Category Archives: simple church

Sunday Holy Spirit Science Lab?

Posted on July 2, 2013 by Steve Simms

Perhaps a church service could be like a high school science lab where ordinary people experiment with hearing and obeying the Holy Spirit.  What would happen if people showed up for Sunday church ready to share with and minister to … Continue reading →

Posted in church format, church meetings, experiencing God, experiment, experimental church, Holy Spirit, organic church, Salvation Army church, Salvation Army Corps, Salvationists, science, scientific model, sermon, sermon-hearing, sermons, service, simple church, Spirit's flow, Spirit-filled, Spirit-led, Spirit-prompted, spiritual formation, spiritual gifts, The Salvation Army, unprogrammed church | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Church Seating — Beyond The Pew And Theater Seating

Posted on June 29, 2013 by Steve Simms

[U] From the pew to the U — church seating makes a difference. I grew up sitting in church pews (long, uncomfortable, wooden benches) and seeing the backs of people’s heads in front of me — not much interaction in … Continue reading →

Posted in backs of people's heads, church benches, church furniture, glory, glory on each face, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Nashville, Nashville church, Nashville projects, Salvation Army church, Salvation Army Corps, Salvationists, simple church, The Salvation Army, theater seating | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

The Right To Speak Out (In Church)

Posted on June 27, 2013 by Steve Simms

Perhaps it’s time for church members (according to 1 Corinthians 14:26) to revive their right to speak out in church services.

Posted in church format, church meetings, church programs, church services, non-church, non-liturgical, non-traditional church, nonconforming, open church, open mike, order of worship, organic church, participants, participators, participatory church, religious ceremonies, rights, share, sharing, simple church, simplicity, speaking, speaking out, speech making, testimonies, testimony | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Lights of the Round Table / Spirit-Prompted Church Meetings

Posted on June 17, 2013 by Steve Simms

King Arthur’s Knights of the Round Table reveal a biblical way of holding church meetings. 1)  The knights set at a round table so that no one, not even the king, could be at the head of the table and … Continue reading →

Posted in Camelot, Christ, church format, church leadership, church meetings, church roles, church services, church structure, Code of Chivalry, equality, Head, Head of the church, hiearchy, Jesus, Jesus Christ, King Arthur, knighthood, knights, Matthew 20, moral, moral foundations, moral judgment, moral laws, moral leaders, moral principles, moral reformer, moral restraints, morality, organic church, Round Table, simple church, values | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

An Anglican & A Baptist Describe Participatory Church

Posted on May 28, 2013 by Steve Simms

Anglican priest, Robert Wild, describes participatory church: “God can speak to each person through the others and guide the entire assembly toward a common mind, toward consensus.” Baptist pastor, Ed Stetzer describes participatory church: “In all of our research on … Continue reading →

Posted in Anglican priest, church format, church leader, church meetings, church program, church programs, church roles, church services, clergy, clergy/laity, consensus, Ed Stetzer, laity, layman, laymen, ministry, missional, missionary, pastor, preacher, quote, Quotes, Robert Wild, simple church | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

Baptist Pastor Promotes Participatory Church

Posted on May 25, 2013 by Steve Simms

I “stumbled upon” a 1971 book by a Baptist pastor that describes a participatory style church service: “One winter morning I stopped for worship at a small East Tennessee rural church . . . The singing stopped and he (the … Continue reading →

Posted in Albert McClellan, attitude, East Tennessee, festival, mystery, praising God, pray for one another, prayer, praying, praying community, Quotations, Quotes, Salvation Army church, Salvation Army Corps, shouting in church, simple church, testimonies, testimony, The Salvation Army, weeping | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

Benjamin Franklin & Sermon Free Church

Posted on May 22, 2013 by Steve Simms

I think Benjamin Franklin would have loved sermon-free church because it gets people actively involved and transforms them from passive pew-sitters to spiritual go-getters! Ben said: “I wish it (Christianity) were more productive of good works. I mean real good … Continue reading →

Posted in American history, American Literature, Ben Franklin, Berry Street, Berry Street Worship Center, church format, church meetings, church roles, church services, church structure, Doing the most good, good sermon, good works, history, involve me and I learn, memory, Nashville, organic church, pew, prayer, praying, preacher, preaching, quote, Quotes, Salvation Army church, Salvation Army Corps, sermon, sermon-free, sermon-hearing, sermons, simple church, teach me and I, Tennessee, The Salvation Army | Tagged , , , , , | 7 Comments

Priesthood of the Believer Church (Church Meetings Without A Dominating Leader)

Posted on May 20, 2013 by Steve Simms

Can churches meet without one person dominating the meeting?  History says they can! When the Protestant Reformation broke with the Roman Catholic Church, one of the doctrines they embraced become known as “the priesthood of the believer.”  The Reformers acknowledged … Continue reading →

Posted in Catholic, Catholic Church, Catholicism, China, Chinese, church, church history, church in China, church leader, church meetings, Communists, holy priesthood, kingdom of priests, Laymen's prayer revival, laymen's prayer revival of 1857, Martin Luther, Methodism, Methodist class meeting, Methodists, participatory church, pastor, Peter Wagner, priest, Quaker meetings, Quakers, quote, Quotes, Ray Stedman, Roman Catholic, simple church, Spirit-filled, Spirit-led, Spirit-prompted, The Salvation Army | Tagged , , , , , | 23 Comments

Sermon-free church will irrigate your dry soul, flooding your heart with the power and presence of the living, resurrected Jesus Christ as everyday people, led by the Spirit, show and tell what God has done.

Posted on May 13, 2013 by Steve Simms

The Methodists used to practice sermon-free church. Sermon-Free church broke out across American in the late 1850s. The Quakers practiced sermon-free church. A prayer for sermon-free church from the late 1800s is being answered in Nashville.

Posted in church, church format, church history, church meetings, church program, church programs, church roles, church services, church structure, churching, Methodism, Methodists, Nashville, Nashville church, preaching, Quakers, sermon, sermon series, sermons, simple church | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Sermon-Free Church Rocked The Early Methodists

Posted on May 12, 2013 by Steve Simms

The early Methodists practiced a type of sermon-free church known as class meetings.  These were weekly, participatory meetings where every person present was given the opportunity to talk about their life with God.  The first Methodist class meeting was started … Continue reading →

Posted in bear one another's burdens, Christian experience, Christianity, church, Frederick William Briggs, John Bate, John Berry McFerrin, John Wesley, Kevin Watson, Methodism, Methodist revivalists, Methodists, Nashville, Nashville adventure, Nashville charity, Quotations, quote, renewal, revival, Salvation Army church, Salvation Army Corps, simple church, Spirit-led, spiritual awakening, spiritual growth, spiritual life, spiritual movement, The Salvation Army | Tagged , , , | 16 Comments