Steve Simms's Blog, page 302

Now hear this: “Be doers of the word!”

–Now Hear This: “Be Doers Of The Word”–


What if Christ-followers met to do the word


And not just to hear one man give a talk about it?


We could take turns doing the more than


50 New Testament one another commandments


Along with the 9 gifts of the Holy Spirit.


We could prepare the way of the Lord


And build a habitat for Him


By cultivating an atmosphere


Of people listening to the voice of Jesus


And then doing what He tells them to.


Then we would transform church


From an auditorium for religious lectures


To a gathering of doers working together


To encourage and build each other up,


As a body of spiritual assemblers


Directed and led by the risen Jesus Christ.


–I woke up this morning with these words in my heart so I put them together in a poem format. Are these ideas realistic? Will they work? Yes, indeed. We do this every Sunday morning at 10:45 at The Salvation Army Berry Street in Nashville, Tennessee, 225 Berry St. 37207.

Come see for yourself. However, if you can’t make it in person, there is a book about how we meet available here.

There’s a whole lot of chexit going on!

For the past few decades, there has been a whole lot of Chexit going on in America and in other Western countries. Chexit is a word that I coined that was inspired by another coined word: Brexit. Brexit refers to the British exit from the European Union. Thus Chexit is the exit of church from society demonstrated by a decline of the institutional church’s influence and numbers.

Chexit has inspired another coined word: Dones. Dones are people who have given up on church as usual and no longer attend it or associate themselves with it. Research shows that there are millions of Dones in America.

Church in Western countries used to have a strong influence on society and culture. Nowadays that influence has waned to almost nothing.

So what has caused Chexit and what can Christ-followers do about it? As society has changed over the past decades, church has continued to use the same method that was developed during the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century. That method is based on a highly structured and controlled program that tries to make people feel guilty if they don’t passively sit and listen to an exalted leader give a talk every week.

When there wasn’t much to do in society, and little competition to Sunday morning church, this method was fairly effective at bringing people out. However, as society has developed more and more activities and technologies, people now have so many more alternatives for interaction and entertainment in their lives. Unfortunately, the traditional method of doing church just doesn’t compete well with all the alternatives that are now available.

Also, highly programmed and organized religion doesn’t allow people much freedom to think on their own. Instead it tends to authoritatively tell them what to think. It also doesn’t allow for open and honest interaction during services.

Nowadays people want to share their ideas. They are looking for venues that allow them to participate in the meeting and to interact with one another, however, the 16th century way of doing church doesn’t allow that.

So what can Christ-followers do to reach the Millennials and others who embrace Chexit? Perhaps we can shift our meetings away from the programmed and organized religion model to the unprogrammed and unorganized relationship model — like an open forum. Few people want to program and organize every word and detail in their relationships with their family and/or friends.  They prefer relationships to be unprogrammed and spontaneous.

Couldn’t Christ-followers do the same in our relationship with the risen Jesus and our relationships with one another? Can’t we set aside the programming and control and just love on Jesus and on one another? Of course we can.

The Bible shows us how in 1 Corinthians 14:26 where it talks about meeting based on everyone having something to share. That biblical concept of meeting is much like an open forum — a forum for Him. It is really quite simple. As we gather we allow people to listen to Jesus and then to say and do what He tells them to. The results are amazing. Ordinary people share powerfully from their heart as they are led by the Spirit. People’s lives are transformed.

The Bible puts it this way: “If everyone is prophesying, when an unbeliever or an uneducated person comes in he will be convicted and examined by everything that’s happening. His secret, inner heart will become known, and so he will bow down to the ground and worship God, declaring, “God is truly among you!” –1 Corinthians 14:24-25 ISV. Perhaps Chexit is showing us that it is time to go beyond church as usual and to begin to meet this biblical way.

Come see this in action at The Salvation Army Berry Street every Sunday morning at 10:45 at 225 Berry St., Nashville 37207. Learn more in the book about how we meet at Berry Street: Beyond Church: An Invitation To Experience The Lost Word Of The Bible–Ekklesia.

 

 

Why doesn’t church let people take turns on Sunday morning?

Answers:

All we have known is the clergy/laity system.
We don’t like the idea of any other way of doing church.
So we ignore the biblical doctrine of the priesthood of all believers.
Martin Luther set up the focus on one man talking, by replacing the altar with the pulpit and making a sermon the focus of a church service.
Luther had a practical reason. Very few people knew how to read in the 16th century and the pastor/priest/parson was usually the most educated person in town.
Now we’ve had 500 years of one man doing (almost) all the talking in church.
So the religious tradition is super strong.
And therefore we ignore the 50+ one another commands in the New Testament.
And we also ignore 1 Corinthians 14:26 that says that when we come together everybody present has something to share.
We are afraid of change and want to keep things the same.
We have become addicted to church programs and sermons.
We want to keep church services under human control.
We don’t trust the Holy Spirit to use ordinary people.
We want to be passive, unaccountable, and unchallenged in church.
We fear the intimacy, honesty, and openness of group interaction.
We ignore the fact that church attendance is dropping because people today want interaction and participation and our Sunday services don’t allow it.
We haven’t read the book, Beyond Church: An Invitation To Experience The Lost Word Of The Bible–Ekklesia, which is available at this link.

If you are willing to go beyond these 17 road blocks, come and experience participatory, interactive worship at The Salvation Army Berry Street, 225 Berry St. 37207, where everyday people take turns showing and telling what God has done. We meet at 10:45 am.

True worship: open hearts & radical honesty

–Wanted: “True Worshipers”–

God is looking for open hearts and radical honesty. Now is the time to go beyond outward form and religious pretense — no pretending, no hiding! It’s time for heart-felt reality.

“The hour comes, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeks such to worship Him.” –Jesus in John 4:23.

Ministry should never stand between a person and God. It should always cause people to look toward and depend on the presence of the living Jesus. If ministry causes people to look to and glorify a mere human, it has done something wrong. John the Baptist put it this way: “I must decrease and He must increase.”

The gate of a sheep pen (a part of the body of Christ) is Jesus — not a minister, a training, a certificate, a ceremony, a program, a denomination, or a creed! It is the living, resurrected Jesus, Himself.

“Anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber.” Jesus in John 10:1. “I am the gate; whoever enters through Me will be saved.” Jesus in John 10:9.

A Poem To Know Him & Tolstoy Quote

People try to avoid

Their inner void.

But distraction and denial

Only help for awhile.

The hollow echos

Of interior emptiness

Can’t be dismissed so easily.

Who or what can satisfy

The deep, distressing cry?

Leo Tolstoy wrote:

“I came to believe in Christ’s teachings,

And my life suddenly changed.

I ceased to desire what

I had previously desired

And began to desire what

I formerly did not want . . .

And instead of despair,

I experienced happiness

And the joy of life

Undisturbed by death.”

Experience sincere, heart-felt worship where everyday people show and tell what God has done at The Salvation Army Berry Street. We meet on Sunday’s @ 10:45 am., at 225 Berry St., Nashville, 37207. Read about how we meet at this link.

 

 

Getting real about Oct 31!

Calling all saints, we’ve got a mission! It’s All Saint’s Eve today–the day before All Saints Day. So who’s a saint? The Catholic and Orthodox churches call people who lived extraordinarily holy and Christ-like lives “saints.” However, the Bible definition of “saint” is much more inclusive than that. A saint is every genuine Christ-follower who has ever lived. If you are a true disciple of Christ and have been actually washed in the blood of Jesus, then you have been transformed into a saint and called by God to proclaim and show His love, and to demonstrate His power and presence to others.

Calling all saints! Let’s celebrate Reformation Day! 499 years ago today, October 31, 1517, a monk named Martin Luther courageously nailed his “95 Theses” (95 bold ideas about improving the church) to the door of Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany, and set off a spiritual movement that changed the way of doing church and helped spread Christianity all over the world. Yet, there is still so much darkness in the world. We need to spark another reformation.

So how is it that so many church goers get distracted and fail to acknowledge the two great Christian celebrations of October 31 — All Saint’s Eve and Reformation Day? Why do so many people celebrate darkness on such a day of light?

Calling all saints! Celebrate God’s light today! “For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, has shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” (2 Corinthians 4:6) Is God’s light shinning in and through your heart so that others can see His brightness? It’s time to point people to the living, resurrected Jesus who still turns sinners into saints!

Meet real saints (disguised as everyday people) as they show and tell what God has done every Sunday morning @ 10:45 at The Salvation Army Berry Street, 225 Berry St., Nashville 37207.

Read more about how we can have a new reformation in the 21st century @ this link.

The Body Of Christ: Dictatorship? Democracy? Christocracy?

Must a gathering of Christ-followers choose between being a hierarchy (a body of believers governed by an organizational chart) or anarchy (a body of believers with no government or order at all)? Historically church has chosen to be a hierarchy. However there is a third option: We can meet as a Christarchy / a Christocracy (a body of believers governed directly by the living, resurrected Jesus)! In the Greek New Testament Jesus said: “I will build My ekklesia” — those called out of the world’s systems to follow and obey a new sovereign, the risen Jesus.

A gathering of Christ-followers isn’t called to be a dictatorship under the control of a one man pastor or a democracy where majority rules. It’s called to be a Christocracy, directly guided, led, and controlled by the living, resurrected Jesus Christ.

“The government of Christ is radically different from all the governments on earth, forming, of itself, a divine Christocracy. By Christocracy I mean nothing more than a government of which Christ is law-giver, king, and judge, and yet so arranged . . . not to be controlled by civil government or hierarchy. Let this government be called by what name soever, it is not of this world, and therefore the rulers of this world have nothing to do with it in their official capacity. It is distinct from the government of state, and consequently should never be mixed with it. It is complete of itself and dismisses the assistance of human laws . . . The exercises of Christ’s government are moral excellencies which force can never effect.” –John Lealand (1754-1841)

“I’ve been alternately called an aristocrat and a democrat, I am neither. I am a Christocrat, I believe all power will fail of producing order and happiness in the hands of man. He alone who created and redeemed man, is qualified to govern him.” –Benjamin Rush (1746 -1813)

“I am a Christocrat, because I consistently advocate the principles of God’s Word and God’s Government. I am a Christocrat, because my obedience to God is more important than my loyalty to any political party’s ideology. I am a Christocrat, because I have surrendered to the Lordship of Jesus the Christ. Lastly, I am a Christocrat, because only Jesus Christ could save me, so only Jesus Christ should govern me.” –Nadine Drayion-Keen

“Democracy; Everyone’s opinion is required! Autocracy; Someone’s opinion is the best! Christocracy; What Christ said is final!” –Israelmore Ayivor

Are sermon points and systematic theology in the Bible?

Sermon points?

Sermons frequently have numbered points. However, when you read through the New Testament, you can’t find even one incidence of number points. So how did such an unbiblical idea become so common in church services? (Perhaps it is time to get back to the Bible and exchange the tradition of preaching points for the New Testament concept of open sharing as taught in 1 Corinthians 14:26.)

Systematic theology?

Bible schools and seminaries teach future pastors a subject called “systematic theology” which is an attempt to fit spiritual truths into a tidy, logically arranged scheme. However, when you read through the New Testament you find very little systematic theology. When Paul and the other writers wrote, they spoke from the heart and focused on needs, events, and situations. Their approach was practical. They didn’t try to explain Christianity as a comprehensive religious or intellectual system. Instead they wrote to help people personally experience and obey the risen Jesus.

A great theologian went beyond sermon points and systematic theology experiencing God. (Perhaps the 21st century church should too!)

–Thomas Aquinas (1226-1274) was probably the greatest systematic theologian in the history of Christianity. He spent most of his life studying, thinking, and writing large, systematic, detailed books about the nature of God and how God relates to Creation. Late in his life, Thomas had a supernatural experience with God that he never wrote or spoke about. He quit writing theology and devoted himself to intimacy with God. When begged to return to his theological writing, Thomas replied: “All that I have written seems like straw compared to what has now been revealed to me.”

“The three point sermon can . . . transform a living, breathing community gathering into a lifeless lecture.” –Steven J. Barker

Learn more about going beyond sermon points and systematic theology in my book Beyond Church: An Invitation To Experience The Lost Word Of The Bible–Ekklesia. 

Christmas says: “It’s time to feel good!”

It’s time to feel good!

All people want to feel good! They search for ways to make that happen. They try entertainment, sports, shopping, social media, parties, alcohol, drugs, sex, making money, and hundreds of other things — all in an effort to make themselves feel better. But nothing seems to work for very long. Sadness, discouragement, and even depression creep back in.

So is there any way for people to feel good for the long haul? Yes, there is good news! The most effective way to feel good is continual surrender to, trust in, and relationship with the living, risen Jesus. The Bible describes that Jesus-feeling as “joy unspeakable and full of glory.” And it is long haul. An ongoing relationship with Jesus not only makes people feel good (even when bad things happen) during their lifetime; it makes them feel good forever in the presence of God.

Our stress-filled, depressed, and medicated culture needs some relief. People need good news and Christ-followers have it. Perhaps it is time that we do what Jesus said and “shout it from the housetops.” I think Jesus used that figure of speech to say that we need to get His good news out boldly, creatively, courageously, and in every way possible.

In the Christmas season, depression increases, when it should be just the opposite. The Christmas season is a great time to focus on the joy of loving Jesus and to share that joy with others. However, before we can effectively share Christ and His joy, we must have Him living inside of us and His joy surging through our heart. (To proclaim Jesus when we’re sad and discouraged is counter productive.)

So what releases the presence of Christ and His joy in someone’s heart and life? The name you see everywhere during the Christmas season, The Salvation Army, proclaims it — salvation — not as a one-time religious experience, but as an ongoing, loving, intimate relationship with Jesus. There’s nothing like it! May you continually experience and radiate God’s salvation during the Christmas season and through out the year!

Post and share these posters about sharing!

I keep asking God to give me fresh, new ways to share the concept of open sharing as led by the Spirit based on 1 Corinthians 14:26 — the Greek New Testament concept of ekklesia. I made two posters today. Hope they inspire you to give it a try. 1) Gather with two or more Christ-followers. 2) Ask God to speak to you. 3) Listen to His voice. 4) Share with one another what you hear.

If you are in Nashville, come experience this at The Salvation Army Berry Street, 225 Berry St., 37207 on Sundays at 10:45 am. There’s nothing like it!

How to deal with controlling, self-promoting Christian leaders

There have always been controlling and self-promoting Christian leaders, who want to be top dog, even in the first century. But how are Christ followers supposed to deal with them? John (the disciple Jesus loved) gives us an example in the small New Testament book of 2 John.

“I wrote to the assembly, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first among them, doesn’t accept what we say. Therefore, if I come, I will call attention to his deeds which he does, unjustly accusing us with wicked words. Not content with this, neither does he himself receive the brothers, and those who would, he forbids and throws out of the assembly. Beloved, don’t imitate that which is evil, but that which is good.” –John the Beloved in 2 John verses 9 – 11 in World English Bible.

John wrote a letter to an assembly. (The World English Bible translates the Greek word ekklesia as assembly, which is a much more accurate translation than the traditional translation that uses the word church.) However, one of the leaders in that assembly, Diotrephes, was controlling and self-promoting. Diotrephes wanted to be the top leader and to out rank all the others, so he rejected what John wrote (which would be like a modern day pastor rejecting Bible verses that he felt might undermine his position and his authority).

Diotrephes showed his controlling nature by speaking against John and also rejecting the people John sent to the assembly. Diotrephes even went so far as to personally kick out anybody who received the people John sent. As you can see above, John, in his letter, goes on to tell the people in the assembly not to imitate that which is evil, which I believe referred to the controlling, self-promoting attitude and behavior of Diotrephes that put himself above everybody else in the congregation.

So why do contemporary churches put one person at the top of their leadership structure, when the book of 1 John clearly criticizes a leader who “loves to be first among them”? Jesus agrees with John. He taught that the greatest should be the least and the first should be last. In other words, the most effective Christian leadership doesn’t lead from a position of supreme authority but from extreme humility.

So how should 21st century Christ-followers deal with a controlling leader who wants to be the top leader in a gathering of Christ-followers? John put it this way: “I will call attention to his deed which he does.” John didn’t cover up for the leader, Diotrephes. He didn’t justify the leader’s controlling actions and attitude. Instead, John spoke the truth in love, even though bringing the leader’s control out in the open, provoked Diotrephes to attack John and his friends.

I long for the day when no man (or woman) is first in a meeting of the body of Christ, but when everybody comes together and lets Jesus, Himself, be the Head of His body. Is that possible! Absolutely! Are we willing to let Jesus be in the One in control of a Christian assembly? That’s questionable.