Category Archives: participation in church

1 Speaking to All? Or All Speaking To All?

Posted on March 3, 2014 by Steve Simms

Church is when a group of believers gathers together around the living, resurrected Jesus Christ and focuses their attention on listening to His voice and doing whatever He tells them to do. Church is when the living Christ, in a … Continue reading →

Posted in Christian community, church leadership, church programs, church services, church speakers, clergy/laity, community, hearing God, hearing Jesus, hearing the Holy Spirit, how to do church, laity, laymen, laywomen, participation, participation in church, participatory church, participatory sermons, praying community, preacher, preaching, preaching the Word, priesthood of the believer, sermons, simple church, speaking, speaking out, voice of God, What is church?, When you come together, where two or three in My name, why go to church, worship, worship service | Tagged , , , | 14 Comments

1 Speaker Church Is Like A 1 Channel TV . . .

Posted on March 2, 2014 by Steve Simms

If church has the same speaker every week, it is like a TV that only gets one channel. Maybe Christian ministry would be more effective at changing lives and transforming our culture if it flowed from one ordinary believer to … Continue reading →

Posted in Behold the Lamb of God, Christian ministry, church programs, church services, clergy, clericalism, house church, Jesus, Jesus Christ, multi-voiced church, non-church, one anothering, open church, open forum, open mic, open mike, open sharing, organic church, participation in church, participatory church, participatory culture, Salvation Army, Salvation Army church, Salvation Army Corps, sermon, simple church, Spirit-led, takes away the sins of the world, Tennessee | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Church — A Bottled Water Plant? or A Mighty, Whitewater River

Posted on February 23, 2014 by Steve Simms

Church — A bottled water plant? or A mighty, whitewater river? Contemporary church is too often like a bottled water plant. People sit passively, like flimsy plastic bottles in a row, hoping to receive a single squirt of water from … Continue reading →

Posted in bottled water plant, Christ-centered, Christian, Christian community, Christianity, church format, church meetings, church program, church programs, church seating, church services, church structure, Holy Spirit, house church, How is water bottled?, institutional church, Nashville adventure, Nashville charity, Nashville church, Nashville news, participation in church, participatory church, participatory culture, plastic bottles, Salvation Army church, Salvation Army Corps, simple church, Spirit's flow, Spirit-filled, Spirit-led, spiritual church, spontaneity, spontaneous church, whitewater river | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Organic Church — Spirit-Led Assembly Required!

Posted on February 21, 2014 by Steve Simms

Love is not taught by a sermon or a lesson.  Love is caught when hearts are in Spirit-led connection. Church — Spirit-led assembly required!  A church meeting should be a spiritual people-mover — connecting people to God and to one … Continue reading →

Posted in assembly, Christianity, Christianity with Power, church leadership, church meetings, church program, church programs, church services, God, led by the Spirit, organic church, participation in church, participatory church, participatory culture, Salvation Army church, Salvation Army Corps, Salvationism, simple church, Spirit-led | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

It’s Time For Interactive Church Services!

Posted on January 11, 2014 by Steve Simms

People living in our 21st Century culture of constant interactive media, need more than a passive, authoritarian, spectator church service.  Maybe they need engagement and participation!  Perhaps a church service needs to be more than a Sunday morning love lecture.  … Continue reading →

Posted in interactivity, love lecture, Nashville, Nashville church, non-church, non-church movement, non-liturgical, non-traditional church, open church, open forum, open mic, open mike, participation, participation in church, participatory church, participatory culture, participatory sermons, sermon, sermon-free, simple church, The Salvation Army | Tagged , , , | 10 Comments

PC is awesome!

Posted on January 9, 2014 by Steve Simms

PC (Participatory Church) is awesome! PC (Participatory Church) allows the living, resurrected Jesus Christ to actively fulfill His role as Head of the Church — not just be a figurehead. PC (Participatory Church) fulfills the words of Jesus:  “For where … Continue reading →

Posted in Berry Street, Berry Street Worship Center, Bible, Bible quotes, Nashville, Nashville adventure, Nashville church, Nashville tourist attractions, participation in church, participatory church, political correctness, religion, Salvation Army, Salvation Army church, Salvation Army Corps, simple church, Spirit-filled, Spirit-led, Spirit-prompted | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

What Does George Fox Say? (About Organic Church)

Posted on January 4, 2014 by Steve Simms

George Fox encountered the living, resurrected Jesus Christ in the 1600s in England and began to realize that faith is not about religion, ritual, and rigid organization, but about an ongoing, real relationship with Jesus.  He and some of his … Continue reading →

Posted in life together, listening, listening prayer, listening to God, parody, participation in church, participatory church, Quaker meetings, radical Christianity, silence, silent worship, simple church, Spirit-led, Spirit-prompted, spiritual, YouTube | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Realty TV / Reality Church . . .

Posted on December 10, 2013 by Steve Simms

Reality church? We have reality TV that features ordinary people. So, why not reality church, where everyday people show and tell why God has done? When church is scripted, the freedom to flow in the Spirit is restricted to the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1 Corinthians 14:26, Andy Chamberlain, C. Wess Daniels, Constance M. Cherry, experiential worship, Fuller Seminary, Music City, Nashville, new kind of church, New Testament, open church, open mike, open sharing, order of worship, participation, participation in church, participatory culture, participatory sermons, passivity, pastor, popular culture, quotation, quote, Quotes, religious innovation, Ryan Bolger, Ryan Flanigan, Salvation Army, Salvation Army church, Salvation Army Corps, television, TV, TV network, William Willimon, worship, worship center, worship gathering | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

When church is scripted, the freedom to flow in the Spirit is restricted to the agenda. When church is spontaneous, the Holy Spirit can break out in glorious demonstrations of His power and presence.

Posted on December 10, 2013 by Steve Simms
Posted in church program, church programs, church services, order of worship, participation, participation in church, participatory church, scripted, simple church, Spirit-filled, Spirit-led, Spirit-prompted, spiritual, spiritual flow, spiritual innovation, spiritual life, spiritual movement, spontaneity, worship, worship gathering | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Christmas Lights

Posted on November 28, 2013 by Steve Simms

No man puts up dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of Christmas lights and then only lets one light shine.  He turns on all the lights and if any light or lights don’t shine, he replaces the bulbs. Perhaps God wants … Continue reading →

Posted in Christ followers, Christmas tree lights, church, church services, light, light bulbs, Nashville, Nashville church, open church, open sharing, organic church, participation in church, participatory church, Salvation Army, Salvation Army church, simple church, Sunday, Sunday morning, support group, you are the light of the world | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment