Facing potential discipline for a leaked pro-LGBTQ paper, Nazarene pastor Dr. Rick Power has quit the theologically conservative denomination.
Rick Power and his wife, Vicki / Photo via Facebook
“I have resigned my credential as an Elder in the Church of the Nazarene,” Power announced in a Dec. 2 Facebook post. “Over a period of years, my thinking on human sexuality has changed to the point that I could no longer embrace the church’s position regarding LGBTQ+ members of the human family.”
Power’s resignation comes months after he vacated the office of district superintendent of the Church of the Nazarene’s Hawaii-Pacific District at the request of local leadership. He was replaced by Althea Taylor, whose online profile describes her as the Acting Director of Clergy and Congregational Life and previous Executive Director of the Tom Nees Center for Compassion, Justice, and Immigration.
Power maintains that his views on marriage and sexual identity never technically violated his ordination vows, since he did not openly preach LGBTQ-affirmation.
“I have continued to serve in the church, mindful of my ordination vows, never teaching or promoting views contrary to our Manual statements,” Power wrote.
Other Nazarene pastors disagree.
John Stout, who served as a part-time associate pastor at Kailua Church of the Nazarene in Hawaii until Power declined to renew his employment earlier this year, believes Power should have been fired long ago. Stout criticized church leadership for allegedly slow-walking discipline of “heretics” while allowing whistle-blowers such as himself to face backlash.
“Throughout this ordeal, the leadership of the larger church refused to intervene, support, or stand with ministers who were speaking the truth,” Stout told MinistryWatch. “The only reason this situation has escalated to this point is because biblical leaders put their careers on the line.”
Access to MinistryWatch content is free. However, we hope you will support our work with your prayers and financial gifts. To make a donation, click here.
Power’s troubles began in earnest in January 2019, when he failed to discipline his daughter, then a church employee, for officiating a same-sex wedding. His son-in-law Will Campbell, a Nazarene pastor, also participated in the wedding by offering a prayer and a poem — with the approval of Power.
Scrutiny of Power’s leadership intensified in 2023, when video footage of the wedding surfaced, renewing debate among Stout, Power and other leaders over whether Campbell had violated the Nazarene rule against officiating same-sex weddings.
In audio obtained by MinistryWatch, Power acknowledged during a board meeting of the Kailua church that he had mishandled his daughter’s situation, explaining he “repented” of that error. However, he revealed that General Superintendent Christian Sarmiento, the highest ranking Nazarene leader, agreed Campbell had followed the letter of the law by not technically officiating.
“Will is not subject to discipline because he did not violate his ordination vows,” Power said. “Christian Sarmiento said Will is not subject to discipline.”
In the midst of the wedding controversy, Power emailed a paper to top Nazarene officials, including Sarmiento, detailing his personal views on sexuality.
“I am deeply grateful to be welcomed, along with my LGBTQ brothers and sisters, at the table of the Lord,” Power wrote in his paper, Living in the Tension of Love and Dissent. “As fellow Christ-followers, they should not be excluded from church-sanctioned covenantal marriage relationships, nor from full participation in the offices and ministries of the church.”
Upon receiving the letter, Sarmiento took no immediate action.
“I’ve been open with the general superintendents,” Power said in the recorded audio. “I wrote this paper and shared it with them, one by one. At no time have any of them said, Rick, you’re in violation of your ordination vows. You’re going to have to resign and step down from your position of leadership.”
Then the paper leaked to the public, and the church had to act.
“The email and document Rick claims were ‘leaked’ were actually sent by him, inadvertently, to a minister in the district. Rick himself is the source of the so-called leak. The individual who received the email appropriately reported it, and eventually, all the information was sent to the headquarters of the Church of the Nazarene. While it was at headquarters, someone there leaked it. Despite having no involvement, I took the blame because Rick assumed it was me,” Stout said.
Power agrees Stout was not the original leaker, but faults him for spreading it widely — an accusation Stout denies. Power also accused Stout of spreading “misinformation” and failing to submit to church leadership — allegations that ultimately led to Stout losing his job.
While Stout worked on bringing charges against Power, regional leadership took a softer approach.
“When my views became known publicly, the General Superintendent, Regional Director, and District Advisory Board unanimously advised me to retire early from my assignment as District Superintendent. Though I did not agree with their recommendation, I cooperated with the process for selecting a new superintendent,” Power wrote on Facebook.
An April 2024 video shows Power at Windward Church of the Nazarene announcing plans to make First Church of Honolulu his new home church to be with family after losing his leadership position.
However, the conflict did not end there. Stout continued to bring complaints against Power while defending his own conduct.
“Even after retirement,” Power wrote on Facebook, “formal accusations and charges were filed against me. These would have led to a trial and potential discipline. But I have no interest in putting myself, my family, or my friends in the church through the ordeal of a church trial.”
Speaking on behalf of Sarmiento, Nazarene General Secretary Gary Hartke told MinistryWatch that general superintendents lack authority to remove a minister for disciplinary reasons.
“This authority is within the exclusive jurisdiction of the district where a minister is credentialed,” Hartke said. “Formal accusations against Dr. Power were filed with the Hawaii in 2024 and the process was followed by the district in keeping with the policies and procedures outlined in the Manual of the Church of the Nazarene.”
TO OUR READERS: Do you have a story idea, or do you want to give us feedback about this or any other story? Please email us: info@ministrywatch.com