Month: August 2025

The name on the front of my jersey reads “Church of the Nazarene“

On By Rob PrinceLeave a comment

With the National Nazarene Softball Tournament approaching (sponsored by the Springdale Church in Cincinnati, Ohio on Labor Day weekend. Central church is sending a team), I started thinking about the jerseys worn. Maybe you’ve seen in a sports themed movie when a coach tells an overly selfish player, “The (team) name on the front of the jersey is more important than the (player’s) name on the back of the jersey.” It’s a lesson on the importance of the team.

The team I’ve chosen to be a part of is the “Church of the Nazarene.” Its name is on the front of my jersey.

There are other teams (churches). Good teams. Still I’m a Nazarene. In my cranky critical moments, I think being on another team could be better. For example, non-denominational churches don’t have apportionments.They can give as much or as little to world missions, local missions, retired ministers and Christian colleges as they’d like. No World Evangelism Fund for them. Bad Pun Alert: There’s not a whiff of WEF. They can have as little or as many rules as they like too. Easily change anything they want with a quick vote of their leadership, congregation or on the whim of the pastor (if that’s how their bylaws guide them). Not us. In the Church of the Nazarene, we have a Manual. It can be changed only upon the vote of the General Assembly. Some sections (the Articles of Faith) take at least two General Assemblies before the wording can be changed, and then it has to be ratified by all the districts. 

Sometimes I think it would be easier to be in a non-denominational church with its name on the front of my jersey. Less restrictive. More freedom. Sounds good.

But is it?  Non-denoms also have less accountability. While I don’t want “Big Brother” constantly looking over my shoulder, I am comforted that there are guidelines and procedures for many (not all) circumstances that might come a church’s way. I’m glad that there is a collective wisdom in place. I’m thankful for the checks and balances within the Nazarene system. The Church of the Nazarene is not like a fly-by-night dog-and-pony show. It’s been around for 117 years and still going strong. Located in over 160 countries, it’s a stable, global, team. A non-denom team can’t say that. 

It’s easy to complain (Yes, I’m looking in the mirror as I write those words). But today I am thankful. I trust that Church of the Nazarene leadership is not corrupt. I believe our church leaders when they say they are praying for the churches and its members. In any organization there is a bad apple or two, but that does not negate the thousands and thousands of hard-working, Jesus-loving, faithful  Nazarenes throughout the world. Within any organization, decisions will be made and monies spent that I wish had not been made or spent, but I still trust that the conclusions made (even where I would have landed someplace else) have not been made without prayer and consideration. Moreover, I love my local team. I tell visitors all the time, “I’m biased, but ours is a great church.”  

Is the church perfect? No. Are some actions frustrating? Yes. Are there problematic people? Of course. Can someone point to an inaccurate application of justice? Probably. Still, I am glad the team name on the front of my jersey reads, “Church of the Nazarene.“ They are my people, and I am sticking with them.

Saved and Sanctified

On By Rob PrinceLeave a comment

Back when “testimonies” were a regular part of a Sunday night church services (do you remember those?*), one of the cliché’s frequently heard in Nazarene circles was the claim, “I’m save and sanctified.” Too often, the phrase sounded like an accomplishment achieved. “Saved and sanctified” seemed more a badge of pride instead of an acute awareness of how far one has yet to go in their journey toward Christ-likeness. 

There is no boasting in the truly “saved and sanctified.” There is a humility that is averse to using such “arrival-like terminology.” To be “saved and sanctified” is not like taking an airplane to Atlanta and stepping off the jetway saying, “I’m here. I made it.” Instead “saved and sanctified” is more like a long arduous hike. There are cracks and crevasses along the way. Plenty of places, where it would be easy to fall, and sometimes one does. It can be exhausting. It’s not always fun. The life traveler learns from the rough places. In times of distress, as they call upon the Lord, and God picks the journeyer up, dusts them off, and they more carefully traverse the road ahead. In self-reflective moments, the “saved and sanctified” look back at the trail they’ve travelled and think, “Wow, the Lord has brought me a long way.” Still they realize that there is plenty of trail ahead. They are not alone, but they aren’t done either. They haven’t arrived. They continue walking upward.

An unchurched neighbor might not use “saved and sanctified” terminology, especially if not versed in “Christian-ese.” Instead they might use words to describe their truly “saved and sanctified” friend as: Honest, kind, loving, joy-filled, patient, good, merciful, gracious, faithful, gentle, and display immense self-control (unknowingly, the unchurched just described the fruit of the spirit). To the point, being “saved and sanctified” is not a claim that one makes lightly about themselves, but it’s better merited as non-churched watchers unintentionally acknowledge the identifiers of holiness and humility displayed in the person’s life.

Pray that our non-church, pre-Christian neighbors and friends will see the attributes of holiness in us more and more, as we carry the kingdom of God with us into the world.

*Please note: in spite of the random goofiness of some Sunday night testimonies, I miss them. They were good for the unsaved and young believers to hear the victories of the saints. It was good for the seasoned believers, to hear the joy and excitement of newbie Christians. I miss other elements of the Sunday night service too. We lost a bit of community that once existed in the old-time Sunday night services.

I am a Nazarene

On By Rob Prince1 Comment

Not all Christians agree with everything that the Church of the Nazarene believes. For crying out loud, not all Nazarenes agree with everything in the Manual. If we did the Manual would never change, but it does change every four years. As such, through it all, we strive to have unity in the essentials; liberty in the non-essentials and charity in all things. (Key word: “Strive” we aren’t always united and/or charitable, but we sure should “strive” to be.). 

There are some things that the Church of the Nazarene is pretty rock solid on even as others disagree. For example, we Nazarenes have always practiced both baby dedication and infant baptism. Not everybody does. Karla and I baptized Alex and dedicated Ben (I don’t know why). I tell folks the jury is still out on which one is better. Infant baptism has been around since the earliest Christians. The anabaptists stopped practicing infant baptism a few hundred years ago, and offered baby dedications instead. So we do both. We Nazarenes have such a strong view of the prevenient grace of God, and it is wonderfully demonstrated in infant baptism. God loves that baby, while it’s still being formed and His love never stops. In baby dedication, the emphasis is on the parents commitment to raise the child in the a Christian home. Speaking of baptism, in believer baptism, we will drip, douse or dunk. It’s not the amount of H2O applied that matters, baptism proclaims the amount of grace applied in the individual’s life. 

We have always ordained women. In fact, percentage wise, we had more female pastors in our early years than we do today. People who don’t agree site Paul’s words to Timothy about women being silent in church (ignoring the context of the trouble making women in the local church at Ephesus at the time). They forget about Peter quoting Joel saying, women will be prophesying in the end times. They also look over the obvious citation of Priscilla and Aquilla leading a church in Romans 16. Or Lydia being a church leader in Philippi. Or the resurrected Jesus, giving Mary Magdalene the first glimpse of His glory, and commissioning her to tell the others about it. If women are good enough proclaimers for the resurrected Jesus, they are good enough for us!

We have always believed that God can make people holy today. We are a holiness people. Always have been. In both Old and New Testaments God says, “Be Holy.” Would God Almighty really tell us to do something that is impossible to do—or something that only a few select people could be?  I don’t think so. Holy living is possible and encouraged for every faithful follower of Jesus. The evidence of such holy living is the fruit of the Spirit demonstrated in the believer’s life.

We have always upheld a traditional view of marriage between a man and a woman. Many congregations are debating the biblical record these days. A few years back, when the question of human sexuality arose in the General Assembly, 97% of the delegates voted to uphold the traditional standard that we have always affirmed. That doesn’t mean we exclude people or are unwelcoming. We encourage all. Welcome all. Love all. Show grace and mercy to all.

Some things change. When I was a kid, Nazarene’s didn’t go to movies. We didn’t dance either. I got out of 5th grade square dancing because my mom sent a note saying “dancing was against our religion.” If I held a membership class that day, every boy in the fifth grade at Marquette Elementary School would have signed up to be a Nazarene. We’ve changed non-essential elements of life as culture has changed. We aren’t Amish after all.

Some things are still up for interpretation and we don’t fight about it— if folks choose to land some other place than where other members have landed– It’s OK. As such, Nazarenes don’t have a preferred Bible translation (although the Foundry uses the New International Version in its Sunday School materials). We don’t have a set view on Christ’s return (other than Jesus is coming again). We don’t have a set view on creation (other than God did it). We don’t tell people who to vote for in elections. Not sure Jesus would be an elephant or a donkey. We tell folks to read their Bible; pray about it; and decide. We leave room for folks who disagree or doubt or are seeking. 

Some things change. Some things don’t. Some things we leave up to the individual to figure out. That’s Nazarene-dom in a nut shell—and I’m glad to be a part of it.