Chapter 16: every tradition · Christianity

Church of the Nazarene

A congregation of the Church of the Nazarene, a Wesleyan-Holiness church whose central teaching is entire sanctification, a second work of grace after conversion. Worship centres on preaching and closes with an invitation to the altar, the kneeling rail across the front, where people seek salvation and entire sanctification; it is not Pentecostal, and doesn't seek tongues, though it affirms divine healing alongside medicine. The Lord's Supper, in which Christ is present by the Spirit, uses unfermented wine only, is open to all who have faith in Christ, and is kept at least quarterly, often kneeling at the rail. Believers are baptized by sprinkling, pouring, or immersion as they choose, and young children may be baptized at their parents' request, though many families dedicate them instead. The church board nominates a pastor with the district superintendent's approval and the members call by a two-thirds ballot; new, small, or subsidised churches have their pastors appointed. The church holds its property in its own name but may not divert it from the denomination. Churches give 5.5% of their income to the World Evangelism Fund, with district, education, and pension apportionments. Members abstain from alcohol and tobacco and refuse gambling, and women have been ordained since 1908.

All 80 traditions · its profile in Faiths and traditions, with how to play it; How people feel, what every factor is.

At a glance

Faith	Christianity
Its words	church, church, sanctuary; the pastor leads the service; the sermon; Sunday; the Bible
Worship	word focus, reserved, low formality (0.33 of 1); seated on pews
Music	piano expected; chant discouraged
The room's sound	no strong preference
Its year	western; major observance; fasts none
Leans	conservative on moral questions, neutral on economic ones
Polity	presbyterian; leaders come by call; property trust
Leaders	one leader, full time, trained by course of study; marriage any
Belonging	moderate commitment, pastoral discipline, admitted by clergy
Giving	tithing expected; collected by plate, online; also rentals
Way of life	alcohol abstinence, dress casual, sabbath relaxed

The week's services

Day	Time	Service	Led by	People look for it
Sunday	10:45 am	Preaching service	the pastor	expected
Wednesday	7:00 pm	Prayer meeting and Bible study	the pastor	optional

Leader: a pastor. With none (a vacancy, or no one hired), the services are still held, but each costs everyone at it 0.10; on sabbatical a supply pastor stands in ($800 a month) for a little less.
Communion (quarterly), served at a rail: it needs an altar, communion table, rail, or communion station with clear floor in front of it, or communion can't be given that week. People receive from age 7; anyone younger who comes forward is blessed instead.
Baptism: needs a baptistry or an immersion font, built and installed; until there is one, those wanting baptism wait.

Rites

Child Dedication (per birth, +0.02 to those there): Parents bring their baby to the front, promise to raise the child in the faith, and the pastor prays a blessing over the family while the congregation promises to support them.
Right Hand of Fellowship (per joining, +0.015 to those there): New members are welcomed at the front, and the pastor and deacons, and often the whole congregation, give them the right hand of fellowship.
Anointing of the Sick (on request, +0.02 to those there, asked for 0.03 times a year by a household, 20 minutes): A priest or the elders pray over someone who is seriously ill, lay hands on them, and anoint them with oil, following James 5. It is usually done at home or in the hospital, sometimes at a communal service.
Revival (yearly, +0.03 to those there): A week of nightly meetings with a guest evangelist, rousing music and an invitation every night, held to renew the church and win new converts.
Camp Meeting (yearly, +0.03 to those there): Families from churches across the district gather for days of preaching, singing and prayer at a campground, with altar services each night.
Missions Convention (yearly, +0.02 to those there): Missionaries visit to tell of their work, and members make faith promises of what they will give to missions in the coming year.
Testimony Meeting (monthly, +0.02 to those there): A meeting with no set speakers: after hymns and readings, members rise to share how God has helped or healed them. Christian Scientists hold one on Wednesday evenings; Latter-day Saints bear testimony on fast Sunday.

Baptism, confirmation, and joining

Baptized elsewhere: it recognizes any baptism in the name of the Trinity. Someone so baptized is received at a service after about 4 weeks (a week from another of its churches).
Not baptized (or baptized where it doesn't recognize it): a candidate who prepares for 1 months (only months its class can meet count), then is baptized and received at the same service. They may join first and be baptized after.
Joining age: 12.
The church's children are baptized as believers at about 12, most within a year or two of it.
Kinds of belonging: members (votes, may hold office); received by the pastor.
What it means: being baptized, confirmed, or received is worth +0.1 to the person, +0.05 to family there, and +0.03 to everyone else at the service. It roots them: a rooted household drifts away only 0.6 times as often, and if it does fall away, it has a 25% chance of coming home each Christmas Eve and Easter for ten years.

Giving, and what goes up

How its people give and what else comes in, as Money explains it for every faith.

How it's given: the offering, by a plate passed at each main service, and giving online. A visiting household puts $5 to $25 in the plate. Those who give online give whether or not they come (8% more a month).
Tithing is expected: people give 15% more.
Renting space: its congregations are known for it, so tenants pay 15% more.
Fundraisers: only the modest ones (below).
Owed above: World Evangelism Fund, 5.5% of what it takes in, to the General Church; not kept, it costs the wider body's regard.
Owed above: District ministries, 5% of what it takes in, to the District; not kept, it costs the wider body's regard.
Owed above: Education, 2.25% of what it takes in, to the Region; not kept, it costs the wider body's regard.
Owed above: Pensions and Benefits, 2.25% of what it takes in, to the General Church; not kept, it costs the wider body's regard.

The pastor, the staff, and who decides

How the pastor comes: advertised and called: the members vote (two thirds needed), consulting the church board, then the District must consent.
Paid: full time; housed or given an allowance, as you set.
Candidates: three apply; trained by a course of study (less skilled; they ask 90%); women among them (about a third); most married; about one married candidate in seven comes as a couple, caring for 75 more.
Tenure: reviewed by the wider body each July.
Ranks: Licensed minister, Ordained elder; a candidate holds one by skill, and rises with the years.
Staff it can hire or name (see Staff and volunteers):
- Bivocational pastor ($22,000–$38,000; cares for 75)
- Pastor ($55,000–$85,000 + $18,000 benefits, full time; cares for 150)
- Associate pastor ($42,000–$62,000 + $15,000 benefits, full time; cares for 100 more)
- Choir director / organist / pianist ($15,000–$35,000; leads the music (up to +0.06))
- Caretaker ($18,000–$30,000; slows the building's wear)
- Church secretary ($20,000–$35,000; runs the office (+50 to the leader's reach, once))
- Youth director ($20,000–$40,000; up to +0.08 for households with young people)
Its boards: the church board (deciding, over everything); the Evangelism and Church Membership Committee (advising, over calls and the spiritual life).
Renovations: The church board votes.
New construction: The members vote, then the District must consent.
Calling a leader: The members vote (two thirds needed), consulting the church board, then the District must consent.
Who votes: members, 16 and over.

Life together

What its Community screen offers it, with the dilemmas only its own faith or family meets; see The congregation in its community.

Ministries of its own: Choir.
Ministries every tradition can run that it's offered: Blood drive, Food pantry, Health clinic, Preschool, Youth group.
Fundraisers of its own: Soup supper.
Shared fundraisers it may hold (only the modest ones): Bake sale, Car wash, Rummage sale.
Tenants it can take: A Masonic lodge, A scout troop, Another congregation, Dance classes, Parties and receptions, Polling place and forums.
Auxiliaries: Nazarene Missions International, Nazarene Youth International.
Outreach: invitation Sunday, a revival, planting a new church (Community → Evangelism).
Places beyond the congregation: the district campground.
Dilemmas of its own faith (besides those every congregation meets): A petition for cushions, The bells, again.
Dilemmas its code of life brings: A candidates' forum, A Masonic funeral, A raffle for the roof, A recruiter asks for the hall, Champagne at the reception.

What the building needs

required BaptistryBeliever's baptism by immersion needs a baptistry: a tank large enough for an adult, with plumbing to fill and drain it.
required Communion railCommunicants receive at a rail, kneeling or standing.
required Communion tableThe Lord's Supper is served from a communion table, recalling the table of the Last Supper.
required PulpitPreaching is the center of worship, so the pulpit stands at the center of the platform.
expected Communion traysThe bread and cup are carried to the pews in trays and passed along the rows.
expected Mercy seatEvery service ends with an invitation to come forward and kneel at the mercy seat, the mourner's bench, or the altar rail.
expected Upright pianoThe congregation expects singing led from a piano.
discouraged CrucifixThis tradition uses an empty cross, proclaiming the risen Christ, rather than a crucifix.
discouraged Flaming chaliceThe flaming chalice is another tradition's symbol.
discouraged IconIcons are not part of this tradition's worship.
discouraged StatueStatues are not part of this tradition's worship space.

What people here feel

Architectural style: Colonial brick +0.052; Modern synagogue +0.034; Gurdwara +0.028; Japanese temple +0.016; Islamic +0.01; Shinto shrine +0.01; Chinese temple +0.004; Dravidian temple -0.002; Nagara temple -0.002; Thai temple -0.002; Jain marble -0.008; Gothic -0.014.
Building fit: up to ±0.15 for everyone, the average fit of the characterful items in its worship rooms (the table below).
Acoustics: it wants a room between ringing and dry, about 2.2 seconds of reverberation: neither bare stone nor a carpeted low room. Up to ±0.05.
Seasonal decor: it keeps the church year: paraments and the season's decor are worth up to ±0.013.
The sermon lands by its topic and the tradition's leaning (below); the pastor's preaching adds or costs up to 0.08 more.
Communion: each communion service runs longer; a slow one costs 0.05 for every 10 minutes the service runs over (0.2 at most).

How each sermon lands

The topics its leader can choose from (some are only for one faith or family), and what each is worth.

Fire & Brimstone+0.08
Marriage as God Designed+0.06
Sanctity of Life+0.06
The Last Days+0.06
Faith & Family+0.04
Faith of Our Fathers+0.04
Obedience & Discipline+0.04
Personal Holiness+0.04
Resisting Temptation+0.04
Spiritual Warfare+0.04
The Authority of Scripture+0.04
The Great Commission+0.04
Biblical Stories+0.015
Blessed Are the Peacemakers+0.015
Called by Name+0.015
Doubt & Faith+0.015
Eternal Life & Resurrection+0.015
Grace & Forgiveness+0.015
Gratitude+0.015
Hope & Comfort+0.015
Joy in All Things+0.015
Love One Another+0.015
Sabbath Rest+0.015
Saints & Witnesses+0.015
Servant Leadership+0.015
Songs of the Psalms+0.015
Stewardship & Generosity+0.015
The Church Year+0.015
The Life of Prayer+0.015
The Parables of Jesus+0.015
Care for Creation-0.02
Healing for All-0.02
Wealth & Poverty-0.02
Welcome the Stranger-0.02
Social Justice Call-0.03
Interfaith Understanding-0.05
Reading Scripture in Context-0.05
Swords into Ploughshares-0.05
The Prophets' Call-0.05
Women Who Led-0.05
Racial Justice & Reconciliation-0.075
Radical Inclusion-0.075

Every item, for this tradition

Fit runs from −1 (jars) to +1 (just right); the building fit is the average over the characterful items in the worship rooms. An item with no character (a table, a toilet) has no fit. A rule applies wherever the item is.

Item	Fit	Rule
Seating
Box pew	-0.333
Choir stalls	-0.167
Meeting bench	no fit
Oak pew	no fit
Row of chairs	+0.333
Liturgical furniture
Altar	-0.333
Baptismal font	-0.333
Baptistry	no fit	required Believer's baptism by immersion needs a baptistry: a tank large enough for an adult, with plumbing to fill and drain it.
Bishop's chair	-0.333
Brass eagle lectern	-0.333
Columbarium niches	-0.333
Communion rail	-0.333	required Communicants receive at a rail, kneeling or standing.
Communion station	no fit
Communion table	no fit	required The Lord's Supper is served from a communion table, recalling the table of the Last Supper.
Communion trays	no fit	expected The bread and cup are carried to the pews in trays and passed along the rows.
Confessional screen	no fit
Coptic cross	0
Epitaphios	-1
Flaming chalice	-1	discouraged The flaming chalice is another tradition's symbol.
Foot-washing basins	no fit
Haikal screen	-1
Iconostasis	-1
Immersion font	-0.333
Lectern	no fit
Litany desk	-0.333
Mercy seat	no fit	expected Every service ends with an invitation to come forward and kneel at the mercy seat, the mourner's bench, or the altar rail.
Octagonal stone font	-0.333
Paraments	no fit
Pulpit	no fit	required Preaching is the center of worship, so the pulpit stands at the center of the platform.
Readers' desks	no fit
Rood screen	-1
Sanctuary lamp	-0.333
Tabernacle	-0.333
Three-bar cross	0
Thurible and stand	no fit
Music
Brass band stands	0
Chanter's stand	-0.667
Drum kit	+0.167
Electronic organ	0
Grand piano	+1
Hammond organ	0
Handbell table	0
Pipe organ	-0.167
Sound system	+0.167
Upright piano	+1	expected The congregation expects singing led from a piano.
Decor
Advent wreath	no fit
Banner	0
Christmas Eve candles	no fit
Cross	0
Crucifix	-1	discouraged This tradition uses an empty cross, proclaiming the risen Christ, rather than a crucifix.
Easter lilies	no fit
Eternal flame	no fit
Flag of the church	0
Great dome	-0.333
Icon	-1	discouraged Icons are not part of this tradition's worship.
Memorial plaque	no fit
National flag	0
Painting of Christ	0
Paschal candle	no fit
Plain spire	no fit
Small dome	no fit
Stained glass window	-0.333
Statue	-1	discouraged Statues are not part of this tradition's worship space.
Steeple and bells	-0.333
Votive candle stand	no fit
Furnishings
Alms box	no fit
Coffee pot	no fit
Commercial coffee pot	no fit
Computer	no fit
Crib	no fit
Desk	no fit
Desk chair	no fit
Folding table	no fit
Full-length mirror	no fit
Pillar	-0.333
Prie-dieu	-0.333
Projection screen	+0.333
Vestment cabinet	-0.333
Wooden table	no fit
Utility
A/V rack	no fit
Camera	no fit
Cast-iron boiler	no fit
Central air conditioner	no fit
Commercial HVAC plant	no fit
Commercial stove	no fit
Congregation van	no fit
Ductless heat pump	no fit
Electric wall heater	no fit
Gas furnace	no fit
Hearing loop	no fit
Lift	no fit
Packaged heat pump	no fit
Plumbing stack	no fit
Ramp	no fit
Shuttle bus	no fit
Sink	no fit
Solar panels	no fit
Stairs	no fit
Toilet	no fit
Used school bus	no fit
Wall camera	no fit
Window air conditioner	no fit
Grounds
Evergreen tree	no fit
Flower bed	no fit
Fountain	no fit
Garden bench	no fit
Hedge	no fit
Lychgate	-0.333
Playground	no fit
Shade tree	no fit
Standing cross	no fit

Variants

Chosen when you found the church:

Contemporary: its own formality; its own music

Sources

Manual of the Church of the Nazarene 2023 (effective 26 January 2024) (link)
Church of the Nazarene: Articles of Faith (link)
Holiness Today: Q&A: Infant Baptism (link)
Nazarene Stewardship: Stewardship Recognition (link)
Church of the Nazarene: Women Clergy (link)
Manual 2013: Property title, and Pastoral relations (link)