Category Archives: life

The Most Unique Church In Nashville

Posted on July 20, 2011 by Steve Simms

This isn’t documented with an official survey or anything, but I think McFerrin Park has Nashville’s most unique church. It is diverse economically, racially, and socially. It has no pulpit and no sermons. It has a different worship leader every … Continue reading →

Posted in Berry Street Worship Center, Bible, Holy Spirit, house church, life, lifestyles, Nashville, organic church, religion, simple church, Sunday school, The Salvation Army, What is church? | Tagged 225 Berry Street, 37207, a drummer, a need comes up, adults, anytime, Berry Street Worship Center, Bible study, box, brass band, chairs, changed, church, colored cloths, come and see, couch, couple, cross, curious, different, diverse, documented, during the week, each other, economically, every Sunday, every week, front yard, gathering, hanging on it, house church, intentionally, McFerrin Park, mix, most unique, Nashville, Nashville's, national magazines, nights, no pulpit, no sermons, non-traditional, offering, open discussion, open sharing, organic church, participation, pews, plate, play, pray for people, racially, really care about, Salvation Army, sanctuary, simple church, socially, somewhat, spend time together, Sunday, support group, takes the time, tambourines during worship, The Tennessean, Thursday, uniforms, visibly excited, wall, worship leader, written up | 5 Comments

Of Human Bondage — Judgment, Tolerance, Or Salvation?

Posted on July 19, 2011 by Steve Simms

We boast of freedom in a life of limits. As humans we live in the ever present bondage of boundaries. Nothing in our lives is unlimited. We can only climb so high, reach so far, run so fast, think so long, enjoy … Continue reading →

Posted in apologists, Berry Street Worship Center, boundaries, church history, history, Holy Spirit, house church, Jesus Christ, kingdom of God, life, lifestyles, meaning, mysticism, Nashville, Oh my God, organic church, positive thinking, Quotes, religion, salvation, simple church, social justice, The Salvation Army, thinking, What is church?, William Booth | Tagged 000, 18802, 2, a third option, about, acceptance, accepting, accusing words, addictive, amazing, and/or, army, attempting to justify, attitudes, begin, behaviors, being rescued from, being set free, blame, blaming others, boldly, bondage, boundaries, Bramwell Booth, but in deed and in truth, cause and effect, climb so high, consequences, create, crossed out the word, culture, daily, decades, denial, destructive, devasting, discussing, disguise the pain, do, don't know when, dull, duration, East London, efforts, embraces, enjoy, ever preent, expiration date, fast, fatalism, father, flyer, forgotten concept, freedom, get free, guilt, harmful, held hostage, held in bondage, Here I am to save the day, how do we deal with, human thoughts, humans, I am a regular, I was born this way, in an effort, in the mean time, Jesus Christ, judgment, judgmental, jusdge us, life, life choices, life's limits, limits, live, lives, living, long, meet, mighty power, millions, movement, news media, not in words only, nothing at all, nowadays, opening, other parts of England, others, ourselves, pain producing, passively, pen, people, perhaps, perishable products, physical existence, pie-in-the-sky, practical, presence, pretend, price we pay, prison doors, proclaim, proclamation, raging fire, reach so far, read, real freedom, rediscover, religious platitudes, resurrected, run, said, salvation, say, so many ears, social work, spread around the world, surrender, talk, that's just the way I am, the end is coming, The Salvation Army, the things that, the way we live, think, though out, three ways, time, to promote a meeting, tolerance, unlimited, verbally, volunteer, We are a salvation army, We are a volunteer army, we boast, who can say, William, William Booth, working, world, written | 6 Comments

A Computer Is More Like A Potato Sorter Than A Human Mind

Posted on July 18, 2011 by Steve Simms

Many people believe that a computer is like a human mind. However, in reality it is much more like a potato sorter than a mind. A popular world view is that material reality is all that exists. If something cannot … Continue reading →

Posted in apologists, big bang, brain chemistry, brain research, consciousness, creation, evolution, life, meaning, mind, Oh my God, popular culture, thinking, thoughts | Tagged act, appears, assignment of meaning, brain, chance, claim, command, comprehends, computer, conscious thinking, difference, distinguish, electronically, encounter, evolution, examine, exchange, exists, flow, flow of electrons, function, God, human data processing, human mind, installed, intelligent, intelligent being, know, knowledge, Letters, many people believe, material reality, meaning, meaningful, meaningless, mechanically, mere, molecules, non-material, patterns, person, physical world, physiological process, popular, potato sorter, programmed, proven, randomly, read, realities, reality, receives, receiving a flow, receiving meaning, recording, set up, significant, source, stores patterns, symbolize, the very idea, time, turn the handle, water, water faucet, working, world view, written symbols, You are a winner | 1 Comment

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

Celebrating Real Freedom On The 4th Of July

Posted on July 4, 2011 by Steve Simms

Freedom is a wonderful thing to celebrate. However, it is far better to be free than talk about freedom. For example, if government guarantees the freedom of speech, but a person has a habit of speaking in anger, that she/he wants … Continue reading →

Posted in addiction, Bible, Fourth of July, freedom, life, lifestyles, recovery, thinking, thoughts, Uncategorized | Tagged 4th of July, ability, addicted, addictions, adult, anger, anxieties, areas, be free, behaviors, bondage, bullied, can't stop using, capacity, celebrate, child, compulsions, control, cravings, defend, desires, dirrected, document, doing, dominated, dysfunctional, emotional, enslave, excessive, family, far better, fears, fighting, for example, forces, fourth, free, freedom, freedom of speech, full of, gallantly, genetic tendencies, glorified, Go and sin no more, gorernment guarantee, government, guarantees, habit, habits, house, justify, live your life, living, love your enemies, man, manipulation, mental, New Testament, no condemnation, overcome, passionately, peace that passes understanding, peer pressure, person, physical, political, prejudice, pride, promises, resisting, self-destructive, speaking, surrendered our freedom, talk, teenager, the world's greatest, thing, thinking, throw around, tormented, tormenting thoughts, under, weapons, what happened, where is, woman, wonderful, word, worries | 4 Comments

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

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

A Fisk University Professor’s Unusual View Of Education

Posted on June 24, 2011 by Steve Simms

Over the years there have been so many plans and programs designed to improve the quality of education in America. However, after all these plans and programs, politicians, educators, and others are still talking about how something needs to be … Continue reading →

Posted in American, black history, education, James Weldon Johnson, life, lifestyles, Nashville, popular culture, Quotations, Quotes, race, self-esteem, self-help, self-image, Uncategorized | Tagged answer, As, bad school, bad teacher, best school, college, county, disinterested, early, education, educators, educcational, factor, famous, Fisk University, fix schools, for, go for, graduated, high school, highly, hungry, improve, in America, James Weldon Johnson, knowledge, leaders, learn, living room, located in, minds, motivated, NAACP, Nashville, nephew, no, odd, on his own, on the other hand, others, over the years, plans, politicians, poor, preponderant, professor, programs, quality of education, quote, right now, rural, schoo, six, something needs to be done, student, students, system, talking, teachers, Tennessee, travels the world, Twentieth Century, Ukraine, uninterested, unmotivated, view, web design, web design company, week, won;'t, writer | Leave a comment

Category Archives: life

A Computer Is More Like A Potato Sorter Than A Human Mind

Celebrating Real Freedom On The 4th Of July

Respond To The Spirit Like A Windmill

How Can Christianity Be Boring?

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

Positive Reading Is Super Inspiration

A Fisk University Professor’s Unusual View Of Education

These elephants want to inspire you! Search Amazon for: Elephants INspiring The Room.

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

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