Category Archives: Uncategorized

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

Playing The Keyboard In Your Mind

Posted on August 14, 2011 by Steve Simms

Life is like a piano. A concert pianist comes into the great hall of life and plays Bach, Brahams, and Rachmanioff and there is tumultuous applause and a standing ovation. After the concert one of the members of the clean-up … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, books, life, lifestyles, meaning, mind, music, peace, popular culture, positive thinking, recovery, self-esteem, self-help, self-image, selling, thinking, Uncategorized | Tagged amazing, analogy, anxiety, applause, attitudes, Bach, beauty, Bible, bland leading the bland, books, Brahams, cds, chaos, clean-up crew, concert, contented, determines, difference, discord, dvds, effort, emit, emotional, emotions, exquisite, fault, feelings, folks, for years, good news, good or bad, grace, great, hall, happenings, happy, harmony, how we play, instrument, joy, keyboard, learn, learning, lessions, lessons, life, life is like, limbo, lovely, make beautiful music, mayhem, melody, members, mental, mentor, middle, mind, miserable, misery, more effectively, motivational, noise, others, ourselves, peace, peck, personal growth, pianist, piano, played, plays, positive, positive thinking, pound, produce, produced, producing, profoundly, put forth, Rachmanioff, randomly, sadness, same, seconds, self-help, seminars, situations, skill, sounds, sour, standing ovation, Steinway, stop, style, taking, tapes, the way, thoughts, time, tumultous, upbeat, walks, well, Yamaha, yell | 14 Comments

Can A Sunday Church Meeting Be Like A Family Gathering? It’s Happening In Nashville!

Posted on August 10, 2011 by Steve Simms

Church is family, brothers and sisters in Christ sharing a kinship of the heart. Nobody ever asks the question: “Where do you go to family?” Family is not a place; it is relationships. So with church. Who are you joined … Continue reading →

Posted in Berry Street Worship Center, Christianity, church history, God, Holy Spirit, house church, kingdom of God, lifestyles, Nashville, organic church, religion, simple church, spiritual, The Salvation Army, Uncategorized, What is church? | Tagged 225 Berry Street, 37207, action, amazing, Berry Street, brothers, building, called out ones, church, colored, congratulated, cross, denomination, ekklesia, English, everybody, experience, family, family of God, free, function, gathering, glass, God, Gree, group, heart, heart-to-heart, I Corinthians 14:26, imagine, in Christ, insights, institution, interact, joined, kinship, listened, living, matriarch, meeting, members, Nashville, new, New Testament, of course, organization, other than, patriarch, people old ways, pews, place, powerfully, praise, prayer, pulpit, question, rare, relationships, relationships lifestyle, religious, reports, requests, rows, sanctuary, Scriptures, sharing, silently, sisters, society, speak, spiritually, steeple, strong, Sunday mornings, talk, tend, Tennessee, testifying, testimonies, The Salvation Army, Thursdays, top, translated, we've always done it that way, weekly, where do you go, Why, windows, word, Worship Center | 5 Comments

1-10 Spirituality Or Carnality Scale — Where Are You?

Posted on August 7, 2011 by Steve Simms

Where are you on this scale of 1-10 between spirituality and carnality? Instructions: Pick the statement that best describes you. If you are torn between two or more choices, split the difference and take the average between them. — Spirituality … Continue reading →

Posted in addiction, boundaries, change, criticism, God, life, lifestyles, popular culture, recovery, religion, salvation, sex, spiritual, thinking, thoughts, Top Ten, Uncategorized | Tagged 1-10, a lot, almost, and/or, attending, behaviors, best describes you, between, bewteen, business, carnal, choices, choos to, close, close to God, closer, concerned, control, cravings, desire, desires, distracted, effort, entertained, entire, everything, feel, first priority, focus, follow, frequently, Friends, fulfil, fully, getting, given over, God, Him, important, impulses, interested, justify, know God better, life, lifestyle, limit, little or no, look at, make excuses, meeting, more, need, never seem, obey, of time, once in a while, others, passionately, pick the statement, possible, read, religious, restrain, satisfied, scale, seek, short comings, spend, spirituality, split the difference, stay out of, strong, sustained, take, tell, that, the average, things, to get, torn, trying, two or more, ungodly, very, want, watch, weak, Where are you, whims, you do, yourself | Leave a comment

Is This Guy A Modern Day Prophet Or What?

Posted on August 4, 2011 by Steve Simms

Browsing through McKay Used Bookstore in Nashville recently, I found a book full of powerful prophetic statements by a present day United Methodist minister, Carlyle Fielding Stewart III. The book was published by Abingdon Press in 2001. It is called: … Continue reading →

Posted in Christian history, Christianity, church history, God, history, house church, organic church, popular culture, Quotations, Quotes, religion, revelation, salvation, simple church, spiritual, Uncategorized, What is church? | Tagged Abingdon, absent, accomodate, affairs, approach, back, basic, believe it or not, Biblical, Body of Christ, book, bring, browsing, business, business-as-usual, bwegin, called, Carlyle Fielding Stewart, case, change, Christ, Christianity, church, churches, claiming, climate, congregations, constitute, continue, converted, cult, cultivate, culture, daily, decline, denominations, die, diligent, discouraged, distinction, doing, ecclesiology, Empowerment Church, evangelical, exercise, failed, faith, favor, flexing, flourishes, forms, forsaken, found, foundation, frequently, from, full of, general, God, God's authority, Gospel, government, great, guy, heritage, ho-hum, holiness, Holy Ghost, Holy Spirit, humbly, impede, insecure, instances, institution, institutional, inviting, invoke, Jesus, lapsed, leaders, leading, lethargy, life, little, mainline, matter-of-fact, McKay, mind of Christ, minister, ministry, mission, modern, modern times, movement, much, muscles, name of, Nashville, needs, not, numperous, occur, Old Testament, open air, opinion, organized, ostensibly, outlook, participating, particular, pastors, people, perilous, potential, power politics, powerful, preacher, presence, present day, press, presuppose, principlles, progress, prophet, prophetic, prosper, Protestant, published, qualified, quotations, reality, reference, relationship, religion, result, retain, rot, run, saving, scandal, secular, selfish, serving, soulds, spirit, spirit-filled, spirituality, statements, steady, stifle, stopped, submi9tting, teach, teachings, think, today, tragedy, true, unafraid, unapologetically, underlying, United Methodism, United Methodist, used bookstore, vitality, way, will, win souls, witness | 11 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

Christianity — Costly Calling? Or Creed, Chain-Of-Command, Culture, Corporation?

Posted on July 21, 2011 by Steve Simms

Some people nowadays are asking, What is Christianity? What is church? Good questions! If you seriously read the Book of Acts, the Biblical record of the early church’s experience and impact, it is obvious that our present day presentations of … Continue reading →

Posted in American, ancient history, change, Christian history, Christianity, church history, history, Jesus Christ, kingdom of God, lifestyles, meaning, Oh my God, organic church, popular culture, religion, Uncategorized, What is church? | Tagged accumulate, against, Americans, appearance, book, book of Acts, business plans, calling, cash flow, celebrated, chan-of-command, change the world's culture, changed in the process, chapters, Christendom, Christianaity, church, church history, cohesive, conforming, corporation, correct, cost it all, costly, creed, crusades, culture, cultures, death, deed more than creed, described type, developed, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, divine right of kings, early believers, Europeans, far afield, focused, follow and obey, follow Christ, force, form, from there to here, generation, give their lives, good questions, grass-roots movement, Greeks, heart-felt, heavy-handed, hierachy, history, how-d, human structure, humility, illegal, impact, in this world, inquisitions, intellect, it's time, Jesus, like a product, live like, make Jesus our Lord, many countries, marketing religion, model for church, moeny, my take, nowadays, originated, paid the price, passed through, passion, paster as CEO, paupers, perhaps, persecution, philosophy, Pope, popular, positional authority, present day, presentations, promote, prosperty, protect, quick rin through, read, really, rejection, restricted, revelation, Romans, service, society set the rules, sought, Spirit led, spiritual life, spread, squeeze, statement of beliefs, strangers and pilgrims, systematized, the Biblical record, The Cost Of Discipleship, the original, thinking, thought, today, various, vital, Western Christianity, what is Christianity?, What is church?, whatever happens | 4 Comments

Church — Lab or Lecture? Intellect or Votech? Academic or Epidemic?

Posted on July 16, 2011 by Steve Simms

Should church be academic or epidemic? Should it be based on the transfer of religious knowledge or on an ongoing contagion of spiritual life spreading like raging fire? Here is a quotation from Paul of Tarsus, the church planter who established … Continue reading →

Posted in apologists, Berry Street Worship Center, Bible, change, God, Holy Spirit, house church, lifestyles, mysticism, organic church, Quotations, Quotes, religion, simple church, The Salvation Army, Uncategorized, What is church? | Tagged 225 Berry St., 37207, academic, academic study, accepting, agreeing to, area, based on, Berry Street Worship Center, Bible, Biblical doctrines, book of Acts, called, Christian votech, Christians, church, church planter, contagion, contemporary church, creed, daily lives, Dear children, deed, demonstrative, disciples, disciplined, dry intelect, epidemic, established, experiential learning, first Christian churches, follow and obey, followers, formation within, gave, go and make disciples of all nations, godliness has value for all things, Great Commission, hands-on activity, hearts, holy, Holy Spirit, house church, ignored, inflaming, intellect, isn't it time, Jesus, Jesus Christ, John the Beloved, knowledge puffs up, lab, laid-back, lecture, lifestyle, like, listening, live, living love, love builds up, make this change, making disciples, mental adherents, merely, move beyond, Nashville, New Testament, not love with words, nowadays, ongoing, organic church, others, passion for God, passivity, Paul of Tarsus, Paul's words, physical training, practice, quotation, raging fire, read, religious, religious knowledge, reproduce, return, said, seeking, sermons, serve, simple church, some value, spiritual athletes, spiritual formation, spiritual life, spiritual lifestyle, spreading, Sundays, talk, Tennessee, the apostle, The Salvation Army, Thursdays, time of, tongue, train, train yourself to be godly, transfer of, transformation, turned, visit a church, votech, with actions and truth, wrote | 8 Comments

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

Category Archives: Uncategorized

Playing The Keyboard In Your Mind

1-10 Spirituality Or Carnality Scale — Where Are You?

Is This Guy A Modern Day Prophet Or What?

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

Christianity — Costly Calling? Or Creed, Chain-Of-Command, Culture, Corporation?

Church — Lab or Lecture? Intellect or Votech? Academic or Epidemic?

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

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