Category Archives: church programs

Should Church Meetings Be Choreographed?

Posted on June 2, 2014 by Steve Simms

We think of surrendering to the Holy Spirit as an individual thing, but perhaps it is also something that we need to do when we meet together as a church. Perhaps we need to yield our program and our agenda … Continue reading →

Posted in church leader, church leadership, church program, church programs, church roles, house church, how to do church, how to get involved in church, open church, order of worship, organic church, scholarship, simple church, worship, worship gathering, worship innovation, worship service, worship styles | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Karaoke Spoken From The Heart (Lay Witness Missions)

Posted on May 22, 2014 by Steve Simms

Before people in the USA sang karaoke, they spoke it spontaneously, from the heart as they told how the living, resurrected Jesus Christ had changed their life.  It was called Lay Witness Missions.  This spoken karaoke began in United Methodist … Continue reading →

Posted in a shout out, Ben Johnson, can I get a witness, Christian history, church history, church meetings, church program, church programs, church services, evangelism, evangelistic meetings, Frank Billman, Jesus, Jesus Christ, lay evangelist, lay speakers, lay testimonies, lay witness coordinator, lay witness movement, lay witness team, layman, laymen, laywomen, Methodism, Methodist class meeting, Methodist revivalists, Methodists, Music City, Nashville, Nashville church, non-traditional church, open church, open forum, open mic, open mike, open sharing, religious karaoke, Salvation Army, Salvation Army church, sharing, sharing Christ, Spirit-filled, Spirit-led, Spirit-led church, spiritual experiences, spiritual karaoke, spoken karaoke, team, testimonies, testimonies in church, testimony, witness, witnesses, witnessing, worship, worship service | Tagged , , , , , , | 7 Comments

How To Make Church Exciting: Let God Run It!

Posted on May 17, 2014 by Steve Simms

Too many people find church boring.  But, hey, it’s not their fault.  It is not people’s responsibility to sit in a boring church service and make themselves excited.  Christianity, the most exciting facts in the world, should never be presented … Continue reading →

Posted in bumper sticker, Christian, church meetings, church program, church programs, church services, class meetings, Friends, Jesus Take The Wheel, Layman's Prayer Revival, Let go and let God, Max Lucado, Methodism, Methodist class meeting, Methodists, presence of Christ, presence of God, programmed, programmed from the front, programming, purpose of church, Quaker meetings, Quakers, Salvation Army, Salvation Army church, Salvation Army Nashville, The Christmas Candle | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Broom Church or Single Straw Sermons

Posted on May 14, 2014 by Steve Simms

Which is more effective at releasing the Holy Spirit’s power and presence — broom church or single straw sermons? All our focus on one straw can’t sweep a floor clean; but many straws, led together as a broom, can transform … Continue reading →

Posted in 1 Corinthians 14:26, church format, church meetings, church program, church programs, church services, church structure, house church, multi-voiced church, open church, open forum, open mic, open mike, open sharing, order of worship, organic church, Salvation Army, Salvation Army church, Salvation Army Corps, simple church, sweeping, worship, worship center, worship gathering, worship service | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Simple Church & Everyday People

Posted on May 11, 2014 by Steve Simms

Everyday people are eloquent when they are allowed in church to express their heart-felt excitement about and experiences with the everlasting God! Simple Church” — To encourage the congregation to listen to Jesus and then allow them to say and … Continue reading →

Posted in church format, church meetings, church program, church programs, church roles, church services, church speakers, one another, one anothering, one anothers, open church, open sharing, Salvation Army, Salvation Army church, Salvation Army Corps, testimonies, testimonies in church, testimony, witness, witnesses | Tagged , , , , | 8 Comments

No man ever steps into the same organic church meeting twice!

Posted on April 25, 2014 by Steve Simms

No man ever steps into the same organic church meeting twice, for it’s not the same meeting and he’s not the same man. The Holy Spirit’s leading is always fresh, alive, creative, life-changing, and renewing! Many churches use the same … Continue reading →

Posted in church format, church meetings, church program, church programs, church structure, Give a man a fish and you feed him, hearing God, hearing Jesus, hearing the Holy Spirit, Holy Spirit, Holy Spirit promptings, house church, how to grow spiritually, led by the Spirit, listening, listening prayer, listening skills, listening to God, Nashville charity, Nashville church, No man ever steps into the same river twice, organic church, participation in church, participatory church, participatory culture, participatory sermons, Quench not the Spirit, Quotations, Quotes, religious ceremonies, religious tradition, Salvation Army, Salvation Army church, Salvation Army Corps, sayings, Spirit's flow, Spirit-filled, Spirit-led, What is church?, wisdom | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Genuine Seeker-Friendly Church Is Simple (Organic)

Posted on April 22, 2014 by Steve Simms

What is seeker-friendly church?  Here are some ideas: Spiritual seekers are desperate for God. Therefore the seeker-sensitive church surrenders to and demonstrates the actual presence of the living God (rather than providing religious entertainment and a motivational speech). Spiritual seekers … Continue reading →

Posted in attractional, church format, church history, church leadership, church meetings, church program, church programs, church roles, church services, churching, freedom, freedom from sin, house church, how to do church, one another, open church, order of worship, organic church, participation in church, participatory church, participatory culture, seeker model, seeker-church, seeker-driven, seeker-oriented, simple church, simplicity, sin, spirituality, unchurched | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Søren Kierkegaard Promoted Sermon-Free, Participatory Church

Posted on March 30, 2014 by Steve Simms

Søren Kierkegaard Promoted Sermon-Free, Participatory Church “Christianity should not be lectured about. Christ says, my teaching is food. Christ has not appointed assistant-professors — but followers.” –Søren Kierkegaard “The greatest possible error arises when we reduce the clergy to teachers. … Continue reading →

Posted in acting, Christian community, church format, church meetings, church programs, church services, clergy, clergy/laity, clericalism, doctrine, dogma, eloquence, lecture, life, lifestyle Christianity, non-traditional church, nonconforming, obedience, open church, oratory, order of worship, organic church, participation in church, participatory church, preach without words, preacher, preaching, professors, quotation, quote, Quotes, reasoning, religion, religious academics, religious tradition, Søren Kierkegaard, sermon, sermon-free, sermon-hearing, sermons, simple church, teaching, witnesses | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Church is Like Breathing (& Other Free Flowing Ideas)

Posted on March 27, 2014 by Steve Simms

A church meeting is like breathing: 1) Someone can program and control it; or 2) People can let go and let it flow. What would happen if a group of believers would begin to gather, not merely to sing and … Continue reading →

Posted in alternative church, alternative lifestyle, American church, American values, church programs, experiencing God, experiential worship, experimental church, faith, faith in God, faith-based, flow, flow of the Spirit, flowing of the Holy Spirit, freedom, God, God's presence, improv, improvisation, innovation, inspiration, led by the Spirit, non-church, non-traditional church, open church, open forum, open mic, open mike, open sharing, simple church | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Years of studying church history have shown me that during times of great spiritual awakening, church meetings are more about experiencing and obeying a Presence, than about sitting and listening to a program.

Posted on March 22, 2014 by Steve Simms
Posted in Christ, Christ in you, Christ's presence, church, church program, church programs, God's presence, great awakening, history, move of God, movement, non-church, non-liturgical, normal Christianity, open church, open forum, open mic, open mike, open sharing, participatory church, simple church, spiritual awakening, spiritual church, spiritual experience, spiritual gifts, spiritual movement, spiritual transformation, spiritual worship, spirituality, When you come together | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment