God’s Waves / God’s Surf

Posted on April 5, 2014 by Steve Simms

God’s waves
Breaking in my heart,
Surround my brokenness
With His healing Presence.

God’s surf soaks my soul with His forgiveness, love, and peace.

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A word that inspires imagination paints a thousand pictures.

Posted on April 5, 2014 by Steve Simms

A picture may be worth a thousand words, but a word may also be worth a thousand pictures.  A word that inspires imagination paints a thousand pictures.

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U-Share Church (U2U rather than Pastor2Pew)

Posted on April 4, 2014 by Steve Simms

U-Share church (not U-Haul) flows from U2U rather than from Pastor2Pew.  Here’s an example of U-Share church:

When the Communists took over China in 1948 there were only about 2.5 million Christians (of all denominations) in China. In an attempt to destroy the church, the Red Chinese locked up all the pastors they could find. With their pastors in prison, the Chinese church caught fire as one-man preaching was replaced by ordinary people ministering to one another. Today there are about 100 million Christians in China. Can we learn from the Chinese church? Watch the amazing 4-part video series, “Jesus in China” on YouTube.

To experience U-Share church in person, visit The Salvation Army Berry Street in Nashville, Tennessee:  Sunday mornings at 10:45 or Wednesday nights at 6:00 — 225 Berry St., 37207.

Posted in alternative church, alternative to preaching, Christianity, church history, church in China, church meetings, organic church, participatory church, participatory culture, Salvation Army, Salvation Army church, Salvation Army Corps | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

A Few Quotes From Neil Cole’s “Primal Fire”

Posted on April 3, 2014 by Steve Simms

A few quotations from Neil Cole’s book, “Primal Fire”

“I’ve longed to live the sort of life I read about in the book of Acts.”

“I want to be part of an unstoppable Jesus movement in our day–a wildfire of the Spirit that spreads rapidly and uncontrollably and leaves behind people who are transformed into healthy, mature, life-giving followers of King Jesus . . . I believe we are about to witness the eruption of a spiritual wildfire like nothing seen since the First Century . . . I have waited my whole life for this.  I believe it is inevitable and coming soon, and I’m willing to give my life for it.  Are you?”

“There is simply no comparison between the potential and performance of a ministry built on the backs of exalted leaders and one that empowers ordinary Christians to do the work themselves.”

“Unfortunately, many Christians lack confidence that they can indeed hear God’s voice correctly.  For far too long, the teaching of the church has ingrained a fear in ordinary Christians that they need the help of experts if they are to hear God’s voice correctly.  We have been taught that we could easily make a big mistake by even trying to hear God’s voice without professional help . . . For many, God speaks on in their pastor’s voice.

“The power of the gospel is built on love, not skill or methodology.”

“Reliance on methods, rather than on the active, present work of the Holy Spirit, obscures the true source of power that is latent in all of us.”

“We need to change our values a leaders.  If we’re not willing to give away our positions to others by equipping them for the work of service, we don’t deserve the positions we have.  Our identity and security are to be in Christ, not is a title or role in a religious organization.”

“Look for Jesus outside your normal experience.”

Posted in God, God's fire, God's voice, hearing God, hearing Jesus, hearing the Holy Spirit, organic church, quotation, quote, Quotes, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

How To Have Genuine Revival & Spiritual Awakening

Posted on April 2, 2014 by Steve Simms

How to Prepare The Way of The Lord (And Make Room For Revival & Spiritual Awakening in Your Life And in Your Church)

1) Get tradition out of the way. (“You nullify the word of God by your tradition.” –Jesus.)

2) Get pride out of the way. (“God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.”)

3) Get sin out of the way. (“If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.”)

4) Get self out of the way. (“Deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Me.” –Jesus.)

Human proclamation is painfully inadequate to transform people without the perceived presence, prompting, and power of the living Jesus Christ.

Help us prepare the way of the Lord in Nashville, Tennessee, at The Salvation Army Berry Street on Sundays at 10:45 am. — 225  Berry St., 37207.

Posted in Biblical concept, deny yourself, God resists the proud, God's power, God's presence, grace, grace of God, heart, heart care, humility, iniquities, iniquity, Jesus, Jesus is alive, Jesus Movement, Nashville, Prepare the way of the Lord, quotation, quote, Quotes, revival history, Salvation Army, Salvation Army church, Salvation Army Corps, take up your cross, tradition | Tagged , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Participatory Church (acrostic)

Posted on April 1, 2014 by Steve Simms

PARTICIPATORY CHURCH (acrostic)

P–People
A–Attentively
R–Responding
T–To God’s
I–Inner
C–Callings
I–In order to
P–Participate
A–Actively
T–Together,
O–Obeying God’s
R–Righteous
Y–Yearnings.

C–Christ
H–Having
U–Unhindered &
R–Real
C–Control in
H–His hands.

Experience participatory church at The Salvation Army Berry Street Worship Center in Nashville, Tennessee on Sunday mornings at 10:45 at 225 Berry Street, 37207.

Posted in alternative church, Berry Street, Berry Street Worship Center, church format, church leadership, church meetings, church roles, church services, church structure, churching, house church, how to do church, Nashville adventure, Nashville church, Nashville events, Nashville tourist attractions, non-church, non-traditional church, open church, open forum, open mic, open mike, open sharing, order of worship, Salvation Army church, Salvation Army Corps, Salvation Army Nashville, Salvationism, sermon-free, tag team church, Team Church, Tennessee, the heart of worship, worship center, worship service, worship styles | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Søren Kierkegaard Promoted Sermon-Free, Participatory Church

Posted on March 30, 2014 by Steve Simms

Søren Kierkegaard Promoted Sermon-Free, Participatory Church

“Christianity should not be lectured about. Christ says, my teaching is food. Christ has not appointed assistant-professors — but followers.” –Søren Kierkegaard

“The greatest possible error arises when we reduce the clergy to teachers. Imagine that the police instead of acting, began to teach about thievery.” –Søren Kierkegaard

“If it is assumed that speaking is sufficient for the proclamation of Christianity, then we have transformed the church into a theater. We can then have an actor learn a sermon and splendidly, masterfully deliver it.” –Søren Kierkegaard

“What is needed is not professors, but witnesses.  No, if Christ did not need scholars but was satisfied with fishermen, what is needed now is more fishermen.”  –Søren Kierkegaard

“The essential sermon is one’s own existence.  To let your mouth run with eloquent babbling when such talk is the opposite of your life is nonsense.”  –Søren Kierkegaard

“It is existence which preaches, not the mouth.  What my existence says is my sermon.”  –Søren Kierkegaard

“Christianity cannot be proclaimed by talking–but by acting.”  –Søren Kierkegaard

“Christianity came in as life, sheer daring that risked everything for the faith.  The change began when Christianity came to be regarded as doctrine.  Christianity must begin again as life.”  –Søren Kierkegaard

“Christianity is proclaimed in such a way that obedience is taken away and reasoning put in its place.”  –Søren Kierkegaard

A generation served by huckster clergy has replaced Christianity with a religion of easy terms.”  –Søren Kierkegaard

These quotes are part of a chapter in my book: Beyond Church: An Invitation To Experience The Lost Word Of The Bible–Ekklesia. 

Posted in acting, Christian community, church format, church meetings, church programs, church services, clergy, clergy/laity, clericalism, doctrine, dogma, eloquence, lecture, life, lifestyle Christianity, non-traditional church, nonconforming, obedience, open church, oratory, order of worship, organic church, participation in church, participatory church, preach without words, preacher, preaching, professors, quotation, quote, Quotes, reasoning, religion, religious academics, religious tradition, Søren Kierkegaard, sermon, sermon-free, sermon-hearing, sermons, simple church, teaching, witnesses | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Noah — Rock Stars, Wickedness, Flooding, Abortion, The “Curse Of Ham,” & Monotheism

Posted on March 29, 2014 by Steve Simms

Noah is a 21st Century Hollywood movie directed by Darren Aronofsky and staring Russell Crowe.  It is an entertaining and gripping story.  I desperately needed to go to the bathroom (after seeing all that water) but I choose to sit, glued to my seat, and risk flooding the theater, because I didn’t want to leave the story for even 5 minutes.

naoh poster

Noah gets abortion right.  It presents the idea of killing an unborn baby as a horrendous thing.  After Noah decides to let his twin granddaughters live, rather than killing them, his daughter-in-law tells him:  “You chose life.”  Perhaps our society should take that to heart and remember the millions of unborn babies who have been silently and mercilessly killed during the last 50 years since Roe vs. Wade.

images

The movie Noah nails the reality of wickedness.  It presents mankind as so sinful that God needs to use a radical remedy — starting over.  However, it doesn’t fall into the trap of dividing mankind into good and evil.  Noah realizes that he and his family are also evil.  Speaking about wickedness, Noah tells his wife, “It’s in us, too.”  The movie agrees with the biblical truth that “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.”

Noah gets origin of the Universe correct.  Noah’s telling his family about creation, pretty much matches the Genesis account.  And he continually refers to God as Creator.  Thus the movie successfully avoids the time-plus-nothing-equals-everything formula embraced by much of contemporary, secular society.

The movie, Noah, is monotheistic.  Like the Bible, it believes in only one God.  However, it does throw in some unbiblical rock stars (strange beings that it calls Watchers), fallen angels with giant rock bodies.  These rock stars help Noah and family build the ark and then fight off a bunch of people to protect it.  (They look kind of like the giant robots in Star Wars.)  It also throws in a forest suddenly appearing out of nowhere.

Noah gets Ham wrong.  Near the end, the movie, Noah deals with the so-called Curse of Ham, which is a distortion of Scripture that was used to justify racism and slavery for hundreds of years.  Here’s the full story of the Curse of Ham.

In the movie Noah misunderstands God’s intention and thinks that God only wants to save the animals, but wants mankind to die out with his immediate family.  Therefore the movie gives Shem a wife but, unlike the Bible, presents Noah’s two other sons, poor Ham and Japheth as unmarried with no choice but celibacy (at least until their newborn nieces grow up).

I enjoyed Noah.  It both entertained me and made me think about God and faith.

Posted in abortion, Bible, biblical, Biblical concept, creation, creationism, Creator, Curse of Ham, evil, good and evil, Ham, Hollywood, Japheth, judging, judgment, judgments, monotheism, Noah's ark, Row vs. Wade, sin, sinner, sinning, the flood, unbiblical, Watchers, wickedness | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

God’s Not Dead!

Posted on March 28, 2014 by Steve Simms

God’s not dead.  What would happen if a group of believers would begin to gather, not merely to sing and hear a presentation about Christ, but to cultivate,  surrender to, and obey Christ’s actual presence among them?  When church presents the gift of God’s presence people will passionately pursue Him.

 

Posted in mystery, presence of Christ, presence of God, real presence, Spirit's flow, Spirit-filled, Spirit-led, worship, worship gathering | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Church is Like Breathing (& Other Free Flowing Ideas)

Posted on March 27, 2014 by Steve Simms

A church meeting is like breathing:
1) Someone can program and control it; or
2) People can let go and let it flow.

What would happen if a group of believers would begin to gather, not merely to sing and hear a presentation about Christ, but to surrender to and obey Christ’s actual presence among them?

God’s not dead. Be God-led!

American money says:  “In God we trust.”  However, our culture tends to illustrate:  Without God we rust.

Many people want to be PC.  However, life flows more harmoniously when we’re GC — God correct!

Posted in alternative church, alternative lifestyle, American church, American values, church programs, experiencing God, experiential worship, experimental church, faith, faith in God, faith-based, flow, flow of the Spirit, flowing of the Holy Spirit, freedom, God, God's presence, improv, improvisation, innovation, inspiration, led by the Spirit, non-church, non-traditional church, open church, open forum, open mic, open mike, open sharing, simple church | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments