Tag Archives: Christianity

We need the 1st in the 21st! We desperately need soul-stirring, life-changing, earth-shaking, 1st Century style Christianity to be poured out in the 21st Century. O, Lord, we’ve read of Your great deeds in the “Acts of the Holy Spirit,” do them again, Lord, in our time, through 21st Century believers!

Posted on January 27, 2012 by Steve Simms

Read more about the First Century “Acts of the Holy Spirit” by clicking here.

Posted in Acts, Berry Street, Berry Street Worship Center, Christianity, early church, kingdom of God, Music City, mystery, mysticism, Nashville, organic church, praise and worship, prayer, prayer walking, recovery, salvation, simple church, spiritual, spiritual disciplines, spiritual formation, spiritual growth, spiritual skills, spiritual warfare, supernatural, Tennessee, The Salvation Army, Uncategorized, voice of God, What is church?, Why be a Christian? | Tagged 1st, 21st, 21st Century believers, 225 Berry St., 37207, action of, Acts of the Holy Spirit, allow, always amazing, area, as led by, Berry Street Worship Center, chooses, Christianity, clicking, come, desperately need, direct the meeting, do them again, each, earth-shaking, exciting, experience, First Century, gather for, hereLord, Himself, Holy Spirit, if you are in, in our time, in person, led by different people, life-changing, Nashville, never the same, night, passionate praise, people are free, prayer meeting, read more about, soul-stirring, spontaneously pray, style, Sunday, tells them to, Tennessee, the results, The Salvation Army, through, Thursday, to be poured out, to do, we've read of Your great deeds, whatever the Spirit, whatever way, worship | Leave a comment

Are Sermons Effective?

Posted on December 9, 2011 by Steve Simms

Have you ever tested the effectiveness of sermons? I did. I was a brand new pastor in my first church — Mayfield Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Mayfield, Kentucky. After finishing three years of seminary, I had been preaching for about … Continue reading →

Posted in Berry Street, Berry Street Worship Center, Christ, Christianity, church, Cumberland Presybterian Church, East Nashville, house church, I Corinthians 14:26, kingdom of God, lifestyles, movement, mystery, mysticism, Nashville, organic church, praise and worship, religion, sermons, simple church, spiritual formation, spiritual growth, spiritual skills, supernatural, The Salvation Army, Uncategorized, values, What is church?, worship | Tagged 225 Berry St., 37207, AA, afternoon, alcoholics, Alcoholics Anonymous, American, American Christianity, an oral test, Berry Street Worship Center, better caught than taught, brand new, called, captured by, Christianity, church meeting, church setting, congregation, considered, continued, creating, culture, Cumberland Presbyterian, decided, doctrines, effectiveness of sermons, evening, everyone has a, experience, exploded, facts, fads, first church, following, follows trends, functions, grow, help people change, hot to hold, house church, however, hymn, ineffective, influencing, interpretation, job description, Kentucky, lecture, less than, lifestyles, like, little happens, little power, Mayfield, meetings, membership, message, mind, much more, Nashville, noble, nobody, none, one simple and easy question, open participation, openly, organic church, overwhelming, passively, pastor, Paul of Tarsus, Paul's instructions, poems, preach, preaching, prepared in a, professional, questions, requires more than, response, revelation, right, shocked, simple church, simple questions, sit and listen, society, society's, something more than, sometimes, started, Sunday morning, test, the basic point, the main topic, The Salvation Army, three years of seminary, TN, to build, to reach people, tongue, treating, try, type, virtuous, visit, weekly, When you come together, word of instruction | 26 Comments

I Grew Up In Church Without God

Posted on November 16, 2011 by Steve Simms

My parents tell me that when I was a toddler, I used to talk to them about God. They didn’t go to church or have much interest in spiritual things, so they were quite surprised by my interest in God and … Continue reading →

Posted in Amazing Grace, awe, Berry Street, Berry Street Worship Center, Bible, Boy Scouts, change, Christianity, church, college, college students, East Nashville, feelings, fire, freedom, God, Hindu, Holy Holy Holy, I Corinthians 14:26, Jesus, Jesus freaks, Kumbaya, lifestyles, Nashville, non-material reality, organic church, Presbyterian, religion, revelation, self-image, simple church, spiritual, supernatural, The Salvation Army, Uncategorized, University of Tennessee Martin, What is church?, Why be a Christian?, worship | Tagged 10:45 am, 225 Berry St., 37207, 41 years ago, a Christian, a million miles away, a real believer in, about God, actual Presence of, agnostic, all-consuming, amazing, an official church member, another thought, Arkansas, attending church, Berry Street Worship Center, Boy Scout, burns in my heart, campfire, childhood years, Christ, Christianity, closer to God, come and see for yourself, Come by here, Communicant's Class, confusing doctrines, congregation, creatively. modeled, Cumberland Presbyterian Church, describes, do church, dynamic relationship, eerie, elementary school, entered, every few monts, experienced, experiencing God, faint sense, felt, focused on, freely, freshman, funny thing, given the freedom, go to church, God's absence, God's awesome presence, high schook, Hindu, Holy Holy Holy, how to connect, hymn, I Corinthians 14:26, If you were born, immeciately, interest in God, invited to start, Jackson, Jesus Freaks, Jonesboro, junior year, know God, knowing God, Kumbaya, listened, living, living God, make me happy, mind, modern, more present, more real, mother, my Lord, Nashville, non-traditional, odd thought, older, parents, participate, passively, people, physical surroundings, popped into my mind, preached, preacher, Presbyterian Church, realized, regularly attending, rejected, relating to God, remember, results, rituals, sensed, series of classes, shouldn't church, shows up, something stirring inside, spiritual condition, spiritual fire, spiritual things, spiritually empty, suddenly exposed, Sunday morning, Sunday sermon, Sundays, support group, surprised, sweet Presence, talk, Tennessee, the Bible, The Salvation Army, The University of Tennessee Martin, think back to, TN, toddler, usher in, verse, Why do you think you are, with Jesus, wonder, wondered, words, you will be blessed | 4 Comments

Avoiding Hell And Making Heaven Have Never Much Motivated Me

Posted on November 13, 2011 by Steve Simms

Barbara Walters presented a two hour special on ABC called: Heaven — Where Is It? How Do We Get There. However for me, the issue of our response to God is much bigger than Heaven. I tend to be a … Continue reading →

Posted in alternative lifestyle, Barbara Walters, Buddhism, Dalai Lama, drugs, feelings, fire insurance, God, Heaven, Hell, Hindu, history, Jesus, Jesus Christ, joy, lifestyles, meaning, morals, motivation, salvation, TV, TV network, Uncategorized, Where is it? How do we get there?, Why be a Christian? | Tagged ABC, Barbara Walters, Christianity, heaven, hell, religion, special | 5 Comments

George Barna’s 9 Challenges For American Christians

Posted on November 11, 2011 by Steve Simms

George Barna, founder of the Barna Research Group, issued nine challenges for American Christianity in 2002. Here is a paraphrase of his nine challenges along with how a church in Nashville, Tennessee, The Salvation Army Berry Street Worship Center, is attempting … Continue reading →

Posted in Barna Research Group, Berry Street, Berry Street Worship Center, Bible, challenges, church, East Nashville, evangelicals, Gen Y, George Barna, Holy Spirit, house church, I Corinthians 14:26, Nashville, organic church, popular culture, race, racism, simple church, supernatural, The Salvation Army, Uncategorized, worship | Tagged 37207, 50-50, allow peop;le to participate, amazing things, American, as led by the Spirit, asking God, attempting, attributed to, Barna Research Group, beliefs, believe, Berry St., Berry Street, Bible, bit, black and white, built-in cost, causes, challenges, changes, Christianity, Christians, church, churches, come, compete, cooperate with, cost, criticize, daily lives, different, do church, each week, eager to learn, encourage, encouraged, ethnic groups, evangelicals, exciting, expression, flow in the Spirit, follow, founder, fresh, Gen Y, George Barna, go, goal, good leaders, Gospel, I Corinthians 14:26, imput, issued, lack of, leadership, multi-racial, musical styles, Nashville, never know, nine, no matter what, non-traditional, not allowed, obey, one person, open, other, outstanding, paraphrase, power, prepared, produces, qualities, race, right in front of our eyes, sale old same old, seek, segregated, seriously, sermons, study, Sunday, Sunday mornings, supernatural, Tennessee, The Salvation Army, theological, to be involved, to meet, to share, to stand on God's word, toning down, uncomfortable, usually, visit, working of God, worship, Worship Center, worship leader, worship meeting, young adults | 1 Comment

Modern Myth #9 — All Religions Are Equal

Posted on October 18, 2011 by Steve Simms

Modern Myth #9 is the belief that all religions are equal or true. MTV and The Associated Press recently asked young people between the ages of 13 and 24 to choose between two statements about their views of religious faiths other … Continue reading →

Posted in alternative lifestyle, anti-intellectual, Atheists, Christianity, God, gods, Hindu, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, life, lifestyles, Mahatma Gandhi, modern myths, monotheism, Mormonism, MTV, myths, polytheism, popular culture, religion, spiritual, television, The Associated Press, Uncategorized, values | Tagged a million gods, about, agree, agreed, all religions, ancient Rome, anti-intellectual, apreciate, asked, at the same time, atheists, beliefs, between the ages, choose between, Christianity, contradict, correct, equal, ethical, faiths, follow, for example, galse, Greece, Hindu, Hinduism, ideas, incorrect, intolerance, Islam, Jewish, Judaism, logic, logically, Mahatma Gandhi, making the choice, many gods, modern, monotheism, moral, Mormonism, MTV, myth, not right, one God, opinions, opposite, other, own, people, polytheism, proclaim, reality, recentely, rejected, religious, respect, some truth, spiritual, statement, statements, strongly, teachings, The associated Press, the belief, traditions, true, two, universal, views, wrong, young people | 7 Comments

What The Church Can Learn From Chris Johnson & The Tennessee Titans’ Running Game

Posted on October 3, 2011 by Steve Simms

Nashville’s Tennessee Titans’ running game has something to teach the church. After a holdout that caused Chris Johnson, the best running back in the National Football League the past three years, to miss all of training camp, the Titans signed him to a $50+ … Continue reading →

Posted in change, change management, Chris Johnson, church history, CJ2K, criticism, history, house church, life, lifestyles, Nashville, National Football League, NFL, operationg system, organic church, popular culture, recovery, simple church, sports, Super Bowl, tailgate party, tailgating, Tennessee Titans, Uncategorized, What is church? | Tagged 000, 100 yards, 2, 2011, 3, 6, abnormal, accepted, accepts, accomplishing, achieve, Acts, afraid, and, back, blame society, book, both, changes, Chris Johnson, Christianity, church, CJ, Cleveland Browns, continually, continues, criticized, declining, denial, described in, determination, don't lower your standards, don't make excuses, everyday, face the fact, failure, forced to conform, free from sin, game, games, get it back, he, holdout, improving, influence, keep striving for improvement, keep working, know, lack of spiritual power, level, little, low performance, maintaining, make adjustments, many years, million dollar contract, miss, mortivated, Nashville's, National Football League, NFL, normal, not getting the job done, not producing success, numbers, often, openly admitted, out of the box, pitiful, players, poor performance, power of God, powerful, practice effort, publicly, read, really bad, refused to accept, rember past success, remember, resisted, running game, said, same, satisfied, season, seasons, see, she, signed, someone, state, strive for improvement, sub-standard, supposed, take personal responsibility, teach, Tennessee Titans, the best running back, the things, three, Titans, to make excueses, tragic, training camp, try, try new ideas, until they get it right, what can the church learn from, work, yards, years, yesterday | 4 Comments

The College That Changed My Life

Posted on August 22, 2011 by Steve Simms

There is a popular book called Colleges That Change Lives. Somehow the college that changed my life — The University of Tennessee Martin — is not in the book. UTM was 50 miles away from my home and the only … Continue reading →

Posted in Berry Street Worship Center, Bible, change, Christian history, Christianity, church history, college, God, house church, kingdom of God, life, meaning, mysticism, Nashville, new birth, Oh my God, organic church, peace, religion, self-image, simple church, spiritual, What is church? | Tagged 225, Alabama, altar, amazing, Arkansas, around, asking, Baptist, Berry Street, best, Bible, book, called, changed, Christ, Christian, Christianity, church, churches, college, Colleges That Change Lives, community, corny, country, cried, daily, debate, denomination, devotion, difficult, discover, doctrine, Dorm, dozens, Ellington, encouraged, enjoyed, enthusiastic, environment, experience, family, fellow, focused, forever, Friends, full, God, Gospel, graduated, hall, hang out, heart, hooked, human beings, Illinois, Indiana, Jesus, Jesus Freaks, Kentucky, laughed, Lay Witness, leader, leaving, less, level, life, life-long, listened, llking, lobby, longing, loving, manifesting, Martin, meetings, Methodist, Missions, Missiour, Mississippi, morning, most, moved, name, Nashville, Nashville's, normal, official, one another, passion, passionate, pastored, people, popular, power, powerful, praises, prayed, Presbyterian, presence, reading, recapture, reconnect, repenting, satisfied, seminary, shared, sharing, shocked, singing, somehow, spring, stopped, strange, Sunday, Sundays, supported, take turns, Tennessee, testimonies, the, The Salvation Army, things, together, transformed, type, Union City, unique, University of Tennessee, UTM, vibrant, weekend, working, Worship Center, year | 31 Comments

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

The Best (Non-Biblical) Quotation In The World

Posted on July 24, 2011 by Steve Simms

I love and collect quotations. I have more than 20,000 quotations from hundreds of books that I have read. So when I am asked what is my favorite quotation, I have never known what to say. All 20,000+ have been … Continue reading →

Posted in Holy Spirit, kingdom of God, life, lifestyles, mysticism, Oh my God, organic church, Quotations, Quotes, religion, revelation, scholasticism, simple church, Summa Theologica, Thomas Aquinas | Tagged academic, All I have written, alone, analysis, and, approach to life, approaches, asked, best, books, brilliant, but my Father in Heaven, Christianity, church, collect, compared to what has been, composition, Dominican, end, endorsed, enjoy, enjoying, exited, experience, explain everything, explained, favorite quotation, First Century, flavor, flesh and blood, generation, genuine, goal, God, great minds, hasn;'t revealed this to you, hundreds, I will build my, ice cream, identified, in comparison, inconsequencial, intellectualism, intellecutal, Jesus Christ, life, lifetime, lingt, logically, love, main work, many volumes, mere, Messiah, millions poeple, mind, molecular, monk, need, never wrote again, non-biblical, Peter, power, powerful, pray, pursuit, quotations, quote, read, revealed, rock, rocks, room, said, savor, savored, scholasticism, seems so much like dung, statement, strongly influenced, sum, Summa Theologica, supernatural, surpassed, tasting, theological perspective, theology, think, Thirteenth Century, Thomaqs Aquinas, to me, to me, total, upon this rock, weeks, Western thought, world, writer, You are Peter | 1 Comment

Tag Archives: Christianity

Are Sermons Effective?

I Grew Up In Church Without God

Avoiding Hell And Making Heaven Have Never Much Motivated Me

Modern Myth #9 — All Religions Are Equal

What The Church Can Learn From Chris Johnson & The Tennessee Titans’ Running Game

Is This Guy A Modern Day Prophet Or What?

The Best (Non-Biblical) Quotation In The World

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

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