This past week I participated in the New England District Assembly as a local church pastor. As I listened to pastoral reports and engaged in the business of the assembly, I kept wondering . . . what makes a Nazarene a Nazarene? More specifically, as I sat with delegates from my local church and leafed through the assembly booklet, I thought about the congregation I serve and wondered . . . what makes our specific Nazarene congregation Nazarene? As I looked around the assembly delegation, I wondered what makes other Nazarene congregations Nazarene? In many ways . . . it was an identity crisis!
On this district there are obvious differences of language, culture, structure, and theology among the various congregations. Such differences are amplified when one considers congregations located in approximately 155 world areas. We, the Church of the Nazarene, are a very diverse group!
Derald Wing Sue and David Sue, in their book Counseling the Culturally Diverse: Theory and Practice, share an Asian wisdom saying with their readers.
Each individual is like all other individuals.
Each individual is like some other individuals.
Each individual is like no other individual. (p. 37)
Perhaps, this wisdom saying might help Nazarenes navigate the question about our collective “Nazareneness.” Might there be ways in which all Nazarene congregations are like all other Nazarene congregations? Might there be ways in which some Nazarene congregations are like some other Nazarene congregations? Might there be ways in which each Nazarene congregation is unlike any other Nazarene congregation?
As one visits various local Churches of the Nazarene or their websites, a basic observation is that there seems to be differing points of emphasis expressed in local church mission statements. In fact, some churches do not even readily acknowledge the Nazarene connection in their name (and I’m not suggesting that just putting the name Nazarene in the church’s name makes one Nazarene). With all these differences, I’m still left to wonder . . . what makes a Nazarene congregation Nazarene?
Perhaps the answer lies in a congregation’s participation in the denomination’s “Funding the Mission” system or the purchasing of curriculum through a denominational publishing house. Perhaps this is what makes a Nazarene congregation Nazarene! (But, alas, it seems there needs to be more to one’s identity than a financial transaction.)
As I consider the people entrusted to my care in both the local church and the college classroom, I’m beginning to believe there is a particular ethos or habitus cultivated by Nazarene communities. We believe that God is making “Christlike disciples in the nations” through the vehicle of the Church of the Nazarene. It seems that our practices should be in tune with such a vision. While we may share certain affinities with other denominations we are not like all other denominations!
Let me just put it out there. As I’ve read, wondered, and reflected . . . I’ve tentatively concluded that part of what makes a Nazarene congregation Nazarene and helps to form “Christlike disciples in the nations” is a shared commitment to holiness, education, social justice and compassionate ministry and being an international church. Yet, even within these shared commitments lurk points of tension. Upward social and economic mobility, an outcome of the original commitments, may challenge our very commitment to our shared commitments once we have become comfortable with this new standard of living.
Ultimately, each local expression of the Church of the Nazarene must wrestle with how a local congregation lives out these commitments. For example, a commitment to education may mean providing a mentoring or tutoring program for children or adolescents for some congregations. For others, the same commitment might require creatively funding scholarships for students to attend college. The universal commitment to education will need to become particular in expression. The same is true for the remaining shared commitments.
As I continue to think about the task of doing local theology, would you help me re-imagine how best to create a peculiar “holiness habitus” which leads local expressions of the Church of the Nazarene to make “Christlike disciples in the nations”? I will try to always remember that your response erupts out of your particular context and brings beauty to the Church of the Nazarene!
