Perhaps church services could move beyond attenders silently sitting to hear sermons; and let them stand to share stories about how the living, resurrected Jesus Christ is actively working in their lives.

Posted on August 17, 2013 by Steve Simms
Posted in alternative to preaching, Jesus, Jesus Christ, listening, listening skills, preaching, preaching the Word, resurrection, resurrection of Jesus, sermon-hearing, silence, stories, story, testimonies, testimony, witness | Tagged , , , | 8 Comments

“Salvation Army Leader Carries Flag of Justice” (Nashville City Paper Article)

Posted on August 16, 2013 by Steve Simms
By William Williams of The Nashville City Paper (published Sunday, May 8, 2011)

On a recent rainy Tuesday, Steve Simms quietly toiled as corps administrator of the Salvation Army’s Berry Street Worship Center in East Nashville’s McFerrin Park. A gray-haired, mustachioed man possessed of a pleasant demeanor, Simms lifted a large flag — with which he’s walked along some hardscrabble streets regularly for the past five years — to show its form and physical condition. It’s snagged and clearly worn, the work of barbed and razor wire on nearby fences along Dickerson Road.

 

“It has been a violent neighborhood,” Simms said. He walks at least once a week, sometimes as far as three miles, carrying the flag. “We walk and pray for God to change people’s hearts and to change the neighborhood.”

 

The Salvation Army Flag features a blue border, red palette and yellow star, in which the phrase “Blood and Fire” is inscribed. The colors, according the Salvation Army, are noteworthy: Yellow stands for the fire of the Holy Spirit, red represents the blood of Jesus, and blue symbolizes living a pure life. Simms honors the Salvation Army flag like most Americans do the Stars and Stripes.

 

No doubt, Simms’ walks aren’t to be confused with a carefree Sunday stroll through a park or a suburb. Along Dickerson Road and its side streets, drugs, alcohol and prostitution are common. Optimism is scarce. A middle-aged, unassuming gentleman strolling with a flag would seemingly be a target for verbal — if not physical — abuse.

 

“I’ve never been physically threatened, and I’ve interrupted drug deals,” said Simms, who serves as church planner at the worship center and works with his wife, Ernie, the facility’s other corps administrator. “I’ve been approached by some rough-looking people.”

 

While crediting quality police work, Simms said the flag walks have had a calming effect in the area. He sees less violence and more people who recognize him. No longer is he perceived as the weird guy carrying a Salvation Army flag. Others have even joined him on occasion.

 

“After a couple of years, a guy started walking with us and carrying a flag. He said, ‘I’m carrying this flag and nobody seems to think it’s unusual.’ I said, ‘That’s because we’ve been doing it for a while.’ ”

(Come, visit Nashville’s most unique church, The Salvation Army Berry Street, where ordinary people show and tell what God has done — Sundays at 10:45, 225 Berry St., 37207.)

Posted in blood, Blood and Fire, blood and fire battle flag, blood of Jesus, flag, McFerrin Park, Music City, Nashville, Nashville news, news, prayer, praying, Stars and Stripes, witness | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Multivoiced Church — A Spiritual Sprinkler System

Posted on August 15, 2013 by Steve Simms

Perhaps a church service is like a sprinkler system on a golf course in Arizona. If only one sprinkler works and all the rest are shut down, almost all the grass dries up and withers. However, if every sprinkler shares its living water, the golf course flourishes with life and beauty.

Searching the internet recently, I discovered several reviews of a book called:  The Power of All:  Building a Multivoiced Church, by Sian and Stuart Murray Williams.  It’s exciting!  Their concept of church matches what we do at The Salvation Army Berry Street, where for 5 1/2 years, everyday people have been showing and telling what God has done in the Sunday morning meeting.

Here are some quotations I found in some of the reviews:

“We believe multivoiced (participatory) church equips the Christian community for mission, stimulates personal growth, encourages responsible discipleship, protects the community from many ills, and allows God’s Spirit freedom to accomplish so much more in and through the church . . . the whole community is gifted, called, empowered, and expected to be involved in all aspects of church life.”

“Multivoiced church anticipates that God may speak or act through any member of the church. No longer is the Christian community largely passive, dependent on a few authorized ministers to preach, conduct worship, provide pastoral care, engage in mission and exercise leadership. Men and women, young and old, educated and illiterate, rich and poor find their voices.”

“In our complex and evolving culture, no preacher or church leader, however gifted, has all that we need. What we need, if we are to develop creative and thoughtful responses to the many issues that confront us day by day, is the shared experience, knowledge, expertise and wisdom of the whole community (church).”

Active participants in healthy multivoiced (participatory) churches are much more likely to be confident in sharing their faith with others, ready to engage in social action, hospitable to their neighbors, alert to pastoral opportunities beyond the church, and able to participate in gracious dialogue with people of other faiths or none. The skills we learn in multivoiced churches are transferable to other spheres of life. The responsibility of being active participants, rather than passive consumers, will stand us in good stead as we interact with others in different contexts…”

Other names for multivoiced church include:  organic church, participatory church, simple church, and sermon-free church.  If you are in the Nashville, Tennessee area, experience multivoiced church for yourself with us on Sunday mornings at 10:45, 225 Berry Street, 37207.

 

Posted in active participants, Arizona, Berry Street, Building a Multivoiced Church, Christian, Christian community, Christianity, church programs, church services, community, discipleship, golf, golf course, living water, multi-voiced church, Nashville, Nashville church, Nashville news, organic church, participants, participatory church, quotation, quote, Quotes, Salvation Army, Salvation Army church, Salvation Army Corps, sermon, sermon-free, sermon-hearing, sermons, Sian Williams, simple church, sprinkler system, Tennessee, The Power of All, The Salvation Army, voices | Tagged , , , , , , | 16 Comments

The Salvation Army, Bill Hybles, Evangelism, & Berry Street

Posted on August 14, 2013 by Steve Simms

You can see the action of the wind in the leaves of the trees.  You can see the action of the living, resurrected Jesus Christ, when believers gather in His name and ordinary people show and tell what He has done. It is awe-inspiring and it happens every Sunday at The Salvation Army Berry Street Worship Center in Nashville, Tennessee.

Attending The Salvation Army USA’s National Seminar on Evangelism at the Navigators’ Glen Eyrie Conference Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado, last week was a great conformation for what we do at Berry Street. We allow people to hear the Spirit’s prompting and then do what He says during our Sunday morning service. The NSE applied this same idea to outreach and evangelism and encouraged us to obey the Spirit’s promptings in our everyday life and to approach people when the Spirit nudges us to do so. They also had an hour and a half, Spirit-led testimony meeting like we do at Berry Street. What a blessing!

The concept of hearing and obeying the Spirit’s promptings is taught in the book, Walk Across The Room, by Bill Hybles.  This book was the main text for the Seminar.

There is another book written about the Seminar itself, called:  Say Something — Tell Them. Win Them. Establish Them.  If you ever get the chance to attend the National Seminar on Evangelism, take it!

Also, if you would like to see these principles in action during a Sunday morning church service, visit The Salvation Army Berry Street, 225 Berry Street, Nashville, 37207 on Sundays at 10:45 am.

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Posted in Berry Street, Berry Street Worship Center, books, Colorado Springs, Glen Eyrie, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Nashville, Nashville charity, Nashville church, Navigators, NSE, organic church, outreach, outreach ministry, prompted by the Spirit, prompting of the Spirit, Salvation Army, Say Something, Spirit-filled, Spirit-led, Spirit-prompted, Tell Them. Win Them. Establish Them., Walk Across The Room | Tagged , , , , , | 11 Comments

Credit Card Reader’s Message

Posted on August 13, 2013 by Steve Simms

I saw these words on a credit card reader:  “When prompted swipe card.”

Perhaps a better message would be:  “When prompted obey Jesus — quench not the Spirit.”

Americans and other Westerners are subjected to so many prompts:  compulsions, commercials, cravings, peer pressure, sexual images, advertisements, etc.  Our desires are continually manipulated by our culture in order to prompt us to fulfill our lusts and spend our money as “good little consumers.”  Many of us are continually tossed about and “gone with the whim.”

However, in this noisy, 21st Century, seductive environment, it is easy to miss the promptings of God.  He’s speaking, are you listening?  When prompted obey Him!

 

 

Posted in American, American media, American values, Americans, brainwashed, brainwashing, compulsion, consumerism, cravings, credit card, desires, hearing God, hearing Jesus, Holy Ghost, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Jesus Culture, orientation, peer pressure, prompted by the Spirit, prompting of the Spirit, promptings, Quench not the Spirit, quench the Spirit, religion, sex, Spirit-led, Spirit-prompted, swipe card, Western society, Western world, when prompted, whims | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Quarterback Preacher & Handoff Church

Posted on August 5, 2013 by Steve Simms

Is it time for a handoff or a pass to Jesus?  Football season is upon us and the quarterback’s job is to get the football to a playmaker, either by a handoff or a pass.

I believe that a pastor’s job on Sunday morning is to handoff or pass control of the church service to the ultimate playmaker — the living, resurrected Jesus Christ and then let Him run with the meeting!

Our goal at The Salvation Army Berry Street is to get the meeting into Jesus’ hands and let Him dazzle us with his playmaking abilities

Which is more powerful?  Hearing a talk about the Super Bowl or attending the Super Bowl?  Listening to a lecture about your favorite band or having concert tickets for your favorite band?  Getting a teaching about the Final Four or watching the Final Four?  Hearing a sermon about Christ or actually spending time in the presence of the living, resurrected Jesus Christ?

So what would happen with faith and an open mic in a church service?  Not what you think . . .   Some people think chaos and confusion would happen; others feel like there would be frozen silence and nobody would speak up; still others believe there would be grandstanding by a few people; still others think there would be false doctrine spoken.
However, at The Salvation Army Berry Street we have experienced that an open mic leads to . . .  The eloquence of ordinary people; humility and brokenness; much respect for one another; an amazing coming together of what is shared; and a life-transforming sense of the presence of the living, resurrected Jesus Christ!

Check it out on Sundays at 10:45, 225 Berry St., Nashville, 37207.

Posted in Final Four, handoff, Jesus Christ, Nashville, open mic, open mike, playmaker, Salvation Army, Salvation Army church, Salvation Army Corps, sports, Super Bowl, The Salvation Army | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

“Senior Pastors” — Meet The Senior Pastor!

Posted on August 2, 2013 by Steve Simms

Pastors, “Senior Pastors,” and all Christians:  Jesus is your Senior Pastor!

One of my favorite Bible titles for the living, resurrected Jesus Christ is “Chief Shepherd.”  (See 1 Peter 5:4)  Our English word “pastor” is a translation of the Greek word for “shepherd” and of course, “chief” is the equivalent to “senior” and so Jesus is the rightful Senior Pastor of the church you attend.

This is not just a theory — (Jesus is not a mere figurehead, …but He wants to be the literal head of every church or congregation.)  Jesus is alive and present in the 21st Century.  And He can and will direct a church service, if we will just get out of His way and allow Him to literally be the Senior Pastor — let Him make the decisions and control the meeting.    Perhaps it is time for 21st Century pastors (undersheperds/assistant pastors to the living Jesus) to let Christ, the Senior Pastor, run the church service.

Posted in 1 Peter 5:4, Chief Shepherd, undershepherd | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Perhaps the “new normal” is nothing but, surrendering to the same old self-focus the Bible says is sin.

Posted on August 1, 2013 by Steve Simms
Posted in Bible, buzz words, cliches, corrupt culture, holiness, moral decision, moral failure, moral failures, moral foundations, moral judgment, moral laws, moral leaders, moral principles, moral restraints, morals, peer pressure, performance, purity, religion, right and wrong, right conduct, right from wrong, right living, righteousness, surrender | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

“The Right Side Of History”?

Posted on July 31, 2013 by Steve Simms

Christ-followers should strive to be on the right side of His story, rather than on “the right side of history,” following and obeying the living, resurrected Jesus Christ rather than popular opinion.

Posted in change, changing society, choice, Christ followers, consensus, contemporary society, ethics, His story, history, Jesus, Jesus Christ, moral judgment, moral principles, moral restraints, morality, public opinion polls, radical Christianity, right and wrong, right conduct, right from wrong, right living, righteousness, societal, society | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

If you agree with the Bible that some human behaviors are morally wrong, it doesn’t mean that you “hate” or mistreat people who do those behaviors.

Posted on July 30, 2013 by Steve Simms

After I posted the title of this post as a complete post, a book by Leonard Ravenhill that I started reading more than a year ago, but never finished, caught my eye. I felt a Spirit-prompting: “Pick it up, there is something in there you need to post.” I opened and flipped to chapter 3 and saw these words:

“The River Ganges is reputed to be sacred. We ourselves have seen its yellow waters–sacred to some, a drink for not a few, a bath for millions, and a bathroom for others. A chemist once analyzed some of the ‘sacred’ waters, and the test showed the drop of water alive with bacteria. The shocked chemist called a Sadhu and had him peep through the microscope. He too saw the defiling germs. Then suddenly, while the chemist’s back was turned, there was a crash. In anger, the Sadhu had smashed the microscope. The view had been too revealing. This is why sinners shun the Bible–it is too revealing. This is why believers back away from some Bible truths–they are too demanding.”

Posted in bacteria, Bible, chemistry, forgiveness, Ganges River, germs, guilt, judging, judgment, judgments, moral failure, moral failures, moral foundations, moral judgment, moral laws, quotation, Quotations, quote, religion, right and wrong, right conduct, right from wrong, right living, self-will, sin, sinner, sinning, sins, values | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment