Steve Simms's Blog, page 272

Bible Belt question: “Where do you go to church?”

I grew up in the part of the United States called the Bible Belt where people in casual conversation would ask: “Where do you go to church?” Like church around the Western World, church attendance in the Bible Belt has been in decline; so the question isn’t as common as it used to be.

Here’s an article I recently wrote for the ONE Body Life web page. It was originally posted @ https://www.onebody.life/single-post/2018/04/10/Is-there-a-more-important-question-than-Where-do-you-go-to-church.

So much emphasis among Christians is placed on “going to church.” (Billy Graham even used to tell people, “Attend the church of your choice.”) However, throughout the Bible there is far more emphasis on hearing and obeying the Holy Spirit. In fact the Bible boldly states (in Romans 8:14), “Those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.”

So perhaps a better question than, “Where do you go to church?” is, “How well do you follow the Spirit?”

What does it mean “to be lead by the Spirit?” It means what it says. It means to keep your attention on the Holy Spirit and then say or do whatever He (yes, the Spirit is a person) tells you to. It means doing what the Spirit prompts us to rather than doing what we want to do (or what other people want us to do).

After the Reformation and Renaissance in Western Europe, Christianity there, for the most part, began to focus on logic instead of spiritual life, reason rather than revival, information instead of transformation, and academics rather than anointing. Pastors were seen as exalted teachers (“reverends”) more than as humble spiritual shepherds, and sought to display their religious logic, reason, information, and academics in front of their congregations through sermons.

The Bible concept of individual Christians being led by the Spirit (rather than by a pastor’s teaching) was somehow was swept aside. Rather than the fruit of the Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit; church affiliation and faithful attendance became the measuring rod for faithfulness to the faith.

Perhaps it is time to bring back the biblical measurements for our faith: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (see Galatians 5:22). These are the characteristics of a person who is being led by the Spirit. Anytime we don’t manifest these characteristics, we are being led by something other than the Holy Spirit; such as human nature, pride, our own desires, religion, self, habit, emotion, peer pressure, society, or demons, etc.

“How well do you follow the Spirit?”

Need help getting in line with the Spirit? Begin to read the Bible for at least 5 minutes everyday, with your heart open to the Spirit.

Surrounded by voices from another world

We’re surrounded by another world

That most people seldom notice;

However, when we listen quietly,

We can hear inner voices from there.

One torments and seduces towards evil.

The other comforts and steers towards love.

The voice we learn to follow and obey,

Leads us to evil or good in this world;

And when we leave, that voice will receive us.

Spiritual leadership guides people beyond the human

To grow strong in the Lord, stop looking to a preacher and start looking to the living Jesus and the writings of His early disciples. Jesus never intended for His power and ministry to be monopolized by a professional clergy!

Pastors like to determine the way church services go; but Jesus said; “I am the way.” Without the living Jesus, leading (and being) the way, the body of Christ is just a multiplicity of religious organizations controlled by men.

Church is a programmed and rehearsed event. However, the New Testament ekklesia is heart-felt relationship with Christ and others (that rehearsal saps). If unexplainable things aren’t happening in a worship service, it may indicate more trust in a program than in the risen Jesus.

By making Christians dependent on human leadership, church makes them think that they don’t need to personally hear from God. Spiritual leadership doesn’t hold on to and control followers, but connects them to the living Jesus and sends them off to follow Him

Instead of “leading” others, perhaps it would be more effective if pastors helped others listen to and follow the living Jesus. After, all, history shows that preachers have twisted the Bible far more than everyday people, prayerfully reading it for themselves have.

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Jesus can clean your heart with His disruptive innovation–catch the wave

Perhaps churches try to make things look too good on the outside, without getting down to business on the inside of people’s hearts. However, Jesus can clean your heart with a disruptive innovation (a term coined by Clayton M. Christensen in 1995). Catch His wave.

What happens in 99.9% of churches? A preacher preaches weekly speeches to speechless people. Too many preachers sound like they’re presenting bland man’s bluff rather than passionate, heart-cleansing, disruptive faith in the risen Jesus. Our post-Christian world needs us to show them the innovative reality prechurch Christianity.

Church enforces a worn out technology of “sit-down-and-listen” as the lifetime (Sunday morning) learning style for all its members (except preachers). However, when Christ’s soldiers are mere spectators watching a professional speak and His ambassadors are a passive audience; we’ve surrendered God’s creativity and settled for spiritual mediocracy!

Christianity is so much more than a highly programmed, tightly controlled, Sunday service. Read the book of Acts and see what a disruptive innovation a real-life relationship with the risen Jesus can be!

There’s a place for sermons, but their place isn’t to push aside and eliminate interactive, body ministry according to 1 Corinthians 14:26. Last time I checked, that verse doesn’t say: “When you come together have the same man preach every time.

In Acts 17, Paul visited synagogues in 3 cities and “reasoned with them from the Scriptures.” Why won’t churches let visitors (and regular attendees) experience the togetherness of sharing Scriptures together? After all, would you rather hear a weekly sermon on family togetherness or experience the real deal? (Disruptive Innovation guy, Clayton Christensen prefers the real deal over speeches. He said: “Intimate, loving, and enduring relationships with our family and close friends will be among the sources of the deepest joy in our lives.”)

God has designed all people so that they can connect like family, at a heart level with Him and with other people. Jesus is building His innovative solution that He calls His ekklesia, for a safe place where His people can come together as equals and open up to His creative working in and through one another.

It’s time to trade will power for real power! Surrender your life to the living, resurrected Jesus Christ and His disruptive innovation!

Don’t let sin cause your life to descend into defeat, darkness, and despair. Cut sin loose from your heart and actions. No matter how deeply buried sin is in your heart, God can see it and Christ can clean it out! Let Him. Your conscience is an inner gyroscope that will keep your character on the right course if you cooperate with it. Let it lead you to the living Jesus.

If you need hope, do something that gives you hope! When I need some uplifting brain waves, I read the Bible and let God use its disruptive spiritual technologies to renew my mind. If hearing a weekly sermon isn’t causing your faith to soar, try this: Read the New Testament at least 5 minutes every day for 3 weeks. Too many people depend on sermons rather than reading the Bible for themselves!

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No matter how deeply buried in your heart, God can see it and Christ can clean it out! Let Him . . .

I heard the word “nefarious” & found Erwin (DNA-man) Chargaff’s insights

Nefarious! The world situation today is precarious (dangerous), contrarious (perverse), and vagarious (erratic) because popular culture has become nefarious!

The word nefarious popped into my mind yesterday but I didn’t know what it meant. I looked it up this morning and found these definitions: “contrary to divine law” and “flagrant breaching of time-honored laws and traditions of conduct.” Nefarious came into English from the Latin word nefar which means “not divine law.”

To be nefarious is to be openly and flagrantly at variance with God’s word. A nefarious culture that has thrown out God’s moral standards is like a football game without rules, field markings or officials.

As I was researching the word, I found this quote by Erwin Chargaff (an American biochemist, who was born in Austria in 1905 and died in 2002, who discovered that DNA is the primary constituent of the gene): “One of the most insidious and nefarious properties of scientific models is their tendency to take over, and sometimes supplant, reality.”

Nefarious! In the 21st century, not only science, but culture in general is nefariously taking over and supplanting the reality of God’s moral standards with human whims and desires. Here are more quotes from Erwin Chargaff that illustrate the nefariousness of our culture!

“There exist mysterious links between language and the human brain; and the heartless and brutal way in which language is used in our times, as if it were only a power tool in public relations, a shortcut from sly producer to gullible consumer, has always seemed to me the most threatening portent of incipient bestialization. It is frightening to observe that a progressive aphasia (loss of ability to understand or express speech), appears to overtake large numbers of people who seem to be unable to express themselves except by hoarse barks and expletives.”

“There exist principally two types of scientists. The ones, and they are rare, wish to understand the world, to know nature; the others, far more frequent, wish to explain it. The first are searching for truth, often with knowledge that they will not attain it; the second strive for plausibility, for the achievement of an intellectually consistent, and hence successful, view of the world.”

“There is no question in my mind that we live in one of the truly bestial centuries in human history. There are plenty of signposts for the future historian, and what do they say? They say ‘Auschwitz’ and ‘Dresden’ and ‘Hiroshima’ and ‘Vietnam’ and ‘Napalm.’ For many years we all woke up to the daily body count on the radio.”

“In 1945, therefore, I proved a sentimental fool; and Mr. Truman could safely have classified me among the whimpering idiots he did not wish admitted to the presidential office. For I felt that no man has the right to decree so much suffering, and that science, in providing and sharpening the knife and in upholding the ram, had incurred a guilt of which it will never get rid. It was at that time that the nexus between science and murder became clear to me.”

“The double horror of two Japanese city names [Hiroshima and Nagasaki] grew for me into another kind of double horror; an estranging awareness of what the United States was capable of, the country that five years before had given me its citizenship; a nauseating terror at the direction the natural sciences were going. Never far from an apocalyptic vision of the world, I saw the end of the essence of mankind an end brought nearer, or even made, possible, by the profession to which I belonged. In my view, all natural sciences were as one; and if one science could no longer plead innocence, none could.”

“Science is wonderfully equipped to answer the question ‘How?’ but it gets terribly confused when you ask the question ‘Why?'” –Erwin Chargaff

“Life is the continuing intervention of the inexplicable.”

““It is the sense of mystery that, in my opinion, drives the true scientist . . . If he has not experienced, at least a few times in his life, this cold shudder down his spine, this confrontation with an immense, invisible face whose breath moves him to tears, he is not a scientist.”

“The narrow slit through which the scientist, if he wants to be successful, must view nature; constructs, if this goes on for a long time, his entire character; and, more often than not, he ends up becoming what the German language so appropriately calls a Fachidiot (professional idiot).”

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You might be unracist if . . .

The vast majority of Americans claim (and believe) that they are not racists. However, in an unracist society, race isn’t an issue.

You might be unracist if you look at faces and don’t see races.

You might be unracist if laundry is the only thing you separate by color.

You might be unracist if you are like a panda. They’re not stuck in one category. They’re black and white and Asian.

You might be unracist if the only race that bothers you is the one you have to run.

You might be unracist if for you, racial profiling is collecting dossiers about NASCAR drivers.

You might be unracist if you embrace all peoples as your equals regardless of their race.

You might be unracist if a person’s heart means more to you than his/her appearance.

You might be unracist if you reach out and actively show love to people that the world says that you should hate.

You might be unracist if you’re not just “colorblind” but color-kind!

You might be unracist if you recognize that America’s racist past established belief systems and institutions that still, silently promote racism today (even in your own heart).

You might be unracist if you believe that racism is never justifiable.

You might be unracist if you realize that to ignore someone because of race is just as racist as to be mean to someone because of race.

You might be an unracist if you are on a lifetime journey of love and equality.

You might be unracist if you don’t make generalizations about groups of people.

You might be unracist if you continually search for the smallest remnants of racism in your own heart and instantly uproot them the moment you see them.

You might be unracist if you speak up against injustice and racism wherever it occurs.

You might be unracist if you can talk about people who look different than you do and not mention race or ethnicity.

You might be unracist if you don’t think your color neighborhood is the safest.

You might be unracist if people’s skin color matters no more to you than their eye color.

You might be unracist if you never use (or think) racial slurs.

You might be unracist if your church congregation has no segregation.

You might be unracist if you love the human race and don’t break it into subsets.

You might be unracist if black history, white history, native history, and every other color of your nation’s history are all equally important to you.

Friends don’t notice friends’ race. They just see their friends! “I have called you friends.” –Jesus

Read about ten nonracist Americans. Are you unracist? I am continually working hard to be and asking God to make me unracist!

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You might be an alien if . . .

If you ever feel like an alien, the Bible says you could be one! Check this out.

Jay Tyler and I talk about what the Bible says about aliens. Are aliens alive on Earth today? To determine if you are an alien, look in the Bible and look in your heart!

Unity is more important than unanimity

Unanimity is a word that can be difficult to say. However, it’s even harder to consistently do. A simple definition of unanimity is: “agreement by all people involved.” Here’s an example of unanimity or uniformity:

Find a group of passive people who don’t think very much. Then stand up in front of them and boldly declare something half-way reasonable, asking ask all who agree with you for a sudden show of hands (allowing them no time to ponder the concept). Most people will quickly raise a hand. If you are patient, people will begin to look around to see who hasn’t raised a hand. Usually those holding back will soon become self-conscience and will gradually raise their hand.

Unity is much different. It’s not based on agreement, but on love and commitment. Strong families usually have little unanimity, but lots of unity.

Historically, Christians have tried to build churches around unanimity by finding others who agree completely with their doctrine and church practices. The main problem with that approach is that it tends to alienate all the other Christians around the world who don’t agree with them 100%.

Building on unanimity causes much insincerity, because if anyone openly differs with the party line, they are seen as a disrupter of the group. Thus, many believers in unanimity based churches, just go along with the crowd and (at least outwardly) agree with and conform to the group’s dogma and procedures. They’ve been trained not to think or seek the Lord for themselves.

Unity is so much easier and more effective. It is built on a foundation of love. Unity understands that if someone doesn’t actually believe something deep inside her heart, it does no good to force her to act like she does. Unity trusts that the living Holy Spirit will lead individuals to the truth. It also recognizes that we all “know in part” and are seeking God’s truth together; so we don’t have to agree on things that aren’t foundational to Christianity.

Jesus’ prayer for unity in the body of Christ (in John 17) will never be answered by an outward uniformity of doctrine or organization. Unity in Jesus has to be heart-to-heart. It will never work head-to-head! Unity lets people seek God themselves (and loves them while they do), without imposing the group’s approach to God on them.

How to hold a “house church” meeting in your home

I first wrote this blog for the ONE Body Life Blog at this link.

If you have ever wanted to attend a house fellowship, but couldn’t find one, why not start one yourself? It’s easy. Any believer can do it if they follow these simple steps.

1) Pray and surrender: Give up your expectations and turn it over to Jesus. Let it be His meeting, not yours. That takes a lot of pressure off. (No need to worry about numbers or agendas.) You don’t have to lead it. Just create an open, loving atmosphere and watch what the risen Jesus can do in your home.

2) Invite a few friends over to your house. You don’t need a big crowd. Jesus promised to be with us, even in “groups” of two or three. So don’t try to get dozens of people over. Start small with twelve or less.

3) If you want to, have food. However, for me, if I’m hosting, organizing food can be a distraction and make it hard to focus on hearing the Spirit. So food is fine, if you want to have it, but it isn’t a requirement. If you do have food, it is good to serve it either before or after the meeting time and not during the meeting.

4) Be prayed up and in the Spirit. Then warmly welcome everyone who comes and create a loving atmosphere as people arrive.

5) When you’re ready, pull everyone together. I’ve found that it is helpful to begin with someone leading heart-felt worship songs. (I ask them to be the “lead worshiper” and not the worship leader.) Let the worship go as long as the Spirit is moving and working.

6) As worship tapers off, tell the group that this is an open meeting and that anyone can share as they feel prompted by the Holy Spirit. Encourage them to consider others and to make their sharing short so that others will have time to share. Then say a prayer with the group and watch what the risen Jesus does next.

7) In most cases the Holy Spirit will run the meeting all by Himself. As the host all you have to do is to be what the New Testament calls an “overseer.” (Other mature believers who are present may also help oversee the meeting.) An overseer is like an official in basket ball. She or he, just stays out of the way and observes what is going.

Should anything be said or done that is off base or unbiblical, an overseer kindly interrupts the person and says something like, “Thank you for sharing. Who else has something from the Spirit?” If something biblically way off base is shared, an overseer can take 30 seconds to gently correct it and then turn the meeting back over to Jesus. Also it is good to not let the meeting turn into a counseling session where everybody begins to instruct one person. Sometimes it is good to kindly remind people not to share unless they know the Holy Spirit is telling them to do so.

Note by Henry Hon: I would recommend not openly correcting anyone as an authority figure. It is much more profitable to have personal fellowship in private if correction is needed. If an authoritative correction is done openly, it could well discourage others from speaking up since they would be afraid to say anything wrong. If no one is dominating the fellowship time, then even if something is spoken that is unscriptural, it will be covered over by others speaking concerning Jesus. So, in my experience, the typical “referee” job is just to make sure no one dominates and everyone has opportunity and time to share what is in them.

8) Let Jesus, Himself, end the meeting. People will know when the meeting is winding down and it is time to go.

So what can you expect from this 8-step process? Every meeting will be different. Ordinary people will say and do things that amaze you. Some will even read from Scripture and give short teachings. You will see the Holy Spirit coordinate the various things that are shared into one. You will continually feel His presence. People will open their hearts to the group. They will compassionately pray over one another. The gifts of the Spirit (listed in 1 Corinthians 12) will begin to happen right in front of you. Love will fill the room. Some tender tears will probably flow. People will be built up and encouraged.

So what are you waiting for? Try this in your home and see what God does. This is not a formula for you to follow, but a simple way for you to create an atmosphere where the risen Jesus can take control.

If you need personal coaching or have questions, contact me at stsimms@live.com

I can’t wait to hear how God works in your home!

Be a light of kindness

Everybody needs kindness; even the people who disagree with you. Why not show them some?
Is there a relationship between forgiveness and kindness. (Jesus said: “Whoever has been forgiven little loves little.”)
The slightest kindness you show can change a life. A simple, caring act can release God’s light.
So many people are hostile and unkind because they are carrying guilt and don’t know how to get free. They try to deny it or medicate it, but their guilt still eats at them. They don’t realize that the only way to overcome guilt is to receive God’s forgiveness that was purchased for them by Christ on the Cross. Your kindness can crack open a door for God’s light to break into hardened hearts.
Even church can (and often does) unkindly slam the door on God’s working in people. A typical church service has no room for anyone’s meaningful input, expect the preacher’s. (It’s the silence of God’s lambs!) For example; is there a place in churches for people who want a 1 Corinthians 14:26 style of meeting instead of a sermon? So how did it become a churchy thing for people to meet every week and sit like a lump?
Jesus didn’t rise from the dead so that He can sit back and passively watch church services. He wants to personally lead and direct us when we meet in His name! That’s prechurch Christianity. The living Jesus doesn’t need us to follow programs. He, Himself, is the way (the program). Follow Him.
Prechurch Christianity isn’t setting your own agenda for Jesus. It’s letting Jesus take you wherever He goes and being kind along the way. Now is the time for believers to realign in the shifting sand of this world. We need to get our lives in line with God’s design and go back to prechurch Christianity.

There have been many attempts in history to do that. For example, the Monastic movement led by the Desert Fathers in the 4th century was an attempt to recover prechurch Christianity! Today, the Bible can release inner sight, ignite your heart, and guide you to fire of early Christianity — the freely flowing work of the Holy Spirit.

Bold, radical, and consistent acts of love and kindness help create an environment where God can restore a fresh vison of His forgiveness and break the sence of self-condemnation that holds so many people back and keeps Christianity stuck in formalism. Be a light of kindness in this hostile world!