When I was in college I attended Oklahoma City First Church of the Nazarene for my last two or three years in school. I played in the Sunday morning orchestra and attended Sunday evening and Wednesday night college services. It was a welcoming and friendly congregation. Their pastor at the time, Terry Toler, was an engaging speaker and gifted leader. Their current pastor, Jon Middendorf, was the youth pastor at the time. My experience at the church was very positive and OKC First has always held a special place in my heart for those brief but formative years in my life.
This past week I heard that OKC First is voting to leave the denomination of the Church of the Nazarene. At first I was shocked. Their pastor is the son of a Nazarene General Superintendent. OKC First has always been one of the great thriving Nazarene churches in the Nazarene stronghold of Oklahoma City. In the past 25 years or so my connection to the church has been one as an outside admirer from afar. I have occasionally heard about some of their initiatives on social media. I have seen that they had accepted a more inclusive, compassionate and progressive path in their approach to engaging with the world.
I always felt that OKC First would be one of the few Nazarene churches I would feel comfortable attending these days. So many of my former Nazarene brethren have cozied up too closely with the MAGA movement for my liking. Too many Nazarenes embraced Christian Nationalism in recent years. This movement to the extreme right has been happening slowly and steadily for the past several decades. But once Obama was elected many Nazarenes panicked and opened themselves up to harmful political ideologies that border on American Theocracy.
I don't know the details of what led to the split of OKC First and the Nazarenes. I can only make un-substantiated guesses. From the little I can see from social media, questions regarding LGBTQ inclusiveness may be at the center of the discussion. I'm sure there are many other issues as well. I know this congregation would not take such a step lightly. I'm sure it is very complicated.
I applaud them for standing up for the marginalized. But I also mourn for the denomination that was my home for most of my life. I was a fourth generation Nazarene. My father was a Nazarene pastor. I attended and met my wife at a Nazarene university. I hate to hear of such splits even if they may be necessary. I hate to hear of good people that I greatly admire losing their ministerial credentials without due process or on trumped up and misleading charges. It's a sad day. But also a hopeful day to see people of conscience stand on their beliefs.
