Category Archives: social justice

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

Myth Lab — Modern Myth #5 — Race

Posted on October 9, 2011 by Steve Simms

The concept of race was developed in the Western world during the 17th Century as an attempt to justify the terrible crimes that were being committed against Africans. The nominally Christian West needed a way to ease their conscience for … Continue reading →

Posted in black history, feelings, history, human rights, lifestyles, mind, morality, myths, popular culture, prejudice, race, racism, self-esteem, self-image, social justice, Uncategorized | Tagged . ease, 17th Century, Africa, Africans, all bleed red, allows, approach, asked, Atlantic, attempty, blue, brown, c rimes, category, characteristics, Christian, committed, concept, conscience, continue, convenience store, dark complexion, descendents, developed, different, East Asians, embracce, erase, Europeans, eye color, eye slant, eyed, fill out a form, folks, forced-labor, forcibly, holding, however, human, human cpatives, human race, I'm not like them, in our time, inferior, Jesus, kinky hair, l define, last night, life-long bondage, look down on, marginalize, Middle Passage, news reporters, nominally, other, parable, peopl, personally, Pharisee, race, reality, refer, say, shade, shared humanity, skin color, skin tone, slanted, society, spearate, terrible, Thank God, think, through, to justify, torturous, truth, West, Western world, writing down | 2 Comments

Is Nashville The Manliest City In America?

Posted on September 1, 2011 by Steve Simms

I’ve heard that Nashville, Tennessee is listed as the manliest city in America (according to Combo the hearty, salty, cheese cracker snack, and Bart Sperling’s Best Places). I live in Music City and so I’m glad to see it at the top … Continue reading →

Posted in addiction, alternative lifestyle, boundaries, Christianity, Jesus Christ, life, lifestyles, manliest city, meaning, morality, morals, Nashville, peace, popular culture, prayer, Quotations, Quotes, religion, self-esteem, self-help, self-image, social justice, soul, Uncategorized | Tagged America, answer, Bart Sperling, battle, believes, Best Places, Bless those who curse you, calling, cheese cracker, Combo, commitment, cool, corruption, courage, cravings, crowd, daily lives, deny yourself, desires, devil, earth, easy, emotionalism, eveidence, everyday, female, follow, follow Me, following, forces, forgive, God in the flesh, greatest, guard, hearty, illustrated, Immanuel, immorality, injustice, inner resources, Jesus, lifestyle, listed, lusts, male, man, man up, manilest city, manly, media, modern, Music City, Nashville, obey, obeying, on top of it all, overcome, passive, persecute, practical, preference, quote, read, real man, Real men love Jesus, religious, requires, resist, salty, seduction, sentiment, silent, snack, stand up, surrender, take up your corss, Tennessee, thoughts, tough, truly, truth in love, views, whew, whims | Leave a comment

Negro Spirituals — A Message We Desperately Need!

Posted on August 17, 2011 by Steve Simms

“Over my head I hear music in the air, There must be a God somewhere.” –Negro spiritual. Those words were written and sung during the most difficult of days, a time of great oppression and evil — a time of bondage, … Continue reading →

Posted in black history, Christian history, church history, education, freedom, God, history, life, lifestyles, meaning, music, mysticism, negro spirituals, Oh my God, prayer, race, racism, religion, revelation, salvation, social justice, spiritual, thoughts, What is church? | Tagged able, African American, awareness, beyond, bondage, breathing, caught up, days, deprivation, despair, different, discover, disrespect, Don't, drudgery, economic, emotions, eternal, even more, evil, express, fear, forefathers, get, God, great, heart, hold on to, hope, hopeless, human beings, I hear, in and out, in order to, in the air, in the midst, injustice, insight, intellect, life, look beyond, man's inhumanity to man, meaning, meaningless, melodies, mind, more than, most difficult, music, mystery, Negro spiritual, nothing, oppression, over my head, pain, personal, perspective, pleasure, pursuit, revelation, rock, security, sense, situation, slaves, someone, somewhere, somewho, strenght, strong, struggles, suffered, suffering, sung, survive, there must be a God, time, told, truths, tune, understanding, unshakable, violence, wake, words, written | 2 Comments

Dietrich Bonhoeffer — Words From Prision

Posted on August 13, 2011 by Steve Simms

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was imprisoned and later executed (in 1944) by Nazi Germany. While in prison, he wrote many letters that were smuggled out. Here are some quotations from those letters: “It is only when one submits to God’s law that one … Continue reading →

Posted in apologists, Christian history, Christianity, church history, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, freedom, God, history, human rights, Jesus Christ, kingdom of God, meaning, mysticism, new birth, Quotations, Quotes, reading, religion, revelation, social justice, spiritual, thinking | Tagged 1944, a dash, above all things, absolute, all things are possible, alone, always, at hand, away from the pat, based on, being, being satisfied, beyond, certain, certanity, Christ, church, claims, danger, destruction, develop, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, distress, eludes, entirely, executed, existence, exixts, experience, falsehood, fear, feel, follow, formula, freedom, Germany, God, God's law, govern, grace, great, hope, hostility, human, human life, humor, important, impossible, imprisoned, infinitely, invincible, invisible, Jesus, kingdom of God, leade, learn, Letters, life, light, live close to God, lives, living, longings, make up, man, manifestations, mediocrity, mind, must, Nazi, nearest, never, new life, nothing, others, part of, participation, passions, Pauline, people, plan, power, presence, prison, purpose, pursue, quotations, reality, relation, remote, seek, senses, seriousness, shape, share, smooth, smuggled, soul, spolit, strength, submits, things, times, todday, with God, words, world, wrote | 3 Comments

I Stumbled Upon Wendell Berry Quotations

Posted on August 11, 2011 by Steve Simms

As I was googling Berry Street to see what is on the net about The Salvation Army Berry Street Worship Center in Nashville, I stumbled upon Wendell Berry quotes. I like what he says! “Every day ain’t going to be the … Continue reading →

Posted in American, American Literature, Berry Street Worship Center, Bible, books, freedom, God, human rights, life, meaning, popular culture, positive thinking, Quotations, Quotes, reading, salvation, social justice, The Salvation Army, thinking, thoughts, Wendell Berry | Tagged a lot worse, aim, ain't, answers, argument, Berry Street, best day of your life, better days, Bible's, come and go, community, comprehend, comprehends, concern, condition, cup, day, define, devil, dew-wet, do unto, do unto you, don't worry, downstream, every, exist, explain, freeing of the spirit, googling, handbook, hopes, human beings, interaction, joyful, justice, knowledge, laws, limit, lives, loneliness, members, mental, mercy, Nashville, need, needs, net, one another, open, people, place, possibility, practical, privilege, proper, quotes, read, red berries, rise at dawn, salvation, says, share, shared, smart enough, social, soul, spiritual, stick to it, stumbled, The Salvation Army, the world, themselves, together, trust, upon, upstream, Wendell Berry, Worship Center | 1 Comment

Of Human Bondage — Judgment, Tolerance, Or Salvation?

Posted on July 19, 2011 by Steve Simms

We boast of freedom in a life of limits. As humans we live in the ever present bondage of boundaries. Nothing in our lives is unlimited. We can only climb so high, reach so far, run so fast, think so long, enjoy … Continue reading →

Posted in apologists, Berry Street Worship Center, boundaries, church history, history, Holy Spirit, house church, Jesus Christ, kingdom of God, life, lifestyles, meaning, mysticism, Nashville, Oh my God, organic church, positive thinking, Quotes, religion, salvation, simple church, social justice, The Salvation Army, thinking, What is church?, William Booth | Tagged 000, 18802, 2, a third option, about, acceptance, accepting, accusing words, addictive, amazing, and/or, army, attempting to justify, attitudes, begin, behaviors, being rescued from, being set free, blame, blaming others, boldly, bondage, boundaries, Bramwell Booth, but in deed and in truth, cause and effect, climb so high, consequences, create, crossed out the word, culture, daily, decades, denial, destructive, devasting, discussing, disguise the pain, do, don't know when, dull, duration, East London, efforts, embraces, enjoy, ever preent, expiration date, fast, fatalism, father, flyer, forgotten concept, freedom, get free, guilt, harmful, held hostage, held in bondage, Here I am to save the day, how do we deal with, human thoughts, humans, I am a regular, I was born this way, in an effort, in the mean time, Jesus Christ, judgment, judgmental, jusdge us, life, life choices, life's limits, limits, live, lives, living, long, meet, mighty power, millions, movement, news media, not in words only, nothing at all, nowadays, opening, other parts of England, others, ourselves, pain producing, passively, pen, people, perhaps, perishable products, physical existence, pie-in-the-sky, practical, presence, pretend, price we pay, prison doors, proclaim, proclamation, raging fire, reach so far, read, real freedom, rediscover, religious platitudes, resurrected, run, said, salvation, say, so many ears, social work, spread around the world, surrender, talk, that's just the way I am, the end is coming, The Salvation Army, the things that, the way we live, think, though out, three ways, time, to promote a meeting, tolerance, unlimited, verbally, volunteer, We are a salvation army, We are a volunteer army, we boast, who can say, William, William Booth, working, world, written | 6 Comments

Top Ten Most Disobeyed New Testament Scriptures

Posted on July 8, 2011 by Steve Simms

What are the top ten most disobeyed New Testament Scriptures? Here is my list of nominations (from the New International Version {NIV}) for the ten most ignored Bible verses: 10) “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will … Continue reading →

Posted in ancient history, anti-war, Bible, books, church history, English literature, history, Holy Spirit, human rights, Jesus Christ, King James Version, kingdom of God, organic church, Quotations, reading, religion, self-esteem, self-image, social justice, Top Ten | Tagged all these things, ambition, back, banquet, Bible, bless those who, blessed, blind, body, brothers, cannot repay, carefully, church, commits, conceit, considers others better than yourselves, crippled, curse you, daily, deny himself, dinner, do good, do not put out, don not invite, done, encouraged, everyone has a, exercise authority, fire, first, first speaker, flee, follow Me, Friends, from, Gentiles, given to you, hate, he must, high, host, humility, hymn, I Corinthians 14:26, If anyone would come after me, immorality, in turn, instructed, instruction revelation, interpretation, Jesus, kingdom, lame, lord it over, love your enemies, Luke 9:23, luncheon, Matthew 6:33, mistreat, most disobeyed, must be your servant, neighbors, New International Version, New Testament, NIV, nominations, of the, officials, Philippians 2:3, poor, pray, prepaid, prophesy, prophets, relatives, resurection, rich, righteous, righteousness, rulers, said, Scriptures, seek, selfish, sexual, sexually, sins, sitting down, slave, speak, Spirit's, stop, strengthening, take up his cross, tongue, two or three, vain, verses, weigh, When you come together, whosoever wants to become great, word, you can all | 4 Comments

Things That Stir My Soul

Posted on June 19, 2011 by Steve Simms

Here are some things that stir my soul to sense the spiritual reality that surrounds us — that create a sense of awe in my heart. These things motivate me, inspire me, and help me be aware of the reality … Continue reading →

Posted in apologists, Bible, biography, books, Civil Rights, Creator, God, history, life, lifestyles, music, mysticism, organic church, prayer, Quotations, Quotes, self-help, social justice, Uncategorized | Tagged Amazing Grace, aware, awe, beauty, Bible, biographies, books, breakthroughs, Brother Sun, children, Christian, classics, collecting, common, concerns, conserns, create, creativity, etc., experience, expressing, favorite, flowers, focusing on, Gandhi, getting, God, growth, heart, help, helping somebody, hills, His, his/her, history, holding a baby, Holy Spirit, in my heart, inspirational, inspire, interacting, It's A Wonderful Life, Jr., Les Miserables, lives, manifest, Martin Luther King, meeting, message, mind, motivate, move, movies, music, nature, needs, observing, ocean, of others, openly, partcipating, passionately, people, personal, Philokalia, presence, publicly, quotations, quotes, rainbow, reading, reality, revivals, sense, share, Shenandoah, Sister Moon, small, social justice, songs, speeches, spiritual, spirituality, squirrels, stary sky, stir my soul, stories, story, sunset, surrounded by, surrounds us, take over, the, The Arthur Blessett Story, The Cross, things, To Dream The Impossible Cream, uplifting, watching, What God is doing, William Wilberforce, within me, woods, worship, writing | 2 Comments

Talk About Expensive Gas!

Posted on June 13, 2011 by Steve Simms

Recently I pulled up to a gas pump in Nashville prepared to pay almost $4.00 per gallon. As I got out of the car I was bombarded with very loud music coming from the car on the opposite side of the pump. … Continue reading →

Posted in biography, brain chemistry, Civil Rights, criticism, human rights, lifestyles, music, Nashville, self-esteem, self-image, social justice, thinking, thoughts, Uncategorized | Tagged $4.00, attitude, bad stuff, barge, bombarded, brain, car, CD, conscious, contortionist, demonic, ears, evil, f-word, fight, filth, for a tank, gas, hear, high prace, Jesus, loud, loudly, mental, music, n-word, Nashville, nasty, negativity, nozzle, obscenities, occupied, pay, per gallon, pollution, pounding, profanities, pump, pumping gas, pumps, spewing, spiritual, vehicle, vulgarities, words, worman | 7 Comments

Category Archives: social justice

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