Category Archives: American Literature

Benjamin Franklin & Sermon Free Church

Posted on May 22, 2013 by Steve Simms

I think Benjamin Franklin would have loved sermon-free church because it gets people actively involved and transforms them from passive pew-sitters to spiritual go-getters! Ben said: “I wish it (Christianity) were more productive of good works. I mean real good … Continue reading →

Posted in American history, American Literature, Ben Franklin, Berry Street, Berry Street Worship Center, church format, church meetings, church roles, church services, church structure, Doing the most good, good sermon, good works, history, involve me and I learn, memory, Nashville, organic church, pew, prayer, praying, preacher, preaching, quote, Quotes, Salvation Army church, Salvation Army Corps, sermon, sermon-free, sermon-hearing, sermons, simple church, teach me and I, Tennessee, The Salvation Army | Tagged Benjamin Franklin, Christianity, church, quotations, sermons, tell me and I forget | 7 Comments

Top Ten Greatest Books

Posted on August 8, 2012 by Steve Simms

What are the world’s 10 greatest books? Here are the top 10 books that have had the most impact on my life: 1) The Bible: I’ve read it almost daily for 42 years. There have been times that I have … Continue reading →

Posted in American, American history, American Literature, Bible, Black Like Me, books, British Literature, C.S. Lewis, China, Chinese, Christian, Christian values, Christianity, fire walk, Harriet Beecher Stowe, hate, hate speech, hot coals, Jim Crow, John Howard Griffin, literature, London, Mere Christianity, monks, New Testament, Orthodox, Philokalia, positive thinking, Quotations, quote, Quotes, racism, Russian literature, Samuel Smiles, slavery, The Jesus Prayer, The Normal Christian Life, The Spiritual Man, the way of the pilgrim, Uncle Tom's Cabin, Unlimited Power, Watchman Nee, William Lloyd Garrison, world's greatest | Tagged Anthony Robbins, history, positive thinking, reading list, religion, self-help, Top Ten Greatest Books | 11 Comments

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

Actor, former Senator, Fred Thompson’s Response To My Book

Posted on August 18, 2011 by Steve Simms

I ran into former Senator Fred Thompson in the airport in Washington, DC once. I handed him a copy of my book: Your Sperm Won–Experiencing Your Value As A Championship Human Being. I said: “Senator Thompson, I’d like to give … Continue reading →

Posted in American Literature, biography, books, change, drugs, Fred Thompson, history, life, lifestyles, meaning, mind, recovery, self-esteem, self-help, self-image, speech making, thinking, thoughts | Tagged actors, books, Fred Thompson, quotes, Senator | Leave a comment

A Coach And A Critic

Posted on August 15, 2011 by Steve Simms

Here’s an original poem called A Coach And A Critic. It was originally published in my book: Your Sperm Won — Experiencing Your Value As A Championship Human Being. A coach and a critic Stood side by side, Watching … Continue reading →

Posted in addiction, American, American Literature, books, criticism, education, freedom, life, lifestyles, mind, poem, poetry, popular culture, positive thinking, prejudice, reading, recovery, self-esteem, self-help, self-image, thinking | Tagged book, cannot, championship, choose, coach, contender's, continually, cripple, critic, denied, determne, distract, don't be, every, experiencing, get nailed, heard, Here's, human being, inner, inner coach, inner critic, instead, keep on going, Keep on trying, life, lose, make, nailed, original, originally, outstanding, poem, published, race, replied, run, say, side by side, sperm, stood, stride, value, victory, Victory will come, voice, watching, what it takes, which, win, win or lose, yelled, you, You can do it, you won't make it, you're so bad, your, Your Spern Won, yourself | Leave a comment

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

Happy Birthday, King James Version

Posted on July 7, 2011 by Steve Simms

In 1611, the Bible was translated into the king’s speech (the king’s English). The King James Version was first published on May 5, 1611. It is a masterpiece of English literature and the best selling book in history. In the … Continue reading →

Posted in American Literature, ancient history, Bible, books, church history, English, English literature, God, history, Jesus Christ, King James Version, new birth, reading | Tagged 1611, 400th, another, archaic, beautiful, believer, best selling book, Bible, birthday, born again, burned in my heart, convinced, daily, day, devoured, editiion, encounter, English Literature, eventually, experience, first, happy, hast, holy, hours, in history, including, indeed, inspired, Jesus Christ, King James Version, KJV, language, life, literally, masterpiece, months, people, personal, preacher, published, reading, red letter, rejected, Scriptures, slow me down, special place, the king's English, the king's speech, Thee, Thou, touched, transforming, translated, translation, translations, Word orf God, years | Leave a comment

Positive Reading Is Super Inspiration

Posted on June 25, 2011 by Steve Simms

Faster than a speeding worry; more powerful than an evil motive; able to leap tall obstacles in a single bound . . . Look in an uplifting book! Positive reading is super inspiration! Some books contain ideas that connect, not … Continue reading →

Posted in American Literature, biography, books, church history, criticism, education, English literature, history, life, lifestyles, Quotations, Quotes, reading, self-help, Uncategorized | Tagged able to leap tall, accounts, all wealth, amazing adventure, American literature, blaze of glory, book, books, boring, cannot be compared, church history, cipher, connect, connects, contain, convenience, create vision, dazzle, drudgery, electricity, empowered, English Literature, enlightened, evil, exercise, experience, faster than a speeding, finish, folks, forced to read, formal, go, great, healed, heart, Henry David Thoreau, history, hope, human soul, ideas, ignites, in a single bound, in other words, intellectural, keep, know, learned, library, life, like, little or nothing, look, may sound strange, mind, more powerful than, more precious, motive, never read another book after, noble, not be cheated, obstacles, other, paltry, positive reading, pretend, put it, quotations, quote, quotes, read, reading, reflecting off a lake, Richard de Bury, school, self-help, set free, sought out, stir up, subjects, sunlight, super inspiration, trade, transformed, turned into, turned many people off, uninteresting, uplifting, where should you, wisdom, worry, years | Leave a comment

The Best Mall Of All

Posted on June 12, 2011 by Steve Simms

I am into consumerism, but not shopping for stuff. (Traditional shopping can be torture for me.) So my favorite mall is not one with retail stores. The mall that gets me excited is Wisdom’s Mall — the public library. I love … Continue reading →

Posted in American Literature, books, change management, English, English literature, lifestyles, Quotations, Quotes, self-esteem, self-help, self-image, shopping, thinking, thoughts, Uncategorized | Tagged attended, back, battle, better life, book, book worm, cassette tape, consume, consumer item, consumerism, copy, Dave Ramsey, deal with, delighted, disappointments, emotions, encouagement, encouraged, exciting, favorite, fears, finished, free shipping, frustrations, googling, green, hand written, hang-ups, hooked, hope, how to live, information, insecurities, inspired, internet, journals, landfill, libraries, lifetime, lift, listening, local, mall, month, motivational, negative, no waste, phase, positive thinking, practical advice, public library, reading, recycling, retail stores, scads, seminars, shipping, shop 'till you drop, started, stocked, stuff, tape worm, tell, thrill, torture, ultimate, what a deal, wisdom, wonderful, worries | 3 Comments

Conversion/Salvation/Being Born Again Or Blind Belief?

Posted on May 31, 2011 by Steve Simms

In some Arab countries it is against the law for a person to convert to another religion than the religion of her/his birth and/or upbringing. However, having been raised in a particular religion is no indication of its truth or … Continue reading →

Posted in American Literature, Bible, biography, Creator, freedom, God, history, human rights, Jesus Christ, John Wesley, lifestyles, Oh my God, popular culture, prayer, Quotations, Quotes, religion, The Salvation Army, Uncategorized, What is church? | Tagged 1700s, 18th Century, a direct, accepting without questioning, adhering, adopts, against the law, America, American, another religion, Arab countries, being, belief, believer, birth, blind belief, born again, called, change, childhood, Christ, Colonies, coming into, conversion, deceptions, deep work, defined, devoted, divine perfection, Dwight L. Moody, encountered, England, entire life, Examine yourself, experience, faith, frustrated, give up, goal, goes, Gordon D. Fee, heart work, Holy Spirit, home, human, I came to, I felt my heart strangly warmed, illumination of the soul, Indians, indication, infect, infection, introduced, invaded, Jesus Christ, John wesley, Joseph Alleine, lack of success, likeness, living, living God, man, members, mighty, mind, movement, multitudes, on fire, one of the greatest, otherwise, particular, passionate, Paul of Tarsus, person, personal relationship, personal transformation, personally convinced, preaching, quote, raised, realized, receive, returned, risk his life, rituals, rote, salvation, set in, some, spark, spiritual, spiritual awakening, suggestion, teachings, Theodore Ledyard Cuyler, think, thoughts, throughtout, to convert, truth, trying to convert others, upbringing, validity, ways, who will convert me?, will, wish, with God, witnessing | 1 Comment

Category Archives: American Literature

Benjamin Franklin & Sermon Free Church

Top Ten Greatest Books

66 Books (That Everybody Needs To Read)

Actor, former Senator, Fred Thompson’s Response To My Book

A Coach And A Critic

Happy Birthday, King James Version

Positive Reading Is Super Inspiration

The Best Mall Of All

Conversion/Salvation/Being Born Again Or Blind Belief?

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

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