# Brian Simmons Brian Simmons is the lead translator of [[The Passion Translation]] and founder of Stairway Ministries. He works in NAR-adjacent charismatic networks and is the central figure in the vault's TPT critique corpus. --- ## Summary Simmons frames his translation work as both linguistic and revelatory. He cites missionary linguistic training with New Tribes Mission and a New Testament he says he co-translated for the Paya Kuna language with a Wycliffe colleague in the late 1980s. He pairs this with a claim to direct divine revelation of "secrets of the Hebrew language." Critics dispute both the credentials and the revelation claim. (Source: `Readwise/Full Document Contents/Articles/Is Brian Simmons Qualified to Make The Passion Translation.md`) --- ## In his own words > "Hi I'm Brian Simmons, I'm the lead translator for the Passion Translation … it's been my privilege to handle the Word of God in the original manuscripts … from the Aramaic, Greek and Hebrew text." (Source: `Readwise/Full Document Contents/Articles/Is Brian Simmons Qualified to Make The Passion Translation.md`) On qualification, he relocates the standard from scholarship to spirituality — the real qualifier is "not just an exceptional understanding of Greek and Hebrew but to have a heart for God." On method, his experiential-allegorical hermeneutic places meaning in encounter rather than text: "this song that's in the middle of the Bible is meant to be in the middle of you … the heartbeat of God." (Source: `Readwise/Articles/Brian & Candice Simmons - Sunday AM.md`) --- ## Disputed claims - **Credentials.** New Tribes Mission director Jerry McDaniels: "nobody in our mission would ever say that he's a Bible translator or was ever approved as a Bible translator." (Source: `Readwise/Full Document Contents/Articles/What You Need to Know Before Using the Passion Translation.md`) - **Novelty admission.** Simmons concedes his Song of Songs reading had no precedent among "the church fathers for about 1800 years," undercutting the "recovered ancient meaning" framing. (Source: `Readwise/Articles/Brian & Candice Simmons - Saturday PM.md`) - **Title.** He is styled "Dr. Brian Simmons" on the strength of an honorary/contested doctorate. See [[The Passion Translation]] for the full critique and the manipulation-pattern analysis. --- ## Apostolic-center pastor (insider account) Beyond the translation, an ex-member account adds Simmons the church leader. Per Judith Desjardins, his "apostolic center" grew from 100 to 1,000 in 2–3 years "by using any means necessary" — high-production worship and a conference-circuit celebrity brand "a mile wide and an inch deep." He projected a "gentle, meek, humble pastor" image while (per worship leader Mike Smith's later blog) staff worked 80–90 hours a week under constant criticism, and he asserted apostolic authority: "if you don't align with me, things aren't going to go well for you." He prophesied over visible "leader" types ("You're an eagle… here you're going to fly") to manufacture belonging and hierarchy. (Source: [[2026-06-20-leaving-the-message-intercessory-prayer-nar-control-ep637|Leaving the Message — From Intercessory Prayer to NAR Control (Ep. 637)]]) ## "Is TPT finished?" (2026) The Minor Prophets follow-up reports Simmons is now scrubbing the Aramaic-primacy claims out of TPT — including from the legally sensitive copyright section — after the plagiarism case made the "translated from the Aramaic" foundation untenable. He reportedly admitted to Dr. Mark Strauss that he doesn't know Aramaic. (Source: [[2026-06-20-minor-prophets-is-the-passion-translation-finished|Minor Prophets — Is the Passion Translation Finished?]]) --- ## Open threads - Candice (Candace) Simmons co-presents in the 2020 conference clips; relationship to the translation project worth clarifying. - Stairway Ministries / Broadstreet Publishing organizational profile not yet documented. > [!note] Canonical-page split (2026-07-19) > Wiki-internal links target this page via `[[brian-simmons|Brian Simmons]]`. Bare `[[Brian Simmons]]` links elsewhere in the vault resolve to the vault-wide hub note [[3. Resources/Authors/Brian Simmons|Authors/Brian Simmons]]; this page intentionally carries no "Brian Simmons" alias to avoid duplicate-name ambiguity.