Category Archives: faith

Lifestyle (Real World) Christianity

Posted on July 20, 2012 by Steve Simms

Lifestyle Christianity is faithful faith — faith that lives faithfully according to its values and beliefs.  Its focus is to actually follow and obey the commands of Christ rather than to merely swallow a prepackaged belief system about Him. Lifestyle … Continue reading →

Posted in belief, belief system, Berry Street, Berry Street Worship Center, challenges, change, Christ, Christ-centered, Christian community, Christian history, Christian organizations, Christian values, church, church history, church programs, church roles, church structure, commands, community, confession, creeds, deeds, disciples, discipling, faith, faith-based, faithfulness, forgiveness, gifts of the Spirit, guilt, inward change, life, lifestyle Christianity, lifestyles, Music City, Nashville, obedience, one anothers, organic church, peace, presence of God, real world, recovery, religious ceremonies, self-denial, simple church, Spirit-led, spiritual, spiritual disciplines, spiritual growth, supernatural, support group, team, values, witness | Tagged , , , , | 20 Comments

Can Real Love Disagree And/Or Disapprove?

Posted on July 16, 2012 by Steve Simms

Can real love disagree and/or disapprove?  Yes.  I know that it can.  If you read my blog, you know that I am willing to think in uncommon ways.  I have many ideas and some behaviors that are not commonly accepted … Continue reading →

Posted in 95 theses, anti-war, belief, church, denominations, disapproval, disdain, ethics, faith, faith-based, free spirit, freedom, gifts of the Spirit, hate, hate speech, heretic, house church, judgments, kindness, lifestyles, moral principles, morality, morals, non-church, non-church movement, organic church, outside the box, pacifism, pacifists, participatory church, political correctness, popular culture, post-Christianity, questions, relational church, revolution, self-control, sermon, sermons, simple church, speaking in tongues, Spirit-led, spiritual, spiritual awakening, thinking, vegetarianism, violence, war, What would Jesus do? | Tagged , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Stormy Weather

Posted on July 10, 2012 by Steve Simms

It’s not easy to weather stormy weather.  Dark clouds, wind, hail, floods. There is a story about a man who built his house on sand.  When the rains came and the winds blew his house collapsed into ruble. However, another … Continue reading →

Posted in alternative lifestyle, Bible, built his house on a rock, change, change management, Christ, Christ-centered, Christian, dark clouds, faith, faith-based, floods, God, hail, hearing God, inward change, Jesus, Jesus Christ, life, lifestyles, normal Christianity, Oh my God, peace, rains, repentance, salvation, self-help, spiritual disciplines, spiritual formation, stable, stormy weather, thundeer, training camp, values, voice of God, wages of sin, wind | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Perhaps Church Is Much Simpler Than We Think It Is . . .

Posted on July 5, 2012 by Steve Simms

Maybe church is much simpler than we think it is? Perhaps church is just two or there or more believers gathered under the actual leadership and direction of the living, resurrected Jesus Christ in our midst? (In Matthew 18:20, Jesus … Continue reading →

Posted in belief, bored in church, Christ, Christ-centered, Christian, Christian community, Christian history, Christian values, Christianity, church, church programs, church roles, church structure, disciple making, disciples, discipling, East Nashville, ekklesia, faith, gifts of the Spirit, God's government, hearing God, hearing Jesus, Holy Spirit, house church, improv, improvisation, Jesus, Jesus Movement, kingdom of God, Matthew 18:20, move of God, participatory church, presence of Christ, presence of God, relational church, religion, Spirit-led, spiritual, spiritual formation, the way we do church | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Would Chance Produce These Words? Or This? mbvpp[s fji03 n jfn9a- JFJ

Posted on June 27, 2012 by Steve Simms

If the symbols that you are now seeing on your computer screen couldn’t have happened over billions of years by a self-produced process of time and chance, but were instead, intentionally designed and built and posted by intelligent beings; how … Continue reading →

Posted in computer, creation, creationism, Creator, deny God, doubts, evidence for God, evolution, faith, God, hope, intelligence, life, materialism, materialistic evolution, mystery, natural laws, nature, Reason Rally, religion, science, self-produced, supernatural, symbols, tablet computer, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

When God talks and you don’t listen, does that mean that God’s not talking to you?

Posted on June 27, 2012 by Steve Simms

When God talks And you don’t listen, Does that mean that God’s not talking to you?

Posted in belief, Biblical concept, Christianity, deny God, evidence for God, faith, faith-based, gift of God, gifts of the Spirit, God, God-shaped vacuum, godly sorrow, having a form of godliness, hearing God, hearing Jesus, mystery, Oh my God, poem, praise and worship, prayer, prayer without ceasing, presence of Christ, presence of God, proof of God, spiritual, spiritual disciplines, spiritual formation, still small voice, The Voice, voice of God, words | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

How Can You Heal A Broken Heart?

Posted on June 26, 2012 by Steve Simms

Breaking heart, what can heal you? Restore your joy, your peace? Not denial or drink or drugs, Not antidepressants or anger Or angst activity. They merely mask the misery. Only one has a proven record Of consistently healing the brokenhearted … Continue reading →

Posted in activity, alternative lifestyle, anger, angst, brokenhearted, brokenness, change, Christ, Christ-centered, Christian, Christian history, church history, compassion, contemplation, deny yourself, drug commercials, drugs, drunk, encouragement, faith, God, healing, history, human life, inward change, Jesus, Jesus Christ, joy, mask, misery, new birth, peace, poem, poetry, prayer, religion, search for significance, searching for significance, spiritual, surrender to God, testimony | Tagged , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Is the living current of Christ cruising within you, or do you have a dead battery under your hood?

Posted on June 22, 2012 by Steve Simms

Current events:  actions or words prompted by the flow of the Holy Spirit within you.  Don’t resist and/or quench the Spirit’s current, but go with His flow. Like electricity the Spirit of God flows through conductors.  Is the living current … Continue reading →

Posted in 21st Century, Bible, Christian, Christian history, Christianity, conductors, current events, dead battery, dunamis, dynamite, dynamo, electricity, faith, generator, gifts of the Spirit, Holy Spirit, inner rivers, inward change, lifestyles, mystery, mysticism, normal Christianity, prayer, proof of God, quench the Spirit, religion, religious ceremonies, salvation, Scriptures, Spirit-led, spiritual, spiritual awakening, spiritual combat, spiritual disciplines, spiritual formation, spiritual growth, spiritual skills, spiritual warfare, testimonies | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

On The First Day Of Summer, Life’s Not A Bummer . . .

Posted on June 20, 2012 by Steve Simms

Summer time is finally here.  Today is officially the first day of summer, 2012  . . . “People don’t notice whether it’s winter or summer when they’re happy.” ~Anton Chekhov (Are you happy?) “I finally learned that within me there … Continue reading →

Posted in beauty, bummer, Christ, Christianity, devotion, faith, faith-based, feelings, gift of God, happiness, happy, heart-felt love, hope, joy, popular culture, Quotations, quote, Quotes, religion, seasons, singing, Son-shine, spiritual, spiritual formation, spiritual growth | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Alternative Names For Organic Church

Posted on June 18, 2012 by Steve Simms

In the last few years, many books have been written about organic church by people like Neil Cole, Milt Rodriguez, Tony and Felicity Dale, Frank Viola, Wolfgang Simpson, Jon Zens, and many others.  I have read many of the books.  … Continue reading →

Posted in alternative lifestyle, American church, Berry Street, Bible, Biblical concept, Christian, Christian community, Christian history, Christianity, church, church history, church roles, church structure, faith, faith-based, flag, Frank Viola, history, house church, I Corinthians 14:26, improv, James H Rutz, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Jon Zens, King James Version, Milt Rodriguez, Music City, Nashville, Neil Cole, non-church, non-church movement, non-traditional church, open church, order of worship, organic church, participatory church, prayer, prayer walking, Quakers, relational church, religion, religious ceremonies, sermon, sermons, show and tell, simple church, Spirit-led, spiritual awakening, support group, tag team, The Salvation Army, the way we do church, Tony and Felicity Dale, tradition, unprogrammed church, Western religion, What is church?, Wolfgang Simpson | Tagged , , , , | 15 Comments