My Pet Plea!

Daily writing prompt
What is good about having a pet?

Here it is. This is my pet plea — the desire of my heart.


Christians don’t be
An audience.
Make church about
Active heart-felt
Obedience
To God’s Spirit
And reliance
On Christ’s presence.
That’s the essence
Of true worship.
(John 4:23)

I don’t want to be
A Sunday morning
Hearer-only.
I want to be
A doer
Of the word.
(James 1:22)

Hearers-only
Go to church
To only hear
But not to do
Anything about
What they’ve heard.
The Bible says
Not to do that.
How much more
Hearing only
But not doing
Do churches need?
Enough is enough.
(James 1:22)

Do nothing
Christianity
Invites people
To sit and hear
A sermon
But gives them
No time at all
In the meeting
To do something
About what
They have heard.

Christ My Desire

I want my eyes
To see Jesus,
Not to see
One preacher
Monopolize
A church service.
Spirit arise
And take control.
Only You can
Make people whole.
Where’s a God size
Spiritual fire?

Sunday morning church gets to me. It’s so far away from what I see in the Bible and how I relate to Jesus that it breaks my heart. Contemporary church is an audience maker not a disciple maker.

What is a pastor? Here’s a definition: A pastor is a person who thinks he is the only one who has a right to speak in front of a congregation of Christians. He is someone who turns Christians into a passive audience.

I think Catholics may be closer to what God wants church to be than Protestants, evangelicals, and charismatics. Catholics at least get people actively involved in doing a few things — kneeing, praying silently from the heart, repeating prayers together out loud, participating in rituals, coming to the altar, and confessing their sins. Most of the rest of the churches merely let people sing a few songs and then make them sit and passively listen to the same man week after week monopolize the meeting. Why can’t God’s people in a congregation be free to listen to and obey God the Holy Spirit?

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About Steve Simms

I like to look and think outside the box. In college I encountered Jesus Christ and I have been passionate about trying to get to know Him better ever since. My wife and I long to see the power and passion of the first Christ-followers come to life in our time. I have written a book about our experiences in non-traditional church, called, "Beyond Church: An Invitation To Experience The Lost Word Of The Bible--Ekklesia." If you need encouragement, search for: Elephants Encouraging The Room and/or check out my Amazon author page. Thank you!
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