your article<\/a> on the web, and tears welled up in my eyes.\u00a0 I am a Nazarene trained pastor who chose the wrong major in college.\u00a0 I chose Biblical Studies over Wesleyan Theology.\u00a0 After pastoring in large churches for 11 years, I had to resign for the reasons you mentioned and many others.\u00a0 It has now been a year since then, and I have yet to hear from my dear brothers and sisters.\u00a0 I am seeking a position in a church that is more biblically-based.\u00a0 Pray for me.<\/p>\n\tAnswer:<\/h2>\n
If I might suggest, you should first find a church that actually teaches and follows the teachings of the New Testament without resorting to man-made creeds and statements of faith. There are probably many things which you have assumed over the years to be true which are not found in the pages of God’s word. Only when you have full confidence that you understand and practice Christianity as the Lord desires you to live, then start preaching the truth to others.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Question: I read\u00a0your article on the web, and tears welled up in my eyes.\u00a0 I am a Nazarene trained pastor who chose the wrong major in college.\u00a0 I chose Biblical Studies over Wesleyan Theology.\u00a0 After pastoring in large churches for 11 years, I had to resign for the reasons you mentioned and many others.\u00a0 It…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[127,439],"class_list":["post-20604","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-about-this-site","tag-church-of-the-nazarene"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":19114,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-i-am-not-a-nazarene\/","url_meta":{"origin":20604,"position":0},"title":"Why I Am Not a Nazarene","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 24, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"by J. R. Bronger In June of 1972 my wife, Sue, and I were baptized into Christ for the remission of our sins (Acts 2:38). Like many of our brothers and sisters in Christ, we came out of religious error. Our involvement was with the Church of the Nazarene, headquartered\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":25651,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-too-left-the-nazarene-church-but-over-legalism\/","url_meta":{"origin":20604,"position":1},"title":"I too left the Nazarene church, but over legalism","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 17, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I was reading your letter online and, like your \"I left the Nazarene church,\" I left on the other hand because I found the practices to be legalistic. I find your letter to be greatly encouraging. Thank you and God bless you. Answer: I'm glad the article was of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":19112,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/your-rhetoric-regarding-the-church-of-the-nazarene-is-wrong-headed-and-malicious\/","url_meta":{"origin":20604,"position":2},"title":"Your rhetoric regarding the Church of the Nazarene is wrong-headed and malicious","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 12, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I am a minister in the Church of the Nazarene and take offense to\u00a0your article about the church. Interestingly I was raised in the Church of Christ until I left home in my late teens. Your rhetoric regarding the church is wrong-headed and malicious. It does not help the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":25247,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/help-me-understand-more-about-the-flaws-in-the-church-of-the-nazarene\/","url_meta":{"origin":20604,"position":3},"title":"Help me understand more about the flaws in the Church of the Nazarene","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 12, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I am a music minister, called preacher and leader. I currently serve with the church of the Nazarene. I am shocked by the truth you revealed. I have been looking for this, but I really need help to understand it more. I have been feeling deeply uncomfortable with some\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":18226,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-does-the-nazarene-church-mean-by-properly-expressed-in-regards-to-sexual-intimacy\/","url_meta":{"origin":20604,"position":4},"title":"What does the Nazarene church mean by “properly expressed” in regards to sexual intimacy?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 26, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Regarding sexual intimacy between a married couple, what does the Nazarene church mean by the phrase, \"properly expressed?\" \"...We stand firmly on the belief that the biblical concept of marriage, always between one man and one woman in a committed, lifelong relationship, is the only relationship within which the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":70539,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-nazarene\/","url_meta":{"origin":20604,"position":5},"title":"The Nazarene","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 25, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by David Gibson \"Where are you from?\" is often asked when people get acquainted. Where is Jesus from? Born in Bethlehem, He lived briefly in Egypt but spent His youth in Nazareth of Galilee. That's why He is often called the Nazarene. Mary and Joseph were Nazarenes before Jesus was\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20604","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20604"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20604\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20604"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20604"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20604"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}