Church Of The Nazarene

An appreciation for the spiritual value of the Christian year is emerging in the Church of the Nazarene, despite a history of general antipathy toward it typical of Holiness groups. Many local pastors, with the encouragement and aid of denominational resources, are rediscovering the traditional observances as a means of building up the congregation in the essentials of the faith. For decades the Christian year was ignored or deemed ritualistic by many pastors in the Church of the Nazarene. Christmas, Palm Sunday, Easter and Pentecost were often given recognition in worship, but the view that the use of the Christian year symbolized formality and destroyed the freedom of the Spirit was widespread. If one subscribed to the use of the Christian calendar, it was done quietly within one's own parish. Context for Preaching Christ In a random survey of a cross section of Nazarene pastors conducted for a doctor of ministry project, I discovered that 20 percent gave no place to the Christi…