"Cruise ship versus battleship: Most of us go to church expecting it to be a cruise ship. 'Provide me with this program and that program. Cater to my every want and need.' But Christianity isn't supposed to look like that. It is supposed to be a battleship fighting the powers of darkness, and that often isn't pretty. It really messy loving our neighbor and having compassion on the forgotten ones of this world." -- Sarah Dupray
"Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her to make her holy." -- Ephesians 5:25-26
This page and the resources linked from it are Open Educational Resources (OER)
We believe in the Church, the community that confesses Jesus Christ as Lord, the covenant people of God made new in Christ, the Body of Christ called together by the Holy Spirit through the Word.
God calls the Church to express its life . . .
- In the unity and fellowship of the Spirit
- In worship through the preaching of the Word, observance of the sacraments, and ministry in His name
- By obedience to Christ, holy living, and mutual accountability
The mission of the Church in the world is to share in the redemptive and reconciling ministry of Christ in the power of the Spirit. The Church fulfills its mission by making disciples through evangelism, education, showing compassion, working for justice, and bearing witness to the kingdom of God.
The Church is a historical reality that organizes itself in culturally conditioned forms, exists both as local congregations and as a universal body, and also sets apart persons called of God for specific ministries. God calls the Church to live under His rule in anticipation of the consummation at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
(Exodus 19:3; Jeremiah 31:33; Matthew 8:11; 10:7; 16:13 19, 24; 18:15 20; 28:19 20; John 17:14 26; 20:21 23; Acts 1:7 8; 2:32 47; 6:1 2; 13:1; 14:23; Romans 2:28 29; 4:16; 10:9 15; 11:13 32; 12:1 8; 15:1 3; 1 Corinthians 3:5 9; 7:17; 11:1, 17 33; 12:3, 12 31; 14:26 40; 2 Corinthians 5:11 6:1; Galatians 5:6, 13 14; 6:1 5, 15; Ephesians 4:1 17; 5:25 27; Philippians 2:1 16; 1 Thessalonians 4:1 12; 1 Timothy 4:13; Hebrews 10:19 25; 1 Peter 1:1 2, 13; 2:4 12, 21; 4:1 2, 10 11; 1 John 4:17; Jude 24; Revelation 5:9 10)
-- excerpt from the Articles of Faith, Church of the Nazarene
The word "church" has an interesting etymology with roots in several ancient languages. The English word "church" comes from the Old English "cirice," which itself was derived from the West Germanic "kirika." This term was borrowed from the Greek word "kyriakon" (meaning "of the Lord"), which is a form of "kyriakos" (meaning "belonging to the Lord"). The Greek term was used in early Christianity to refer to the Christian place of worship, as in "kyriakon doma" (house of the Lord).
Ministry, Church, and Society speaks to questions like:
MCS was a required General Education class. Its major components:
The materials listed below reflect the sections of MCS as they were taught by Howard Culbertson.
"Christians have a source of water other than the world's poisoned
well"
— Rodney Clapp (p. 98 of Peculiar People)
"It encouraged me to be other-focused instead of inward-focused."
"It helped me understand the importance of ministry."
"It got me closer to the Lord."
Writing Standards Most courses at SNU contain a writing component. I expect students to produce written work that is focused, well-developed, organized, and relatively free of grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors. Papers falling short of this standard will not be graded. That work will be returned to the students for further revision and resubmission. See my writing checklist. |
Tempted to cheat on schoolwork? Before you do, read SNU's academic integrity policy
-- Howard Culbertson,
What are the possibilities for getting in the required service hours? Check out the list of places where MCS students have given volunteer service. |
While "church" has come to mean a building where believers gather, the word in its biblical sense refers to the Christian community itself, regardless of the physical structure in which meetings were held. Beyond itsorganizational aspects, a church is a group of believers who regularly come together to express their faith, find guidance, and foster a sense of belonging. Such gatherings serve as a focal pointfor spiritual growth, fellowship, and the practice of shared beliefs and values.