General Superintendent’s Answer About Homosexuality Leaves More Questions – Once Again

When will the day come when a General Superintendent of the Church of the Nazarene will answer a question about homosexuality forthrightly, clearly, and unambiguously?

At the Southwest Indiana District Assembly this Summer, General Superintendent David Busic was asked the following question by Pastor Jared Henry, an ordained elder in the Church of the Nazarene:

“If an ordained elder in the Church of the Nazarene is advocating publicly for gay marriage or the practice of homosexuality, and the district fails to deal with that- in other words, they don’t take their credentials, what takes place after that…in other words, what recourse may be at that point?”

Dr. Busic begins answering at the :54 mark, in this video.

He finishes his answer some nine minutes later, and no one can reasonably conclude that he gave a straightforward, clear answer.  And yet, it appears to me that that the response he gave to a very specific question has resulted in continued confusion and uncertainty within the denomination, and perhaps will discourage or demoralize pastors who are working hard to uphold biblical standards regarding homosexuality. This should be very troubling to all Nazarenes who have been seeking answers about the direction the church is going regarding human sexuality, and its stance on homosexuality.

Dr. David Busic at SW Indiana District Assembly

A simple and clear answer to the question would have been something like “The Church of the Nazarene will not back one inch from its biblical stance on homosexuality. There is no excuse for any district to fail to uphold our biblical principles, and any pastor who continues advocating for anything that violates biblical principles ought to be required to surrender his credentials and is not fit to serve in the church in any leadership position.”

Instead, like a politician trying to walk a fine line and avoid offending anyone, Dr. Busic spent about nine minutes answering a very appropriate question from an ordained elder in the denomination who clearly is concerned about upholding biblical standards. It was a great opportunity to give clarity for members who are looking for the church leadership to step up in a time where clarity is needed so badly. The LGBT movement which is trying to normalize homosexuality within the denomination is a real danger, and General Superintendents need to be unambiguous when it comes to homosexuality.

Yet, it is not a surprise to me when I see this kind of response to serious questions.  In the past when I had communicated back and forth with several General Superintendents (the emails can be found on my blog), their responses had little substance, and they only spoke in general terms. They seem to not like giving direct answers to specific questions. One of them has promised several times since 12 years ago he would get back to me. I’m still waiting.

At around 1:20 in the video, Dr. Busic says that 2017 was one of the “most extraordinary moments in the Church of the Nazarene”… and that “97% voted on a clear position on human sexuality.”  He described the new Human Sexuality statement as “one of the most poetically and beautifully written statements.” He also stated that “this board [the current Board of General Superintendents] is 100% behind what that [2017] General Assembly did.”

And yet, that specific Human Sexuality document omitted the word “perversion” from the manual, in reference to homosexuality; and it was applauded by LGBT advocates such as Andy McGee and Love Wins LGBT, as well as the Holland Nazarene District, and the New England District also advocated for watering down the statement.

If you did not know, the Holland Nazarene District is basically in rebellion against the denomination, and is already blessing same sex unions. So for them to applaud the Human Sexuality statement is not an indicator of anything good.  And what makes it worse, the Board of General Superintendents knows of their rebellion, and even received additional evidence from me, with an email from a pastor admitting blessing same sex unions, and admitting that the Generals are aware. Read the article here.
What have the General Superintendents done about that? Absolutely nothing.  You may want to ask them the next time you run into them or speak with them. Why is the Holland District being allowed to pervert the word of God openly?

There were other concerns that came out of his response as well. When another question was asked about the Confucius Center at Northwest Nazarene University and why was it allowed to be there, Dr. Busic said:

 “I had not heard about it… but let me say this about all our universities in the USA. I believe 100%, every single one of our Presidents, including NBC and NTS, every one of them, are completely committed to our Nazarene identity.”

My question to Dr. Busic, who is a former President of the Nazarene Theological Seminary, would be: “Dr. Frank Thomas has been scheduled to speak at the seminary in September. Dr. Thomas is a pastor who advocates for Critical Race Theory ideas; it is documented that he is a racist; he is an open advocate of abortion, which goes against Nazarene doctrine; and he supports the LGBT movement. Dr. Busic, is it appropriate that NTS is allowing this man who is against so many biblical principles to speak, and would you do the same if you were still president?

Also, what does Dr. Busic think about a theologian (Dr. Willie James Jennings) who spoke at NTS this year? Would he have invited Jennings? Dr. Jennings is an open advocate for same sex marriage.  (https://reformednazarene.wordpress.com/2022/02/25/nazarene-theological-seminary-welcomes-gay-marriage-promoter/

So either Dr. Busic is unaware of the many problems at the Nazarene universities and seminaries, or he feels that there is absolutely nothing wrong with allowing such advocates of unbiblical principles to speak at Nazarene colleges.  In any case, he is incorrect by stating “every single one of our presidents… are all committed to our Nazarene identity.” There is too much evidence to contradict that statement. And I’m afraid every single General Superintendent would have answered in a similar way.

There are other statements he made that will cause some concern regarding the issue of clarity in how things are addressed. If there was ever a time for full clarity in such areas, now is the time for clarity from those who are charged by the Nazarene manual to be the guardians of biblical truth in the denomination.

My heart goes out to all Nazarenes who are still active in the denomination. My heart goes out to pastors who are sincerely seeking answers and support from the leaders. I was a lifelong Nazarene; my father and father-in-law were true holiness preachers. There are far fewer now, and many of the pastors coming out of Dr. Busic’s former seminary are the very ones who are destroying the church, and yet the people are waiting for someone to step up.

I feel for those who are fighting for biblical truth to be upheld, but to me it seems like a losing battle. But when you have leadership at the highest levels speaking as politicians, rather than giving clear and strong answers that would provide clarity, all you get is a mess that leads into further apostasy.

(This article will be sent to the General Superintendents)

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Related articles:

A New General Superintendent: Cause For Celebration, Or Concern?

Nazarene Theological Seminary Welcomes Gay-Marriage Promoter

https://reformednazarene.wordpress.com/2017/05/30/sodom-and-gomorrah-and-the-church-of-the-nazarene-in-holland-is-there-any-difference/

Nazarene Theological Seminary Welcomes Gay-Marriage Promoter

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A New General Superintendent: Cause For Celebration, Or Concern?

After many rounds of voting, the Church of the Nazarene has elected the first of two general Superintendents that are needed to replace two retiring Generals.  His name is David Busic.

Dr. David Busic, at the time of his election, was the president of Nazarene Theological Seminary, and professor of Preaching and Pastoral Theology.  He has an impressive resume, and seems like a nice guy.  But let us consider some issues that may be of great concern to many Christians.

Concern #1: Emergent Connection or Lack Of Discernment?

At his inaugural address, Dr. Busic made many references and quotes of Phylis Tickle, a major leader in the emergent church movement, of which she has coined the phrase “the great emergence.”  Tickle promotes contemplative spirituality.  Phylis Tickle likens heretic Brian McLaren to Martin Luther who helped bring about the Reformation.  She is probably correct, but this new current reformation is not a good thing.  Tickle receives high praise from emergent heretic Doug Pagitt, calling her “the best friend the emergent movement could ever have.”  Tickle is currently a Senior Fellow of Cathedral College of the Washington National Cathedral, which has a heavily interfaith message.

Quote: “Washington National Cathedral is a church for national purposes called to embody God’s love and to welcome people of all faiths and perspectives. A unique blend of the spiritual and the civic, this Episcopal Cathedral is a voice for generous-spirited Christianity and a catalyst for reconciliation and interfaith dialogue to promote respect and understanding. We invite all people to share in our commitment to create a more hopeful and just world.”

The Cathedral College also is known for its heavy promotion of all forms of contemplative prayer: centering prayer, silence, stillness.

Tickle is also on the editorial board of explorefaith.org, and the recommended spiritual experts on the site are a veritable who’s who of “Christian” mystics and non-Christian gurus such as Guru Ram Dass, Buddhist Master Thich Nhat Hahn, the Sufi Muslim Rumi.

Finally, I give you a dubious quote from her book The Great Emergence:

The new Christianity of the Great Emergence must discover some authority base or delivery system and/or governing agency of its own. It must formulate—and soon—something other than Luther’s Sola Scriptura which, although used so well by the Great Reformation originally, is now seen as hopelessly outmoded or insufficient …(Phyllis Tickle, The Great Emergence, pg. 151)

Imagine that Luther’s Sola Scriptura, so critical within the Reformation movement, of which many left the persecution of the Catholic Church, some under pain of death, is no longer relevant according to Phylis Tickle.  What does this say of her regard for God’s word?  In fact, Phylis Tickle does not believe that the entire Bible is God’s word.

Conclusion: Why would a learned man such as David Busic want anything to do with Phylis Tickle, even if just to quote her and speak highly of her in his messages?  If a well respected man quotes someone favorably and praises them, would not most Bible believing Christians think that this person is a good source for them to go to?  I would like to find out what Dr. David Busic really thinks of Phylis Tickle, in the light of all the heretical things that she stands for.  Is it really wise that a church has just elected a General Superintendent who at the very least, seems to have some really impaired judgment and discernment?

Interfaith Connection?  Or Simply Carelessness?

The following is an excerpt from an email I wrote to Dr. Busic in 2011.  The entire article can be read here: https://reformednazarene.wordpress.com/2011/12/13/does-nazarene-theological-seminary-support-the-interfaith-movement/

11/18/2011

Dear Dr. Busic,

Congratulations on your appointment as President of NTS.  It is my prayer that God will guide you in leading NTS in upholding biblical truth at the school.  I and other Nazarenes have had concerns in the past regarding some things sponsored by, promoted by, or taught at the seminary.

I was concerned about something I ran into the other day, and wondering if you were aware of it. At the CRES website, the Seminary is listed favorably as a recommended institution friendly to the CRES organization.  My concern is that it is an interfaith group that works closely with practically any kind of religion in the world.

Here is the link to the site where it mentions NTS favorably:  http://www.cres.org/pubs/KCInterfaithOps.htm

On their vision statement page, they say this: “CRES values the contribution of each distinctive faith in healing the crises of our age — and finds it important to honor and preserve their distinctions. “These faiths include: Buddhists, Muslims, Native American religions, Hindu, Sufi, Unitarian Universalists, Taoism, Confucianism, Wiccans, and Zoroastrians!

They also say: “CRES envisions the greater Kansas City area as a model community honoring interfaith relationships where interfaith relationships are honored as a way of deepening one’s own tradition and spirituality, and
where the wisdom of the many religions successfully addresses the environmental,  personal, and social crises of our often fragmented, desacralized world.”

Does NTS have any kind of real connection with CRES?  If so, on what basis?  And if not, would it not be prudent to ask this group to remove any reference to NTS as a good resource?  If this is not the type of group NTS wants to associate with, that would certainly remove any appearance of an endorsement of this organization.  If this is the kind of group that NTS wants to associate with, then I humbly will say that it would be a serious problem that all Nazarenes should be aware of.

I did not receive any response from Dr. Busic.

Does the Church of the Nazarene approve of the idea of working with interfaith groups on a regular basis?  Does not the word of God speak against that?  It is written in 2 Cor. 6:14-17:
Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?

¹⁵ And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?

¹⁶ And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

¹⁷ Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.

It is clear to me, a non-seminary educated man whose father always wanted him to be a pastor, that this scripture passage alone answers the question.  We are not be joining ourselves with those who are pagan and do not preach the Gospel of Christ.  And if these pagans are recommending us favorably, as if we also are favorable to them, it would do us good to have no connection at all with them, and no hint of any kind that we are aligned with their ungodly agenda.

There is only one right thing to do, and the president of NTS has not done it yet.  I call on him to do the right thing, remove the connection with this ungodly group, and make it clear that we do not stand with them in any way, no matter what “good” causes they may be involved in.

Conclusion: Is this a matter of discernment?  Is this a matter of lack of knowledge?  Dr. Busic never answered me.  Perhaps others can bring this egregious connection to his attention, and he will do the right thing.  If not, then we have a serious concern on our hands, with a man who has just been chosen to the highest office of a denomination of over 2 million people.  To be favorably and knowingly linked to such a group, which cannot even be called a Christian organization, is a clear indication of lack of discernment, or an indication of solidarity with their ideas.  Either way, it not good for the Church of the Nazarene.
We have elected David Busic.  The question is, was that the right decision?

Related articles:

https://reformednazarene.wordpress.com/2011/11/28/phylis-tickle-and-the-new-seminary-president/

https://reformednazarene.wordpress.com/2011/12/13/does-nazarene-theological-seminary-support-the-interfaith-movement/

 

As of today, NTS is still listed favorably at the CRES site: