During my teen years, I discovered that my church had a 14-page list of rules that were mainly "don'ts." No matter how I tried, I felt that I never quite made it to the state of sinless perfection I sought. Many nights grim dreams of punishment for my failures haunted my sleep. But the sum of my observable demerits was nothing compared to the sins of my heart, my inner being.

A former trapeze gymnasium seems to be an unlikely location for a Church of the Nazarene. Acrobats once teetered on tightropes just above the place where a strange cross hangs on the wall. Fashioned out of chicken wire, the hollow cross is stuffed with fast-food wrappers, cigarette packets, beer cans, and confessional notes.

It has always been a favorite Christmas story of mine: The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. It so beautifully illustrates the outreach of a local church to the rowdy children of a neighborhood family, the Herdmans. But it became even more dear to me one Christmas when I saw it in real life on the platform of a Church of the Nazarene.

What do you do when the word "church" carries all the wrong connotations? When "Christian" is either something one is by cultural heritage or something society has recently moved beyond by becoming "post-Christian?" When "love" means sex, warm feelings, or an anything goes approach to life?

Well . . . you educate and inspire. You live in communion and pray. You become Christlike as persons and as a community. You live lives of genuine love through care, kindness, and compassion. You become holy, because the Lord your God is holy.

Among the many legends that come from the Greek myths is the story of Orpheus. He was so blessed by the gods with the gift of song that nothing could withstand the power of his beautiful singing. The story of Orpheus is of course a myth, but the Christian Church has a real "Orpheus." His name is Charles Wesley.

A perception exists that if there is a problem between a pastor and congregation, the district superintendent can fix it. I have found that many people are afraid to speak to their pastors about an area of their ministry or an issue in the church until the situation spins out of control. My response, when I receive a call of this sort, is: "Have you spoken to your pastor about it?" The usual response is that they have not.

Flying into Palm Springs, California, USA, brought a new understanding to a passage of Scripture I had read often. Looking out the airplane window, everything suddenly changed from barren desert to lush green grass. It didn't take any scientific analysis for me to know the reason for the change—there was now life-giving water! How did I know? The proof was in the life.

We tend to think of holiness as an attribute of people—God and humans. But a curious aspect of holiness in the Bible is how things such as the Sabbath and temple utensils are regarded as holy. The fact that even things can be holy gives us an important insight: To be holy is to be placed in a special relationship to God.

"We are a symbol of warmth and welcome. We are a simple pleasure, honest and genuine. We are home. We are family. We are friends." Is this the motto of a local church or denomination? No, this is how the Panera Bread company described itself in an article that also described the restaurants as the "front porch for the new millennium." My recent experience at one of the restaurants matched these claims. The mood was light-hearted and warm. Folks from all walks of life took time to chat and catch up on the news with friends and neighbors.

Higher education has been a denominational focus from the earliest days of the Church of the Nazarene. Our predecessors started Bible schools and institutes to educate clergy and laity in theology and practical, professional arts. Many of these schools matured into comprehensive colleges and universities that offer a core curriculum of Christian liberal arts and various professional majors.

Over the last century, Nazarene colleges, universities, Bible colleges, and graduate seminaries have become a mainstay of Nazarene identity all over the world.