Perceptions of U.S. Nazarene District SuperintendentsRegarding the Fulfillment of Educational Requirements for Ordination as an Elder

Abstract

The Church of the Nazarene has been preparing clergy since its early days as amovement in the U.S. (Raser,1995). The Church of the Nazarene allows multipleeducational delivery options for candidates for ordination to fulfill the educationalrequirements. There has been debate between the academy and church leaders about thepreparedness of ordination candidates (Hillman, 2008). With the rising cost of education,student debt, and shortage of funds within local churches for salaries, the Church of theNazarene must think about the avenues for fulfilling educational requirements forordination as an elder. The purpose of this study was to examine perceptions of Churchof the Nazarene district superintendents about the preparedness of women and men forordained ministry as Elders. Seven district superintendents from two educational regionsin the Church of the Nazarene were interviewed. Data obtained from the interviews wereanalyzed to identify themes and subthemes. Eight themes were identified: (1) satisfactionwith the 44 Church of the Nazarene course of study ability statements candidates mustdemonstrate prior to ordination; (2) preparation issues; (3) strengths of current ministrycandidates; (4) struggles of current ministry candidates; (5) no preference for a singleministry preparation venue emerged as a preference among the district superintendents;(6) a need for mentoring, coaching, or apprenticeships as a component of the ministrypreparation process; (7) three primary 2019-2029 Church of the Nazarene challengesincluded: (a) identity of the Church of the Nazarene and finding ways to engage today’sculture in the core identity; (b) the financial commitment that will be needed to maintainaging facilities and pastor salaries; and (c) an aging pastorate and a shortage of thosepreparing for ordination; and (8) clergy preparation to meet the needs of the Church of the Nazarene 2019-2029. The findings present potential solutions for the Church of theNazarene as it seeks to identify and prepare pastors for its denomination.