Good News for Sacramental Renewal within the Church of the Nazarene

I recently had the opportunity to attend the M-11 Conference for the U.S./Canada Region of the Church of the Nazarene.  (Thankfully, it was held right across the river from my present location!)  The conference featured a number of worship services, along with numerous workshops each day.

The one work shop that I most looked forward to attending was called, "Worship and the Sacraments: The Power and Imagination for Evangelism."  It was lead by the Rev'd. Dr. Bent Peterson, Associate Professor of Theology at Northwest Nazarene University.  (Yes, a Nazarene University has someone with a Ph.D. in Liturgy on staff! -  Just wish it was Trevecca.)

I had been looking forward to meeting Dr. Peterson, in person.  We had talked via the internet on a few occasions.  And I was very much looking forward to his workshop.

How exciting it was to see standing room only for this workshop on Worship & the Sacraments at this Nazarene gathering!  It really was a fantastic workshop!  -  Later, that evening, a good number of us gathered to engage in further discussion.

My friend, Brannon Hancock, at Sanctifying Worship, videoed much of the workshop.  He also organized the discussion time.  (Thanks Brannon!)

I have copied the videos, below, from Brannon's site.  Again, Brannon deserves all of the credit for the videos, and, of course, a HUGE THANKS goes out to Brent Peterson for leading the workshop!

As Brannon indicates on his site, the first video picks up about half way through the formal part of Brent's presentation.  (Brannon was about 20 min. late to the session.)  -  What Brannon doesn't point out, but I will shamelessly mention, is that Brent asked me to be the pray-er of the Great Thanksgiving during the workshop.

This workshop, the attendance of the workshop, and those who gathered for the post-workshop discussion have given me great encouragement about the sacramental/liturgical future within the Church of the Nazarene!  Another sign of encouragement (before launching into the videos) is the new Nazarene Liturgy Project, which can be found, here.

Also, as found on the Nazarene Liturgy Project, site, Brent Peterson has graciously provided a full recording of his workshop on MP3. I would include it, here, as well. However, it seems that I can't quite figure out how to do that! (I'm thankful I still remember how to put the videos on here!)

Nevertheless, I hope that you find these videos, exciting, as well. (For my Anglican friends, and even UM friends, who do not see too much out of the ordinary, here, please keep in mind that the Church of the Nazarene has tended to not embrace Wesley's sacramental/liturgical passion throughout its history. We were born in the Camp Meeting, and took that form as our primary form of corporate worship. Our practice of the sacraments have followed the Methodist frontier model of quarterly celebration. That, more recently, seems to have increased in many regions to a monthly celebration. For my part, I love the Camp Meeting, but long to see a wider embrace of Wesley's liturgical/sacramental passion when it comes to corporate worship.)