A family gathering isn’t controlled from a podium on a platform with a fixed program that everyone is prescribed to follow. Instead, a family gathering is allowed to flow and develop naturally and spontaneously. –So, if church is a gathering of God’s family, why do we do church so formally and so differently than a normal family gathering?

Posted on January 6, 2014 by Steve Simms
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2013 in review

Posted on January 5, 2014 by Steve Simms

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2013 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 40,000 times in 2013. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 15 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 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 friends broke with traditional church and began to meet together informally.  Instead of a religious program or sermon, they focused the meeting on listening to the Holy Spirit and then saying or doing what the Spirit told them.  Because of this they were harshly persecuted and called Quakers.

Nowadays there is a worldwide movement toward Spirit-led, participatory church meetings, similar to early Quaker meetings.  It’s called organic church.  Here is a lively music video of some Quakers explaining George Fox’s ideas in a parody of the song What Does The Fox Say?

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

The World’s Greatest Expert

Posted on January 3, 2014 by Steve Simms

Paying too much attention to what men say (and preach) can distract you from what God is saying to you.  The world’s greatest expert on God is the Holy Spirit.  And He is the world’s most effective preacher/Bible teacher.  Are you listening to Him and letting Him directly work in your heart?

You are the world’s greatest expert on what God has done and is doing in your life and your heart.  People need to hear your expertise. Go tell it on the mountain or in your church. (If you can’t find a mountain and/or your church doesn’t want to hear you, come and tell it at The Salvation Army Berry Street Worship Center in Nashville, TN, where ordinary people, as led by the Holy Spirit, show and tell what God has done!)

“The Salvation Army Berry Street is an awesome to be in a church where God can use anybody to reach everybody and no one leaves with their gift buried inside them. Everyone has the opportunity to sing their song, share their heart, and minister the power of ‘Christ in me!'”  Allen Willemsen of One At A Time Ministries.

If you are in Nashville, visit us at 225 Berry St., 37207 on Sunday mornings at 10:45 and Tuesday nights at 6:00.

Posted in Allen Willemsen, Berry Street, Berry Street Worship Center, God, God talks, Holy Ghost, Holy Spirit, Music City, Nashville, Nashville charity, Nashville church, One At A Time Ministries, organic church, quotation, quote, Quotes, Salvation Army, Salvation Army church, Salvation Army Corps, simple church, Spirit's flow, Spirit-filled, Spirit-prompted | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Fire Hydrant Church

Posted on December 31, 2013 by Steve Simms

Perhaps 2014 is the time for the church to open up like a fire hydrant and let the Holy Spirit flow! When I was a kid, the fire department in our neighborhood would sometimes open up a fire hydrant on a hot, dry day and let us frolic and rejoice in its refreshing river. Joyous spontaneity broke out as people came together, celebrated, and enjoyed community. Every Sunday at The Salvation Army Berry Street there is a spontaneous flow of rivers of living water through everyday people. Come, be refreshed in God’s flow!

Rejoicing in a Free Flowing Fire PlugPerhaps the purpose of a church service is to unveil Christ in His people and let Him shine forth through ordinary men and women.

Awesome God demonstrations occur when a group (of Christ-followers) meets together with no agenda and simply waits for the Holy Spirit to prompt individuals to speak or pray. Try it sometimes and/or come visit us at Berry Street. You will be amazed! (See 1 Corinthians 14:26).

Do church faces look like angels?  They do when the Spirit is freely flowing!  Stephen, an early Christ-follower, is described this way: “. . . his face was like the face of angel.” Perhaps your church is full of angel-faces, radiant with God’s presence, but you miss them because all you can see is the backs of people’s heads.   At Berry Street we have the chairs in a U-shape so that we can see each others’ faces and be inspired by the glory of God flowing in and through one another! Come see angel-faces for yourself!

“If we will learn to hear and follow His promptings, we will never have a boring meeting.” –Felicity Dale

If the Pope came to visit a church, wouldn’t the priest step aside and let the Pope conduct the mass?  When the living Christ comes to visit a church (Mt. 18:20), shouldn’t the pastor step aside and let Christ freely flow and conduct the meeting?

Experience Spirit-sparked spontaneity and inspired innovation as the Spirit freely flows on Sunday mornings at The Salvation Army Berry Street — 10:45, 225 Berry St., Nashville 37207.

Posted in Catholic mass, church meetings, creativity, fire of the Holy Spirit, fire plug, flow, flow of the Spirit, flowing of the Holy Spirit, followers of Christ, free spirit, freedom, mysticism, Nashville, Nashville church, Nashville tourist attractions, organic church, playing in a fire hydrant, Pope, religious innovation, Salvation Army, Salvation Army church, Salvation Army Corps, simple church, spiritual flow, spiritual innovation, spiritual life, spiritual power, spiritual presence, spiritual worship | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Why is there so much evil in the world? Because there is evil in every human heart and unless we regularly listen to our conscience and restrain the evil within our own individual heart, it will spill over into our relationships and into the society around us.

Posted on December 30, 2013 by Steve Simms
Posted in moral failure, moral foundations, moral judgment | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Is The Lion Of The Tribe Of Judah Uncontained Or Quenched?

Posted on December 27, 2013 by Steve Simms

“Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David has overcome so that He may open the scrolls and its seven seals.”  (Revelation 5:5)

“It is said to have been an expression of the wisest of kings, ‘When the lion roars, all the beasts of the field are quiet’: the Lion of the Tribe of Judah is now roaring in the voice of his Gospel, and it becomes all the petty kings of the earth to be silent.”  –Robert Bruce

Is the Lion of the Tribe of Judah caged, contained, quenched, and controlled in our churches by human control, programming, and agendas? Or does He rule and reign and personally direct our church meetings?

“Let the God of glory thunder
Let the God of glory thunder over his armies
Let the Lion of the tribe of Judah roar over his people”  –Rick Pino song

“The Lord will also roar from Zion, and utter His voice from Jerusalem, the heavens and earth will shake, but the Lord will be a shelter for His people.”  –Joel 3:16

Posted in church, church format, church leader, church leadership, church meetings, church programs, church services, church structure, Jerusalem, Joel, Joel 3:16, let the God of glory thurnder, lyrics, Open the scrolls, Quench not the Spirit, quench the Spirit, quotation, quote, Quotes, revelation, Revelation 5:5, Rick Pino song, roar, Robert Bruce, root of David, seven seals, shelter for His people | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Open Forum Church!

Posted on December 25, 2013 by Steve Simms

Perhaps church should be an open forum where everybody participates rather than a formal lecture where everybody spectates.  Here are a few quotations to back up my statement:

“In organic church everyone is called to participate, not just the select chosen few. A church family, where everyone is participating and serving, is filled with variety. Every gathering will look and feel different. Our God is a God of variety and He loves to express this through His Body.” –Nicole Cottrell

“Encouraging interactivity can make some church leaders and pastors a little nervous. It means acknowledging that the pastor isn’t the only source of wisdom in the church. It means allowing for disagreements (and agreeing to disagree). But it can also be amazing as attenders tap into the collective wisdom of the crowd.” –Phil Thompson

“1 Corinthians 14:26 is a definition of a Scriptural church service. There is nothing that would be conducive to an entertaining church service here. There is no program. The service is planned and delivered by the Holy Spirit, and everything builds up the body of Christ.” –SeekFind.net

“Pastors fail to glorify God when they do not enable every member to fulfill his or her ministry of witness.” –Paul R. Gupta (from the book: “Breaking Tradition To Accomplish Vision”)

“When they came together their corporate worship and sharing together was completely open and spontaneous with no one leading from the front. The early believers didn’t have anything that even approximated a ‘church service’.” –house-church.org

“Some people don’t need to hear any more sermons. Many of the people who like preaching are those who have been Christians for a short while. On the other hand there are other people around who have heard literally hundreds of sermons. They probably don’t need or want to hear any more for a while.” –Johnny Baker

“In stepping ‘out of the box’ of the traditional church, we have the opportunity to totally rethink how the church should be. Many of the aspects that Christians have come to assume to be a normal part of what a church is, and what a church should be like, don’t have a specific basis in Scripture.” –Myron Horst

“Unconventional worship should be normal.” –Tim Lokot

Posted in 1 Corinthians 14:26, Breaking Tradition To Accomplish Vision, interactivity, ministers, ministry, Myron Horst, Nicole Cottrell, open forum, out of the box, Paul R. Gupta, quotation, quote, Quotes, stepping out of the box, Tim Lokot, unconventional church, unconventional worship | Tagged , , , , , | 7 Comments

The Christmas Clause

Posted on December 25, 2013 by Steve Simms

The Christmas Clause: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son . . .“

Christmas is not just a holiday. It’s a continuous flow of inner peace. Carry Christmas in your heart!

Christmas is not an annual one-day-and-done event. It’s the turning point of all history — the invasion of Planet Earth by its Creator! As you remember the birth of Jesus Christ in the year of our Lord, 2013, may you surrender your life to follow and obey Him all the rest of your days!

When believers meet together and share with one another their love for and experiences with Christ, the mystery of Christmas becomes manifest in their midst — “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Now that’s church!

 

Posted in 2013, Christ followers, Christ in you, Christ in you the hope of glory, Christmas Clause, church, church furniture, Creator, earth, For God so loved the world, holiday, Holiday season, holidays, inner flow, inner peace, organic church, Planet Earth, that He gave His only son, the year of our Lord | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

What would happen if Chirst was allowed to control a church meeting?

Posted on December 24, 2013 by Steve Simms

What do you think would happen if we allowed Christ to enter a 21st Century church meeting, not as a sermon topic, or as a praise and worship theme, or as a distant religious figurehead; but as a living and present reality ready to actively take over and control the meeting?

That’s what we seek to do every Sunday morning at The Salvation Army Berry Street in Nashville, Tennessee.  And this is what happens:

A sense of awe moves among us.  People share from their heart.  Some confess.  People pray deeply-moving prayers for one another.  Some people are moved to tears.  Others share powerful insights into Scriptures.  Gifts of the Spirit come forth.  Miracles happen.  Rejoicing breaks out.  Someone starts a song.  And it all flows as if orchestrated by an unseen presence — because it is controlled not by human planning, programming, and agendas, but by the living, resurrected Jesus Christ.

Everyone should have an experience like this!  It’s indescribable.  You just have to be there.  Sundays at 10:45 am., 225 Berry St., 37207.

Posted in interactive church, multi-voiced church, Music City, Nashville, Nashville church, organic church, participatory church, Salvation Army, Salvation Army church, Salvation Army Corps, simple church | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments