General Assembly: Reception of Members and Agreed Statement of Belief

In June of this year, the Church of the Nazarene will be conducting its General Assembly.  The General Assembly is the supreme doctrine-formulating, lawmaking, and elective authority of the Church of the Nazarene. During past quadrenniums, I have presented to my district delegation, and through them to the General Assembly, a number of resolutions.  Some of them have passed and impacted the Manual of the Church of the Nazarene.  Some were amended.  Others were rejected.  -  This year I have presented eight resolutions.  I, frankly, do not know which ones my district has sponsored.  However, for any who may be delegates to the assembly, or those who know delegates, I would draw your attention to these and hope that you might support them.

Note: Bracketed text [ ] are words to be deleted from the current Manual. Underlined text ___ are words to be added to the current Manual.

704. Reception of Church Members

 It is expected that prospective members have professed the Christian faith and been instructed in the doctrine and practices of the Church of the Nazarene. They may come forward to stand before the congregation and the pastor shall address them as follows:

 Dearly Beloved: The privileges and blessings that we have in community together in the Church of Jesus Christ are sacred and precious. There is in it such hallowed fellowship, care, and counsel as cannot otherwise be known apart from the family of God.

 There is the godly care of pastors, with the teachings of the Word and the inspiration of corporate worship. And there is cooperation in service, accomplishing that which cannot otherwise be done.

 [*Today we affirm again the doctrines and practices of the church.

 We believe in one God— Father, Son, and 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.

 *NOTE: The minister may use the Agreed Statement of Belief (Manual paragraph 20) as an alternative.]

 Today we affirm again the Agreed Statement of Belief of the Church of the Nazarene:

 We believe in [That there is] one God—the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.[;]

We believe that the Old and New Testament Scriptures, given by plenary inspiration, contain all truth necessary to faith and Christian living.[;]

We believe that human beings are born with a fallen nature, and are, therefore, inclined to evil, and that continually.[;]

We believe that the finally impenitent are hopelessly and eternally lost.[;]

We believe that the atonement through Jesus Christ is for the whole human race; and that whosoever repents and believes on the Lord Jesus Christ is justified and regenerated and saved from the dominion of sin.[;]

We believe that believers are to be sanctified wholly, subsequent to regeneration, through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.[;]

We believe that the Holy Spirit bears witness to the new birth, and also to the entire sanctification of believers.[;]

A[a]nd we believe that our Lord will return, the dead will be raised, and the final judgment will take place. (Manual paragraphs 20.1–20.8).

 Do you heartily believe these truths? If so, answer, “I do.”

 Do you acknowledge Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, and do you believe that He saves you now?

 Response: I do by faith. . . .

 

FOR THE FOLLOWING REASONS

1.       The Manual requires belief in the Agreed Statement of Belief for membership (cf., par. 20.)

2.      The first option in the current ritual does not reproduce the actual statements in the Agreed Statement of Belief.

3.      The second option, while reproducing the Agreed Statement of belief, does not allow for the prospective members and the congregation to actually affirm the statement in confessional or creedal form.

4.      The proposed changes allows the prospective members and the congregation to actively affirm the Agreed Statement of Faith during the ritual, and it provides a ready confession for use at other times.