12/12/12 — 12 Out Of The Box Thoughts About Church

Posted on December 12, 2012 by Steve Simms

Here are 12 out-of-the-box thoughts about church on 12/12/12.

1)  Church is not God in a noose, but God on the loose!

2)  Church is not spectators sitting, but believers battling the forces of darkness!

3)  Church is not a one-man sage on the stage; but the Holy Spirit as a Guide inside everybody present!

4)  Church is not a planned program run from the front; but spontaneous joy, life, & enthusiasm, shared from around the room!

5)  Church is not the justification of our personal and our society’s moral failures; but confessing and turning away from our sins!

6)  Church is not a preacher teaching minds, but the Spirit reaching hearts.

7)  Church is not submission to a man and his agenda; it is full surrender to the Holy Spirit!

8)  Church is not religious information; its spiritual transformation!

9)  Church is not institutional selling but Christ indwelling — not human hype, but His holy Presence!

10)  Church is not laid back religion; but dynamic interaction with the living God!

11)  Church is not contentment with comfortable creeds but the doing of daring deeds!

12)  Church is not an ice maker — a synchronized service dropping cool ideas onto cold hearts conformed to contemporary culture; but a furnace — a gathering for igniting and spreading the contagion of spiritual fire!

Experience these 12 church ideas at The Salvation Army Berry Street in Nashville, Tennessee on Sunday mornings at 10:45 — 225 Berry St., 37207.

 

Posted in agenda, Berry Street, Berry Street Worship Center, Christian community, church meetings, church program, church programs, creeds, denominations, do church, early church, followers of Christ, freedom, furnace, gifts of the Spirit, God on the loose, godly sorrow, guide, hype, ice maker, idealism, improv, improvisation, inner coach, lecture, message, miracles, moral failure, move of God, movement, non-church, people of God, power, powerhouse, preaching, Protestant, repent, repentance, Salvation Army church, Salvation Army Corps, Salvationists, seduction, sermon, sermons, service, shocking statements, sin, soul food, speaking out, spectators, Spirit-led, spiritual fire, spiritual training, spiritual transformation, spiritual warfare, still small voice, submission, supernatural, surrender, surrender to God, testimonies, testimony, The Salvation Army, theology, thoughts, tradition, two or more, Western religion | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Church is doing daring deeds; not contentment with comfortable creeds.

Posted on December 11, 2012 by Steve Simms

Church is Christ indwelling, not institutional selling — His holy Presence, not human hype.

Church is not laid back religion; but dynamic interaction with the living God!

Come and do daring deeds with us

As we come together in Jesus’ name

And let the Holy Spirit lead us

Into daring deeds —

Sharing testimonies, words of knowledge,

Gifts of the Spirit, prayers, and songs;

Ministering to one another in love;

Humbly receiving light and revelation

From all kinds of fellow Christ followers.

Sunday mornings at 10:45;

225 Berry Street, Nashville, 37207;

At The Salvation Army Berry Street.

Posted in Berry Street, Berry Street Worship Center, Christ, Christian, Christian community, church, church meetings, church program, Salvation Army Corps, Salvationists, simple church, spiritual athletes, spiritual disciplines, spiritual skills | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Church is a furnace — a gathering for igniting and spreading the contagion of spiritual fire; not an ice maker — a synchronized “service” dropping cool ideas on to cold hearts conformed to contemporary culture.

Posted on December 11, 2012 by Steve Simms

Daring deeds, not comfortable creeds!

Posted in church, church meetings, church program, church programs, church roles, church services, contagion, contemporary, corrupt culture, creeds, deeds, fire of the Holy Spirit, fire place, fire walk, furnace, ice maker, spirit, Spirit-filled, Spirit-led, spiritual, spiritual awakening, spiritual drunkenness | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Nashville & The Coming Move Of God

Posted on December 11, 2012 by Steve Simms

The public forums in America and the Western world have been all but swept clean of references to God, faith, and religion.  Many are ready to label America and the West as post-Christian.  But don’t play taps yet.  God is about to speak and come moving mightily among the unlikely.

Get ready, those past their prime who still have some God-fire smoldering in their hearts, your embers are about to be fanned into flame.  Let golden years turn to glory years and burn with renewed passion for God so all can see.

Get ready, those who have wearied of ritual and routine and fancy entertainment and have quit playing the games, fire is pursuing you.  Stop, let it catch you and cleanse you and send you flaming into society’s darkness.

Get ready, those who don’t want to follow their parents’ faith, a fiery faith is breaking out.   Be ignited and blaze with Christ.

Uncontained spiritual fire, the kind that spontaneously spreads everywhere is breaking out.  Don’t run away.  Let it overtake you and rage within you.  Carry the flames to the dry souls that surround you.

Nashville, Tennessee get ready.  For out of you comes a move of God that will spread around the world.  Youth and young adults with their grandparents (millennials and boomers — old hippies and young hipsters) dancing together in the glory of God, weeping together in His holy presence on the streets, burning bonfires of the things that formerly held them in bondage; generating forgiveness between generations, reconciliation, radical spiritual transformation.

Light, light.  Light for all who will see.

Posted in America, boomers, Christ, Christ followers, Christian, faith, fire, fire of the Holy Spirit, glory, God, God calling, religion, society, soul, Spirit-filled, Spirit-led, spiritual growth, spiritual warfare, Western religion, Western world, young adults, youth | Tagged , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

“¿Mas O Menos?” (More or Less?) And Christmas

Posted on December 10, 2012 by Steve Simms

¿Mas o menos? is Spanish for:  More or less?

So Christmas means Christmore.

And Christmenos means Christless.

Which for you this holiday season?  Christmas or Christmenos?

Posted in Christ-centered, Christian, Christianity, Christmas carols, Christmas Eve, Christmas gifts, Christmas shopping, Christmas shopping season, Christmenos, Happy Holidays, holiday, holidays, menos, more or less, Reason For The Season | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Religion Is Ritual — Faith Is Fire (How John Wesley Caught On Fire For God))

Posted on December 9, 2012 by Steve Simms

Religion is routine ritual, faith is flaming fire.  “I set myself on fire, and people come to see me burn.”  –John Wesley

The fire that burned in John Wesley sparked the Holiness Movement that changed nations and led to many denominations, including Methodist, Nazarene, Pentecostal and even The Salvation Army.  How did Wesley set himself on fire?  And how can you and I do the same?

wesley

Make sure you are soundly and certainly saved — don’t settle for second had stories about Christ; encounter the living, resurrected Jesus for yourself.  A genuine glimpse of Jesus Christ can keep your heart burning the rest of your life (while decades of dull religion can leave you dry, disillusioned and discouraged).

While on a ship, headed back to his home in England, and fearing that the ship may sink in a raging storm, Wesley wrote:  “I went to America, to convert the Indians; but oh! who shall convert me? who, what is he that will deliver me from this evil heart of mischief? I have a fair summer religion. I can talk well; nay, and believe myself, while no danger is near; but let death look me in the face, and my spirit is troubled. Nor can I say, ‘To die is gain!’

Wesley the unconverted missionary/preacher suddenly realized that he (though sincerely looking and acting the part) wasn’t a true Christian.  However, on his return to England, Wesley had an encounter with Jesus that transformed him into a man of spiritual power and passion.  He described the moment this way:  “I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone . . .”

Here’s how Wesley describes the change in his life and the new fire burning in his heart:  “The moment I awakened, ‘Jesus, Master,’ was in my heart and in my mouth; and I found all my strength lay in keeping my eye fixed upon Him and my soul waiting on Him continually.”

Do you have the fire of God continually raging in your heart — a spiritual furnace filling you with the passion and power to live a consistently godly life?  If not, perhaps you are in John Wesley’s boat, going through the motions of faith with out the fire.

Too much is at stake for you, for your family, and for your generation; for you to settle for a wimpy faith or a little bit of religion!  Get the fire!  Act on this urgent message:  get the fire of God ignited in your heart!

Come seek and experience the fire of God with us at The Salvation Army Berry Street and get your heart “strangely warmed” by the power of personal testimonies as everyday people show and tell what God has done and is doing in their lives (like the original Methodist class meetings:  Sunday mornings at 10:45; 225 Berry Street, Nashville, Tennessee, 30207.

Posted in alternative lifestyle, change, Christ, Christianity, conversion, convert, conviction, denominations, doubts, England, English, evil, faith, fire, fire of the Holy Spirit, fuel, God, godliness, having a form of godliness, hearing God, hearing Jesus, holy, I set myself on fire, inner peace, inner rivers, intimacy, Jesus, Jesus Christ, life, lifestyle Christianity, lifestyles, Methodist class meeting, Methodist revivalists, Methodists, Nazarene, pentecostals, recovery, red hot, relevation, religious ceremonies, religious tradition, repentance, salvation, Salvation Army church, Salvation Army Corps, Salvationists, saved, spiritual, spiritual awakening, spiritual formation, testimonies, testimony, The Salvation Army | Tagged , , , , , | 8 Comments

Optimize Your Faith With Participatory Church

Posted on December 8, 2012 by Steve Simms

Faith can be enhanced or it can be diminished.  It is the responsibility of each individual to cultivate, nourish, and grow her/his faith or to allow it to wither away and possibly die.  Jesus illustrated this principle in the Parable of the Sower in Mark chapter 4 in the New Testament.

The process of growing in Christ is known as spiritual formation.  However spiritual growth is not automatic.  It requires training, persistence, and hard work.

To optimize your spiritual growth, you need community — open, honest, intimate relationships with others who are sincerely seeking to get closer to God.  However, the traditional Sunday morning format of most Western churches is not conducive to intimacy and openness; but rather promotes private passivity instead of personal participation.  “Houston (and other Western cities), we have a problem.”

In the first half of the Twentieth Century, Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) discovered that spiritual recovery requires sharing and honesty.  Its open, participatory meetings have spread around the world and AA has become known as the world’s most effective tool for helping alcoholics.  Why?  Because intimate sharing with others enhances your relationship with your Higher Power (God).

So why hasn’t religion caught on?  Good question.

Participatory church powerfully preaches without sermons as everyday people show and tell what God has done.  Come and see for yourself at Nashville’s most unique church — The Salvation Army Berry Street — on Sunday mornings at 10:45, 225 Berry St., 37207.

 

 

 

 

Posted in AA, Alcoholics Anonymous, Berry Street, Berry Street Worship Center, Bible, Christ, Christ followers, Christ-centered, Christian, Christian organizations, Christian values, church, church meetings, church program, church programs, church roles, church services, church structure, corps, encouragement, faith, faith-based, followers of Christ, freedom, honesty, Houston, improv, improvisation, insight, kingdom of God, lifestyle Christianity, lifestyles, mysticism, Nashville, New Testament, organic church, participatory church, Salvation Army church, Salvation Army Corps, Salvationists, simple church, spiritual athletes, spiritual awakening, spiritual disciplines, spiritual growth, spiritual interaction, spiritual training, spiritual warfare, testimonies, testimony | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Why does a society that prides itself on tolerance and the accepting of diversity into the mainstream; marginalize the praying community?

Posted on December 7, 2012 by Steve Simms

Why does a society that prides itself on tolerance and the accepting of diversity into the mainstream; marginalize the praying community?

 

Posted in acceptance, alternative lifestyle, attitude, boundaries, brainwashed, brainwashing, change, choice, comment, community, compassion, compromise, confession, conscience, controversial, controversy, convenience, conviction, criticism, current events, deception, denial, hate, hate speech, human nature, human rights, hypocrisy, insight, lifestyles, mystery, persecution, philosophical, philosophy, prayer, prayer walking, prayer without ceasing, prayers don't get past the ceiling, praying, praying community, praying in tongues, reasoning, revelation, societal, society | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Quantum Church Is A Leap Into Another Form Of Reality

Posted on December 6, 2012 by Steve Simms

Quantum church, like quantum mechanics, is a leap into another form of reality.  Quantum physics studies the subatomic world of infinitesimally small particles and waves.

The subatomic, quantum world operates differently than the world of clearly defined matter that we inhabit.  In fact, it seems like nonsense when compared to how our world works and to our natural way of thinking.  (For example, a subatomic particle can be in two places at the same time.)  And yet, the strange and “spooky” principles of quantum physics, although unseen by our eyes and unknown in our personal experience, have been observed to be the reality of the subatomic world.

There is another world that is a quantum leap away from our day-to-day, physical world experience.  That is the world of the Holy Spirit, taught in the Bible and experienced by mystics (believers who have personally encountered the living Jesus Christ) throughout history.  Quantum church is a leap into that realm.

Quantum church yields to the direct control of the living Christ (rather than merely presenting a religious talk about Him).   It guides us out of self and into surrender and obedience to the direct voice of God.

Quantum church opens up to the Holy Spirit and His program (rather than following our human plans and programs).  It allows the principles of God’s spiritual world to become manifest in the midst of mere humans — humility, honesty, brokenness, mercy, submission, tenderness, love, compassion, forgiveness, peace, and joy come forth.

Quantum church follows the clear direction of the New Testament (see 1 Corinthians 1:26) on how Christians are to meet together.  It allows believers the freedom to hear God’s voice and then obey God by saying and/or doing in the church meeting, whatever He tells them.

Quantum church embraces the principle that Catherine Booth describes in this quotation:  “Whatever the particular call is, the particular sacrifice God asks you to make, the particular cross He wishes you to embrace, whatever the particular path He wants you to tread, will you rise up, and say in your heart, ‘Yes, Lord, I accept it; I submit, I yield, I pledge myself to walk in that path, and to follow that Voice, and to trust Thee with the consequences?’ Oh! but you say, ‘I don’t know what He will want next.’ No, we none of us know that, but we know we shall be safe in His hands.”

If you would like to take the leap to experience quantum church, come visit The Salvation Army Berry Street on Sunday mornings at 10:45 at 225 Berry St., Nashville, 37207 — where everyday people (as led by the Spirit) show and tell what God has done.

 

Posted in alternative lifestyle, angels, belief system, Bible, Biblical concept, brokenness, Catherine Booth, Catholic mystics, Christian, Christian community, Christian values, church, church meetings, church program, church programs, church roles, church services, church structure, devotion, ekklesia, faith, faith-based, freedom, gifts of the Spirit, God experiment, God's authority, guidance, Holy Spirit, house church, improv, improvisation, inner peace, insight, inspiration, interactive, international movement, invisible, Jesus, Jesus Christ, joy, lifestyles, move of God, movement, Music City, Nashville, nature of God, non-church movement, non-material reality, non-traditional church, order of worship, particles, quantum mechanics, Quantum physics, Quotations, quote, Quotes, relational church, relevation, religion, religious ceremonies, religious tradition, repentance, revelation, Salvation Army church, Salvation Army Corps, self-denial, sharing, simple church, soul, soul food, spirit, Spirit-filled, Spirit-led, spiritual, spiritual awakening, spiritual formation, spiritual growth, spiritual interaction, spiritual warfare, spooky action, subatomic, submission, surrender, surrender to God, testimonies, testimony, The Salvation Army, The Voice, Uncategorized, voice of God | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Characteristics Of Compromised Christianity

Posted on December 5, 2012 by Steve Simms

Christianity is a challenging faith — a heavenly vision, a high calling — beckoning men and women to live life at a higher level than that of merely satisfying their cravings, compulsions, and self-interest.

However, rising above our baser nature is extremely difficult.  It’s much easier to compromise our Christianity and to surrender to spiritual mediocrity, rather than to fight to rise above it.  Here are some ways that contemporary Christianity is compromised.

* It is compartmentalized.  Christianity is seen as applicable to religion and/or to life after death, but not to the real world, whereas Jesus challenged His early followers to apply their faith in and to the world around them.

* It is culturally conformed.  Compromised Christianity follows and approves of the cultural standards that surround it.  It is a mission field of the culture rather than a mission to convert the culture.

* It is casual or even trivial.  It isn’t taken very seriously, even by those who claim to believe it.

* Compromised Christianity is convenient.  It is much like minute rice or instant oatmeal.  It doesn’t require much time, effort, struggle, thought, or attention.  It’s swift and easy.

* It is controlled by human authority rather than by the living Christ.  Compromised Christianity is ruled by men, committees, human regulations, religious tradition, organizations, man-made messages, and even intimidation; rather than by encouraging believers to daily follow and obey the living, resurrected Jesus.

* It is class conscious.  It is segregated by income, culture, nationality, and race which is contrary to the New Testament concept of unity and brotherhood.

* It is comfortable rather than challenging.  Compromised Christianity does nothing to correct, criticize, warn, or discipline church members who are living contrary to the clear teachings of the New Testament; but rather gives them false assurance that they are spiritually alright.

Posted in alternative lifestyle, Christ, Christ followers, Christ-centered, Christian, Christian community, church, church history, church program, church programs, compromise, conformed, convenience, convert, corrupt culture, criticism, culture, disciples, discipline, followers of Christ, idealism, immaturity, insight, instant oatmeal, institution, intimidation, Jesus, Jesus Christ, lifestyle Christianity, lifestyles, minute rice, mission field, missional, moral principles, moral restraints, morality, race, racism, reformation, regulations, religious ceremonies, religious relic, religious tradition, rules, service, spiritual warfare | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments