Tag Archives: church

The Word, The World Cup, & CPR

Posted on June 18, 2014 by Steve Simms

Perhaps we need more on Sunday mornings than religious education and/or personal motivation. We need the inner transformation that comes from following and obeying the living, resurrected Jesus Christ together in a meeting! I read the Bible almost every day … Continue reading →

Posted in Music City, Nashville, Nashville church, organic church, prayer, religious education, repentance, Salvation Army church, Salvation Army Corps, Salvation Army Nashville, Salvationism, Salvationists, transformation, transformation movements, USA | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Open Mic Sunday — A Church Experiment

Posted on June 17, 2014 by Steve Simms

Here is a wonderful experiment any church can try: Take just one Sunday and instead of having preaching, have an open mic service. Let anybody present share what God puts on their heart. If you have never experienced an open … Continue reading →

Posted in 1 Corinthians:14, church experiment, church history, experimental church, Head, Head of the church, Holy Spirit, Holy Spirit take over, Protestant Reformation, reformation, revelation | Tagged , , , , , | 7 Comments

Quotes & Notes on Spirit-Prompted Church Meetings

Posted on June 13, 2014 by Steve Simms

Hear God where you are.  Follow Him to where He is.  D.L. Moody said:  “The preaching that this world needs most is the sermons in shoes that are walking with Jesus Christ.” Within every person is a spiritual cell phone … Continue reading →

Posted in Azusa Street, Bob Kuhn, C.H. Mackintosh, church services, church structure, clergy, clergy/laity, clericalism, D.L. Moody, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, G. Campbell Morgan, Nashville, Nashville church, ordaination, ordained, order of worship, organic church, out of the box, outpouring of the Spirit, participation in church, participatory church, preaching, priesthood of the believer, religion, ringtone, Salvation Army, Salvation Army church, Salvation Army Corps, Salvation Army Nashville, sermon-hearing, sermons, Tennessee, The Apostolic Faith | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

We Don’t Have To Just Watch Church — We Can Do Church!

Posted on June 12, 2014 by Steve Simms

I’ve always found sitting and watching church to be boring (whether on TV or in person). However, I’ve found being actively involved in a meeting of Christians ministering to one another as prompted by the Spirit to be one of … Continue reading →

Posted in call to ministry, call to missions, call to preach, called to preach, church on television, clergy, clergy/laity, clericalism, EM Bounds, Graham Cray, laity, layman, laymen, Michael Kelley, Michael Marshall, priest, priesthood, priesthood of the believer, quotation, Quotations, Quotes, TV evangelists, TV ministers, Watchman Nee, William Booth | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Pentecost — A Holy Spirit Takeover Of A Church Service!

Posted on June 8, 2014 by Steve Simms

Pentecost — let’s not just talk about, let’s experience it!  We need Pentecost to be more than a distant, religious memory.  We desperately need it to be a present, ongoing reality in our individual lives and in our churches! Pentecost … Continue reading →

Posted in Christian church, Christian holidays, church meetings, church program, church programs, church services, Holy Ghost, Holy Spirit, Holy Spirit flow, Holy Spirit promptings, Pentecost Sunday, pentecostal experience, pentecostals, Pentecostialism, spirit, spirit fire, Spirit of Truth, Spirit's flow, Spirit-filled, Spirit-led, Spirit-led church, Spirit-led interaction, Spirit-prompted, spiritual, spiritual adventure, spiritual awakening, spiritual discovery, spiritual drunkenness, spiritual experiences, spiritual fire, spiritual flow, spiritual formation, spiritual hunger, spiritual movement, spiritual power, spiritual prompting, spiritual transformation, spiritual walk, spiritual waves, spiritual worship | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Should Church Meetings Be Choreographed?

Posted on June 2, 2014 by Steve Simms

We think of surrendering to the Holy Spirit as an individual thing, but perhaps it is also something that we need to do when we meet together as a church. Perhaps we need to yield our program and our agenda … Continue reading →

Posted in church leader, church leadership, church program, church programs, church roles, house church, how to do church, how to get involved in church, open church, order of worship, organic church, scholarship, simple church, worship, worship gathering, worship innovation, worship service, worship styles | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Beyond Spectatorship To Discipleship

Posted on May 31, 2014 by Steve Simms

Every Christ-follower is called to preach. Every believer is a minister ordained by God. The clergy/laity concept is not in the New Testament. Instead all believers are expected to minister to one another, to openly testify about their faith, and … Continue reading →

Posted in André Cox, called to preach, calling, clergy, clergy/laity, clericalism, layman, laymen, laymen preaching, laywomen, ministers, ministry, ordaination, ordained, priest, priesthood of the believer, Protestant, Protestant Reformation, quotation, Quotations, quote, salvation war, universal priesthood | Tagged , , , , , | 7 Comments

The Right Way To Have Church

Posted on May 28, 2014 by Steve Simms

Is there only one, correct way of doing church?  Sometimes it seems so. For five hundred years there has basically been only one, right way of doing church. Regardless of denomination or doctrine, church has almost universally contained a central, … Continue reading →

Posted in 1 Corinthians 14:26, 1 Corinthians:14, Bible, biblical, Biblical concept, church history, communion, denominations, doctrine, doctrines, Fresh Expressions movement, homiletics, homily, house church, Lord's supper, Martyn Atkins, Methodism, Methodist church, open church, organic church, participation in church, participatory church, preacher, preaching, preaching the Word, Protestant, pulpit, pulpit ministry, sacrament, sacraments, sermon-hearing, sermons, the right way to do church, UK, ways of doing church, worship, worship gathering, worship service | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Have We Silenced God’s Lambs (Keeping Them Silent With Preaching)?

Posted on May 24, 2014 by Steve Simms

Have we silenced God’s lambs with a gag rule for church?  Perhaps. I believe that many people have powerful messages from God burning in their heart, but they are too intimidated to share them because: 1) They are never given … Continue reading →

Posted in lay preaching, laymen preaching, multi-voiced church, Music City, Nashville, Nashville charity, participation, participation in church, Salvation Army, Salvation Army church, Salvation Army Nashville, shared sermon, speaking up, Who can preach? | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Worship Wars — Make Room For Sermon-Free Church

Posted on May 24, 2014 by Steve Simms

Is There Room For Sermon-Free Church?  (Of course there is.) Worship wars, a popular name for disagreements in church about how to conduct the Sunday service, have been going on for years. But there is no need to argue. There … Continue reading →

Posted in answer to worship wars, Ben Franklin, contemporary vs. traditional, do away with the sermon, Kierkegaard, Layman's Prayer Revival, Laymen's prayer revival, laymen's prayer revival of 1857, Methodism, Methodist class meeting, Methodists, preacher, preaching, Søren Kierkegaard, see a sermon, sermon, sermon-free, sermon-hearing, sermons, sharing | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments