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WHDL - 00020517

Substantialist and relational understandings of entire sanctification among Church of the Nazarene clergy

Bill Kirkemo

Resource Types

Academic (Thesis, Dissertation, Etc.)

Resource Languages

English

Institutional Repository

WHDL

Description / Abstract

ABSTRACT: SUBSTANTIALIST AND RELATIONAL UNDERSTANDINGS OF ENTIRE SANCTIFICATION AMONG CHURCH OF THE NAZARENE CLERGY by William M. Kirkemo

I undertook this project to determine if the Church of the Nazarene is experiencing a theological identity crisis. As it approaches its centennial, voices within the denomination charge that its preachers are not preaching its core doctrine. Further, voices charge that many of its preachers do not believe its core doctrine. If those charges are true, then the Church of the Nazarene is abandoning its God-called purpose, foundation, and mission. The outlook for the second centennial of such a denomination would be very bleak indeed.

The purpose of this study was to determine the understandings of entire sanctification among the clergy of the Church of the Nazarene, the extent to which the entire sanctification affected their practice of ministry, and what intervening variables might account for difference in theologies of entire sanctification among the clergy. In order to accomplish these goals, a Holiness/Relational Index was created to measure the understandings of entire sanctification and to establish a baseline from which correlations between theologies and the practice of ministry could be measured.

The study found Nazarene pastors in general have a conjunctive understanding of entire sanctification, represented by a bell-curve shaped Holiness/Relational Index distribution. The study also determined that a correlation exists between a pastor’s score on the Holiness/Relational Index and the extent to which he/she reported entire sanctification affected his/her practice of ministry. While pastors of all theological understandings reported entire sanctification affects their ministry, pastors who favor a Wesleyan/Holiness understanding of entire sanctification reported a higher impact. Church size and age were determined to be intervening variables.

The findings of this study demonstrate a strong commitment to the doctrine of entire sanctification among all Nazarene pastors, regardless of their theological understanding of entire sanctification. This dissertation suggests that this commitment can be strengthened even more by a commitment to create forums in which the relationship between entire sanctification and the practice of ministry can be discussed by the clergy.