Category Archives: church

The Christmas Gift Most Commonly Left Unopened

Posted on December 27, 2011 by Steve Simms

Every year some Christmas gifts remain unopened. They are lost and/or forgotten in the holiday hustle, buried under discarded wrapping paper, accidentally tossed with the trash. So what is the most commonly unopened Christmas gift? You would think it would … Continue reading →

Posted in alternative lifestyle, apologists, Berry Street, Berry Street Worship Center, Christianity, Christmas, Christmas carols, Christmas Eve, Christmas gifts, church, conversion, East Nashville, feelings, glory, God, guidance, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Jesus Movement, Jesus Take The Wheel, kingdom of God, lifestyles, meaning, miracles, movement, Music City, mystery, mysticism, non-material reality, organic church, proof of God, Reason For The Season, recovery, religion, repent, salvation, saved, Savior, simple church, spiritual, spiritual disciplines, spiritual formation, spiritual growth, spiritual skills, spiritual warfare, supernatural, support group, Tennessee, The Salvation Army, Uncategorized, values, What is church?, Why be a Christian?, worship | Tagged 225 Berry St., 37207, actual presence, amazing, and/or, Berry Street, birthday, bold moniker, burried, celebration, Christ in you, Christ's presence, Christmas, Christmas gifts, come, conscious awareness, discarded wrapping papper, doing, dubbed, easily misplaced, Every year, everyday people, experience, fades into memory, forgotten, God with us, God's gift, healing, holiday hustle, humans, ignored, Immanuel, ink pens, Jesus Christ one of His names, jewelery, keeps us alive, life-transforming, lost, mayhem, means, miss, misses, much hoopla, Nashville, need help, no matter how small, normal, one of the smaller, open, place, rubble, sessions, show and tell, so real, Sundays, survive the Christmas morning, the hope of glory, the invisible air, the most commonly unopened Christmas gift, The Salvation Army, TN, tossed with the trash, treasured, under tree, unopened, unwrapping, use, valuable, visit, what a shame, Worship Center, you can feel, you would think | 3 Comments

Which Church Organizational Structure Is From God?

Posted on December 23, 2011 by Steve Simms

As far as I know, all the thousands of denominations and independent churches around the world claim that their organizational structure is from God. (At least, I’ve never heard of a church saying: “Our church’s organizational chart is man-made.”) Here … Continue reading →

Posted in apostolic succession, Berry Street, Berry Street Worship Center, CEO pastor, church, church structure, congregational, Nashville, organic church, Presbyterian, simple church, Tennessee, The Salvation Army, What is church? | Tagged 100, a part of the same, action The Salvation Army, actively working, amazed, animates, apostolic succession, around the world, as far as I know, authority, Berry Street, bishop, body, by nerves, by the laying on of hands, causes, centers, CEO, Christian, church saying, churches, claim, come, congregational, congregations, continuous line, corporation, decisions, denominations, directly connected, disciples, each other, ecclesia, elected representatives, exercise, flowing through, for example, free, from God, from person to person, function, function together, functioning, give up on the idea, glory of God, going back to the first apostles, group, head of the church, hierarchy, Holy Spirit, human body, human direction, human organization, ignore, in the hands, independent churches, Jesus, Jesus Christ, keeps us together, life of God, made by vote, major decisions, majority rule, man-made, meaning, meeting, members, Nashville, never heard of, New Testament, of the body, one, one man, ordained, organization, organizational, organizational chart, organizational structure, organizational structures, passed down, pastor, Person in authority, positional authority, positions, Presbyterian, presbyters, presbytery, present, programming, rarity, reading, scattered here and there, Scriptures, see, seeks, Spirit-led church, spiritual, spiritual authority, spiritual descendants, style of church, Sunday, support, system, Tennessee, the Apostles, the Biblical, the Gentles lord it over, thousands of denominations, titles, told His, various members, voice of, voting, Worship Center | 6 Comments

Improv Works Well In Comedy — Could It Work In Church?

Posted on December 21, 2011 by Steve Simms

Improv is a shortened version of the word improvisation. It refers to acting or creating in the moment rather than planning one’s words and actions ahead of time. It can be thought of as “on the spur of the moment” … Continue reading →

Posted in Berry Street, Berry Street Worship Center, church, comedians, comedy, freedom, house church, humor, improv, improvisation, Jesus, Jesus Christ, joy, Nashville, organic church, Quotations, Quotes, religion, simple church, spiritual, spiritual growth, supernatural, The Salvation Army, thoughts, What is church?, words | Tagged 225 Berry St., 37207, a great concept, a woman, accumulated yearnings, acting, actions, activity, afterwards, ahead of time, all that was shared, amazed, Americans, another person's, at how, because, Berry Street, Bod becomes morre real, built up, can be, church building, come see, comedians, comedy, controlled, could improv work in church, create, creating in the moment, cure what ails you, cures what ails, dreams, each, encouraged, encouraging words, enjoy, exercise, fit together, for yourself, from, gather, gifts of the Spirit, group of people, grow in love, happening, heart, humor, improv, improv in comedy, improvisation, in and through, just a theory, Last Sunday, least likely, lives, Liz Allen, love for Jesus, love it, Mark Batterson, Nashville, off the cuff, on a Sunday morning, on the spur of the moment, one another, one of the places, picture this, planned, planning one's words, pray for one another, presented by one person, probablly, proclaim, put it all together, quotation, rather than, refers to, said, Scriptures, services, short teachings, shortened, showed them, someone says, something, Spirit led, spontaneously interacting, Tennessee, testify, the church, the expression, the most familiar use of, the person of the Holy Spirit, The Salvation Army, the whole group, thought of, to the smallest detail, today, took notes, triggers, version, What God is doing, who has something to share, Why, wisdom of the soul, with each other, word, working, Worship Center, Yehudi Menuhin | 5 Comments

My Day In Bethlehem (Not Pennsylvania)

Posted on December 16, 2011 by Steve Simms

I could see the ancient, small town of Bethlehem in the distance as I approached the Shepherds Grotto, a small cave where shepherds have sheltered themselves for too many centuries to count. It was in these fields that something happened … Continue reading →

Posted in Bethlehem, Christ, Christian history, Christianity, Christmas, Christmas carols, Christmas Eve, church, church history, forgiveness, glory, God, Holy Holy Holy, Holy Spirit, impossible odds, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Jesus Movement, kingdom of God, language, miracles, mystery, mysticism, new birth, non-material reality, Oh my God, Oh Sinner Man, prayer, proof of God, Reason For The Season, religion, repent, salvation, Savior, spiritual formation, spiritual growth, spiritual skills, spiritual warfare, supernatural, Uncategorized, Why be a Christian?, worship | Tagged after a few seconds, again and again, amazing event, ancient, ancient stairs, angels appeared, announcing, approached, around the world, babe, basement wall, Bethlehem, celebrated, Christ the Lord, Christmas, Church of the Nativity, close, coming, commercial, don't know, down stairs, enables people to speak languages, encounter, even unto the end of the age, event, everywhere, fields, for some reason, from all over the world, gift of the Holy Spirit, greeted, hearing various languages, heart, holidays, holy place, I am with you always, I don't know, in line, in the distance, in the floor, kissing, kneeling, languages, later, little town of Bethlehem, live, living, Lo, long line, look of amazement, Manger Square, miss, mouth fell open, obviously, often wondered, one sinner who repents, Palestinian boy, Pennsylvania, people, people pausing, physically, ready for, reality of God, regarded, rejoicing, remains, resting there, rush, Savior, saw, see, sheltered, Shepherds, Shepherds Grotto, shows, simple, slowly wandered, small cave, small town, smiling, something happened, speaking in tongues, spiritual stirring, spoken by tourists, stared at, still being remembered, still happen, stopped in his tracks, supernatural events, taking it all in, the acutal spot, the birth place, the holy spot, the human heart, the hush of awe, the important spot, the news, there is rejoicing in Heaven, through hallways, tile star, tiny cave, to locate, to see, to see the sights, too many centuries to count, touched my, touching, tourists, transform individuals, trembled, turned and walked away, understood, used to, village, waiting to enter, walked up, what I said, where Christ was born, which is, wise men, young | 1 Comment

Blind Belief? Or Spiritual Conversion

Posted on December 14, 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 upbringing. However, having been raised in a particular religion is no indication of its truth or … Continue reading →

Posted in alternative lifestyle, American, change, change management, Christ, Christian history, Christianity, church, church history, conscience, conversion, disciple making, English, evangelicals, fire, forgiveness, freedom, glory, God, grace, history, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Jesus Movement, Jesus Take The Wheel, John Wesley, joy, kingdom of God, life, lifestyles, miracles, movement, mystery, mysticism, non-material reality, Oh my God, praise and worship, prayer, proof of God, recovery, religion, repent, revelation, salvation, saved, self-image, soul, spiritual, spiritual disciplines, spiritual formation, spiritual growth, spiritual skills, spiritual warfare, supernatural, trust, Uncategorized, Why be a Christian?, worship | Tagged 1700s, 17th, 18th, a deep work, a heart work, accepting, adhering, adopts, against the law, American Colonies, another religion, Arab, based, been converted, being justified, believer, birth, blind belief, born again, called, centuries, change, childhood, Christ, convert, convinced, countries, deceptions, defined, direct, divine perfection, Dwight L. Moody, encountered, England, entire life, Exemine yourself to see, faith, few, follow, frustrated, goal, God's own likeness, goes thoughout, Gordon D. Fee, greatest human, has to give up, helped spark, His will, Holy Spirit, I came to America, I felt my heart strangely warmed, in the faith, Indians, indication, infect, infection, intorduced, invaded by, Jesus Christ, John wesley, Joseph Alleine, lack of success, Ledyard Cuyler, living, man, members, mighty, mind, multitudes, never, on fire, particular religion, passionate preaching, Paul of Tarsis, perhaps, person, personal, personal transformation, questioning, quotations, raised, realized, receive the Spirit, redeemed, relationship with God, returned home, rish his life, rote rituals, salvation, saved, set in, some, soul, spiritual awakening, spiritual conversion, spiritual illumination, spiritual movement, suggestion, teachings, the living God, the reality of, think, thoughts, truly, truth, trying to convert, upbringing, validity, ways, whether you are, who will convert me?, wish it otherwise, witnessing | 2 Comments

Are Sermons Effective?

Posted on December 9, 2011 by Steve Simms

Have you ever tested the effectiveness of sermons? I did. I was a brand new pastor in my first church — Mayfield Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Mayfield, Kentucky. After finishing three years of seminary, I had been preaching for about … Continue reading →

Posted in Berry Street, Berry Street Worship Center, Christ, Christianity, church, Cumberland Presybterian Church, East Nashville, house church, I Corinthians 14:26, kingdom of God, lifestyles, movement, mystery, mysticism, Nashville, organic church, praise and worship, religion, sermons, simple church, spiritual formation, spiritual growth, spiritual skills, supernatural, The Salvation Army, Uncategorized, values, What is church?, worship | Tagged 225 Berry St., 37207, AA, afternoon, alcoholics, Alcoholics Anonymous, American, American Christianity, an oral test, Berry Street Worship Center, better caught than taught, brand new, called, captured by, Christianity, church meeting, church setting, congregation, considered, continued, creating, culture, Cumberland Presbyterian, decided, doctrines, effectiveness of sermons, evening, everyone has a, experience, exploded, facts, fads, first church, following, follows trends, functions, grow, help people change, hot to hold, house church, however, hymn, ineffective, influencing, interpretation, job description, Kentucky, lecture, less than, lifestyles, like, little happens, little power, Mayfield, meetings, membership, message, mind, much more, Nashville, noble, nobody, none, one simple and easy question, open participation, openly, organic church, overwhelming, passively, pastor, Paul of Tarsus, Paul's instructions, poems, preach, preaching, prepared in a, professional, questions, requires more than, response, revelation, right, shocked, simple church, simple questions, sit and listen, society, society's, something more than, sometimes, started, Sunday morning, test, the basic point, the main topic, The Salvation Army, three years of seminary, TN, to build, to reach people, tongue, treating, try, type, virtuous, visit, weekly, When you come together, word of instruction | 26 Comments

Creatively Changing Christmas Songs To Celebrate Christ More

Posted on December 3, 2011 by Steve Simms

Have you ever noticed that a great many Christmas songs have little or nothing to do with Jesus Christ. Since Christmas is when we celebrate His birthday, I thought it might be good to tweak some Christmas songs and Christmas … Continue reading →

Posted in alternative lifestyle, awe, challenges, Christ, Christianity, Christmas, Christmas carols, church, country music, feelings, freedom, glory, God, gratitude, holidays, humor, Jesus, Jesus Christ, joy, lifestyles, Lord, miracles, Music City, mysticism, Nashville, non-material reality, Oh my God, poem, popular culture, praise and worship, religion, revelation, salvation, saved, Savior, spiritual, spiritual disciplines, spiritual formation, spiritual growth, spiritual skills, spiritual warfare, thanksgiving, values, virgin birth, Why be a Christian?, words, worship | Tagged a great many, all the way, awesome, Bethelehem, carol, celebrate, celebrate His birthday, changing, Christ, Christmas carols, Christmas songs, Chrsitmas, creatively, cross of Christ, dear, everyday, everywhere I go, forgiving, grandma, Happy Birthday, have you ever noticed, Have yourself a, here are, holy, I saw Mommy, identify, in the rain, is coming to town, it might be good, Jesus Christ, joy, joy to the world, king, knees, last night, little or nothing, Lord, Lord at Your birth, love, love you more, loving Jesus, mercy, mighty one, more about, Music City, oh what fun it is to, receive, rock, some, straight from, tears, the original song, thought, tweak, worship | 3 Comments

How To Shop For Christ*mas

Posted on November 25, 2011 by Steve Simms

From Black Friday through Christmas Eve, people will be shopping for material things to give to family, friends, and clients on Christmas Day. They will be searching and sorting through stuff, seeking to find just the right gifts. But perhaps … Continue reading →

Posted in alternative lifestyle, American, Americans, Black Friday, books, Christmas, Christmas Eve, church, guidance, Henry Poole Was Here, Jesus, Jesus Christ, life, lifestyles, materialism, organic church, Red Kettles, religion, self-help, shopping, simple church, spiritual, spiritual disciplines, spiritual formation, spiritual growth, spiritual skills, spiritual warfare, stuff, The Salvation Army, Uncategorized, values | Tagged age, available, be kind, become a super shopper, being transformed, Black Friday, car, carry someone's bags, Christ-filled Christmas, Christ-focused friends, Christmas, Christmas Day, Christmas Eve, clients, comformed to this, creating, crowds, detachment, devotional Bible reading, encouraging words, examples, extremely difficult, family, fasting, find and use, find firends, follow, followers of Christ, Friends, Give, give to, Google, hang out, help, help a neighbor, hold doors open, humility, hunt down, inspirational movie, it takes, Jesus, jewel, just the right gifts, let others through, like Jesus, live, living like Jesus, love, make friends, make your shopping, material things, meditation, more like Christ, most Americans, multitudes, obey, organic church, passionate, people, people we spend time with, people who live ajnd love, perhaps, politely move aside, provide transportation, REd Kettles, same effort, searching, seek, seeking, self-denial, serve others, shop, shop for Christmas, shop for ways, shopping, shopping season, shopping skills, sold on, solitude, some steps to shop, sort, sort through your friends, sorting through stuff, spiritual disciplines, spiritual formation, spiritual growth, spiritual listening, spiritual reading, spiritual shopping, spiritual warfare, still-born spiritually, superb, The Salvation Army, this year, tools for spiritual growth, various types of prayer, volunteer with a nonprofit, ways to grow spiritually, world, world's standards, you will be amazed, your life will be transformed | 6 Comments

I Grew Up In Church Without God

Posted on November 16, 2011 by Steve Simms

My parents tell me that when I was a toddler, I used to talk to them about God. They didn’t go to church or have much interest in spiritual things, so they were quite surprised by my interest in God and … Continue reading →

Posted in Amazing Grace, awe, Berry Street, Berry Street Worship Center, Bible, Boy Scouts, change, Christianity, church, college, college students, East Nashville, feelings, fire, freedom, God, Hindu, Holy Holy Holy, I Corinthians 14:26, Jesus, Jesus freaks, Kumbaya, lifestyles, Nashville, non-material reality, organic church, Presbyterian, religion, revelation, self-image, simple church, spiritual, supernatural, The Salvation Army, Uncategorized, University of Tennessee Martin, What is church?, Why be a Christian?, worship | Tagged 10:45 am, 225 Berry St., 37207, 41 years ago, a Christian, a million miles away, a real believer in, about God, actual Presence of, agnostic, all-consuming, amazing, an official church member, another thought, Arkansas, attending church, Berry Street Worship Center, Boy Scout, burns in my heart, campfire, childhood years, Christ, Christianity, closer to God, come and see for yourself, Come by here, Communicant's Class, confusing doctrines, congregation, creatively. modeled, Cumberland Presbyterian Church, describes, do church, dynamic relationship, eerie, elementary school, entered, every few monts, experienced, experiencing God, faint sense, felt, focused on, freely, freshman, funny thing, given the freedom, go to church, God's absence, God's awesome presence, high schook, Hindu, Holy Holy Holy, how to connect, hymn, I Corinthians 14:26, If you were born, immeciately, interest in God, invited to start, Jackson, Jesus Freaks, Jonesboro, junior year, know God, knowing God, Kumbaya, listened, living, living God, make me happy, mind, modern, more present, more real, mother, my Lord, Nashville, non-traditional, odd thought, older, parents, participate, passively, people, physical surroundings, popped into my mind, preached, preacher, Presbyterian Church, realized, regularly attending, rejected, relating to God, remember, results, rituals, sensed, series of classes, shouldn't church, shows up, something stirring inside, spiritual condition, spiritual fire, spiritual things, spiritually empty, suddenly exposed, Sunday morning, Sunday sermon, Sundays, support group, surprised, sweet Presence, talk, Tennessee, the Bible, The Salvation Army, The University of Tennessee Martin, think back to, TN, toddler, usher in, verse, Why do you think you are, with Jesus, wonder, wondered, words, you will be blessed | 4 Comments

George Barna’s 9 Challenges For American Christians

Posted on November 11, 2011 by Steve Simms

George Barna, founder of the Barna Research Group, issued nine challenges for American Christianity in 2002. Here is a paraphrase of his nine challenges along with how a church in Nashville, Tennessee, The Salvation Army Berry Street Worship Center, is attempting … Continue reading →

Posted in Barna Research Group, Berry Street, Berry Street Worship Center, Bible, challenges, church, East Nashville, evangelicals, Gen Y, George Barna, Holy Spirit, house church, I Corinthians 14:26, Nashville, organic church, popular culture, race, racism, simple church, supernatural, The Salvation Army, Uncategorized, worship | Tagged 37207, 50-50, allow peop;le to participate, amazing things, American, as led by the Spirit, asking God, attempting, attributed to, Barna Research Group, beliefs, believe, Berry St., Berry Street, Bible, bit, black and white, built-in cost, causes, challenges, changes, Christianity, Christians, church, churches, come, compete, cooperate with, cost, criticize, daily lives, different, do church, each week, eager to learn, encourage, encouraged, ethnic groups, evangelicals, exciting, expression, flow in the Spirit, follow, founder, fresh, Gen Y, George Barna, go, goal, good leaders, Gospel, I Corinthians 14:26, imput, issued, lack of, leadership, multi-racial, musical styles, Nashville, never know, nine, no matter what, non-traditional, not allowed, obey, one person, open, other, outstanding, paraphrase, power, prepared, produces, qualities, race, right in front of our eyes, sale old same old, seek, segregated, seriously, sermons, study, Sunday, Sunday mornings, supernatural, Tennessee, The Salvation Army, theological, to be involved, to meet, to share, to stand on God's word, toning down, uncomfortable, usually, visit, working of God, worship, Worship Center, worship leader, worship meeting, young adults | 1 Comment

Category Archives: church

The Christmas Gift Most Commonly Left Unopened

My Day In Bethlehem (Not Pennsylvania)

Blind Belief? Or Spiritual Conversion

Are Sermons Effective?

Creatively Changing Christmas Songs To Celebrate Christ More

How To Shop For Christ*mas

I Grew Up In Church Without God

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

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