Category Archives: God

Church — Lab or Lecture? Intellect or Votech? Academic or Epidemic?

Posted on July 16, 2011 by Steve Simms

Should church be academic or epidemic? Should it be based on the transfer of religious knowledge or on an ongoing contagion of spiritual life spreading like raging fire? Here is a quotation from Paul of Tarsus, the church planter who established … Continue reading →

Posted in apologists, Berry Street Worship Center, Bible, change, God, Holy Spirit, house church, lifestyles, mysticism, organic church, Quotations, Quotes, religion, simple church, The Salvation Army, Uncategorized, What is church? | Tagged 225 Berry St., 37207, academic, academic study, accepting, agreeing to, area, based on, Berry Street Worship Center, Bible, Biblical doctrines, book of Acts, called, Christian votech, Christians, church, church planter, contagion, contemporary church, creed, daily lives, Dear children, deed, demonstrative, disciples, disciplined, dry intelect, epidemic, established, experiential learning, first Christian churches, follow and obey, followers, formation within, gave, go and make disciples of all nations, godliness has value for all things, Great Commission, hands-on activity, hearts, holy, Holy Spirit, house church, ignored, inflaming, intellect, isn't it time, Jesus, Jesus Christ, John the Beloved, knowledge puffs up, lab, laid-back, lecture, lifestyle, like, listening, live, living love, love builds up, make this change, making disciples, mental adherents, merely, move beyond, Nashville, New Testament, not love with words, nowadays, ongoing, organic church, others, passion for God, passivity, Paul of Tarsus, Paul's words, physical training, practice, quotation, raging fire, read, religious, religious knowledge, reproduce, return, said, seeking, sermons, serve, simple church, some value, spiritual athletes, spiritual formation, spiritual life, spiritual lifestyle, spreading, Sundays, talk, Tennessee, the apostle, The Salvation Army, Thursdays, time of, tongue, train, train yourself to be godly, transfer of, transformation, turned, visit a church, votech, with actions and truth, wrote | 8 Comments

Organic Church = God On The Loose

Posted on July 13, 2011 by Steve Simms

There are sometimes awkward moments in unprogrammed, participatory church (also known as organic church or simple church). People sometimes say things and/or do things that are outside of my comfort zone. On a recent Sunday morning at The Salvation Army Berry Street … Continue reading →

Posted in Berry Street Worship Center, God, Holy Spirit, house church, life, mysticism, Nashville, Oh my God, organic church, simple church, The Salvation Army, Uncategorized, What is church? | Tagged are you ready, awkward, Berry Street Worship Center, bit, blow, but, came to, church, close, comfort zone, comfortable, comfy, courage, cut, danger, denying the power, disturb, farthest from God, freedom, fuffle our feathers, gather together, God, having a form of godliness, Him, His way, Holy Spirit, how true, information, Lord, meeting, midst, mind, moments, my, Nashville, on the loose, organic church, outside of my, participatory, power, predictability, rock, shake, sharing, simple church, situations, sometimes, spiritual life, startle, stretch, structure, Sunday morning, take the limits off of, The Salvation Army, thereof, things, throbbing, transformation, unbound, uncomfortable, unprogrammed, visit, where it will, wide open, wind, wondering, words, work, working | 4 Comments

Can A Church Be Full Of The Glory Of God?

Posted on July 9, 2011 by Steve Simms

A popular worship song says: “The splendor of the King; clothed in majesty . . .” It is great to sing about God’s splendor, but how do we bring it forth? There is a simple, but powerful answer to this … Continue reading →

Posted in church history, God, house church, Jesus Christ, music, Nashville, Oh my God, organic church, prayer, religion, simple church, What is church? | Tagged among, awe, baton, Berry Street, Bible, blends, bring it, called, chaos, Christ's body, church, clothed in majesty, conductor, contributions, directory, do, do their own thing, experience, expressions, forth, gathered, gifted, giving, glorious, glory of God, God, God's splendor, great, hear, heart-felt, hearts, holy, Holy Spirit, house church, I Corinthians 14:26, indescribable, instructions, leading, leadings, member, men, morning, move, musicians, Nashville, obeys, open, option, orchestra, organic church, people, perform, place, popular, powerful, prayer, presence, responds, revelation, seek, shares, shines, silence, simple, simple church, sing, spiritually hungry, splendor of the King, stand, standing on holy ground, Sunday, symphony, talented, taps, taste and see, testmony, The Salvation Army, verse, women, word of knowledge, worship song | Leave a 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

Respond To The Spirit Like A Windmill

Posted on June 29, 2011 by Steve Simms

The wind of the Spirit is blowing, but the church is stripped and locked down like the blades of a windmill. It refuses to move in response to the Holy Spirit, preferring the rigidity of religion instead of the roaring … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, freedom, God, Holy Spirit, house church, kingdom of God, life, lifestyles, Michigan, mysticism, new birth, organic church, pentecostals, prayer, windmill | Tagged about us, apply, attentive, bird, blades, born of the Spirit, break, city park, clothe, clothed with humility, covered, direct, disobeying, Dutch, face the wind, fear, focus on, frame, graceful, Holland, Holy Spirit, impict, intentionally, Jesus, like the wind, listen to, live, Michigan, move, name De Zwaan, neglect, New Testament, obey, out of the box, powerful, presence, principles, Quench not the Spirit, refuse, reminded, resisting the Spirit, respond, rotated, sales, Scripture, seek, soaring, speak to me, teaching, the Netherlands, the Spirit, The wind blows, tradition, turn, unlocked, walking through the park, what people will think, windmill, Windmill Island, yesterday, yield, you hear its sound | 2 Comments

How Can Christianity Be Boring?

Posted on June 27, 2011 by Steve Simms

Christianity teaches that God loves every human being and that He showed His love through Jesus dying on the cross for each one of us. Perhaps that concept is too familiar to many of us. We’ve heard it since we … Continue reading →

Posted in apologists, Bible, church history, God, house church, Jesus Christ, life, lifestyles, mysticism, new birth, Oh my God, organic church, popular culture, prayer, religion, tears, What is church? | Tagged 9/11, agree, amazing, Amen, ancient history, babies, believe, beloved of God, big game, bland, boring, boring people, burn brightly, casually, Catherine booth, Christianity, comfort zone, concept, cry out, daily life, dance, day off, deep, depths of our being, dying on the cross, emotion, excited, excitement, express, fact, Friends, God loves, Gospel, greatest sin, human being, in the streets, in the world, Jesus, Jesus died for me, joy, most, move, moved, moved to tears, notify our face, obeying, out of, passion, people, preachers, profund, rejoice, repentance, respond, sermons, shake us up, shame, shed, should not be, shout it form the housetops, showed, sleepy, speak with passion, talk, teaches, team, tears, tell, too familia, tried everything, truth, truths, try ti fire, weather, wins, work, yank | 2 Comments

Joel’s Jolts — Powerful Words From An Old Testament Prophet

Posted on June 26, 2011 by Steve Simms

Joel is an Old Testament prophet whose words will give you a jolt. Are you ready for a jumping Joel jolt? Here are some quotes from Joel: “The word of the Lord that came to Joel, son of Pethuel.” “Hear … Continue reading →

Posted in ancient history, Bible, biography, God, kingdom of God, life, lifestyles, mysticism, Oh my God, prayer, Quotations, Quotes, reading, tears, What is church? | Tagged abounding, afterward, Are you ready for, assembly, at hand, blessing, blow the trumpet in Zion, calamity, call, close, coming, compassionate, cry out, daughters, day of the Lord, declare, declares, dream dreams, elders, even now, fast, fasting, garments, give you a jolt, God, gracious, have, hear this, Here goes, hill, holy, I am strong, I will pour out my Spirit, in the valley of decision, Joel, jumping, land, leave behind, listen, Lord, love, mourning, multitudes, not your, old men, Old Testament, people sons, Pethuel, pity, prophesy, prophet, relents, rend your heart, return, sacred, say, see visions, sending, servants, slow to anger, sound the alarm, The word of the Lord, those days, tremble, turn, weakling, weeping, Who knows? may, with all your heart, women, words, young men | 6 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

My Top Five Christian Groups (Churches) Of All Time

Posted on June 17, 2011 by Steve Simms

I am an avid church history reader. However, I don’t much enjoy the politics and religion of the institutional church. Instead I love reading about the living faith of Christians in the past and about spiritural movements when multitudes came to … Continue reading →

Posted in Anabaptists, ancient history, Bible, church history, God, history, house church, Jesus Christ, kingdom of God, lifestyles, mysticism, new birth, Oh my God, organic church, pentecostals, Quakers, The Salvation Army, Uncategorized, What is church? | Tagged 100 years, 12, 1906 Pentecostal experience, affluent, aggressive, Anabaptists, assembly, avid, awesome, back home, bar tunes, beat drums, believed, Bible, billion, boldly, book of Acts, buildings, Christ, Christian movements, Christians, church history, countries, doctrine, drunkards, evangelize, favorite, finanical support, First Century, five, folks, generations, great love, group, healing, history, home, I Corinthians 14, institutional church, invaded, lead a song, lifestyle, lived, living faith, love, marched, meetings, miracles, missionaries, moved, multitudes, name, New Testament, of the, official, on fire, on the streets, one-way ticket, open air, participate, past, Pentecostals, people, politics, poor, power of God, preachers, professional, prostitutes, Quakers, reader, religion, Roman Catholics, Salvationists, sea steamer, silently, Society of Friends, speak, speaking in tongues, spiritual movements, store front, tens of thousands, The Salvation Army, turned the world upside down, words, world, worship | 10 Comments

Christopher Columbus The Salesman

Posted on June 11, 2011 by Steve Simms

Most of us think of Christopher Columbus as a great discoverer, but he was also a master salesperson. Before he could sail, he had to sell. Before he could begin his voyage of discovery that changed the world, he had … Continue reading →

Posted in biography, change, change management, Columbus, Creator, God, history, lifestyles, sales, self-image, selling, thinking, thoughts | Tagged 10 percent, 14, 500 miles, a sign, ability, Admiral, adventure, alone, amazed, appeaked, approached, Asia, asking for the order, Atlantic, attacked, believed, build, c aptain, case, caused, changed, characteristics, chart his course, cheap, Christopher Columbus, circumstances, closing, commerce, commission, concentrated, conditions, confidence, consider, constant, contemporaries, conviction, crossing, desires, desperation, discoverer, discoveries, disocurage, Dominican Republic, dream, evidence, explored, faith, Ferdinand and Isabella, foreigner, fund, funding, future, glory, goal, governor, great, guaranteed, happened, head of state, headed, heirs, helped, history, honors, hundreads of years, idea, illustrates, in the sky, Indians, inner, Italian, Jamaica, kept, king, King John, last, learn, legally, let's look at, libraries, life, list, long delay, lookout, lunar eclipse, made the sale, main, make the sale, makret, massacre, master, modern, molesting, money, months, most wanted, mother country, needing, never, never stopped, new, New World, Nicaraguan coast, night, ocean, on his feet, one-call, others, over and over, own terms, passed on, passenger, passing of time, passion, pay, permanent, perpetuity, personal demands, personal glory, plan, planned, Portugal, position, position viceroy, powerful, practically, price, problems, propelled, prospect list, queen, reach, reading, religious, remain calm under pressure, remarkably, remembered, rescued, researched, ridiculous, rights, sail, sailors, sale, sales ability, sales techniques, salesman, salespeople, salesperson, sea, sell, settlement, several, severn, shallow waters, ship, ship worms, ships, short, single-minded, Spain, Spanish, spread, stamina, story, strategy, study, successful, sufficient, superstition, support, take on water, talked, territories, the world, think, thought, title, to make matters worse, today, tradition, trans-Atlantic, unfortunately, utterly, vision, voyage of discovery, wealth, went to work, wholeheartedly, wrong, years, yes | 1 Comment

Category Archives: God

Church — Lab or Lecture? Intellect or Votech? Academic or Epidemic?

Can A Church Be Full Of The Glory Of God?

Happy Birthday, King James Version

Respond To The Spirit Like A Windmill

How Can Christianity Be Boring?

Joel’s Jolts — Powerful Words From An Old Testament Prophet

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

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