Reflections on M11

I return from the M11 conference with a heavy, but hopeful heart. Us kids were pushed through the wringer. It's amazing really. M11 was like pulling up a damp log to see all the worms and crawling critters wriggling beneath. M11 unearthed all the underlying tensions festering beneath the title of "The Church of the Nazarene"--most of which, I was completely ignorant to. On the one hand, we went to services that I could best describe as "moralistic, therapeutic deism" and... unbridled charismatic sensationalism. (These services left us most of us either extremely bored, or extremely confused.) But on the other hand, most of us went to sessions during the day that were enlightening, prophetic and educational. It was a roller coaster. In the services, I felt like an nihilistic cynic, and in the sessions, I felt like a wide-eyed, hopeful disciple.

My friend Matt wrote a bit about what he felt in one of the services in the morning. There was a speaker named Dan Bohi who claims he recieved a call on his life to preach. He is a layperson from Kansas who reads the bible through every 30 days. Here's an excerpt of what Matt thought about his service.

"...there was mass confusion among students and faculties from several Nazarene Universities as well as pastors because many pastors appeared to be responding to the words and methods that seemed incongruent with the tradition, history, theology, and practices of the Church of the Nazarene. Many found themselves skeptical and disconnected from the proceedings of the session, only to have this skepticism and disconnection compounded when they saw some of their own clergy responding during the session.
"Many found themselves skeptical of Bohi’s claims that education was unnecessary and irrelevant, even a hindrance to the work of God through the Holy Spirit. He claimed that organization, planning, and preparation were useless declaring they disallow the 'Holy Spirit to move.'
"Bohi, for approximately 2½ hours, strung together verse after verse of scripture, a practice many would call ‘proof texting’. During his speech, over and over again, he presented irrational, illogical, irresponsible propositions and illustrations, claiming that the church had disfigured the Holy Spirit. Bohi’s use of scripture amounted to simply reading and regurgitating single verses with no regard to cultural, linguistic, literary, or historical context.
"Bohi’s presentation was, to many, a display of what the Church of the Nazarene has clearly opposed. He claimed to heal people by calling them forward so he could touch them. Within 24 hours he claimed that people had been ‘delivered’ from conditions such as fibromyalgia and sleep apnea which are two very complex disorders that take an extended period of time to render either positive or negative diagnoses.
"Nevertheless, in response to the plenary session there was/is a lot of conversation. Students, pastors, and professors are wondering how to respond are asking: “Is this the direction the Church of the Nazarene is headed?” or “Is there room, then, in the Church of the Nazarene for me?” Maybe the most significant question on the minds of many is “Will I find any clarity amidst the confusion?”

Okay, so I posted a lot, but he said it so well, I felt like I had to. Now, I know y'all weren't there, and with the exception of one session of Dan Bohi, neither was I. But this service brought to life many issues many of us are struggling with--biblical interpretation, healing, charismatic worship, and frankly corporate worship as a whole. All of these sort of culminated with this one message.

After a group of about 30 of us talked --professors and students from TNU, MVNU, ONU-- we rested on this fact: The Spirit of God moves. So, while I asked the question, "what if this great response isn't from God?" I have to immediately respond with, "God works despite our fallible, individualistic attempts to explain or manipulate him."

I think the pastors and people affected by that services, and others like it were so affected because they're hungry. They're broken, scared, and burning for community. They need to feel like they aren't alone. And that night, amidst the confusion and concern, these pastors wrapped their arms around one another. They shared, they were open, and they knew what it was to bear life in solidarity together. And THAT is beautiful.

All this to say: I am still confused. It's a day later, and all of us are still exhaustedly wrestling with the issues raised at this conference. But I believe God is working. I believe we are learning. And after M11 I walk around this campus and look in the eyes of the people who were there crying with me, confessing with me, and correcting me and feel as though we are bearing life in solidarity with one another. I think this is part of what it means to be the church.