This article is the last in a series of four articles that detailed some Cautions for the Church of the Nazarene as well as a Way Forward to address these issues.
Here are the links to the previous articles in case you need to play "catch up" thus far:
Some Cautions for the Church of the Nazarene (Part 1)
Some Cautions for the Church of the Nazarene (Part 2)
A Way Forward for the Church of the Nazarene (Part 1)
6. Promoting Unfruitful or Unfaithful Pastors.
We need to stop promoting unfruitful and unfaithful ministers. It is wearisome, unhelpful, and even detrimental when we have people speak at conferences, district events, or other denominational events about topics to which they have not been fruitful. Everyone has an opinion, not everyone has a valid opinion. Never grown a church? Don't tell others how to grow a church? If you don't have a vibrant youth group, don't teach a class on youth ministry. Been ineffective ministering to those in the LGBTQIA+ community? Don't imply that you are an expert on ministry in that area.
May our District Advisory Boards and General Board be filled with fruitful clergy who are fulfilling the Great Commission. A grand hindrance to the health of the denomination is the jealousy unconsciously acted upon by those in places of authority who exclude those with healthy growing churches or ministries. It is often those clamoring for position on the district or in the denomination that are the least qualified for the position. Leadership needs to be discerning and mindful that their responsibility is not to "fill a spot" of leadership, but find someone who is anointed to "fill the call."
What if every individual pursuing ordination in the denomination was expected to lead at least one person to Christ, plant a church, or exhibit fruitfulness in some measurable way? What if local licenses, district licenses, and ordination were not given simply because someone fulfilled the educational requirements and affirmed the Articles of Faith, but also because it was evident that the Holy Spirit was upon them?
What if pastors who simply disagree with our doctrine and lifestyle covenants were asked to leave, rather than cause division? What if leadership in our higher education theology and bible departments were expected to love the church and promote our theology rather than critique and deconstruct it? What if our Nazarene theologians and professors were the first to reject recent attempts at changing our stance on human sexuality that was pushed by some of their own rather than continue to remain silent (and, in some cases, even defending those advocating for approving of the practice of homosexuality).
Faithful and fruitful clergy, filled with the Holy Spirit, are essential for the future of our denomination (or any denomination for that matter). They are out there! They may not be the loudest or most obnoxious on social media, but they are faithfully and fruifully serving the Lord and fulfilling their calling.
7. Changing Theology.
We need to hold fast to the deposit entrusted to us. Some are claiming that theology is always changing and is not static. While there is a bit of truth in the reality that vocabulary and culture change; our theology is ultimately about an unchanging God. Theology is no more than a description of the character, characteristics, and nature of a God who is the same yesterday, today, and evermore! What we believe as individuals may change as our understanding grows, but God never changes. This is especially pertinent in light of the reality that many people are developing theology apart from Scripture and even in contradiction to the Bible.
The Church of the Nazarene's fourth Article of Faith on Scripture actually states that "whatever is not contained therein [in the Bible] is not to be enjoined as an article of faith." We are first and foremost biblical theologians in our beliefs. There are some who would like to be philosophers who allow their minds to usurp the authority of scripture.
There is an impetus among some that we must come up with something "new" to add to our theology. That somehow our theology is the problem of the church today. As if it is outdated and not palatable. The atonement is too gruesome and causes trauma. Repentance asks too much of people. Holiness is little more than social adaptation. The Bible, they would claim, does not present a lasting truth about the character and nature of God, but a culturally expiring snapshot of how people understood a changing god in that moment of history. This is much the same way that some would equate past prohibition on attending movies in the theater and the prohibition on homosexual practice. These two concepts are not synonymous. This is at best a misunderstanding and at worst a deception.
Should it not be clear what things we can debate and what things we are not to debate? As we move forward we must bring clarity to those truths that are essential to the faith and non-negotiable to our Christian faith and then our Nazarene identity and particular calling.
See Also: When did holiness theology shift to Calvinism?
8. The Experience of Entire Sanctification.
The average person in our holiness church will not experience that to which they have never be exposed. Entire Sanctification must be taught and preached in our churches again as a clear, second, definite work of grace. Growth in grace should always be encouraged, but never replace the moment of heart cleansing that takes place by the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
We need to get away from vague and general references to a generic holiness. Questions that I do not have time to answer in this article need to be answered in our churches, literature, schools, and universities. What is the need for entire sanctification? What happens in entire sanctification? How do I receive this gift from God?
Let's invite people to receive this second blessing. Let's call people to it. Let's pray for believers to completely consecrate their lives. Let's celebrate. Let's preach about it. Let's live it out.
Allow people to share their own testimony of entire sanctification publicly. Make an opportunity for people to share how God has sanctified them through and through.
I am praying for the Holy Spirit to raise up the next Haldor Lillenas for this generation. Someone who will write sound, biblical, holiness worship songs for our churches. We need to sing songs about entire sanctification that detail the experience, the doctrine, and invite others to do the same.
God is still sanctifying completely those who give themselves completely to Him. Let's be catalysts for the work of the Holy Spirit.
9. Lack of Evangelism.
Before we realize the potential of being a holiness church, we must first be a place that sees the lost come to know Christ in the new birth! As referenced above in #7 on "Changing Theology", there is a move away from the concept of being born again. Calling people to repent of their sins and place their faith in Jesus as Savior and Lord is still essential to salvation. Varying degrees of universalism have diminished the desire of many to reach out to the lost world around them.
Let's have corporate prayer meetings in which we intercede on behalf of those who do not know Christ! In our preaching and teaching lets communicate what's at stake. Hell is real and judgement is coming. Jesus alone saves! Let's testify regularly of the glorious privilege it is to be in fellowship with God after we are born again.
We need to bring back the evangelist. I am praying that God would raise up men and women who would boldly preach the word of God in the power of the Holy Spirit. May God raise up evangelist - church planters. Two of the churches that I have pastored were started in a tent meeting. I am not suggesting that we have to do tent meeting to start churches, but I am suggesting that the healthiest churches will begin with those who have been born-again and are spurred on to share their faith with those around them.
I am praying that we get desperate for the souls of men and women (young and old) to know a transformational Savior again. Not for institutional preservation or for numerical recognition, but because there are so many around us that have never experienced the redeeming work of God in their lives. If the denomination's preservation becomes more important than the denomination's mission, it will quickly die.
There is hope for a bright future and a new generation of people who have been rescued from sin and established in holiness. That will be a real revival that propels our denomination into the future.
10. Cultural Acceptance.
There are some who continue to insist that we have conversations about those in the lgbtqia community. The reality is that their call for "conversations" are little more than demands to affirm sinful lifestyles. This is one of many contemporary cultural issues that have driven some to quick accommodation of the culture around them.
Every generation of the church must evaluate their cultural context and identify those things that can be used to communicate the Gospel in ways that people will understand. This is a given. But every generation of God's people must also evaluate their contemporary cultural context and identify those things that are borne of the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life. These must be rejected. Many in the church use little discernment in their personal lives and then carry the lack of discernment with them into the church.
Is our ability to fulfill the Great Commission dependent upon understanding the culture around us or the work of the Holy Spirit? Was Pentecost not evidence enough for the church that what we desperately need is men and women who have been in the upper room with God?
The most relevant need of our community today is salvation. That won't change! We need to take our ear off the ground and get our eyes fixed on Heaven. We need to stop being consumed with which way the cultural winds are blowing and start seeking a mighty rushing wind of the Holy Spirit to blow through our churches and ministries.
We cannot bow to the whims of cultural acceptance. We must not cultural affirmation to drive our ministries and lifestyles.
See the other articles in this series:
Cautions for the Church of the Nazarene (Part 1)
Cautions for the Church of the Nazarene (Part 2)
A Way Forward for the Church of the Nazarene (Part 1)
Other articles you might be interested in:
The Cry of My Heart
Stop Saying This at Funerals
20 Signs You Are in a Dying Church
Is False Teaching Really That Bad?
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