SPOILER: No (probably not, anyway)! Before you go thinking I’ve changed my mind in 24 hours, I am still a fan of religious orders for many reasons. But the heart of my post yesterday is deeper than that and needs clarification.  We need a third way forward. We need constructive ideas. We need to learn from what is working. 

Yesterday, I sketched out some quick initial thoughts about an idea for Nazarene religious orders that I’ve long felt is one potential positive way forward for structuring the Church of the Nazarene to meet the needs of its next millennia and beyond.  This was in response to Josh Broward’s blog titled: “Will the Church of the Nazarene split?” 

You can read my initial post (as well as a link to  Josh’s blog post) here: Nazarene Religious Orders – A Third Way

The MAIN intent behind my blog is the underlying belief that it is time for constructive dialogue.  As a Gen Xer, I’m well aware of my generation’s tendency to deconstruct things (truth be told, it’s not my generation alone). Deconstruction is a necessary part of life.  However, deconstruction WITHOUT reconstruction leaves people with no hope.

I believe that the Gospel, church history, our own Nazarene theology & story provide us with all we need to positively structure the church for the future. 

WE CAN DO THIS! 

My post yesterday offered one such constructive idea – religious orders – that I hope gets the CONSTRUCTIVE conversation going. I don’t have all the answers. I do have some ideas. Nazarene religious orders aren’t my only thoughts on the matter. I do believe that doing nothing or continuing the status quo likely leads to the option of things just fading away (as that’s how many people leave the church) or, at worse a split (though I personally think that is doubtful). I also don’t believe we can resign ourselves to doing nothing. We must engage. We can trust to the Holy Spirit and the Church to help us engage these issues. I believe that together, in Christian community, we can build a strong foundation for the denomination that champions unity and celebrates diversity. 

Why religious orders?  In many ways, it’s a proven method  to facilitate unity and diversity.  We Nazarenes like to think we’re pretty diverse with our 3 million people or so.  There are 1.2 billion Roman Catholics in the world. They’ve lasted as a denomination for at least 1500 years. They weathered a lot of change.  They’re still here and they’re not going anywhere.

PAUSE: I am not advocating that the Church of the Nazarene become Roman Catholic (I’m a Nazarene). I am not saying that Roman Catholics have everything in order (they don’t) I am not saying Roman Catholicism has no problems (they do). 

I  am  saying  that structurally they have systems designed to (1) maintain unity within diversity (2) manage change through social upheaval (3) keep one culture or sub-culture (as good and valid as they are) from defining the church as a whole. 

CLARIFICATIONS

About 1500 people read my post yesterday (from almost every world area) – and there was a lot of good conversation on Facebook. I’m sure many more read Josh’s post. This issue RESONATES with people and can’t be ignored. People care about the church. They are also aware of the challenges to its identity and the need to grow structurally.

Let me clarify some FAQs from yesterday:

• I don’t think Nazarene Religious Orders are the only way. I have other thoughts. I will share them at some point.  I’d like to hear other people’s constructive ideas, too.  I process out loud – and in community. Iron sharpens iron. Your thoughts help me think and grow.  Please join me in constructive conversation for the good of the Church. Thanks to the MANY of you that did this, have done this, and are doing this!
• I don’t believe the Church of the Nazarene was FORMED properly as a religious order of the Church Universal. While I DO believe that some conceived of us that way – and in a deeper sense our denomination is a HOLINESS ORDER – there is great confusion on what that actually means, and much of that confusion comes from how we practice that, not what we believe (save for some outliers).   The problem with “just being who we are as one order” is that no one is really clear on what that means. The best I can figure is that we organized around the doctrine of entire sanctification. We seem to only ask people to agree to the 8 Agreed Statements of Belief.  So, my idea was to highlight a return to beliefs as foundation of identity and separate them from practices (revival & rules, etc.) – practices tied to contexts that may or may not exist globally. 
• I didn’t mean each local church would “pick” which version of Nazarene they’d become.  Each “order” would be chosen by individuals & perhaps have some level of organization on the district and online. Congregation must focus on the articles of Faith, the values of Christian, Missional, and Holiness, as well as the needs of their local context. If each local church chose one order as its identity, that would lead us to the non-gospel principle of homogeneity (only like associate with like). Orders bring all people together under worship.
• I didn’t say the orders I mentioned were meant to be comprehensive – they were quick initial thoughts of the streams of Wesley that we see in the denomination.  Upon further reflection, I think there would be more orders, organized differently around MISSIONAL and/or DISCIPLESHIP PRACTICES, not ideological differences.  Revivalism is a missional practice. Social justice is a missional practice.  Prayer, study, formation, etc. might come together as missional/discipleship practices. This would replace the Covenant of Christian Conduct section of the Manual, for the reasons I said in my initial post (and others).  We certainly shouldn’t let politics or style be the basis of religious orders. 
• I don’t believe advocating orders is necessarily divisive. In fact, I believe the opposite, but tender care and good leadership here are important. I can see how people arrive at this conclusion. First, diversity (not division) is good (and biblical). Second, look to the Roman Catholics (see above) – they have some things figured out here. Third,  instead of “secret differences” religious orders allow us to be up front about the covenantal choices we make BEYOND membership.  It’s okay to do different things. We have different cultures and gifts.  A strong center (our Articles of Faith) with good governance (thoughtful & flexible) allows unity and diversity to flourish precisely because we’re not trying to make non-essentials like culture or sub-culture essential.

The idea of Nazarene religious orders is but one of many potential constructive ideas to help the Church of the Nazarene be centered in the unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace, structure itself for growth in the future, and celebrate diversity.  Whether or not we go there fully, I believe there is something helpful about how religious orders maintain unity within diversity that we can learn from and possibly use as we think about our tribe. I am ready, willing, and able to have more conversation centered on constructive ideas about the health and future of our church. 

To God be the Glory,

Jason