Here are 3 church innovations for the 21st Century:

1) Passionate preaching by ordinary people:

I heard a Salvation Army Divisional Commander preach with passion last night. You could feel fire, excitement, and inspiration flowing from his heart-felt words.
–Our culture desperately needs people who are willing to be passionate about Christ. Cool, calm, calculated and controlled words coming from our cranium, just won’t cut it anymore. We need to cry out from the deep convictions of our heart!
–When ordinary people are given permission to passionately preach, proclaim, and testify in church as they feel led by the Spirit, God’s fire breaks out and contagiously spreads around the room and out the doors.

2) Expanded mercy seat:

The “mercy seat” is a place to encounter the living, resurrected Jesus Christ.
–The Salvation Army has always wanted to provide people with more than food and clothing; assistance and lodging. We have wanted to provide people with a place to interact with the living God. We call that place the “mercy seat” (some churches call it an altar). It is a bench in the front of our worship centers where people can come and meet with the living, resurrected Jesus Christ. Lives are forever transformed and set free at the mercy seat.
–At The Salvation Army Berry Street in Nashville, our goal is to expand the concept of the “mercy seat” beyond the bench and/or altar call, by setting aside human programming and surrendering the entire worship meeting to the direct control of Jesus so that people can interact with Him and obey His voice through out the meeting.

3) Curriculum-free Sunday school:

What would happen if churches replaced their adult Sunday school curriculum with the living Christ, by reading Bible passages and letting the class openly discuss them as prompted by the Spirit?
–Come see by experiencing our adult Sunday school at Berry Street at 9:30 every Sunday morning, where instead of a printed curriculum, ordinary people share their insights and revelations into Scripture.

The Salvation Army Berry Street, 225 Berry St., Nashville, 37207 — gathering every Sunday morning at 10:45 am.