Category Archives: popular culture

In a country where you can get shot along with 70 others while going to a movie . . . we desperately need God.

Posted on July 23, 2012 by Steve Simms

A quotation from the ancient prophet, Isaiah: “Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near.”

Posted in Christian values, Christianity, church, comfort, compassion, conviction of sin, corrupt culture, faith, God, God-shaped vacuum, His story, injury, injustice, Isaiah, justice, Lord, meaninglessness, morality, morals, political issue, popular culture, revelation, revival, salvation, search for significance, searching for significance, sinner, soul, spiritual awakening, spiritual combat, spiritual warfare, surrender to God, values, violence, violent streak | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 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

Explaining Sin In A Post-Christian Culture

Posted on July 2, 2012 by Steve Simms

Post-Christian can be defined as:  the culture that emerges as the Christian faith loses influence in a society that has been somewhat shaped by Christian values.  The Western world is fast becoming post-Christian and popular culture has little understanding of … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Christian, Christian history, Christian values, Christianity, conviction of sin, current condition, current events, faith-based, God, God-shaped vacuum, Gospels, injustice, inward change, moral principles, morality, morals, New Testament, Oh Sinner Man, popular culture, post-Christianity, recovery, repent, repentance, right and wrong, right conduct, salvation, Scriptures, search for significance, self-denial, spiritual awakening, spiritual disciplines, tolerance, Uncategorized, values, wages of sin, Western religion, Western world | Tagged , , , , , , | 46 Comments

Ideas to Tone Down the NBA, the NFL, and the Olympics

Posted on June 25, 2012 by Steve Simms

What if they made a new rule to tone down the Sochi Olympics by requiring all Olympic athletes to have one arm tied behind their back during competition?  Would you be okay with that? What if, in order to reduce … Continue reading →

Posted in 21st Century, Acts, American church, basketball, Berry Street, Berry Street Worship Center, bold statements, burning heart, Christian community, Christianity, church history, church roles, church structure, current events, early church, East Nashville, England, faith-based, football, heart-felt love, house church, I Corinthians 14:26, Jesus, Jesus Christ, kingdom of God, lifestyles, London, Music City, mysticism, Nashville, non-church, non-church movement, non-traditional church, Olympics, open church, order of worship, participatory church, persecution, popular culture, post-Christianity, powerless, reality TV, relational church, religion, religious ceremonies, repentance, revelation, simple church, Spirit-led, spiritual, spiritual formation, sporting event, sports, television, the way we do church, true Christian life, TV, TV network, UK, Uncategorized, Western religion, Western world, What is church? | 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

New Poll Shows More Millennials Doubt God

Posted on June 14, 2012 by Steve Simms

A new poll by the Pew Research Center has found that doubts about the existence of God have increased by 15 points during the past 5 years among Millennials, Americans 30 and under.  Here’s a link to the survey: http://www.pewforum.org/Age/Religion-Among-the-Millennials.aspx … Continue reading →

Posted in acts of God, American, American church, American media, announcements, Berry Street, Berry Street Worship Center, Christian, Christian community, Christian history, Christianity, church, church roles, church structure, doubts, faith, faith-based, gifts of the Spirit, Music City, mysticism, order of worship, organic church, participatory church, Pew Research, poll, popular culture, rejecting Christ, show and tell, Spirit-led, spiritual formation, spiritual growth, supernatural, testimonies, testimony, The Salvation Army, unprogrammed church | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Why Be Prejudice Against Prayer (Or Against Praying People)?

Posted on June 8, 2012 by Steve Simms

Even if you don’t believe in (and/or don’t like) prayer, there is no reason to be prejudice against prayer or against people who pray.  Why?  Because . . . 1)  The vast majority of people who tell you they are … Continue reading →

Posted in acts of God, adoration, alternative lifestyle, American, Americans, anthropologist, belief, Brandeis University, Christian, Christianity, church, faith, faith-based, feelings, interview, joy, lifestyles, love, mystery, non-material reality, Of Two Minds, popular culture, prayer, prayer walking, prayer without ceasing, presence of Christ, presence of God, psychology, religion, soul, spiritual, spiritual disciplines, spiritual formation, supernatural, surrender to God, T.M. Luhrmann, tension, The Jesus Prayer, The Voice, tolerance | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

New Video ‘Bout Tebow . . .

Posted on June 6, 2012 by Steve Simms

Check out the new YouTube video about trying to get the courage to do some tebowing like Tim Tebow does.  It looks so easy when Tim does it, but unless you’ve tried to tebow for yourself, you don’t really know … Continue reading →

Posted in alternative lifestyle, Christian, Christian history, Christianity, copy and paste, courage, deciision making, football, guts and glory, idealism, lifestyles, making decisions, missional, motivation, movement, New York Jets, NFL, Oh my God, opportunity, participatory church, playmaker, popular culture, praise and worship, prayer, prayer walking, prayer without ceasing, prophet, public speaking, Quotations, quote, Quotes, religion, self-denial, sermon, show and tell, speaking, speech making, spiritual, spiritual awakening, spiritual disciplines, Taiwan Tebow, tebow, tebowing, tebowing.com, televangelists, Tim Tebow, training camp, TV, TV ministers, University of Florida, wake-up call, Why be a Christian?, words on fire, YouTube | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

What You’re Looking For

Posted on June 3, 2012 by Steve Simms

What are you looking for in life? Some people say they are looking for fun, parties, good times, happiness; Others for power, position, prestige, success, fame. Some people think they are looking for financial wealth–stocks, bonds, bank accounts, cash; Others … Continue reading →

Posted in all the wrong places, alternative lifestyle, bank accounts, Berry Street, Berry Street Worship Center, casual sex, Christianity, church, cosmic accident, cravings, evidence for God, faith-based, free spirit, God, God-shaped vacuum, materialism, meaning, meaninglessness, modern myths, music, Music City, myths, parties, popular culture, purpose, religion, searching for significance, sermon, sermons, show and tell, simple church, spiritual formation, stuff, testimonies, unhappiness, values, wealth | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Insider Report — Tattoos

Posted on May 31, 2012 by Steve Simms

This is an insider report, not about tattoos on the skin, but about tattoos within — looking beyond body art to a transformed heart. According to a 2006 survey by the American Society of Dermatological Surgery, 1 in 4 Americans … Continue reading →

Posted in American, Christian, Christianity, compassion, dermatalogical, forgiveness, free spirit, freedom, heart-felt love, inward change, Jesus, Jesus Christ, love, mysticism, pain, popular culture, religion, self-control, self-image, spiritual formation, surgery, tattoo, tattoo artist, thoughts, words | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment