Perceptions of the Holiness Partnership
An Unscientific Survey
The mentioned survey was previously shared on Facebook and a few others venues. It ceased receiving responses around 1/3/2024 so I ended it and dumped the summary and detail. As I have said, this is unscientific and will be followed up with another survey based on feedback (new survey linked below). The survey sample size of 382 is also rather small, but at least three quarters of the respondents are credentialed clergy in the COTN.
This survey does show a marked difference between how the leaders of the Holiness Partnership see the organization and how it is perceived by the majority of respondents. One respondent who is very appreciative of tHP did mention that we needed a response choice for “influencing the doctrines and polity of all holiness denominations.” Which sort of fits in the general category.
I did want to take a moment to answer one comment directly because it is a question about my personal ministry and my mental health. This comment was from a fellow member of clergy (per the response) and is the danger when allowing fully anonymous responses such as this survey. I have no geographic or other identifying marks, but I assume the person does not know me personally. Here is that comment:
“No, but your obsession with them is borderline mental illness issue. Do you actually provide ministry at your church, or just social media obsession with the holiness partnership?”
My response is this:
I am an ordained Elder in the COTN. I have a primary career outside of ministry and so the local and vocational ministry I engage in for our church is on a purely volunteer basis. I literally get no salary from the church in any form. I do occasionally get gifts from the church for pastor appreciation and other staff appreciation. If I were to track every minute I spend in ministry related activities, I suspect it would be at least 15 hours a week on top of my 40-50 I spend on my full-time job. Our staff is all bi-vocational and most of us receive either zero or very little in the way of monetary support from the local church. While I appreciate this pastor’s concern for my mental well-being, I will trust those around me who know me rather than a faceless person on the internet.
I am busy across many fronts in ministry. I teach a Sunday School class, I teach, co-teach, or organize our Wednesday evening adult classes, I organize theological discussions with special guests, and I am involved in our worship ministry weekly both behind the scenes and in more public functions. I pray for our church and for the wider denomination ongoing. In fact, I pray for tHP and their leaders. I have had conversations with Jared Henry and in these conversations I assure him that I love him, pray for him, and see his deep love for God and the church. But, I am concerned for the way our local ministries could be affected by the ideologies that tHP appears to want as primary in the COTN. Based on many of the responses, so are others. I am able to give voice to those who are afraid or otherwise impacted by tHP and so I take that opportunity.
Here are the summarized results of the survey. The raw data is linked in a Google Spreadsheet below.
Are you a member of the Church of the Nazarene (COTN)?
Choice Totals
• Yes 371
• No 11
Responses 382 Answered 382 Unanswered 0
Clergy/Laity/Non-Member
Choice Totals
• I am a lay member in the COTN 84
• I am credentialed clergy in the COTN 288
• I am not a member of the COTN 10Responses 382 Answered 382 Unanswered 0
What best describes your perception of the Holiness Partnership
This question is the ore for how tHP is perceived. The vast majority who responded do not see tHP as a general resources organization. One respondent who supports tHP believes their mission is to influence the doctrines and polity of all Holiness denominations. So the possibly negative perception is not exclusive to critics.
the Holiness Partnership is a general Wesleyan-Holiness resource org
47
the Holiness Partnership is primarily an unofficial COTN org
22
the Holiness Partnership is an unofficial organization seeking to influence the doctrines and polity of the COTN
280
I do not have enough information to determine what the Holiness Partnership is
21
I have never heard of the Holiness Partnership
12
Responses 382 Answered 382 Unanswered 0
The stated purpose of the Holiness Partnership is: “The Holiness Partnership is a Christian organization in the Wesleyan-Holiness tradition with a vision of reclaiming the message of holiness and resourcing the Church to be faithful and fruitful.” How well do you believe the Holiness Partnership is accomplishing this purpose?
This question is not very helpful in that it is hard for those who feel they really don’t know to answer. But he results are here because the question is in the survey.
Poor
188
Below average
156
Average
189
Above average
100
Excellent
140
Responses 382 Answered 382 Unanswered 0 Rating Average 2 — Below average
Random Sample Comments
The survey system dumped these randomly in the summary document. I assume based on the majority choices elsewhere.
“from my interaction with those who are members of THP, it is a right wing fundamentalist organization trying ot influence, if not take over, the doctrine, polity and ministry of the Nazarene church.”
“I appreciate their effort to encourage all of us to stay faithful to the life changing message of holiness.”
“I am fearful of what the holiness partnership is doing to our denomination.”
“The name is a gross misnomer. Whatever their supposed goal, they have certainly lost the plot in regards to actual Christlikeness (holiness).”
“I agree with what I perceive to be the core doctrinal positions of the HP, including on human sexuality. However, I think by and large the tactics of this group, especially related to the embrace and encouragement of clergy discipline/charges/trials and the general discrediting of our Nazarene educational institutions (through sidebar comments like “those in the ivory tower” or “our educational institutions are doing XYZ bad things”) and education in general, are reprehensible and largely damaging to the Church’s work in the world.”
“No, but your obsession with them is borderline mental illness issue. Do you actually provide ministry at your church, or just social media obsession with the holiness partnership?”
“People representing them at some church events have come across as aggressive, judgmental and argumentative”
Responses 382 Answered 282 Unanswered 100
Link to raw data spreadsheet:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Gdjzxg1NifduIWsC4AWBTEACw_PkqKu4tddjFptbjl0/edit?usp=sharing
Link to new and revised survey including questions suggested by tHP leadership:
https://s.surveyplanet.com/i1e88c1x