Matt Mings on 
Brian Niece on The Legacy of Bresee
My tribe will celebrate its founding 100 years ago this October.
Now, I have several aversions to such a “celebration.” Why would we celebrate more schism within the Church? Are we celebrating an institution/organization or a movement of people? Do we even know what our roots are?
Based on my experience (only one of the four ways to live, I know) I don’t think a lot of us know what we will be celebrating.
Here are some quotes from the one we often consider our founder, Phineas F. Bresee:
”Let the Church of the Nazarene be true to its commission; not great and elegant buildings; but to feed the hungry and clothe the naked and wipe away the tears of sorrowing, and gather jewels for His diadem.”
“Our church is a missionary church. It knows no difference between home and foreign fields – in these days all fields are near.”
“We were convinced that houses of worship should be plain and cheap, to save from financial burdens, and that everything should say welcome to the poor…We went in poverty, to give ourselves – and what God might give us – determined to forego provision for the future and old age, in order to see the salvation of God while we were yet here…We would be glad to do much more, yet hundreds of dollars have gone to the poor, with loving ministry of every kind, and with it a way has been opened up to the hearts of men and women, that has been unutterable joy. The gospel comes to a multitude without money and without price, and the poorest of the poor are entitled to a front seat at the Church of the Nazarene.”
Let it sink in … Wait for it … Do you sense something of profound loss, or despair, or grief over what we are juxtaposed with these quotes?
I do. It’s why I’m changing. It’s why I want to give back to the institution that birthed me, formed me, trained me to think and minister in the ways of justice. Though that institution may not think I am in its mold … Take a reality check with Dr. Bresee and you’ll see: Nazarenes (and I am one) have some work to do.
SO TELL ME SOMETHING:
How’s this working for ya?
——
Brian Niece
www.brianniece.com
If you enjoyed this post, get free updates by email or RSS.
Related Posts:
Category: Christianity, Justice, Mission, Sacramental Living, Serving Others, The Church | Tags: church_of_the_nazarene, missionary_church, phineas_bresee 5 comments »
September 10th, 2008 at 4:22 pm
Dude- I too pastor a unique Nazarene church. Probably not as contemplative as yours, but unique in its own right. I struggle with what to do this October as all the churches celebrate being “Nazarene”, but I love the quotes you used from Bresee.
We may work off of those in terms of a celebration/call to the return of our roots.
September 15th, 2008 at 7:20 am
Brian- Thank you for your thoughts.
I was struck by one of the last sentences of the Bresee quotes- The poorest of the poor are entilted to the front seats ar the church of the Nazarene.
I am thankful that the poorest of poor do have the front at my church. Those recovering from drug addiction, one week out of jail- they arrive from half way houses , get a cup of coffee and take their place on the front row, sitting in front of Naz general supt’s , retired pastors and phd rel profs…at some churches IT IS working.
Thank you for your insights they are very helpful to me.
Rick
September 18th, 2008 at 9:13 pm
[...] friend who I am working on a project with sent me a Brezee quote in response to one of my recent posts. It’s golden: “As a result much effort is being made to elegantly house the gathering [...]
September 26th, 2008 at 9:47 pm
[...] In just over a week, I’ll be joining with friends to celebrate the founding of my tribe. I previously mentioned this. [...]
April 25th, 2010 at 11:20 pm
Hi guys, I thought I’d had a few thoughts on the “first row” comments you’ve placed.
I’m not sure if you realize that in the history of the Nazarene church, the “rich” actually paid for their place in the church; and by this I mean people actually purchased a pew or chair to “claim” their Sunday morning place in the church. Contrary to most churches in American today, where people like to sit in the back, it was the front chairs that were purchased first.
Thus, when Dr. Bresee said, even the poor are welcome in the front, this is what he was referring to.