I came across your website while trying to find information about the Church of the Nazarene. Being that I could only find information provided by them, I am seeking a less biased opinion.

Please don't think I'm am trying to insult members of this organization, but I am concerned because my mother has joined this organization and her behavior (which used to be merely erratic) has now become fanatic and frankly alarming.

I am very concerned about this because before she joined with this group, she took up with a bunch of New Age psychics, was claiming to talk to my dead father, was giving me lines about her spirit guides, and eventually how our whole house was haunted and how she had to move. (All of this was justification for her having spent all of her money on the psychics, including several thousand dollars of my money, instead of on my sister's college education and keeping up with the taxes on the house). Eventually this group dropped her when she ran out of money (and she suddenly decided they were talking to the Devil.)

In light of this, I am naturally concerned when she almost immediately joined another church (this time being the Church of the Nazarene, after a brief time with the Jehovah's Witnesses). She has an incredibly needful personality, an insatiable craving for attention and is the perfect cult victim because as her least favorite child, I know from personal experience that she will drop any and all responsibility so long as people are paying attention to her.

Since she has joined the church, shortly after moving to Florida, (my sister and I are up north, I'm an adult, and my sister has been dropped into the lap of my father's sister), she has become more and more aggressive about her religious beliefs, and more extreme, to the point where it has been causing real concern. Furthermore, after buying a house in FL, she left for Oklahoma to take religious classes. This concerned us well enough on its own, but she has also been lying extensively about the nature of these classes (even claiming they are associated with an established university, when in reality, they are only held on the facilities.)

Needless to say, with her psychological makeup, pathological lying, and sheer irresponsibility, I would like to know if the Church of the Nazarene is a legitimate organization, or like the New Age psychics, just out to take her money. Frankly at this point, I almost feel they deserve each other, but my mother has gotten to the point where she might drag many of her siblings, my sister, and my cousins into this as well, and most of her family are sheep at best. I love them, but they, like my mother, will believe anything provided it's in a Bible, . . somewhere.

As one of the few rational people in this side of my family, please can anyone provide insight or an objective opinion here. I'm not out to slam a religion I don't know much about, but my mother is a cultist's dream and she has already been caught in so many lies about this whole mess that I can't be too careful.

Thank you for any help you can provide.

The Church of the Nazarene is legit. New followers sometimes get very aggressive with theology, like a child with a new word. Just listen and wait it out.

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alli_wan
[i:7c2adae951]I came across your website while trying to find information about the Church of the Nazarene. . . . I am concerned because my mother has joined this organization and her behavior (which used to be merely erratic) has now become fanatic and frankly alarming. . . .

In light of this, I am naturally concerned when she almost immediately joined another church (this time being the Church of the Nazarene, after a brief time with the Jehovah's Witnesses). She has an incredibly needful personality, an insatiable craving for attention and is the perfect cult victim because as her least favorite child, I know from personal experience that she will drop any and all responsibility so long as people are paying attention to her.

[/i:7c2adae951]

Alli, I have some experience with the Nazarene churches. They range in “standard” from very liberal to very authoritarian, but there are few of the extreme authoritarian-type. My husband is a member of a liberal Nazarene church. All the Nazarenes seem to lean toward being more gentle folk, and most seem to be quite tolerant and helpful toward one another. Of course, there are all kinds in every congregation, Nazarene or not.

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[i:7c2adae951] Since she has joined the church, . . . she has become more and more aggressive about her religious beliefs, and more extreme, to the point where it has been causing real concern.

[/i:7c2adae951]

Many people become overzealous and boisterous upon finding new things that appeal to them. Give her time to settle in. :-)

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[i:7c2adae951]Furthermore, after buying a house in FL, she left for Oklahoma to take religious classes. This concerned us well enough on its own, but she has also been lying extensively about the nature of these classes (even claiming they are associated with an established university, when in reality, they are only held on the facilities.)

[/i:7c2adae951]

They may have very well been [i:7c2adae951]associated[/i:7c2adae951] with a university. The Nazarene church has several of their own universities, and when such seminars are held, they often use professors from them. Some of the classes they offer are also accredited by the universities. It sounds like your mother is in need of self-esteem (thus the lying). Perhaps this connection with the universities is one way for her to get a personal lift.

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[i:7c2adae951] Needless to say, with her psychological makeup, pathological lying, and sheer irresponsibility, I would like to know if the Church of the Nazarene is a legitimate organization, or like the New Age psychics, just out to take her money. Frankly at this point, I almost feel they deserve each other, but my mother has gotten to the point where she might drag many of her siblings, my sister, and my cousins into this as well, and most of her family are sheep at best. I love them, but they, like my mother, will believe anything provided it's in a Bible, . . somewhere.

[/i:7c2adae951]

The Nazarene church leaders I have been around are not a money-hungry lot. My husband’s pastor, for an extreme example, appears to give out more money than he appears to receive in offerings, making up the loss through church several very good investments he has made. (He is a very intelligent man, a lawyer, and knows investing. ) Of the others I have been around, many are incredibly happy with very little. They will pass the plate like any other church, but they don’t seem to be pushy. if you find her over-giving, it is not likely the church or the leadership; it is more likely her tendency toward an overzealous personality.

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[i:7c2adae951]As one of the few rational people in this side of my family, please can anyone provide insight or an objective opinion here. I'm not out to slam a religion I don't know much about, but my mother is a cultist's dream and she has already been caught in so many lies about this whole mess that I can't be too careful.

[/i:7c2adae951]

I would not worry about her taking family members going with her. The Nazarene is, in my opinion, one of the most innocuous churches around.

Pardon me! I was in a big rip when I wrote that, and my last two paragraphs are not very understandable. They should read as follows:

The Nazarene church leaders I have been around are not a money-hungry lot. My husband’s pastor, for an extreme example, appears to give out more money than he appears to receive in offerings, making up the loss through several very good investments he has personally made for the church. (He is a very intelligent man, a lawyer, and knows investing.) Of the others I have been around, many are incredibly happy with very little. They will pass the plate like any other church, but they don’t seem to be pushy. If you find her over-giving, it is not likely the church or the leadership; it is more likely her tendency toward an overzealous personality.

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[i:cb1a9e0159]As one of the few rational people in this side of my family, please can anyone provide insight or an objective opinion here. I'm not out to slam a religion I don't know much about, but my mother is a cultist's dream and she has already been caught in so many lies about this whole mess that I can't be too careful.

[/i:cb1a9e0159]

I would not worry about her taking family members with her. The Nazarene is, in my opinion, one of the most innocuous churches around.

i was a nazarene for years,they have fallen away from the true gospel of the bible.there may be a few with pastors who are true to Gods word but few.both deans -point loma and northwest nazarene in napa idaho have publicly denounced the virgin birth of Christ.the toilet on them is being flushed

From what I understand of the Nazarene church, it is a split-off of the Wesleyan Holiness movement and came into being about the same time as Pentecostalism. The Nazarenes that I am familiar with have very conservative, fundamentalist theology. Because it is a Holiness church they can hae very strict rules regarding members' conduct. No drinking, no dancing, women don't cut their hair, wear jewelry or makeup, or pants.

I had a friend who became a Nazarene after living a pretty wild life and I am sad to say that her initial fervor did not wear off. Instead, I have watched her withdraw more and more from "the world" over the course of 2 decades. She wanted me to join her church but I did not like what I saw--I am a very independent thinker and there were just too many restrictions for me. I don't know if it is true of all Nazarenes, but my former friend strikes me as being a zombie. We are no longer friends because of her religion. Time and time again I tried to find common ground only to be rebuffed, so eventually I let her go her way. But not without warning her of the dangers of her path. She said to me, "I WANT to go over the deep end with the Lord." And so she has. Even though it has cost her her marriage and her relationship with her son.

At this point I hope she never wakes up from her daze because I think if she did and realized how many people she has driven out of her life in the name of the Lord, I don't think she could bear it.

So that is my experience with the Nazarenes and the Nazarene church. Since each church is independent no two congregations will be the same. While they may be "innocuous" there is still the potential for a cult-like leader to arise. Certainly they do not discourage fanatical behavior.