Didache Vol 16 Number 2

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Last Updated: Thursday, 19 January 2017

Didache 16:2 Introduction

Dean G. Blevins, Senior Editor

Greetings and welcome to a new edition of Didache: Faithful Teaching. This edition emerges during an odd occurrence of the journal’s publishing cycle, Fall 2016. Normally we would offer a January, “Winter” edition (and plan to do so with additional articles) but this mid-year offering reflects the same intent as our previous publication (also offered at a different time Spring 2016). This edition, like our previous one, actually serves a regional theology conference in the USA/Canada Region. As such, the edition follows the format of previous global theology editions by including papers that will serve as a resource for the conference that meets September 28-30, 2016 at Nazarene Theological Seminary.

The conference theme, “A Pilgrim People Living in Exile,” serves as a backdrop to the program. The theme surfaced in part through a presentation by Scott Daniels to the USA/Canada Estes Park Consultation on Clergy Preparation considering the regional context for ministry and minister formation. Since that gathering, the theme has resonated with several presentations around the region. Exile reflects a change in perspective for many evangelical and “mainstream” congregations like those in the Church of the Nazarene. The feeling of exile surfaces in the face of cultural diversity, shifting assumptions of the world around the church (often associated with postmodernity as a cultural and intellectual shift), and the loss of social capitol on the part of the church due to many recent perceived failures. Readers might want to review John Dickerson’s book The Great Evangelical Recession (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2013) for a snapshot treatment. Yet the church remains called to be God’s people, even if congregants often feel they now represent a “pilgrim people” on a journey through unknown territory. Is Exile a helpful image for us, and what does it mean to lead theologically and pastorally in the face of these changes? The conference hopes to offer a conversation around that very question.

Conference chairs Dan Copp, IBOE Commissioner and Director of Clergy Development for the Church of the Nazarene, and Carla Sunberg, President of Nazarene Theological Seminary crafted the program reflecting recommendations from leadership around the USA and Canada. The resultant conference features five key plenary sessions listed below, with panel responses. In addition, the conference includes opening and closing sermons by Scott Daniels and Carla Sunberg, and a final panel discussion by the plenary presenters. Hopefully these initial papers will serve as a resource not only for the conference but also for a global audience as they reflect with the church in the USA and Canada.

 

Table of Contents 

  pdf Introduction (77 KB)

 

pdf Peril and Promise of Exile (257 KB) – Biblical narrative speaking to us today by Tim Green and Roger Hahn (Professors, Trevecca Nazarene University and Nazarene Theological Seminary respectively)

Responses by

 

pdf Only One Foot in Exile (156 KB) - Marginalization without Dispossession in North American Congregations by Kathy Mowry (Professor, Trevecca Nazarene University)

Responses by

 

pdf Being the Pilgrim People of God (143 KB) - Called to identity, mission and ministry by Timothy R. and Shawna Songer Gaines (Professor and Chaplain respectively, Trevecca Nazarene University)

 Responses by

 

pdf Eschatalogical Travelers (196 KB) - Practices of Discernment and Formation for and with congregations by Dan Boone (President, Trevecca Nazarene University)

Responses by

 

pdf Formation for Ministry in a Secular Age (145 KB) : Equipping Clergy and Laity for the Church in Exile by Gordon Smith (President Ambrose University) 

Responses by

pdf Closing Sermon: “God’s Pilgrim People” (130 KB) by Carla Sunberg (Nazarene Theological Seminary)

As always, please note the journal publishes articles along the themes of theology, culture, and education within a Wesleyan heritage. Guidelines for submissions are available at the website.  Professors may also submit outstanding student papers (with student permission) as long as they will agree to serve as the reviewer.

I also thank Ernalyn Longcop Fausto, with the staff of the Asia Pacific Region, who works diligently in the formatting and maintenance of our website, and Dr. Tammy Condon, a consistent promoter of Didache: Faithful Teaching, and primary motivator in the development of the Wesleyan Holiness Digital Library (WHDL)

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