Participating in my yearly ministerial district license interview, I was struck by one question. It’s a question that could easily be overlooked or answered simply and checked off the list. I was asked, “Why the Church of the Nazarene?” Now, my family’s Nazarene heritage is pretty deep. Somewhere around 1935 my great-grandfather decided his family should stop being Methodists and join the local Nazarene Church. This was done mostly because the Nazarenes preached holiness and were located a mile closer to their home (they didn’t own a car). From those auspicious beginnings, that family of five began a tradition of strong Nazarene service extending now to its fifth generation. When and if, I make it to my ordination service, I’ll be entering the Nazarene clergy in the humble footsteps of my father and grandfather. A simple, “I’m a Nazarene” would have been a sufficient answer.

For me, though, it is more than cultural identity. When I decided to pursue the call of God on my life in ministry, I spared no effort making sure that I was not headed to Nazarene Theological Seminary simply because “I’m a Nazarene.” I don’t pursue ordination in our denomination by default or on accident. I am a Nazarene because I want to be a Nazarene. There are places I could serve with less resistance, places I could serve without second guessing my opinions, wondering if some hearer will think less of my parents because of me. I am not in the Church of the Nazarene because I grew up here. I am a Nazarene because I am a Nazarene.

The Church of the Nazarene began because a few dedicated persons thought there wasn’t a sufficient platform for John Wesley’s holiness message, which included:

The idea that we do not have to wait for heaven to have the kind of relationship God wants to have with us.

The belief that the Holy Spirit of God is at work as strongly here and now as the Spirit ever will be.

The commitment to living out the biblical mandate to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength and to love our neighbors as ourselves.

The Church of the Nazarene believes this is not some pipe dream for completion in glory, but a real and powerful charge for the Church on Earth and that, by the grace of God, we will do it. There is no more optimistic, hopeful message than the one we’ve been charged to keep; it is something the world needs to hear and it is why I am (still) a Nazarene.

The rest of what I have to say does not come easy. I struggle with my place to speak these words to a community of people who have nurtured and encouraged me. The Church of the Nazarene has helped to make me who I am, but I feel I cannot remain silent. I fear we are becoming something other than what we’re meant to be.

While I must commend the leadership of the denomination for being vocal and active in its commitment to that which makes the Church of the Nazarene unique, I don’t believe the average person in the pews (where pews still exist) knows what that means. From bestselling books and TV preachers, to Christian radio and the latest Church Growth solution, Nazarenes in the United States (and I am speaking only of the context with which I am familiar) are bombarded at every turn with a generic evangelicalism. The very fabric of our distinctive message is drowned out in a sea of more vocal alternatives.

This is not a condemnation of ecumenism (I believe the Church of God is far too divided as it is), but as a denomination, if we lack a unique contribution, we lack a reason to exist. We do not need to fit into the patterns of other rich and successful ministries or snatch up every religious fad to come along, giving them a “Nazarene twist.” We need to be who we always have been; we must be who we are.

As far as I can tell, all the rest is window dressing. The religious question of our age is: “Why do young people leave the Church?” This is not simply a problem for the Church of the Nazarene, it echoes across the spectrum and around the world. From where I’m standing the answer is simple: The Church is trying to make itself attractive to people and people can see right through it. We need to stop selling the Church as something people need and start being the Church, where all people find peace, love, hope, and acceptance.

The living out of authentic faith looks very different for me at 26, my father at 52, and my grandfather, who died last year at 81. Our perspectives on life and faith can be miles apart at times, but as often as I confound or confuse them, they are supportive because they understand that we are passionately committed to the same thing. It’s the same commitment that led a few brave folks to begin a new congregation in Providence, Rhode Island in 1884. It’s the same commitment that led Phineas Bresee to gamble his career on a “Glory Barn” in Los Angeles. It’s the same commitment that runs back through the ages, the Saints, the Apostles, the Prophets—all longing to be a faithful, authentic people of God.

There is a scary new horizon out there. We cannot deny that things are changing. We are in the midst of a postmodern culture begging to be fed and we are, primarily, a modern people cowering in the corner. No one knows exactly what this future holds for us, but the Church of the Nazarene can rejoice that it is uniquely placed to engage that future.

We hear strange tales of postmodern ministry, emerging church, organic church, and others that seem extreme and undefined. They are. There are a lot of people, most from theological backgrounds different from ours, who are exploring what it means to live in this new, emerging world. Do you know what kind of places these explorations are leading to? Places like prevenient grace—the idea that God is at work in all places, at all times, and among all people is absolutely mind-blowing for many. They’re leading to places like compassion and freedom—there are no haves and have-nots in the kingdom of God; all who call on the name of the Lord are welcome. Believe it or not, these explorations are leading to places like holiness. One of the foundational principles of postmodern theology is that belief means very little if it is not lived out.

These are very familiar places for us Nazarenes. I’m not writing this essay as an apologetic for postmodern thought or as a defense of the emerging church. You don’t have to embrace those things (in fact, if you have reservations, it’s probably best not to embrace them). The world is not becoming an either/ or decision; we are all in this together and there is more than enough room. The methods may look strange and silly at times, but I am asking you to trust us. We’ve grown up all around you; you know who we are. You have made us who we are. The next generation is just as committed to being authentic Nazarenes as those who’ve gone before us. We’re ready and we’re not waiting to be invited.

I am committed to the Church of the Nazarene because I see an ever-increasing gap. You can call it an age gap, a cultural gap, or a communication gap, but what the Church of the Nazarene needs most is people to stand in the gap. The denomination and the distinctive message we all love will be torn apart without those committed to showing how the “new” is not something to be feared, but a different view of something quite familiar. I will stand in that gap, even if it kills me, because the world needs to hear what we have to say and because I am a Nazarene.

by Ryan Scott
Graduate student, Nazarene Theological Seminary