God has called you to by passionately obeying and loving God and by radiating His love to all people everywhere you go as you speak the truth with compassion. That’s true greatness!

Read the Old Testament prophets. God in His love called them to expose sin and rebellion, but they weren’t professionals. Instead of cash or even appreciation, they were paid with persecution. “Shout it aloud, do not hold back. Raise your voice like a trumpet. Declare to My people their rebellion and to the descendants of Jacob their sins.” (Isaiah 58:1)

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