The Church of the Nazarene is a “Wesleyan-holiness” church. By this designation, we affirm that the theology of John Wesley undergirds and informs both our theological conclusions and our theological method. While Wesley should be seen as a mentor, not “guru” (as once expressed by Mildred Bangs Wynkoop), it is crucial to our denominational identity that we teach, preach, and minister as Wesleyans. “Wesleyan-holiness” also designates that we put holiness as the hermeneutic for interpreting Wesley’s life and thought, and recognize that the holiness movement of the 19th century—out of which the Church of the Nazarene was formed—was an attempt to remain faithful to Wesley’s emphasis on the “way of salvation.” Wesley defined salvation as more than a moment in time: it includes the lifelong process of inward and outward holiness, as well as the paramount experiences of new birth and sanctification.
Our understanding of holiness should never be divorced from Wesley’s theology more broadly defined. This is crucial as we move into the 21st century, when a fundamentalist absolutism on the one hand or religious relativism on the other seem to be the only options. “Holiness of heart and life” is important to every generation. It is extremely important that those preparing for ordained ministry in the Church of the Nazarene catch, hold, and utilize the dynamism of the Wesleyan theological paradigm. This course is designed with the future denominational identity of Nazarenes firmly in mind.
To understand Wesley’s theology, two major influences must be acknowledged: Wesley’s life story and Wesley’s theological sources. The course will examine the life of Wesley in historical context—Britain in the 18th century. It will also examine Wesley’s dependence upon and creative appropriation of certain theological traditions. Wesley was greatly influenced by the Early Church (primarily Ante-Nicene and Eastern sources), by Catholic mysticism (of the middle ages), by the Protestant Reformation (James Arminius’ reaction to it and the Moravian appropriation of it), and by Anglicanism (that followed the Elizabethan Settlement).
To understand Wesley’s theological conclusions, it is vital to understand Wesley’s theological methodology. The Wesleyan quadrilateral (as it has been termed) holds to the primacy of Scripture. Indeed Wesley was a “man of one book.” And yet, Wesley believed that the Scriptures should be interpreted dynamically:
The end goal of the quadrilateral method not only is theological/doctrinal in nature but also informs directly spiritual formation—a fact that again places a response to grace at the very center of Wesley’s entire “system.” The methodology of Wesley as well as his dogma informs a Wesleyan worldview today. This worldview interprets life, ministry, and relationships through a distinctly Wesleyan lens. This lens will be contrasted to other views and other traditions, most specifically the Calvinist paradigm.
The course will address each systematic category in turn, noting both Wesley’s fidelity to tradition and his own constructive, creative thought. Special emphasis will be given to soteriological themes that have practical implications. For example, a theology of worship will lead to the question, “How do Wesleyans worship?” The doctrine of theological anthropology leads to the question, “How do we treat persons in light of the concepts of the image of God and prevenient grace?” The student will be able to display both knowledge of the content of this course, as well as personal and professional skills that arise out of the theology and spiritual formation in the Wesleyan tradition. Wesleyanism’s “warm heart” is the heart of Nazarene ministry, making this course crucial to theological education of the ministers of the Church of the Nazarene, and thus crucial to the denomination as a whole.
This module contributes to the development of the following abilities as defined in the U.S. Sourcebook for Ministerial Development.
CN20—Ability to reflect theologically on life and ministry
CN21—Ability to demonstrate understanding of the sources of theological reflection, its historical development, and its contemporary expressions
CN22—Ability to articulate the distinctive characteristics of Wesleyan theology
CN23—Ability to identify and explain the doctrine of holiness from a Wesleyan perspective
CN25—Ability to identify and describe the significance of the major figures, themes, and events of the Patristic, Medieval, Reformation, Puritan, Pietist, Wesleyan, and Modern periods of Church history
CN26—Ability to describe how the church implemented its mission in the various periods of Church history
CP10—Ability to synthesize, analyze, reason logically for discernment, assessment, and problem solving, and live with ambiguity