Category Archives: mysticism

The College That Changed My Life

Posted on August 22, 2011 by Steve Simms

There is a popular book called Colleges That Change Lives. Somehow the college that changed my life — The University of Tennessee Martin — is not in the book. UTM was 50 miles away from my home and the only … Continue reading →

Posted in Berry Street Worship Center, Bible, change, Christian history, Christianity, church history, college, God, house church, kingdom of God, life, meaning, mysticism, Nashville, new birth, Oh my God, organic church, peace, religion, self-image, simple church, spiritual, What is church? | Tagged 225, Alabama, altar, amazing, Arkansas, around, asking, Baptist, Berry Street, best, Bible, book, called, changed, Christ, Christian, Christianity, church, churches, college, Colleges That Change Lives, community, corny, country, cried, daily, debate, denomination, devotion, difficult, discover, doctrine, Dorm, dozens, Ellington, encouraged, enjoyed, enthusiastic, environment, experience, family, fellow, focused, forever, Friends, full, God, Gospel, graduated, hall, hang out, heart, hooked, human beings, Illinois, Indiana, Jesus, Jesus Freaks, Kentucky, laughed, Lay Witness, leader, leaving, less, level, life, life-long, listened, llking, lobby, longing, loving, manifesting, Martin, meetings, Methodist, Missions, Missiour, Mississippi, morning, most, moved, name, Nashville, Nashville's, normal, official, one another, passion, passionate, pastored, people, popular, power, powerful, praises, prayed, Presbyterian, presence, reading, recapture, reconnect, repenting, satisfied, seminary, shared, sharing, shocked, singing, somehow, spring, stopped, strange, Sunday, Sundays, supported, take turns, Tennessee, testimonies, the, The Salvation Army, things, together, transformed, type, Union City, unique, University of Tennessee, UTM, vibrant, weekend, working, Worship Center, year | 31 Comments

The Alternative Lifestyle

Posted on August 19, 2011 by Steve Simms

A true alternative lifestyle does not just change the object of one’s lust from one gender to another; it overcomes the power, control, and addiction of lust. We hear much about alternative lifestyles nowadays. Yet the greatest alternative lifestyle is … Continue reading →

Posted in alternative lifestyle, Berry Street Worship Center, Christianity, freedom, God, Jesus Christ, kingdom of God, lifestyles, mysticism, Nashville, Oh my God, organic church, popular culture, prayer walking, revelation, salvation, simple church, The Salvation Army, Uncategorized, What is church? | Tagged about, accomplished, addiction, against, along, alternative, alternative lifestyles, attendance, based, Berry Street, breakfast, casually, challenge, challenging, change, chapters 5-7, chicken, children, Christ-style, church, coast, com, comfort, commitment, community, compulsions, contribution, control, cost, count the cost, cravings, daily, dare, deliberately, deny, depths, desires, destructive, direct, doctrine, doing, excitement, experience, extremely, flow, following, fully, gender, giving, greatest, group, growth, guaranteed, ham and egg, hear, Him, in spite, inner peace, intimacy, Jesus, Jesus Christ, joy, life, lifestyle seldom, lifetime, live, love, lust, manifesto, Matthew, meaning, meet, meetings, mentioned, much, Nashville, needy, never, nowadays, obeying, object, ongoing, out, over, overcomes, people, perhaps, persecuted, pig, power, process, provides, purpose, raise money, real world, religious, replied, requires, rewarding, ritual, rivers of living water, said, seek, seeking, self-denial, self-focus, self-fulfillment, self-sacrifice, society, soul, speaks out, strength, Sundays, support group, taught, teachings, The Salvation Army, The Sermon On the Mount, theology, through, together, tolerant, total commitment, tough, type, understanding, very, visit, walking, Worship Center | 5 Comments

Negro Spirituals — A Message We Desperately Need!

Posted on August 17, 2011 by Steve Simms

“Over my head I hear music in the air, There must be a God somewhere.” –Negro spiritual. Those words were written and sung during the most difficult of days, a time of great oppression and evil — a time of bondage, … Continue reading →

Posted in black history, Christian history, church history, education, freedom, God, history, life, lifestyles, meaning, music, mysticism, negro spirituals, Oh my God, prayer, race, racism, religion, revelation, salvation, social justice, spiritual, thoughts, What is church? | Tagged able, African American, awareness, beyond, bondage, breathing, caught up, days, deprivation, despair, different, discover, disrespect, Don't, drudgery, economic, emotions, eternal, even more, evil, express, fear, forefathers, get, God, great, heart, hold on to, hope, hopeless, human beings, I hear, in and out, in order to, in the air, in the midst, injustice, insight, intellect, life, look beyond, man's inhumanity to man, meaning, meaningless, melodies, mind, more than, most difficult, music, mystery, Negro spiritual, nothing, oppression, over my head, pain, personal, perspective, pleasure, pursuit, revelation, rock, security, sense, situation, slaves, someone, somewhere, somewho, strenght, strong, struggles, suffered, suffering, sung, survive, there must be a God, time, told, truths, tune, understanding, unshakable, violence, wake, words, written | 2 Comments

Nashville’s Participatory Church

Posted on August 16, 2011 by Steve Simms

The Salvation Army Berry Street Worship Center is Nashville’s participatory church. The Sunday morning meetings are conducted more like a support group than a church meeting with each person free to share testimonies, Scriptures, praise reports, insights, gifts of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Berry Street Worship Center, Christianity, house church, kingdom of God, life, mysticism, Nashville, Oh my God, organic church, salvation, simple church, The Salvation Army, What is church? | Tagged 20:45, 225, 37207, acrostic, attempts, beautiful, Berry Street, church, church meeting, conducted, each person, encouraging, engaging, exciting, experienced, for yourself, free, gifts of the Spirit, God, hard, insights, love, meetings, morning, Nashville, Nashville's, participatory, praise reports, prayer requests, raw, reaching out, real, Scriptures, share, spiritual, Sunday, support group, testimonies, thanksgiving, The Salvation Army, to describe, tweetable, type, Worship Center, yearning | 18 Comments

Dietrich Bonhoeffer — Words From Prision

Posted on August 13, 2011 by Steve Simms

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was imprisoned and later executed (in 1944) by Nazi Germany. While in prison, he wrote many letters that were smuggled out. Here are some quotations from those letters: “It is only when one submits to God’s law that one … Continue reading →

Posted in apologists, Christian history, Christianity, church history, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, freedom, God, history, human rights, Jesus Christ, kingdom of God, meaning, mysticism, new birth, Quotations, Quotes, reading, religion, revelation, social justice, spiritual, thinking | Tagged 1944, a dash, above all things, absolute, all things are possible, alone, always, at hand, away from the pat, based on, being, being satisfied, beyond, certain, certanity, Christ, church, claims, danger, destruction, develop, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, distress, eludes, entirely, executed, existence, exixts, experience, falsehood, fear, feel, follow, formula, freedom, Germany, God, God's law, govern, grace, great, hope, hostility, human, human life, humor, important, impossible, imprisoned, infinitely, invincible, invisible, Jesus, kingdom of God, leade, learn, Letters, life, light, live close to God, lives, living, longings, make up, man, manifestations, mediocrity, mind, must, Nazi, nearest, never, new life, nothing, others, part of, participation, passions, Pauline, people, plan, power, presence, prison, purpose, pursue, quotations, reality, relation, remote, seek, senses, seriousness, shape, share, smooth, smuggled, soul, spolit, strength, submits, things, times, todday, with God, words, world, wrote | 3 Comments

A Call — Add Fuel To A Spiritual Fire In Nashville, Tennessee

Posted on August 4, 2011 by Steve Simms

Even a spiritual fire needs fuel. When a spiritual fire starts it needs a steady supply of fuel to keep burning and to keep growing. There is a spiritual fire in Nashville – hearts ablaze with excitement about Jesus. People … Continue reading →

Posted in Christianity, fire, freedom, fuel, God, Holy Spirit, house church, Jesus Christ, kingdom of God, life, lifestyles, mysticism, Nashville, Oh my God, organic church, prayer, religion, revelation, salvation, simple church, spiritual, What is church? | Tagged 10:45am, 1916, 1st Street, 225, 37207, ablaze, about, awakening, being, being a part, believers, Berry Street, Berry Street Worship Center, blow, burning, by, call, carried, Christ, city, come, deliverance, destroyed, disciple, disciples, East, encourage, excitement, fire, for yourself, fuel, Give, gloriously, God, grow, growing, harvest, healing, hearts, help, high, His, historical, homes, hungry, in, Jesus, laborers, lead, life-transforming, lives, living, location, Lord, marker, marks, mature, Nashville, needs, new, North, part, passionately, people, please, pray, producing, salvation, see it, send, spirit, spiritual, spread, stadium, started, starts, steady supply, Sundays, testifying, The Salvation Army, this, through out, Titans, to keep, together, we can, winds, with | 6 Comments

Life Beyond Stuff (Rocks, Trees, TVs, & Living Bodies) — Another Dimension

Posted on July 31, 2011 by Steve Simms

It’s easy to get stuffy in a world where everything (including us) is made of stuff. Our bodies are made of cells that are made of molecules that are made of atoms that are made of sub-atomic particles. It’s all stuff … Continue reading →

Posted in Atheists, consciousness, creation, Creator, DNA, God, kingdom of God, life, meaning, mind, mysticism, Oh my God, prayer, Quotations, Quotes, recovery, religion, revelation, salvation, self-image, The Brain That Changes Itself, thinking, Uncategorized | Tagged accessible, another, as it is in heaven, at the strangest, atoms, attempt, away, back to dust, beyond, bodies, book, by surprise, called, calling, cells, choose, comes, communication, conveyed, conviction, deep cries, deeply, demonstrations, described, destiny, die, dimension, disciples, distractions, disturb, DNA, drawing, drink, drown out, encoded, encompassed, everrything, explain, feel, first, full of, guide, heart, humans, identified, ignore, immaterial, impacts, inhabits, intelligence, intelligent, it is up to, It's easy to, Jesus, kingdom come, kingdom of God, life after death, living creatures, made of, makes up, matter, matters, message, molecules, moves, non-life, non-material, now, observation, on earth, page, part, particles, physical, pleading, pray, printed, produced, purpose, quite, quote, reality, realm, resist, rule, seek, sense, speaks, spirit, stay, stuck, stuff, stuffy, sub-atomic, taught, times, ultimate, universe, unto deep, uses, will be don, within you, world | 2 Comments

A Spot In Nashville Where You Can Feel God

Posted on July 30, 2011 by Steve Simms

‎””What do you think of God,” the teacher asked. After a pause, the young pupil replied, ‘He’s not a think, he’s a feel.’” ~Paul Frost A God you can powerfully feel will fill your faith with holy fire and excitement … Continue reading →

Posted in Berry Street Worship Center, Christianity, God, Holy Spirit, house church, Jesus Christ, kingdom of God, life, lifestyles, mysticism, Nashville, new birth, Oh my God, organic church, popular culture, Quotations, Quotes, religion, revelation, simple church, The Salvation Army, Uncategorized, What is church? | Tagged 225 Berry Street, 37207, a place, allow, amazing, Berry Street Worship Center, beyond my ability, blind eyes see, broken, changed, church, depression, describe, direct, each, East Nashville, experience, feel God, folks, freely, gather, group of people, guide, hearts, Holy Spirit, humble, in front of your eyes, let God work, lives, mightily, morning, move, Nashville, opened, oppression, really, room full, service, should, spiritually, Sunday, Sundays, The Salvation Army, there, truly, visit, What happens, you | 5 Comments

Talk (or TV Commercials) About Pain Medication Won’t Ease Your Pain

Posted on July 28, 2011 by Steve Simms

There is so much talk about medication nowadays, especially in TV commercials. Paid actors and spokespersons boast of the results of the pill they’re promoting. (Then the voice over announcer quietly sneaks in the side-effects, but that’s another story.) However, … Continue reading →

Posted in drug commercials, drugs, God, Holy Spirit, house church, Jesus Christ, kingdom of God, life, lifestyles, mysticism, new birth, Oh my God, organic church, peace, prayer, Quotations, reading, recovery, religion, revelation, salvation, self-help, What is church? | Tagged 24/7/365, actors, all you who are, another story, best pain reliever, boast, body, Come unto Me, deep down, ease your pain, hearing, heart, help, high on, hurting, I will give you rest, instead, J-E-S-U-S, Jesus, known to main, medication, merely, New Testament, no need, not on earthly, nowadays, obey, on things above, open up, paid, Paul of Tarsus, pill, pop, popping, promoting, puff, put it, quitely, reading, receive, results, sermons, Set your minds, shoot up, side-effects, singing, smoke, sneaks, snort, soul, spell relief, spokespersons, studying, surrender, take in, talk, through your whole system, to be effective, TV commericals, voice over announcer, weary and heavy laden | 4 Comments

Life Rocks When Religion Becomes Real (Or, Night At The Theological Museum)

Posted on July 27, 2011 by Steve Simms

In the 2006 movie, Night at the Museum, a night watchman at New York City’s American Museum of Natural History is shocked when the exhibits in the museum come to life. His once boring job suddenly becomes exciting and challenging. It is amazing the … Continue reading →

Posted in Christian history, Christianity, church history, Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, kingdom of God, life, lifestyles, meaning, mysticism, new birth, Night at the Museum, Oh my God, organic church, popular culture, prayer, Quotations, Quotes, religion, resurrection, revelation, simple church, The Salvation Army, What is church?, William Booth | Tagged 2006 movie, accepting, accumulation, addictions, adherents, alive, amazing, America's, American Museum of Natural History, announced, argued, arguments, as the waters cover the sea, authority, awe, believe, Bible, blandly, blind faith, boring job, bright and morning star, brothers, bursts forth, by droves, celebration, challenging, church, churches, cofounder of, come to life, connects, cravings, crazy, crucifixion, data, demonstrated, demonstrating, don't rock the boat, driven, exciting, exhibits, experience, feel, fill the earth, flamed, foundations, from God, glory of the LORD, God's, having strouble, head, His, Holy Spirit, hope, ignores the heart, in my seat, incarnation, information, Jesus Christ, joyous, jumped off the pages, know so, knowledge, Letters, life, lifeless formes, living, Lord, losing, love letters, majestic, makes, man, mastered, mind, miracles, most of all, museum, need no, New Testament, New York City's, night, Night at the Museum, night watchman, oh, passionately, people, persuade, physical healing, power, presence, proof, proven, pulsating, quotation, rational, rationalized, real, reassure, relationships, religion, resurrection, ritual, said, salvation, secular society, seduction, see, send, sensational, set free, sexy, shaking, shocked, spiritual, spontaneous, spplendor, staying awake, Sunday school, surging, taught, teeming, the Apostles, the difference, the Good News, The Salvation Army, theological, theology, tired, trembling, true, vividly, William Booth, with life, work, writers, written to, yawn | 3 Comments

Category Archives: mysticism

A Call — Add Fuel To A Spiritual Fire In Nashville, Tennessee

Life Beyond Stuff (Rocks, Trees, TVs, & Living Bodies) — Another Dimension

Talk (or TV Commercials) About Pain Medication Won’t Ease Your Pain

Life Rocks When Religion Becomes Real (Or, Night At The Theological Museum)

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