Category Archives: participatory church

Could Church Services Be Like A Handbell Choir?

Posted on June 14, 2013 by

Have you ever seen a group of people play a tune with handbells? Each person holds two bells and all the bells play different notes. As a director leads them, each person plays one of his bells at the proper … Continue reading →

Posted in Christian community, Christianity, church leader, church leadership, church meetings, church program, church programs, church services, encountering God, experiencing God, participants, participators, participatory church, religious innovation, spiritual transformation | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Church of the Nazarene Leader Proclaimed Participatory Church

Posted on May 27, 2013 by

Early leader of the Church of the Nazarene, P.F. Bresee, proclaimed participatory church: “‘Pump handle’ religion has to give place to the ever-ready springing up and sending forth of testimony and praise. How often the ‘pump handle’ has to be … Continue reading →

Posted in 1 Corinthians 14:26, audience, Berry Street, Berry Street Worship Center, church fathers, church format, church history, church leader, church leadership, church meetings, church program, church roles, church services, church structure, fire, fire of the Holy Spirit, history, Holy Ghost, Nashville, Nashville charity, Nashville church, participatory church, performance, preacher, preaching, preaching the Word, religion, religious innovation, renewal, revival, sermon, sermon-free, sermon-hearing, sermons, spirit, Spirit's flow, Spirit-filled, Spirit-led, spiritual, spiritual formation, spiritual innovation, spirituality, symphony, The Salvation Army | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Priesthood of the Believer Church (Church Meetings Without A Dominating Leader)

Posted on May 20, 2013 by

Can churches meet without one person dominating the meeting?  History says they can! When the Protestant Reformation broke with the Roman Catholic Church, one of the doctrines they embraced become known as “the priesthood of the believer.”  The Reformers acknowledged … Continue reading →

Posted in Catholic, Catholic Church, Catholicism, China, Chinese, church, church history, church in China, church leader, church meetings, Communists, holy priesthood, kingdom of priests, Laymen's prayer revival, laymen's prayer revival of 1857, Martin Luther, Methodism, Methodist class meeting, Methodists, participatory church, pastor, Peter Wagner, priest, Quaker meetings, Quakers, quote, Quotes, Ray Stedman, Roman Catholic, simple church, Spirit-filled, Spirit-led, Spirit-prompted, The Salvation Army | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

Talk Church Is Better Than Talk Radio

Posted on May 18, 2013 by

Talk church is better than talk radio.  Its talking points are about the living, resurrected Jesus Christ. Sit-back-and-listen-church makes people passive.  Open line, talk church makes people powerful in God as they show and tell what God has done on … Continue reading →

Posted in Berry Street, Berry Street Worship Center, church format, church history, church meetings, church program, church programs, church roles, church services, church structure, faith, faith in God, faith-based, great awakening, hearing God, hearing Jesus, hearing the Holy Spirit, improv, improvisation, Jesus Christ, John Miley, led by the Spirit, listening, Methodism, Methodist class meeting, Nashville adventure, Nashville church, Nashville tourist attractions, non-church, open church, participants, participators, participatory church, power, powerful, quote, Quotes, religious innovation, Salvation Army church, Salvation Army Corps, Spirit-filled, Spirit-led, Spirit-prompted, spiritual church, spiritual flow, spiritual formation, spiritual innovation, spirituality, The Salvation Army | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Did Sermon-Free Church Begin At Pentecost?

Posted on May 13, 2013 by

Sermon-Free Church — Did It Begin At Pentecost?  Thoughts for Pentecost Sunday, May 19, 2013 On Pentecost Sunday (May 19) the church in the Western world celebrates the beginning of sermon-free church. The events are recorded in Acts, chapter 2 … Continue reading →

Posted in 1 Corinthians 14:26, 2013, Acts, Apostle Peter, bishops, Christ followers, church, church history, church leader, church leadership, church meetings, coming of the Holy Spirit, gifts of the Spirit, Gospel, Holy Spirit, Jerusalem, New Testament, non-church, non-church movement, non-liturgical, non-traditional church, one anothers, open church, open mike, openairs, organic church, origin of the church, overseers, participatory church, Peter, Peter preaching on Pentecost, praise, praising God, pray for one another, prayer, praying, preaching, preaching the Word, Roman, Roman Empire, sermon, sermon-free, sermons, Spirit-led, Spirit-prompted, spiritual church, the Western church, This was that., Western world | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Release or Re-Leash?

Posted on May 6, 2013 by

Release of the Spirit — or — Re-leash of the Spirit? Have you ever noticed that whenever there is a release of the Holy Spirit, the human tendency is to re-leash Him and get church back under human control and … Continue reading →

Posted in church format, church leader, church meetings, church program, church programs, church roles, church services, church structure, God on a leash, hymn, hymns, I Corinthians 14:26, instruction, interpretation, interpretation of tongues, leash, participants, participators, participatory church, release of the Spirit, relevation, religion, Salvation Army church, Salvation Army Corps, Salvationists, simple church, speaking in tongues, spectators, spirit, Spirit's flow, Spirit-filled, Spirit-led, Spirit-prompted, spiritual church, spiritual interaction, spiritual life, spiritual movement, The Salvation Army, theology, tongues | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Focus Group Church

Posted on April 10, 2013 by

Have you ever experienced a focus group church? A focus group church is a group of believers who regularly gathered together to share with one another what the living, resurrected Jesus Christ is showing and telling them. (See 1 Corinthians … Continue reading →

Posted in church format, church meetings, church program, church programs, non-church, open church, organic church, participatory church, simple church | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

AA Church

Posted on March 27, 2013 by

An Innovative Idea For Sunday Morning Church — Function Like An AA Meeting! Here’s a description of a typical AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) meeting from the AA of Australia web site: “AA meetings are very informal. Just take a seat and … Continue reading →

Posted in organic church, The Salvation Army, simple church, Berry Street Worship Center, Christianity, Berry Street, order of worship, participatory church, Spirit-led, church roles, church meetings, Salvation Army Corps, Salvation Army church, church program, church services, Spirit-prompted, church format, 12 steps, 12 step meeting, telling their stories, participation in AA meetings | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

What The Church Can Learn From Basketball Officials

Posted on February 19, 2013 by

From preschool to the NBA Playoffs — from high school to March Madness — basketball officials could serve as great examples of an alternative way for pastors to conduct church services. Rather than being the center of attention and running … Continue reading →

Posted in alternative church, Berry Street, Berry Street Worship Center, Christianity, church format, church meetings, church program, church roles, church services, church structure, clergy, creativity, high school basketball, innovation, Nashville adventure, Nashville events, Nashville projects, officials, organic church, participatory church, pastor, simple church, spiritual growth, spiritual innovation, spiritual leaders, spiritual life, sporting event, sports, The Salvation Army | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Holy Spirit Surfing–A Fresh Wave Of Churching

Posted on February 17, 2013 by

Holy Spirit surfing is a fresh, creative way of doing church — an innovative style of churching.  However, it’s not new — it was written about in the New Testament (see 1 Corinthians 14:26) and was the common practice of … Continue reading →

Posted in 1 Corinthians 14:26, church format, church meetings, church program, church roles, church structure, churching, contemporary churches, flow, flow of the Spirit, flowing of the Holy Spirit, hearing God, hearing Jesus, liturgical churches, morphed, move of God, movement, Music City, Nashville, new wave, non-liturgical, participatory church, praise and worship, presence of Christ, presence of God, prompted by the Spirit, prompting of the Spirit, Protestant, Quotations, quote, Quotes, religion, religious innovation, Spirit surfing, Spirit's flow, Spirit-filled, Spirit-led, Spirit-prompted, spiritual, spiritual waves, The Salvation Army, wave of the Spirit | Tagged , , , , , | 8 Comments