Dialogue with our Modern Nazarene Brothers and Sisters?

I must say I have enjoyed our ongoing conversations both on and off our blog. It’s not just our blog, but our contributors blogs, and various other sister blogs that are generating the same kind of conversation. Conversations are taking place in our local churches, our district offices, Nazarene headquarters, and our educational institutions. We did not start the conversation, it has a life of its own and it would be impossible to track where this conversation is going.

The conversation is beginning to penetrate our denomination and Nazarenes are beginning to take notice of the Emergent movement. A District Superintendent speaking at a Nazarene conference just this last weekend used material found on this blog and blogs of our contributors when talking about reaching a post modern generation. Nazarene Professors at NTS are exploring the movement and have expressed interest in taking part in the conversation. NTS itself is having a Conversation on Missional Leaders in an Emerging Culture at the end of October. The M7 conference (Mid-Quadrennial Conference on Missions & Evangelism) will be held in Kansas City in February and will have some workshops with an emphasis on the “emergent” movement. There are even several books in the work by NPH on the Emergent Church and its implications in the Church of the Nazarene. The conversation is entering the mainstream, but with various responses.

One response has been to embrace us and our perspective. Even if we are only embraced impart, there are leaders and laity alike in the Church of the Nazarene that are listening and are productively participating in the dialogue. I personally am on a district where this is happening from district leaders down to church members. I hear from friends of mine that mainstream Nazarene leaders are becoming more receptive in some of their circles as well. I think these are great signs for positive change and for the future of Nazarenes.

The opposite response is one that we may be most familiar with; we are responded to like a threat. When paradigms are being challenged that so many people have grown dependent on there is bound to be resistance. Most people don’t want to deconstruct because they fear that if you question things too hard their faith will crumble like a house of cards.

We have been called heretics, worldly, relativist and liberals as a way to condemn us and our values. And all I can think of when this happens is that this is our opportunity to love those who would call us their enemy. My suggestion for all of us is that we would give love, grace and mercy at all times so that Christ can be glorified.

From time to time we have Nazarenes comment on our blog who think that somehow we are a threat to holiness and treat us like we have horns and carry a pitch fork. These people attack with all kinds of condemnation because of how they misunderstand our message. I have to admit that I have been very pleased with how our community has responded to this kind of thing and I want to encourage us to continue to model a higher standard of holiness that can be exemplified in how we respond in love.

The third response I think is common by our denomination in regards to the emergent movement is to create a Nazarene Brand out of it and market it. The emergent movement has been called a fad, and if it is reeducated to worship styles and postmodern lingo then it will only be a fad.

Part of the problem with being accepted by the mainstream church is that many are tempted to assimilate it like the borg, create a system to reproduce it like widgets in an assembly line, or water it down to make it more palatable. To some degree the mainstream church will try to tame and domesticate the emergent movement and the movement would lose its teeth when it comes to really pushing for reform, and the rethinking of mental models.

I am not saying that we shouldn’t allow ourselves to be embraced by the mainstream church, or that we shouldn’t continue to foster a growing conversation with our modern church parents. I just think we need to be careful that our issues aren’t lost when we are embraced on only superficial levels. Of course being embraced on a superficial level is a start and so I think we should build on that and continue to pursue even deeper conversation.

Real conversation is taking place and how we participate in it will make all the difference in the world. Sometimes people may be uncomfortable if our questioning shakes what they had assumed was stable ground beneath them. They may be threatened if they have built a life upon mental models that we want to deconstruct. I don’t think this is a bad thing, but I do think we should be sensitive, loving and full of grace as we go. I also think we need to model listening and humility even if we do not get it in return. Some people may want to use the emergent movement for opportunistic reasons and dilute the message with the hype of creating emergent franchises; so we should stand firm with the real issues and not get caught up in the hype that reduces what we value to style and programs. Many however are genuinely listening and joining the conversation and this is the most exciting thing. This is an interesting time now that modern Nazarenes are beginning to join our conversation; I am curious to where this all will go.

James