An address by former general superintendent John A. Knight

One of the more fascinating and frustrating phenomena in our time is that there are so many persons who claim to be born again but who will not identify with any recognized historical branch of Christendom—such as Episcopal, Congregational, Methodist, Presbyterian, Baptist, Disciples of Christ, or Church of the Nazarene. Some of these will have nothing to do with a local Christian fellowship. Others are content to be nondenominational or interdenominational. Many will not accept the creedal, ethical, or financial demands of a distinctive broader communion.

Such persons may be thought of as generic Christians. Generic drugs are available and are popular now primarily because they are less expensive than named pharmaceuticals. They do not bear the label of a distinctive brand, and some do not carry the same guarantees.

Could it be that some believers have come to prefer generic Christianity because it is not so costly? When people become attached to an impersonal television ministry, for example, they are not required to attend services on Sunday morning or evening, or a weeknight, or during revival. No one expects them to tithe. Further, no one needs to know about their personal faith so that religious commitment can degenerate into a private or subjective affair, making one a closet Christian (a concept foreign to the New Testament and Wesleyan faith).

I'm not passing judgment on television ministries or nondenominational enterprises, nor on those who participate in them. I'm raising the question of who we are as Nazarenes, and of motivation, which must be primary for all who name the name of Christ. Why do we do what we do? Is it to spare ourselves of total commitment and involvement in the common life of the church?

I read of a congregation that was trying hard to be seeker-sensitive and adaptable. It advertised itself as "The Lite Church" and promised: 29 percent fewer commitments, home of the 6 percent tithe, 15 minute sermons, 40 minute worship services, eight commandments (your choice), and an 800 year millennium. Its slogan was "everything you've wanted in a church—and less!"

This seeming disenchantment with the church's expectations or its structures sometimes postures itself under the guise of broad-mindedness or ecumenical concerns. Increasingly, we hear that our assignment is not to make Nazarenes but to win persons to Christ. There is partial truth in the claim, but it is an unbalanced assertion. Those who make it may be applauded for seeking to avoid sectarianism and escape mere institutionalism. But it overlooks the incarnational element of our faith. When Jesus came to earth, He became a part of a particular nation and people—Israel—while at the same time proclaiming a universal gospel (i.e., for all peoples everywhere).

The Jesus people of the 1960s became a strong, but fleeting, voice in society. While some of their causes have influenced the thought processes and perspectives of succeeding cultures and decades, as a unit or as a united force they are no longer a significant power in America at the close of the century and the beginning of the new millennium. Why is this true? It is true primarily because they would have virtually nothing to do with the institutional or organized or historic Church of Jesus Christ! Consequently their group has dissipated, their voice has been silenced, and their influence minimized. One of the Early Church fathers said, "No man can have God for his Father who will not have the Church for his mother."

In the last two or three decades we have been learning that roots are important. They provide security, a support group, a network of fellowship, a living tradition, a sense of belonging. We are becoming increasingly aware that these are desperate individual and corporate needs of our pluralistic society. These benefits can and must be maintained for the church without succumbing to individualism, subjectivism, sectarianism, exclusivism, legalism, pharisaism—or any form of spiritual narrowness or ecclesiastical bureaucracy.

It isn't necessary to become a generic Christian in order to overcome the aberrations of denominational loyalty. Admittedly one's heritage can be exalted inordinately, leading to unattractiveness or alienation. But one's heritage can also be appreciated and appropriated in ways that provide rich meaning, healthy self-identity, fulfilling joy, and radiant beauty.

Our divinely given task as disciples and as Nazarenes is to win men and women, boys and girls to Christ. True! But in order to pass on the enduring values of our heritage to future generations, to guarantee a bridge to our tomorrows in the new millennium, our assignment is not completed until we make Nazarenes of these new Christians. It may be more costly and may require more time than generic discipleship requires, but the rewards are worth it.

This is not a plea for narrow provincialism, nor a call to preserve a mere institution, not even the Church of the Nazarene. But "everybody has to be somewhere." Every believer has to stand on some place and for something. Every Christian needs an identifying label that is more than generic. The label "Nazarene," which includes those fundamentals we hold as basic and essential, I do not find confining or detrimental to growth, but fulfilling and satisfying in service to God and others.

The importance of discipling Nazarenes and developing them into churchmen and churchwomen must be viewed in light of the numerical growth of the church during the last two decades. Thousands of new Nazarenes join our fellowship annually--more than 71,000 in 1989; more than 86,000 in 1991; more than 109,000 in 1992; more than 105,000 in 1996; and more than 90,000 in 1998. During the last two quadrennial (1989-93 and 1993-97) almost 700,000 came into the church. We currently have between 1.3 and 1.4 million members, and a number equivalent to approximately 60 percent of our membership worldwide has come into the church in the decade from 1985 to 1995. The church has experienced 52 percent net growth in membership in the last 10 years. These new Christians and new Nazarenes must be instructed and discipled.

In order to maintain an enduring self-identity that contributes to strength and progress, conserve the fruit of our labors, consolidate our gains, solidify and equip our human resources, it is imperative that we understand something of the content and spirit of our Nazarene heritage at this pivotal point in our history. The strengths of our past must be known and appreciated before the challenges of our future can be identified and encountered.

We do not claim to be the sole proclaimers of the gospel, nor to have the inside track into the kingdom of Christ. We do believe, however, that God has deposited with the people called Nazarenes a special message and spirit that must be carried on if we are to fulfill our mission and be effective laborers in Christ's great vineyard. We are part of the people of God, and the responsibility for our portion of the kingdom will not be fulfilled unless we with God's empowerment fulfill it.

The last century of the second millennium since Christ has faded into the sunset of history. The first century of the third millennium has arrived in its dawning glory. During our lifetimes the most formidable and breathtaking changes in human history have taken place. Historians, futurists, philosophers, popular writers, scientists, analysts of all kinds including ministers have cited these changes and suggested possible implications for our personal and corporate lives in the new millennium.

Only at our greatest possible peril can we take lightly or overlook our responsibility for ministry as we cross over into a new and exciting era of history. Real people who are God's creatures must be loved with the love of Christ, brought into a proper relationship with Him, instructed in the way of Christian holiness for society's sake, and equipped for service to God and humankind. Our attitude must be no less than that of "The Bridge Builder" described by Will Allen Dromgoole:


    An old man traveling a lonely way,
    Came at evening cold and gray,
    To a chasm vast and deep and wide,
    Through which was flowing a sullen tide.
    The old man crossed in the twilight dim;
    The sullen stream held no fears for him;
    But he turned when safe on the other side,
    And built a bridge to span the tide.
    "Old man," cried a fellow pilgrim near,
    "You're wasting your time in building here.
    Your journey will end with the closing day;
    You never again will pass this way.
    You've crossed the chasm deep and wide,
    Why build this bridge at eventide?"
    The builder lifted his old gray head:
    "Good friend, in the path I've come," he said,
    "There followeth after me today
    A youth whose feet must pass this way.
    This stream which has been as naught to me,
    To that fair-haired youth may a pitfall be;
    He, too, must cross in the twilight dim—
    Good friend, I'm building this bridge for him!"

Bridges must have sufficient support in order to carry traffic safely, or bear heavy loads, or overcome separation, or make distant points accessible. What are the trusses necessary to support the bridge to our tomorrows? What are the primary elements that have made the Church of the Nazarene great and will prolong her fruitfulness? Of course, we assume the blessing and Lordship of Christ, who is the great Head of the Church. It is the anointing of the Holy Spirit that will make the church effective into the new millennium. Assuming these and perhaps other spiritual qualities, what must continue in order for us to carry out our noble mission of "spreading scriptural holiness over these lands" and around the world? What are those aspects of our heritage that are fundamental, foundational, or basic to Nazarenes? Keep in mind that even the fundamentals will be packaged differently in the 21st century—which some analysts claim began to appear about 30 years ago!

The solidarity and effectiveness of any church or movement is determined largely by its traditions. The apostle Paul saw the need for stability, perpetuity, and tradition. He spoke of it specifically and fervently on several occasions. To the church that caused him the greatest trouble, and seemed to be always on the verge of leaving the central core of the gospel for secondary and minor issues, he wrote: "Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; by which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered [passed on, NIV] unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures" (1 Cor. 15:1-4).

In this classic passage Paul alludes to three key ideas that are pertinent for our purposes.

* He admonishes the Corinthians to "keep in memory" (v. 2) what he has preached to them previously. He is obviously referring to a certain core, or content, of teaching and spirit that is to be retained or conserved. Clearly, the reference is to heritage, or to a living tradition.

* He observes, "I delivered unto you . . . that which I also received" (v. 3). He had been the recipient of a glorious treasure, not something that he had devised independently by himself, not something that he had merited or deserved. Rather, he had been overcome by the grace of God and apprehended by the Spirit of Christ. He had received something that he could not keep to himself but was compelled to "pass . . . on" or transmit to others. This heritage he had received was like the manna given to the Israelites, if it were hoarded or stored up or stockpiled, it became stale, tasteless, and useless. It was not a quantity to preserve in a glass case and charge admission for all to see.

* Paul adds, "I delivered unto you first of all" (v. 3). No doubt many things were handed down to Paul, but they were not equally important. For him, there were priorities in keeping alive his heritage. All his priorities in evaluating his heritage centered around Christ, the focal point of the gospel.

The personal heritage that each of us has received in the Church of the Nazarene and in the Wesleyan-Holiness Movement may vary to some extent depending upon our background, our culture, our training. But not all the elements are equally important, nor even universally meaningful. There are, however, some priorities that are central to our Nazarene heritage and to Nazarenes as a corporate body. It is these we are responsible for transmitting to our children and to our children's children. It is a fact of observation that tradition can become dead, cold, sterile, lifeless, and unattractive. This occurs in the church when doctrine becomes little more than formula, possibly to be memorized or recited by rote; or the practices are maintained only for their own sake and not for some nobler end; or the worship becomes impersonal instead of a vital connection to a holy God; or the medium usurps the supreme place of the message.

This metamorphosis generally takes place imperceptibly to the unobservant or uninstructed. One church historian has noted, "Beliefs seldom become doubts, they become ritual." That is, they become meaningless. But our beliefs need not become meaningless ritual. They can be kept alive and vibrant by the continuing refreshing of Christ's Spirit, so that His people can drink deeply from the reservoir of their heritage while at the same time replenishing it.

In the second century the Montanists were declared heretics by the church, not primarily because of what they taught, but because of their mood and spirit. They were not unorthodox doctrinally; but they were dogmatic, harsh, judgmental, and abrasive, and also given to emotionalism, sentimentality, and faddish practices. Their emphases became imbalanced. This development from church history should remind us that there is a proper mood and spirit as well as correct teaching in our Nazarene heritage. That is, our heritage has a doctrinal content that can be taught; it also has a perspective, a spirit that can only be caught.

What is that living heritage for which we have responsibility to share with new Nazarenes, present Nazarenes, and future generations of Nazarenes? No doubt there are significant aspects of our heritage that will not be included here. Our primary purpose, however, is to identify the key elements of our heritage in the hope that all of us who have been enriched and tutored by it will seek to pass it on.

This text was taken from Bridge to Our Tomorrows: A Millennial Address to the Church of the Nazarene, which was given at the 2000 Millennial Conference in Kansas City, MO. A complete copy of this text can by ordered by calling Nazarene Publishing House at (800) 877-0700, or visiting the NPH website. The cost of the 59-page booklet is $5.99.