Rev. Aaron Long: Gatekeeping and the Church

Gatekeeping and the Church

A wise person once said to me, “Blessed are the gatekeepers, for the control of the visible

church is theirs.” This a huge problem we have in our churches today, no matter what

denomination or theological perspective you might take. The problem with the “self-appointed”

gatekeepers is that they are working against the command of our Lord Who said, “Let them

come to Me.” These gatekeepers turn Christ’s visible Body and Bride into a social club where

all anyone cares about is who is in and who is out, sort of like a masonic lodge without all the

witchcraft and wicked worship.

Now, you may ask, what are you talking about gatekeeping. That’s a fair question, so lets look

at it:

1. You have the churches that will turn people away at the door because of how they are

dressed. This happens in both contemporary worship and traditional churches and

happens both explicitly and implicitly. Either you aren’t casual enough and are snubbed

and looked down upon or you are dressed to formally, and worst of all if the quality and

value of your clothes doesn’t match up to their standards.

2. It happens over racial lines. Now to be fair, in our modern situation it isn’t as much

explicit as it might be but a black person walking into a white church or a white person

walking into a black church or either walking into a Hispanic church will have the

whispers and talk by people sitting on back pews and in different corners of the church.

3. It happens over political issues where churches turn political party headquarters,

keeping anyone out that doesn’t agree with their perspective.

4. It happens over all these different perspectives on biblical morality and whether we

should listen to what the bible says or we should walk our own path, with lgbt supporting

churches making some people feel uncomfortable walking in the doors and some other

churches making the other side feel uncomfortable.

All this gate keeping is anti-thetical to the spread and promotion of the gospel. Jesus doesn’t

see black or white or brown, Jesus doesn’t see men or women, Jesus doesn’t see republican or

democrat. Jesus sees the world in a simple binary, are you saved, or are you unsaved. We are

not to keep anyone out of the church, we are to invite them all to come.

Now, all that being said, we are to invite all to come, but anyone who comes and receives the

gospel will be changed. They will submit to the bible, they will be filled with the Spirit, they will

become the men and women God has made them to be.

It is a sin to stop people from walking into the church no matter who they are. It is a sign that

someone isnt saved if they are going to block the door the way the pharisees did during Jesus

day. That said, if you walk in expect to be challenged, expect to be changed, expect to be made

anew.

Come to the church as you are, leaving being changed for eternity, embrace the gospel, believe

and live out the bible, and go out and reach others for Jesus.