MEMBERSHIP/BAPTISM 23, 107, 801
Article II. Local Churches
23. The membership of a local church shall consist of
all who have been organized as a church by those authorized so to do and who
have been publicly received by those having proper authority, after having experienced
Christian baptism, and having declared their experience of salvation, their
belief in our doctrines, and their willingness to submit to our government.
(100-107)
B. Local Church Membership
107. Full
Membership. The full membership of
the local church shall be composed of all persons who have been organized into
a local church those authorized so to do, and all who have been publicly
received by the pastor, the district superintendent, or the general
superintendent, after having experienced Christian baptism, and having
declared their experience of salvation, and their belief in the doctrines of
the Church of the Nazarene, and their willingness to submit to its government. The local church leadership shall seek to
place every member into a ministry of service and a circle of care and support.
(23, 30.4, 107.2 111, 113.1, 515.1, 519, 530.8, 536.8-536.9)
801. THE RECEPTION OF CHURCH MEMBERS
The prospective members having
come forward to stand before the altar of the church, the pastor shall address
them as follows:
DEARLY BELOVED: The privileges and blessings that we
have in association together in the Church
of Jesus Christ
There is such helpfulness with brotherly watch are
and counsel as can be found only in the Church.
There is the godly care of pastors, with the
teachings of the Word; and the helpful inspiration of social worship. And there is cooperation in service,
accomplishing that which cannot otherwise be done. The doctrines upon which the church rests as
essential to Christian experience are brief.
NOTE: The
minister may choose one of the following creedal options.
OPTION 1:
We believe in God the Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit. We especially emphasize the
deity of Jesus Christ and the personality of the Holy Spirit.
We believe that human beings are born in sin; that
they need the work of forgiveness through Christ and the new birth by the Holy
Spirit; that subsequent to this there is the deeper work of heart cleansing or
entire sanctification through the infilling of the Holy Spirit, and that to
each of these works of grace the Holy Spirit gives witness.
We believe that our Lord will return, the dead shall
be raised, and that all shall come to final judgment with its rewards and punishments.
Do you heartily believe these truths? If so, answer, “I do.”
Having experienced Christian baptism do [Do]
you acknowledge Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, and do you realize that
He saves you now?
Response: I
do.
Desiring to unite with the Church of the Nazarene, do
you covenant to give yourself to the fellowship and work of God in connection
with it, as set forth in the General Rules and the Covenant of Christian
Conduct of the Church of the Nazarene?
Will you endeavor in every way to glorify God, by a humble walk, godly
conversation, and holy service; by devotedly giving of your means of grace;
and, abstaining from all evil, will you seek earnestly to perfect holiness of
heart and life in the fear of the Lord?
Response: I
will.
The minister shall then say to the person or persons:
I welcome you into this church, to its sacred
fellowship, responsibilities, and privileges.
May the great Head of the Church bless and keep you, and enable you to
be faithful in all good works, that your life and witness may be effective in
leading others to Christ.
welcome each into the church.
(Alternate form for members joining by letter of
transfer:)
_____________, formerly a member (members) of the
Church of the Nazarene at __________, comes (come) to join the fellowship of
this local congregation.
Taking each by the hand, or speaking to the group,
the minister shall say:
It gives me pleasure on behalf of this church to
welcome you into our membership. We
trust that we will be a sourced of encouragement and strength to you and that
you, in turn, will be a source of blessing and help to us. May the Lord richly bless you in the
salvation of souls and in the advancement of His kingdom.
OPTION2:
We believe:
In one God – the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
That the Old and New Testament Scriptures, given by
plenary inspiration, contain all truth necessary to faith and Christian living
. . .
. . . Do you heartily believe these truths? If so, answer, “I do.”
Having experienced Christian baptism do [Do]
you acknowledge Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, and do you realize that
He saves you now?
Response: I
do.
. . .
FOR THE FOLLOWING REASONS:
1. It is generally accepted
that, as General Superintendent Emeritus, the Rev’d. Dr. William Greathouse,
has said, “In the New Testament church there simply were no unbaptized
Christians . . .” (Staples 11) Staples, Rob L. Outward Sign and Inward Grace: The Place of Sacraments in Wesleyan
Spirituality. Kansas City
2. The Church, generally, for
over 2000 years has understood baptism as the sign of initiation into the new
covenant and the community of faith, the Church.
3. Jesus and the apostles command baptism (e.g.,
Matt. 28:19; Acts 2:38 ; 10:48 ).
4. The Scriptures consistently declare the
importance of baptism (e.g., Jesus declares that “no one can enter the kingdom of God 12:13 ; and Peter even declares that “baptism . .
. now saves you,” 1 Pet. 3:21 ).
5. Article of Faith XII. Baptism, paragraph 12,
states the following: “. . . Christian baptism, commanded by our Lord, is a sacrament signifying acceptance of the
benefits of the atonement of Jesus Christ, to be administered to believers . .
.,” and “Baptism being a symbol of the new covenant . . .” (italics mine) Thus, those who refuse baptism are acting
inconsistently with the membership requirements in paragraph 23, which states
that they must declare “. . . their beliefs in our doctrines . . .”
6. The FIRST of our General Rules in V. The
Covenant of Christian Character (par. 21)
call us to do “. . . that which is enjoined in the Word of God, which is our
rule of both faith and practice . . .”
7. Most denominations, including the two
denominations most like the Church of the Nazarene (viz., The Wesleyan Church
and the Free Methodist Church of North America) require baptism prior to
membership. In fact, allowing members
who are not baptized places us at odds with orthodox Christianity.
8. It is surely more important for people to be fully
“Christian” than “Nazarene.”
9. Not only has it been the case that we have
had church board members serving who have never been baptized, but it has even been
the case that elders have been ordained in the Church of the Nazarene, having
been charged to “administer the sacraments,” who had not yet been baptized.
10. Our acceptance of any of the three modes of
baptism as being valid should make baptism as readily available as membership,
itself, even in areas where water is not abundant (i.e., one need only to
sprinkle, in such cases).
11. The action of the 2005 General Assembly of
the Church of the Nazarene placed our denomination outside of orthodox
Christianity by officially voting to not require Christian baptism for
membership, making the Church of the Nazarene, as a denomination, something less
than a Christian church by orthodox Christian standards.
12. The action of the 2005
General Assembly (cf., 11, above) invalidated the “Historical Statement” on
page 14 of the Manual that says,
“While the Church of the Nazarene has responded to its special calling to
proclaim the doctrine and experience of entire sanctification, it has taken
care to retain and nurture identification with the historic church in its
preaching of the Word, its administration
of the sacraments, its concern to raise up and maintain a ministry that is truly apostolic in faith and practice, and its inculcating of
disciplines for Christlike living and service to others” (italics mine).
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