Oklahoma City First Church of the Nazarene was a flagship church in the denomination for a century. But the last few years under the "leadership" of Jon Middendorf have been not only tumultuous but marked by a rejection of historic and biblical Christianity.
In 2025, the people still attending voted to leave the denomination or what they called: "spiritually disaffiliate." One member of OKC1 shares in this article why he voted to disaffiliate from the Church of the Nazarene. You can read the article in the link above, but I'll save you the read by summarizing: He voted to disaffiliate primarily because the Church of the Nazarene was no longer willing to tolerate the local church’s acceptance of homosexual practices (although he spins it as being "unwilling to welcome" people). Here is the news article about Oklahoma City First Church (OKC1) attempting to leave the denomination and take the property with them.
The Oklahoma District Church of the Nazarene immediately responded by taking the new OKC1 to court over the property, buildings, and trust funds they held. OKC1's defense in court was simply that they never were actually a part of the denomination. This ridiculous claim would come as a significant surprise to Uncle Bud Robinson who was the evangelist that preached under a tent to a group of people who would organize themselves into Oklahoma City First Church of the Nazarene (it was not the first church in Oklahoma City, but it was the first Church of the Nazarene in Oklahoma City). Even the name of the church betrays their legal false witness. Dr Stan Toler served as Senior Pastor of OKC1 and later became a General Superintendent of the Church of the Nazarene. I doubt he realized that the church was not a Church of the Nazarene (pardon my verbal irony).
All ordained elders in the Church of the Nazarene that were part of OKC1 surrendered or had their credentials taken (with one exception) before the church voted to leave the denomination.
June 18, 2026 the judge rendered a verdict which basically granted OKC1 rights to all the properties and funds.
If you'd like to review the legal proceedings and read the official legal statements of both the district and the local church, you can do so at this link.
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Here was the official statement on 06-19-26 from OKC1 after the court verdict was given:
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We prayed the Lord’s Prayer in preparation for our day in court. Slowly, deliberately- we prayed and allowed each line to prompt more specific prayers about our church, our future, the neighborhood around our church. We also prayed about the case brought against us, their attorneys, our attorneys, about an uncertain future.
Facing an uncertain outcome, we asked, “can we trust God if we lose?” and “can God trust us if we win?”
Speaking only for myself, I was growing more comfortable with the “worst-case scenario”- believing as I do 1) that we’d made these difficult decisions following the lead of the God of Grace, and 2) that God was not yet finished with OKC First.
But on Thursday, the judge ruled in our favor. We are so grateful!
We are so grateful for skilled, hard-working attorneys who were good and faithful representatives of the people and the message of OKC First.
I am grateful for our ministry team; they never wavered. Each pastor trusted, worked, and served with an inspiring, abiding trust. I regularly looked to them for confidence and energy, and they delivered every time.
I am grateful for our church board(s), people who bathed every decision in prayer and soaked a few in tears. These men and women were (and are) steadfast visionaries who know and rely on the steadfast love and mercy of God. They have led, organized, and served, and we are where we are because of them.
And we are grateful for you OKC First. So many of you joined us for prayer and praise on Wednesday evening; so many packed the courtroom on Thursday morning, and so many more sent messages of love and support, pledging to pray for God’s will to be done.
“Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” We believe God’s will was done. We believe we caught a glimpse of the Kingdom coming (again) to OKC.
Our focus is now on God’s future- for our church, our community, and our city. With malice toward none and with deep wells of gratitude for all God continues to do in and through us, we are ready to get back to our best preoccupation and highest calling- to be the Church God calls us to be.
We’ve got work to do and stories to tell. And, as usual, all the work and every story begins like this, “God’s mind about you is made up, and the news is good.”
Jon Middendorf, pastor
Please send all questions and requests for information to info@okcfirst.com. We are happy to continue the conversation.
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Obviously I cannot change the legal verdict or adequately gauge the validity of the verdict given. I just have to wonder whether this could have been prevented. It is division of the highest order. I have come to the conclusion that there were really only two inevitable outcomes to the situation barring no repentance from Jon Middendorf.
1. The Church of the Nazarene completely capitulate the issue of homosexual practice to the will of Jon Middendorf. Had the denomination bowed to his demands OKC1 could have remained part of the Church of the Nazarene and we could have continued to insist that we are a big tent. The problem is that we would cease to be the body of Christ in the world if we believed that we could contradict God's word on this issue and continue to maintain fellowship with a holy God.
2. What if Church discipline had been administered when Jon Middendorf initially started espousing and promoting his false teaching? What if someone had followed Manual protocol and dealt with a pastor who was not only violating the Church of the Nazarene's stated beliefs about homosexual practice, but the Bible's clear teachings on the subject as well? The sad news is that this could have been the case almost a decade ago.
On September 15, 2018, twenty-four elders in the Church of the Nazarene signed a letter of accusation against Jon Middendorf. I was one of them. I called Jon Middendorf and spoke with him over the phone before signing any letter. He insisted that a man who had left his wife for another man and was presently living in a homosexual relationship with him was absolutely a Christian. His [Middendorf] conviction was that a faithful, monogamous, homosexual relationship was fully compatible with holy living. We did not agree. I could not believe that an ordained elder pastoring a flagship church like Oklahoma City First Church of the Nazarene could have a mind so twisted that he would choose cultural accommodation over Biblical truth. The conversation demanded that I signed the letter.
Here is the letter:
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RE: Formal Accusation
September 15, 2018
Dr. Terry Rowland,
This letter is to adhere to the Manual of the Church of the Nazarene (606-606.12) in bringing a formal accusation against an Elder on the Oklahoma District: Rev Jon Middendorf.
Jon Middendorf is the pastor of Oklahoma City First Church of the Nazarene and has created a pattern through his actions of rejecting the Church’s stance on Human Sexuality (Manual 31) as well as providing oversight of events that endorse monogamous homosexual relationships.
There are two specific events to be referenced:
1.) On March 03, 2018 Justin Lee, the founder of the Gay Christian Network, who believes that someone can live in a monogamous homosexual relationship and still be Christian, was invited to speak at the Young Clergy Network Conference held at OKC First. Brit Bolerjack, who is on staff at OKC First and under direct supervision of Jon Middendorf, oversees the Young Clergy Network.
The network is supposed to be representative of the younger generation of Nazarene clergy in the USA/Canada. Not only is this a promotion of a speaker who fundamentally disagrees about the act of homosexual sex being a sin (see 1 Corinthians 6:9-10), but also a rejection of our Articles of Faith in terms of Articles VIII (repentance) & IX (justification, regeneration, & adoption).
Jon Middendorf violates the doctrine of the Church of the Nazarene as it pertains to human sexuality by allowing such events and speakers to influence the church by giving them a platform at OKC First.
2.) On July 15, 2018 Brian Nollenberger, previously an ordained elder from the North Arkansas District who now is legally married
to another man and thus an openly practicing homosexual, shared in song on the platform as part of the worship service. This is a violation of previous church discipline of Brian Nollenberger as well as another example of normalizing the ongoing, intentional, and conscious decision of Brian to live in a way that contradicts the Word of God.
Jon Middendorf has indicated that he doesn’t believe Brian Nollenberger is living in sin because he is dedicated to a monogamous relationship with his same-sex partner. He also views their relationship as covenantal and Christian. These views directly oppose the church’s stance on human sexuality.
These events, along with past events (where Jon Middendorf has baptized the child of a lesbian couple) are grounds for this formal accusation and a serious offense to the doctrine and polity of the Church of the Nazarene. These are not innocent mistakes, but calculated, intentional, recurring, and divisive actions taking place within the Church of the Nazarene.
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A few months later on November each of the twenty four elders who signed the letter of accusation received a certified letter in the mail. Here is what it said:
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Grace and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ!
Your letter of September 15, 2018, to Dr. Terry Rowland concerning Rev. Jon Middendorf was referred by Dr. Rowland to this board.
The letter alleges two specific incidents that, if substantiated, would place Rev. Middendorf out of harmony with, at minimum, Manual paragraphs 31, 515.9, 540.4, and 702.
Pursuant to the provisions of the Manual, these matters have all been appropriately investigated, and the district has properly addressed the findings of the investigation.
We wish to convey to everyone who has been involved in bringing these accusations to our attention that we view this as a very grave matter. Accusations against an elder must always be treated seriously, and that is exactly how we have dealt with this matter. We do wish to express some concern, however, about the manner in which this was brought to the district’s attention. When the letter arrived, it was signed, not by two members in good standing as is required by the Manual, but by twenty-four individuals. Once two people working in agreement that accusations should be brought, the letter should have been immediately sent to our district superintendent so as to trigger an investigation and allow for immediate action, if necessary, by the district advisory board.
Rev. Middendorf has not seen the names on the letter by his choosing. He shared his desire to speak personally with any of you who would like to call. I trust we can show grace in the midst of some differing ideas and thoughts.
Again, please be assured that your concerns have been received and addressed by the Oklahoma District.
Sincerely,
[Signature]
Secretary, District Advisory Board
Oklahoma District
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What happened to Jon Middendorf at that time? Nothing. He was not removed. He did not lose his credentials. He continued to teach and lead his church away from faithfulness to God's design for sexuality and their covenant participation in the Church of the Nazarene.
Ultimately a false teacher led a whole church away, not only from the Church of the Nazarene, but gospel truth that promises transformation not accommodation. Be happy about church discipline.
See these other articles:
Letter of Accusation Against a False Teacher 2
A Way Forward for the Church of the Nazarene (Part 1)
A Way Forward for the Church of the Nazarene (Part 2)
Resolution to Support Denominational Leadership
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