Cross Denominational Mission
The
Church of the Nazarene is a Christian
evangelical denomination which had 1.63 million members in
18,700 congregations worldwide in 2006. The largest concentration of
membership is in the United States with 640,000. There are 56 Nazerene
educational
institutions around the world. The Nazarene church holds revivals and
is highly active
in missionary work like other evangelical denominations do. It is a
member of the World Methodist
Council and the National Association of Evangelicals. Headquarters for
the Church of the Nazarene and the
Nazarene Publishing House are in Kansas City, Missouri, USA.
The
name of the
denomination comes from the biblical description of Jesus and His
followers as "Nazarenes" (Acts 24:5).
The name was chosen by Dr. J.P. Widney, a former president
of the University of Southern California and influential figure in the
early days of the Church of the Nazarene. He said that the name had
come to him after spending the night in prayer. The word
"Nazarene" symbolized "the
toiling, lowly mission of Christ. It was the name that Christ used of
Himself, the name which was used in derision of Him by His enemies, the
name which above all others linked Him to the great toiling,
struggling, sorrowing heart of the world. It is Jesus, Jesus of
Nazareth to whom the world in its misery and despair turns, that it may
have hope" (Called Unto Holiness, Volume I). The denomination started
as a mission that served the homeless and poor, and wanted to
keep that attitude of ministering to "lower classes" of society.
The
spiritual vision of early Nazarenes was derived from the doctrinal core
of John Wesley's preaching and the holiness movement (the Methodists). The affirmations
of the church include justification by grace through faith,
sanctification by grace through faith, entire sanctification as an
inheritance available to every Christian, and the witness of the Spirit
to God's work in human lives..
Early History
The
Church of the Nazarene,
founded in 1895, is the result of many mergers between
various other 'Holiness churches' and denominations throughout the 20th
century. The most prominent of these mergers took place at
the First and Second General Assemblies, held at Chicago, Illinois, and
Pilot Point, Texas in 1907 and 1908, respectively. The First General
Assembly brought together the Association of Pentecostal Churches of
America, a denomination formed in 1896 through the merger of two
older bodies that existed principally in the
northeastern United States, and the Church of the Nazarene from the
West Coast of the United States, founded in 1895 in Los Angeles,
California by Phineas F. Bresee, a Methodist Episcopal Church minister,
and J. P. Widney, a Methodist layman and former President of the
University of Southern California. The name of the united body adopted
at the First General Assembly was Pentecostal Church of the Nazarene.
Phineas Bresee sought to return to
John Wesley's original goals of preaching the good news of the gospel
to the poor and underprivileged. The following year, at the Second General Assembly, the Holiness Church
of Christ, located in the southern United States, merged with the
Pentecostal Nazarenes. The Holiness Church of Christ in the South, like
the Association of Pentecostal Churches of America in the east, was
also the result of an earlier merger between two older denominations.
Between the First and Second General Assemblies, there were
major accessions of members from the Holiness Association of Texas
and the merger in September 1908 of the Pennsylvania Conference of the
Holiness Christian Church.
The
term "Pentecostal" in the original name soon proved problematic. In the
Wesleyan-holiness movement, the word was used widely and
simply meant "holiness." However, the rise of 20th century
Pentecostalism,
especially after 1906, gave new meanings and associations to the
term - meanings that the Pentecostal Nazarenes rejected. In 1919,
the name
was shortened to avoid any confusion about the
church's place on the theological spectrum. Other independent
bodies joined at later dates, including the Pentecostal Church of
Scotland and Pentecostal Mission, both in 1915. At this point, the
Church of the Nazarene now embraced seven previous denominations and
significant parts of two other groups. In time, the Church of the
Nazarene and the Wesleyan Church would emerge as the two major
denominations to gather in the smaller bodies of the 19th century
Wesleyan-holiness movement. The mergers continued: In the 1920s, there
were major accessions
from the Laymen's Holiness Association located in the Dakotas, USA. In
the
1950s, there were mergers with the International Holiness Mission and
the Calvary Holiness Church (which had earlier absorbed some Apostolic
Faith congregations), both in the United
Kingdom; the Hephzibah Faith Missionary Association in Iowa; the Gospel
Workers Church of Canada, and an indigenous Church of the Nazarene in
Nigeria.
International growth
By
1908, there were
congregations in USA, Canada, India, Cape Verde, and Japan;
soon followed central Africa, Mexico, and China. The 1915
mergers added congregations in the British Isles, Cuba,
Central America, and South America. There were congregations in Syria
and Palestine by 1922. General Superintendent Reynolds advocated "a
mission to the world," and support for world evangelization became a
distinguishing characteristic of Nazarene life. The church began
producing the 'Showers of Blessing' radio
program in the 1940s (the name of this program taken from the Apostolic
Faith Church's publication of the same name and clearly a result of the
absorption of Apostolics earlier in its history). Other broadcasts
followed in many languages, the Spanish broadcast La Hora
Nazarena perhaps the most well known. More churches from other
countries continued to join the denomination. Current missionary work
is worldwide,
evangelical and takes place in areas of crisis.
As the church
grew culturally and linguistically diverse, it committed itself
to a deliberate policy of internationalization in 1980 - being
one church of
congregations and districts worldwide, rather than splitting into
national churches like earlier Protestant denominations. By the 2001
General Assembly, 42 percent of delegates present and voting were not
native English speakers. Today over 60 percent of Nazarenes and 80
percent of the church's 425 districts are outside the United States.
Since the Church of the Nazarene's general meeting, the General
Assembly, is based on district representation, it is probably
the most racially and linguistically diverse general meeting of any
religious body that originated on American soil.
Doctrine and belief
The
Church of the Nazarene remains committed to Christian holiness.
Nazarene beliefs include: one eternal self-existent God
manifest in a three-fold nature; the divinity of Jesus; baptism by
either immersion or sprinkling or pouring; the Lord's Supper for all believers;
entire sanctification; and the return of Jesus Christ to raise the dead.
The
Church of the Nazarene stands in the Arminian tradition of free grace
for all and human freedom to choose that grace. The Church
distinguishes itself from many other Protestant churches because of its
belief that God's Holy Spirit empowers Christians to be constantly
obedient to Him. The Church does not believe that a Christian inevitably sins
each day, rather, the Church teaches that sin should be the rare
exception in the life of a Christian. The Church believes in the
doctrine of entire sanctification, which states that a person can have
a relationship of entire devotion to God in which they are no longer
under the influence of original sin. This means that through the power
of the Holy Spirit, people can be changed so as to be able to live a
holy life for the glory of God. This is
interpreted on different levels: as with any denomination, some believers interpret the theology rigidly and others less
so. The concept of entire sanctification stems from John Wesley's
concept of spiritual perfection. Both doctrines are held less rigidly by most church members, viewing spiritual
perfection as something to strive toward, believers being already sanctified and
forgiven for their sins by the sacrifice of Christ. Some in the
denomination have understood the movement's distinctive theological
doctrine - entire sanctification - as
love. Love is the core understanding of holiness
and sanctification found in the Bible: Christians are called to love
when in relation to God and others.
The
Church of the Nazarene maintains total
abstinence from alcohol and any other intoxicant, including tobacco.
This continues to be debated, but while the church does not consider
alcohol itself to be
the cause of sin for all people, it teaches that intoxication is a
'danger' to people, both physically and spiritually. A person
who is meant to serve others should avoid
them, so as not cause others to stray from their 'walk with God,' which
is considered a sin for both parties.
Regarding human sexuality, the Church's Board of General Superintendents has issued this official statement:
"The
Church of the Nazarene believes that every man or woman should be
treated with dignity, grace, and holy love, whatever their sexual
orientation. However, we continue to firmly hold the position that the
homosexual lifestyle is sinful and is contrary to the Scriptures. We
further wish to reemphasize our call to Nazarenes around the globe
to recommit themselves to a life of holiness, characterized by holy
love and expressed through the most rigorous and consistent lifestyle
of sexual purity. We stand firmly on the belief that the biblical
concept of marriage, always between one man and one woman in a
committed, lifelong relationship, is the only relationship within which
the gift of sexual intimacy is properly expressed."
Worship
Nazarene
churches typically hold worship services three times a week: Sunday
morning, Sunday evening, and Wednesday evening. The
Sunday and Wednesday evening services in some Nazarene churches have
changed from worship services to discipleship training or other
activities. Worship consists of singing hymns or
contemporary "praise choruses," prayer, special music, reading of
Scripture, a sermon, and offering. If the sermon is evangelistic
in
nature, a service may end with "an altar call." Worship styles vary
widely from traditional Protestant services to contemporary worship
with modern Christian music. An increasing
number of Nazarene churches have utilized contemporary worship
as their predominant worship style. They use modern instruments,
projectors or video screen and computers. In some worship
services, particularly the traditional Wednesday night prayer meeting,
members are often encouraged to "testify," or give an account of
some aspect of their spiritual journey. A testimony may describe a
personal encounter with the Holy Spirit or speak to a particular event
in a person's Christian life. Prayers offered during
services are most often communal and led by a single person. Annual
"revival" meetings have been a traditional part of Nazarene life,but
there is less emphasis on these today than once was. Many Nazarene
districts sponsor an annual camp meeting for adults and their families
as
well as separate camps for both "teens" and children.
While
Nazarenes believe that the ill should utilize all appropriate medical
agencies, they also affirm divine healing and
pastors may "lay hands" upon the ill in prayer, either at the hospital
or in a worship service. A prayer for divine healing does not exclude medical services and agencies.
Sacraments
The
Church of the Nazarene recognizes two sacraments: Christian baptism and
the Lord's Supper, or communion. Nazarenes permit believer's baptism
and infant baptism alike. In recent times infant baptism has
given way to more frequent infant "dedication" ceremonies,
reserving baptism until the child can make a conscious
decision to follow Christ. Every Nazarene church is required to
administer the sacrament of the Lord's Supper at least four times a
year. Some congregations offer Communion at least once a month. The
Nazarene Manual also includes rituals for the reception of new church
members, weddings, funerals, the installation of new officers, and
church dedications.
Church leaders and Ministers
The
Church of the Nazarene has two orders of ordained ministry: the
ordained elder and the ordained deacon. The ordained elder can be male or female, who has been set apart for a ministry of "Word
and Sacrament." Their primary assignment is to preach the Word,
administer the Sacraments, and lead the local church. The ordained
deacon is a man or woman who has been set apart for full-time ministry
in a role other than "Word and Sacrament." Those eligible to be
ordained as deacons include those who are called to a full-time
ministry of music, Christian social ministry, or director of Christian
education, or another ministry that does not typically involve leading
a congregation. The church also has district licensed ministers. A licensed
minister may, in some cases, be the pastor of a church.
Organization
The
Church
of the Nazarene is divided geographically into regions and districts.
Local churches are members of a district, which in turn make up a
region. This hierarchy influences financial matters, event planning,
and
one of the most important values of the Nazarene Church: higher
education. A district is comprised
of several zones, a smaller grouping of local churches within a
district. Officials that function on the district level are known
as District Superintendants. Several Nazarene districts make up a
region. Regions are tied to church
funds, as local churches pay budgets on a district level, and districts
on to the regional level. A portion of this budget is allocated
for Nazarene higher education, and subsidizes the cost of each region's
respective institution. The Church of the
Nazarene owns and operates 11 liberal arts institutions in Africa,
Canada, Korea, and the United States, as well as 3 graduate seminaries,
37 undergraduate Bible/theological colleges, 3 nurses training
colleges, 1 junior college, and 1 education college worldwide. These
are overseen by the Nazarene International Education
Association (NIEA).
Links
International Headquarters
Church of the Nazerene in the Philippines
Church of the Nazarene UK
Bramley Nazarene a typical UK church
Ephrata Nazarene a typical US church
Holyness Today Nazarene Publication
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