Steve Bomar began his faith journey as a Nazarene, but upon being exposed to Anabaptist theology, he began to consider if Mennonite Church USA might be the place for him and his beliefs.
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Photo by Anne Bomar.
Steve Bomar grew up in the Pacific Northwest, as part of the Nazarene denomination and felt lead to pastoral ministry during his teen years. After completing a Bachelor of Arts in theology at Point Loma Nazarene University, Steve accepted a youth and music position in Fresno, California. While in Fresno, Steve studies at Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary, where he received his Master of Divinity. He has since gone on to complete a Doctor of Worship Studies at the Institute for Worship Studies, in Jacksonville, Florida, and is serving as the lead pastor at Zion Mennonite Church, in Hubbard, Oregon.
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I grew up in the Church of the Nazarene and considered it home for so long. That heritage is valuable to me, and I am grateful for those who taught me how to read Scripture, encouraged my discipleship, called out gifts for ministry and empowered me to lead at a young age. I remember a time, while working on my undergraduate degree, when I was working to identify why the Nazarene denomination would continue to be my home. How was the Jesus I read about in the Sermon on the Mount being embodied here?
In the midst of the Centennial Celebration of the Los Angeles (California) First Church of the Nazarene at the Shrine Auditorium, I heard a story about Phineas F. Bresee making the intentional decision to leave the Methodist denomination, in order to continue his work at the downtown Los Angeles Mission on skid row, which would become the first Nazarene congregation. I heard about how the charter members likely included recovering addicts, those who had been living on the streets and even former prostitutes. I heard about how the name Nazarene was chosen from John 1:46 (CEB); “Can anything from Nazareth be good?” To be a Nazarene meant you were from the wrong side of the tracks. A church of Nazarenes offered a kingdom-of-God community that identified with the poor and broke, through social, economic and status divisions.
I also heard about how, in the small town of Pilot Point, Texas, in 1908, as the nation seemed stuck in the mire of post-Civil War divisions, a group of holiness churches from east and west, north and south voted to unite as one denomination. Looking beyond the engrained hostility, suspicions and history of violence, this group identified a force stronger than what divided them. They were unified in Jesus Christ and would commit to living out his call on their lives as disciples of Jesus, officially forming the Church of the Nazarene denomination.
As a follower of Jesus, I identified with the conviction held by Bresee and these early members of the Nazarene denomination: We have a responsibility to those on the margins.
I shared vision with those who understood Jesus to be their unifying focus, superseding social divisions. I identified with an invitation to discipleship, which is stronger than any national loyalties. The Nazarene church remained my home, and I took a full-time associate pastor position in Fresno, California. While there, I signed up for a course at Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary, to meet a continuing education requirement: “The Church and God’s Mission to the World,” taught by Tim Geddert. After getting over my initial surprise at how much I connected with Anabaptist convictions, I applied and was accepted into their Master of Arts program. Following an empowering ministry discernment, lead by my faculty advisor Mark Baker, I shifted to the Master of Divinity program and completed it in 2011.
All organizations struggle with mission creep, or a gradual change in focus. Church denominations are no exception. I found myself struggling with what, to me, was a lack of concern for the poor and immigrant communities. Troubled by our continued unwillingness or inability to meaningfully address incidents of racial violence, no consideration for the LGBTQ+ community and what seemed to be quiet coalescence with growing nationalist perspectives, I found myself wondering if I could faithfully live out my invitation to follow Jesus while in the Church of the Nazarene, without facing significant resistance from within that same community. I felt like a square peg in a round hole. At that same time, the Nazarene church where I had been serving was in the midst of a lead pastor transition. Nazarene polity meant my position was tenuous at best. The COVID-19 pandemic both added to my increasing sense of unsettledness and provided me with the space to consider a major transition.
I reached out to my community from seminary and was encouraged to explore the process of ministerial leadership in the Pacific Northwest Mennonite Conference of Mennonite Church USA. That process helped me identify how my own ministry convictions correlated with MC USA and the larger Anabaptist tradition. In June 2021, after candidating through pandemic precautions, I accepted the invitation to join the pastoral team at Zion Mennonite Church, in Hubbard, Oregon.
My first year at Zion included not only my own adjustments, after relocating a family and adjusting to a new denomination and local church, but it also included denominational discernment. I took part in gathering the diverse perspectives of a congregation and representing those perspectives as a delegate at the May 2022 Special Delegate Assembly, to consider the Membership Guidelines and Repentance and Transformation resolutions. Participating in this process gave me a deep appreciation for the polity of MC USA and its discernment practices.
All denominations have their strengths and challenges, MC USA is no exception. I have found a home within MC USA.
I have connected with the way MC USA works out following Jesus, sharing leadership, serving and including those on the margins, working to live out the social implications of the gospel in community, and prioritizing our invitation to partner in the kingdom of God, above all other loyalties.
I still have a lot to learn about the Anabaptist tradition and about MC USA. I am looking forward to the opportunities we will have to be the hands of feet of Jesus in our communities.
The views and opinions expressed in this blog belong to the author and are not intended to represent the views of the MC USA Executive Board or staff.
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