Author Archives: Steve Simms

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!

66 Books (That Everybody Needs To Read)

Posted on October 24, 2011 by Steve Simms

There are 66 books that everybody needs to read. These books were written by more than 40 diverse authors — rich people and poor people, intellectuals and uneducated folks. These 66 books were written over a 1,500 year time period. Some of these books … Continue reading →

Posted in Acts, American, American Literature, Bible, books, Christian history, Christianity, church history, criticism, English, English literature, history, kingdom of God, Leviticus, life, lifestyles, meaning, morality, morals, poem, poetry, popular culture, reading, recovery, self-help, thinking, thoughts, Uncategorized, values, words | Tagged 40, 4th Century, 500 years ago, 66 books, a chance read one, Acts, AD, almost, amazing, authors, bad things, be a better man, best selling, biography, bondage, brought together, brutally honest, burn in my heart, call, call a spade a spade, centuries, challenge, change, children, come clean, deeds, depths of, detail, disobeyed, distorted, diverse, English, everybody, exhortations, favorite, fellow humans, first began, fit together, folks, for example, forcibly held, George Washington, godlike, greatest literary influence, having missed out, heart, heroes, history, history books, human history, human lives, I would pick, impacted, innocent men, inspire, intellectuals, it would be a shame, James, John, KJV, known as, learn to read, least favorite, Letters, Leviticus, life, lifted, live right, love, matter, Matthew, millions of people, mirror, my being, needs, new levels, number one best seller, one book, over, over and over, people, poetry, poor, powerfully, put a spin on, radically transform, reading, reread, reveal, rich, right behind, seldom find, serve, shocking, superhuman, terrible cruelty, testified, the best books every written, the fact, the opposite, thinking, this year, Thomas Jefferson, thought, through out history, time period, to die, to read, today, totally honest, tound togethter, translation, translations, uneducated, unit, unlike, vivid, well, Western culture, whipped, why not give, women, work without pay, written, wrongful, year | 19 Comments

Finding Nashville’s Most Unique Church With Your GPS

Posted on October 21, 2011 by Steve Simms

–Get out your GPS (God’s Positioning System)– Enter that you are looking for a church where: * People are more important than programs; * Encouragement is more important than entertainment * Love is more important than liturgy: * Faith is … Continue reading →

Posted in alternative lifestyle, Berry Street, Berry Street Worship Center, church, God, house church, I Corinthians 14:26, Jesus, Jesus Christ, lifestyles, meaning, movement, Music City, mysticism, Nashville, organic church, popular culture, religion, simple church, support group, The Salvation Army, values, What is church? | Tagged 10:45, 225 Berry Street, 37207, about, always, amazing, Berry Street, called, church, come, concepts, contagion, creating, encouragement, enter, entertainment, excitement, experience, faith, for yourself, fund raising, get out your, God's Positioning System, GPS, house church, however, Jesus, Jesus Christ, lead, lecture series, liturgy, lives, looking for, love, meetings, meets, more important than, more like, mornings, most unique, names, Nashville, Nashville's, organic church, participation, passivity, people, programs, several, show and tell, simple church, Sunday, support group, The Salvation Army, theology, TN, type, very well, what God has done, words can't describe, Worship Center | 6 Comments

What Would Your Life Be Like If . . .

Posted on October 20, 2011 by Steve Simms

How would you be today if you had been born to a mother in poverty with several children by different men? What if you had been surrounded by depression, anger, fear, hopelessness, and despair? How would you be if you … Continue reading →

Posted in alternative lifestyle, Berry Street, Berry Street Worship Center, Christianity, disciple making, discipling, drugs, drunk, East Nashville, freedom, house church, human rights, Jesus, Jesus Christ, jobs, life, lifestyles, meaning, multi-racial, Nashville, organic church, popular culture, prejudice, race, recovery, rehab, religion, self-esteem, self-image, simple church, social justice, The Salvation Army, Uncategorized, values, What is church?, words | Tagged 10:45 am, 225 Berry St., 37207, a place, according to, advantages, America, Americans, anger, ask, befriends, Berry Street, better off, better quality of life, born, builds, built, buy, caring relationship, cheat, childhood, children by different men, church, close personal friends, college, community, cross, culture, cuss, demonstrating, depression, despair, desperately need, different, disciplined, doesn't, drugs, economics, encouraging, enviornment, environment, family, fear, few, financially, friend, get drunk, godly man, great advantages, groups of men, growing up, had never known, hand, handed, help, helped, helped along, helping, hopelessness, How would you, however, in the middle of, Jesus Christ, job, kept away, lie, lines, lived n their shoes, living, look down on others, looking for, loved, loving, make a difference, man, mean to others, mentor, millions, money, mother, Nashville, negative, neighbor, not so fortunate, opportunity, paid, parented, people's lives, personal, pobverty, positive example, powerful programming, practical help, profanity, question, raise, redirect their lives, rehab, relationship, relationships, sexual, sin, social status, socially, socio-economic, spearate, steal, struggling financially, stuck, Sundays, surrounded, the love of, The Salvation Army, TN, today, true, use drugs, violence, visit, vital, vulgarity, way to live, woman, Worship Center | 1 Comment

Modern Myth #10 — Disapproval Is A Form Of Hatred

Posted on October 19, 2011 by Steve Simms

Somehow our society has accepted and promotes the mythological idea that to disapprove is to hate. If you don’t approve of someone’s behavior nowadays, you might be accused of hate speech or of having a phobia. This however, is nonsense. … Continue reading →

Posted in alternative lifestyle, casual sex, criticism, hate speech, lifestyles, meaning, modern myths, morality, morals, myths, phobic, popular culture, repent, self-esteem, self-image, thinking, thoughts, Uncategorized, values, words | Tagged accepted, accused, actions, approval, approve, approved of, behavior, behaviors, beliefs, constantly, criticism, dearly, deny, different, disapprove, everybody, fall for, frequently, has nothing, hate, hate speech, hater, having a phoba, ideas, immediate family, individual, lie, lying, matter, millions, myth, mythological idea, nonsense, nowadays, people, poor self-image, promotes, rest, secure, sisapproval, society, somehow, the most, the President, US President, very much, who love | 2 Comments

Modern Myth #9 — All Religions Are Equal

Posted on October 18, 2011 by Steve Simms

Modern Myth #9 is the belief that all religions are equal or true. MTV and The Associated Press recently asked young people between the ages of 13 and 24 to choose between two statements about their views of religious faiths other … Continue reading →

Posted in alternative lifestyle, anti-intellectual, Atheists, Christianity, God, gods, Hindu, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, life, lifestyles, Mahatma Gandhi, modern myths, monotheism, Mormonism, MTV, myths, polytheism, popular culture, religion, spiritual, television, The Associated Press, Uncategorized, values | Tagged a million gods, about, agree, agreed, all religions, ancient Rome, anti-intellectual, apreciate, asked, at the same time, atheists, beliefs, between the ages, choose between, Christianity, contradict, correct, equal, ethical, faiths, follow, for example, galse, Greece, Hindu, Hinduism, ideas, incorrect, intolerance, Islam, Jewish, Judaism, logic, logically, Mahatma Gandhi, making the choice, many gods, modern, monotheism, moral, Mormonism, MTV, myth, not right, one God, opinions, opposite, other, own, people, polytheism, proclaim, reality, recentely, rejected, religious, respect, some truth, spiritual, statement, statements, strongly, teachings, The associated Press, the belief, traditions, true, two, universal, views, wrong, young people | 7 Comments

Modern Myth #8 — Self-Indulgence Satisfies

Posted on October 17, 2011 by Steve Simms

Modern Myth #8 Have you ever noticed that compulsive desires are never satisfied by indulging them – that cravings are not eliminated by giving in to them? For example, if you eat a bite of something sweet that you crave, … Continue reading →

Posted in addiction, boundaries, feelings, fire, freedom, fuel, life, lifestyles, meaning, modern myths, morality, morals, myths, popular culture, Quotations, Quotes, recovery, repent, self-esteem, self-help, self-image, sin, sobriety, thinking, thoughts, Uncategorized, values, words | Tagged believe, bite, bondage, brings, cease, clammoring, clamors for more, compulsions, compulsive desires, control, crave, cravings, eliminated, encourages, fanned into flames, fed, feeding a desire, feel, feel better, feelings, few weeks, fire, for example, fuels, giving in, happiness, have you ever noticed, hurt, immediately, indulge ourselves, indulging, Leslie Vernick, lifestyle, lonely, myth, not true, obey, psyche, puts it this way, quotation, restrained, results, satisfied, satisfying, sefl-restraint, self, self-demands, self-esteem, self-indulgence, self-indulgent, slaves, society, something sweet, truth, unhappy, unloved, want another, wrongly | 1 Comment

Occupy Till I Come — What The Church Can Learn From Occupy Wall Street

Posted on October 16, 2011 by Steve Simms

In Luke 19:13 of the King James Bible, Jesus says: “Occupy till I come.” Somehow, I don’t think “occupy” means to sit in a pew once a week and passively listen to a sermon. “Occupy” is much more aggressive than … Continue reading →

Posted in Berry Street, Berry Street Worship Center, boundaries, broadcast yourself, Christianity, criticism, feelings, freedom, greed, kingdom of God, lifestyles, materialism, movement, Music City, Nashville, New York City, Occupy Wall Street, popular culture, possessions, repent, social justice, The Salvation Army, Uncategorized, values, words | Tagged 10:45, 225 Berry Street, 37207, a lot, agressive, around the world, believe, Berry Street Worship Center, Bible, bold, brainwashed, building, change, Christians, church, clamoring, committed, courageous, culture, day after day, demonstrations, determined, East Nashville, embracing, example, followed, forceful, good example, good first step, greed, have you ever, hearts, heaven, help us, hold, image, instructions, involved, Jesus, King James, land, laying down, learn, lifestyle, listen, live, Luke 19:13, McFerrin Park, mold, mornings, mother country, movement, Nashville, neighborhood, New York City, obeyed, occupiers, occupy, Occupy till I come, Occupy Wall Street, ongoing, others, passion, passively, people, persistence, protesting, rather, repenting, selfish, seriously, sermon, sit in a pew, sitting, society, stand, stand up, streets, strive, Sunday, swept along, teachings, territory, The Salvation Army, to take, trends, Wall Street, week, willingness to sacrifice, within | 2 Comments

Modern Myth #7 — All Lifestyles Are Equal

Posted on October 15, 2011 by Steve Simms

The popular belief that all lifestyles are equal is an obvious myth. Take the lifestyle of alcohol and drug abuse for example. It produces intense emotional pain, broken homes, slavery to compulsion, criminal activity, moral collapse, and jail or prison … Continue reading →

Posted in addiction, adultery, alternative lifestyle, casual sex, criticism, drug commercials, drugs, drunk, feelings, freedom, human rights, lifestyles, meaning, morality, morals, myths, popular culture, recovery, repent, self-help, sobriety, values, words | Tagged accept, addict, adultery, alcohol, all lifestyles are equal, ask, behavior, belief, broken homes, change, change your lifestyle, choices, comes to mind, commit, compulsions, criminal activity, daily, drug abuse, emotional pain, equal, every, faithfulness, falsely, far worse, for example, intense, jail, let me ask you, lifestyle, lifestyles, living, making, meaning, meaningless, means, misery, moral collapse, myth, no need, no such thing, obvious, popular, prison, produces, rather, repent, repentance, right living, righteousness, slavery, sobriety, spouse, strive, tell, the way, this, thought, time, whenever, whim, words, work hard, would you, wouldn't it be better, wrongful, yanked | 1 Comment

Should People Have The Right To Make Other People Say Wrong Is Right?

Posted on October 14, 2011 by Steve Simms

Nobody should have the right to make other people say that wrong is right? Everybody should have the right to believe in right and wrong and to freely express their belief. However, the right to believe in right and wrong has been … Continue reading →

Posted in alternative lifestyle, ancient history, boundaries, C.S. Lewis, Civil Rights, freedom, history, human rights, lifestyles, meaning, morality, morals, popular culture, Quotations, Quotes, self-esteem, self-image, Uncategorized, values | Tagged accepted, ancient, appluaded, approved, approving, Babylonians, behaviors, belief, believe, C.S. Lewis, Chinese, common moral standards, compare, conform, conscience, contemporary, cultures, each other, Egyptians, everybody, express, fair, follow, freely express, from, Greeks, Hindus, history, however, human, humanity, in the world, insist, intolerant, is this fair, judgmental, labeled, like, maintain, media, merely, moral standards, morally worng, most, no right, nobody, not satisfied, nowadays, other, own, people, pressure, push, quotation, right and wrong, Romans, say, shared, should, silence, sincerely, society, some years, stand up, standards, storng belief, take the trouble, teaching, tells you, the right, the right to believe, to make, today, under attack, violate, wrong is right, you | 3 Comments

An Alter Call

Posted on October 13, 2011 by Steve Simms

Perhaps we need an alter call. Maybe it is time to change and make some alterations. * Alter the way you think. Most people never think much about their thought choices. They tend to just go with whatever thoughts come … Continue reading →

Posted in Berry Street, Berry Street Worship Center, Bible, change, change management, church, house church, life, lifestyles, meaning, organic church, popular culture, simple church, television, thinking, thoughts, What is church?, words | Tagged 10:45, 225 Berry St., 37207, Acts, alter, alterations, anxiety, ball of fire, behaviors, Berry Street Worship Center, Bible, book of, call, called, change, choices, choose, church, come to, commercial, con visit, conversations, create, culture, day, depression, described, do, do church, emotions, fear, frustration, great impact, guilt, harmful, hear, how, how to have church, how you live, however, human, I Corinthians 14:26, important, improve, impulses, invited, it is, life, lifestyle, make, make an effort, make your life better, making, mind, most, Nashville, need some help, negative, New Testament, not good, not the best way, obey, Observer, pain, passive, people, perhaps, place, present, problem many, quality, quality of life, rather, responding, say, self-inflected, song lyrics, spectator, Sundays, tells, text messages, the opium of the people, the original, The Salvation Army, the way, think, thought, thoughts, time, turned the world upside down, TV show, verse, weak, whatever, whims, words, worry, worse | Leave a comment

Author Archives: Steve Simms

About Steve Simms

66 Books (That Everybody Needs To Read)

Finding Nashville’s Most Unique Church With Your GPS

Modern Myth #10 — Disapproval Is A Form Of Hatred

Modern Myth #9 — All Religions Are Equal

Modern Myth #8 — Self-Indulgence Satisfies

Modern Myth #7 — All Lifestyles Are Equal

Should People Have The Right To Make Other People Say Wrong Is Right?

An Alter Call

These elephants want to inspire you! Search Amazon for: Elephants INspiring The Room.

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Beyond Church: An Invitation To Experience The Lost Word Of The Bible

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