General Assembly Resolution: Ritual for The Administration of the Lord's Supper

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.

700 

The administration of the Lord’s Supper may be introduced by an appropriate sermon and the reading of 1 Corinthians 11:23–29; Luke 22:14–20, or some other suitable passage. Let the minister then give the following invitation:

The Communion Supper, instituted by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is a sacrament, which proclaims His life, His sufferings, His sacrificial death, and resurrection, and the hope of His coming again. It shows forth the Lord’s death until His return.

The Supper is a means of grace in which Christ is present by the Spirit. It is to be received in reverent appreciation and gratefulness for the work of Christ.

All those who are truly repentant, forsaking their sins, and believing in Christ for salvation are invited to participate in the death and resurrection of Christ. We come to the table that we may be renewed in life and salvation and be made one by the Spirit.

In unity with the Church, we confess our faith: Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again. And so we pray:

The minister may offer a prayer of confession and supplication, concluding with the following prayer of consecration:

Holy God,

We gather at this, your table, in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ, who by your Spirit was anointed to preach good news to the poor, proclaim release to the captives, set at liberty those who are oppressed. Christ healed the sick, fed the hungry, ate with sinners, and established the new covenant for forgiveness of sins. We live in the hope of His coming again.

On the night in which He was betrayed, He took bread, gave thanks, broke the bread, gave it to His disciples, and said: “This is my body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of me.”

Likewise, when the supper was over, He took the cup, gave thanks, gave it to His disciples, and said: “Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. Do this in remembrance of me.” [Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.]
(Matthew 26:27–29, Luke 22:19)

And so, we gather as the Body of Christ to offer ourselves to you in praise and thanksgiving. Pour out your Holy Spirit . . .

FOR THE FOLLOWING REASONS

1.       It makes no liturgical sense to say, “Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.” at this point.

2.      As is demonstrated in the very next line, the prayer is still going on.

3.      The words are awkward and are jarring when used at this point in the liturgy.

4.      No other known Communion liturgy places these words at this location.

General Assembly Resolution: Superintendency/Ordination

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.

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307.4.  Have discretionary power to ordain, or appoint other[s] elders (preferably another general superintendent, general superintendent emeriti or retired) to ordain, those who have been duly elected to be elders or deacons. (314.1, 320, 538.5-538.6) 

538.5  The candidate elected to the order of elder or order of deacon shall be ordained by the laying on of hands of the general superintendent and ordained [ministers] elders with appropriate religious exercises, under the direction of the presiding general superintendent. (307.4)

 

FOR THE FOLLOWING REASONS:

1.  We, along with Wesley and the larger Methodist tradition, have understood that “Bishops and Presbyters are the same order, and consequently have the same right to ordain” (Wesley’s Sept. 10, 1784 letter “To Dr. Coke, Mr. Asbury, and our Brethren in North-America”).  That is to say, the power to ordain is found within the order of elders.  There is not a separate “order of bishop” or “superintendent.”  Nevertheless, we, along with others in the larger Methodist tradition, have reserved the authority to ordain, within our denominations, to those elders who have been elected to the episcopal office/role of superintendent.  (Episkopos, which is usually translated “bishop,” is understood to mean “overseer,” or “superintendent,” which is the term that we and some other Wesleyan denominations use for the episcopal role.)

 2.  For the Church of the Nazarene, the episcopal aspect of our government is expressed through the general superintendency (cf., the “Foreword,” and par. 22.2, 306.f, 314.f, and 315.f).

 3.  It would be highly desirable that ordinations, if not being performed by the general superintendent in jurisdiction, be performed by another general superintendent (active, emeriti, or retired), in as much as they represent the whole church.

 4.  When the general superintendent in jurisdiction is not able to ordain, and when no other general superintendent is able to ordain, it would be highly desirable that one vested with the authority to oversee the district (i.e., the district superintendent) be the person appointed to ordain.

 5.  In no case should anyone other than an ordained elder be appointed to ordain, for the power to ordain is found within the order of elders. This is seen in 2 Timothy 1:6, which, referring to Timothy’s ordination, says, “For this reason I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of my hands;” (NRSV), and most especially in the parallel passage of 1 Timothy 4:14, which says, “Do not neglect the gift that is in you which was given to you through prophecy with the laying on of hands by the council of elders” (NRSV, emphasis mine). This is also why it has historically been the presbytery (i.e., elders, rather than deacons) who have joined the bishops (i.e., general superintendents) in the laying on of hands.

 6.  As the paragraph currently reads, it would be possible (even if unlikely) that a general superintendent could appoint someone outside of holy orders to ordain.  Such would be completely and wholly inconsistent with the historic Christian and Wesleyan and Nazarene understanding of ordination.

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.

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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.

General Assembly Resolution: Discipline of a Member of the Clergy

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.

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606.1. If a member of the clergy is accused of conduct unbecoming a minister or of teaching doctrines out of harmony with the [doctrinal statement] Articles of Faith, the Agreed Statement of Belief, The Covenant of Christian Character, or The Covenant of Christian Conduct of the Church of the Nazarene . . .

 FOR THE FOLLOING REASONS:

1.  It is unclear as to what constitutes the “doctrinal statements” of the Church of the Nazarene.

2.  Different districts have identified the “doctrinal statement” of the Church of the Nazarene in different ways so that one district may uphold a charge as being out of harmony with the doctrinal statement, while another district may dismiss the same charge, denying that it is a matter of doctrine.

3.  This resolution helps to take away the subjectivity of identifying what is and what is not a part of the “doctrinal statements.”

General Assembly Resolution: General Superintendent Footnote

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.

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G. The General Superintendents*

*(The general superintendents fulfill for us the episcopal office referred to as bishops in other Wesleyan/Methodist denominations)

FOR THE FOLLOWING REASONS:

1.  When Phineas Bresee used the term general superintendent, he understood that it was the Methodist term for bishop.  The term was used to describe the bishops of the Methodist Episcopal Church in their Discipline, and was used by Wesley for Coke and Asbury.  They understood the terms to be interchangeable. Nevertheless, this footnote would provide clarity when relating to other denominations.

2.  This footnote does not change our use of the term general superintendent.  However, it does provide a more biblical and traditional term that can help us understand our current term; a term which is often found in the corporate, rather than ecclesial world.  It may also reinforce the reality that the “general” in general superintendent is a geographical term relating to the scope of the superintendency, rather than a title of (military type) rank.

3.  This footnote changes nothing at all concerning the duties and powers of the general superintendents.

General Assembly Resolution: Deacons and Elders

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. 

515.4 Administer the sacraments of the Lord’s Supper and Baptism.  The Lord’s Supper should be administered at least once a quarter.  Pastors are encouraged to move toward a more frequent celebration of this means of grace.  A district licensed minister who has not complied fully with the provisions of paragraph 532.7 shall arrange for the administration of the sacrament by an ordained [minister] elder.  A local licensed minister shall not be eligible to administer the sacraments of baptism or the Lord’s Supper.  Consideration should be given for extending the Lord’s Supper to homebound persons, under supervision of the pastor. (531.7. 700)

 504.  The Church of the Nazarene recognizes the order of elder and the order of deacon [only one order of preaching ministry, that of elder].  It also recognizes that the member of the clergy may serve the church in various capacities.  (Ephesians 4:11-12)  . . .

 533.1.  [The deacon does not witness to a specific call to preach.]  The church recognizes, on the basis of Scripture and experience, that God calls some individuals to a lifetime ministry [who do not witness to such a specific call] of Word and Service, and believes that individuals so called to [such ministries] the ministry of a deacon should be recognized and confirmed by the church and should meet requirements, and be granted responsibilities, established by the church.  This is a permanent order of ministry.

 533.2.  The deacon must meet the requirements of the order for education, exhibit the appropriate gifts and graces, and be recognized and confirmed by the church.  The deacon shall be vested with the authority to administer the sacrament[s] of baptism [and the Lord’s Supper], to assist the elder in the distribution of the Lord’s Supper, [and] to officiate at marriages where the laws of the state do not prohibit, to conduct worship, and on occasion [to conduct worship and ]to preach.  It is understood that the Lord and the church may use this person’s gifts and graces in various associate ministries.  As a symbol of the servant ministry of the Body of Christ, the deacon may also use his or her gifts in roles outside the institutional church.  ([515.4,] 515.9)

 533.4.  If in the pursuance of his or her ministry, the ordained deacon feels called to the [preaching] ministry of elder, he or she may be ordained [elder] as such upon completion of the requirements for that credential and the return of the deacon credential.

 534.  An elder is a minister whose call of God to preach, gifts, and usefulness have been demonstrated and enhancGed by proper training and experience, and who has been separated for the ministry of Word and Table and to the service of Christ through His church by the vote of a district assembly and by the solemn act of ordination, and thus has been fully invested to perform all functions of the Christian ministry.

 534.1  [We recognize but one order of preaching ministry – that of elder.]  The order of elder [This] is a permanent order in the church.  The elder is to rule well in the church, to preach the Word, to administer the sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper, and to solemnize matrimony, all in the name of, and in subjection to, Jesus Christ, the great Head of the Church.  (31, 514-515.3, 515.4, 515.9, 538.15)

 FOR THE FOLLOWING REASONS:

1.  Throughout the history of the Church, from ancient times up to and including our own lineage of John Wesley’s Anglicanism and American Methodism, the distinction between the order of deacon and the order of elder has been: a.) the deacon is called to a ministry focused on service, and b.) the elder is vested with the authority to administer the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper.  This has been expressed as the ministry of “Word and Service,” on the one hand, and the ministry of “Word and Table,” on the other hand.

2.  This is this distinction that holds nearly universally in the larger Wesleyan/Methodist tradition (cf. the Disciplines of the African Methodist Episcopal, African Methodist Episcopal Zion, Christian Methodist Episcopal, and United Methodist churches). 

3.  This is the main distinction that seems to be held ecumenically, and is stated as such in the reports of the ecumenical dialogues between the World Methodist Council (of which the Church of the Nazarene is a member) and the Anglican Communion, and it is the main distinction that seems to be held in the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions, as well.

4.  Our current distinction between the two orders (viz., preaching), seems to have been assumed due to the statement in par. 534.1 that “We recognize but one order of preaching ministry – that of elder.”  -  However, making preaching the distinction between the two orders when we developed the order of deacon was an erroneous assumption.  The statement found in par. 534.1 was not intended to distinguish the order of elder from any other order.  Rather, that statement was meant to reinforce that we had only ONE order; that of elder.  We did not have TWO preaching orders (viz., elder and deacon), as did the Methodist Episcopal Church of the time.  We only had ONE preaching order (viz., elder).

5.  To identify the distinction between the elder and deacon as one of a call to preach, not only disregards the historic position of the larger Christian Church universal, but is very difficult to maintain when the deacon, according to par. 533.2, may also preach, and when we are a part of a tradition that involves lay preachers (cf. par. 503.1).

6.  The proposed changes will bring us much closer to alignment with the usage of the terms in Scripture, the distinctions throughout the history of the Christian Church, the ecumenical consensus, and our own Wesleyan heritage.

General Assembly Resolution: Ritual For Infant Baptism

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.

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702. Baptism of Infants or Young Children

When the sponsors shall have presented themselves with the child (or children) the minister shall say:                                                                     

             DEARLY BELOVED:  The sacrament of baptism is the sign and seal of the new covenant of grace.  [While we do not hold that baptism imparts the regenerating grace of God, we do believe that Christian baptism]  It is a means of grace and signifies [for this young child] the prevenient nature of God’s gracious acceptance of this young child within the community of Christian faith [on the basis of prevenient grace].  It anticipates his (her) personal confession of faith in Jesus Christ.

The Christian faith, into which you now bring this child to be baptized, is affirmed in the Apostles’ Creed, which we confess:

The minister leads the congregation in the affirmation of the confession of faith.

“We believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth;

“And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; He descended into hell; the third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from there He shall come to judge the living and the dead.

“We believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Church of Jesus Christ, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.”

Will you have your child baptized into this faith?

Response: I will.

 In presenting this child for baptism . . .

FOR THE FOLLOWING REASONS:

1.  The changes above bring this ritual of baptism into much closer alignment with the ritual for The Baptism of Believers as well as our Article of Faith which identifies baptism as a means of grace.  Since believers baptisms and infant baptisms are both Christian baptisms and since (per the creed) we believe “in one baptism,” they two rituals should reflect the same reality.

2.  While the changes above bring this ritual into much closer alignment with that of The Baptism of Believers, it marks a greater distinction between it and the ritual for The Dedication of Infants or Young Children.  Since those two acts are significantly different, it is fitting that the rituals be sufficiently distinct.

3.  While clarifying statements may be made parenthetically by the presiding clergy, good rituals do not state what we do not believe (especially as an opening statement in the ritual).  Rather, good rituals state what we do believe.  The above resolution allows us to make the baptism of infants and young children a positive, celebratory time, rather than presenting a sense of uncertainty or defensiveness, which the wording of the current ritual may produce.

4.  The above resolution is more consistent with Wesleyan sacramental theology and the teachings of John Wesley, which utilizes the Apostles’ Creed, and which speaks of the sacraments as means of God’s grace.  (It is not that baptism, itself, imparts any grace, but rather that God does impart grace through the means, by faith.)

5.  The above resolution provides clarity as to the prevenient nature of God’s gracious acceptance the child within the community of Christian faith signified in baptism.

6.  The above resolution is more closely in line with Article of Faith XII. Baptism, paragraph 12, in that it neither reduces our beliefs, nor imposes doctrinal positions not stated within the Article of Faith.  Thus, the above resolution provides a ritual that is readily usable for all who espouse belief in Article of Faith XII, whereas, the current ritual does not provide such an opportunity for those whose belief in Article of Faith XII is understood in a consistent fashion with John Wesley’s own beliefs concerning what happens in infant baptism.