Gatekeeper or Host?

Are you a gatekeeper or a host? The way you answer this question will mark your interaction with students, the way they interact with the world, and finally whether your ministry will bring those far from Christ closer to him.

Gatekeeping is about... gates, really. Gates, fences and barriers. The job of a gatekeeper is to make sure the wrong people don't get in. They have the task of checking people's papers--peoples dress, behaviors and beliefs--before allowing entry. A gatekeeper's job is to be suspicious. After all, you don't want the people inside to mingle or associate with the wrong sort.

A host has a different task. A host throws a party and then invites all to attend. A host's job is to make people welcome and make sure the experience, as much as it is in their power, a positive one. When a host is combined with a teacher or an evangelist, then the goal is to create a welcoming environment that brings in all sorts, so that growth and transformation can take place.

It's all about contamination. The Gatekeeper wants to protect weak, vulnerable Christian's from contamination. The host believes that Jesus has unleashed a new kind of love and power (new to us, but eternal with God) and hopes to contaminate the whole world with it. The gatekeeper believes that God's work is fragile, the Holy Spirit easily intimidated, and the world is stronger. The host is confident that God's Spirit within believers is greater than the spirits in the world, that Jesus really meant it when he told us to go out into the world and make disciples, and that the Holy Spirit is strong and active, and that God's people can be a greater influence than the voice of this age--provided that God's people are close enough to the world to be heard, their service felt, and their love experienced.

There is a tragic difference between a gatekeeper and a host. A gatekeeper not only keeps the world out but keeps believers in. The fence, the wall, and the barrier work both ways. This work of keeping the world out and believers in has more to do with Satan's goals than it does with God's. In fact, it flys in the face of God's commands and conflicts with Jesus' work on the cross.

There is a graciousness in Jesus that is not always seen in his people today. Outsiders should know more about what we are for than what we are against. This does not mean we ignore or demean the warnings of Scripture, but it is a matter of focus. We should major in the good news and minor in the bad news. Inspiration is more powerful than fear and dread.

The gatekeeper really calls into question whether Jesus won on the cross. There is much that could be said about fear and self-protection (and I will return to this soon), but what is important here is that fear and self-protection imply weakness and defeat. This is not the stance of the host. The host works from the confidence that Jesus has made us more than conquerers and that his Spirit in us is greater than the spirit in the world. A host is not arrogant because he or she knows that the greatest in the Kingdom of God is the servant of all. A host works with God inviting all who will listen to the great banquet that God has laid out for us.

In the end, we disciple through our lives. If we are gatekeepers, then we teach students that God is weak and that we have much to fear. If we are hosts, we teach students to share the gracious gift of God and teach them that perfect love casts out fear. But most of all, we choose to let the greatest host build his character in us.

Heroes Matter: Expanding the List

Here are some additional examples of Christians who have reshaped our world. This is by no means an exhaustive list. These names will lead to others.

I am always looking for ordinary people who made an extraordinary difference through the power of Christ. In a culture that is always highlighting the mistakes made in Jesus name, we need to be ready to show the very real difference Jesus has made through his people. I never want to sweep the mistakes under the rug, but the good far outweighs the mistakes. Your students should have many real-world examples of Christ's work to carry with them.

Health Care
Saint Basil - established the first hospital in Caesarea 369 AD. This was the first of many resulting from a decree from the Council of Nicea. In the end, the work the Council began lead to hospitals throughout Europe and eventually to our modern system of hospitals.
Florence Nightingale and the founding of the Red Cross.

Prison Reform
Elizabeth Fry worked with women in prisons and led the way to major reform.
Chuck Colson's work in prisons. Colson began his prison experience as an inmate after pleading guilty to conspiracy charges during the Nixon administration. This led to his conversion to Christianity and a life-time devotion to bringing the gospel to prisoners.

Artists
Rembrandt, Michelangelo, and Rubens.
Writers such as Annie Dillard, Walker Percy, Flannery O'Conner, Leo Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky, J. R. R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, Charles Williams, Madeline L'Engles.

Music
Avoid the modern Christian contemporary music scene if you want to make your point. Musicians who create for a general audience are the ones who have made the greater difference in the world.
Bach, Handel, Mendelssohn, Haydn.
On the contemporary scene, Bruce Cockburn is a great example of a popular musician who has added to the art while influencing a new generation of musicians and at the same time expressing his faith and its application to modern events and politics.

There are so many Christians we could choose from, but this is a good start. As you explore these names you will discover many more.

None of these people are perfect. That quality is reserved for God. I am not looking for perfect people, but flawed people that God did good things through. A good thing too. Since I am not perfect, it gives me hope that God can work through people like me.

I would highly recommend two books by Rodney Stark. The Victory of Reason and The Rise of Christianity give many examples of Christian virtue. The modern, cultural explanation for the growth of Christianity is that it came through military violence. That was not the case and these two books give an accurate picture of the spread of Christianity.

A Few Heroes

Students need examples of people who have made a difference for Christ in the world. These examples should come from all walks of life. Here are a few examples and resources connected with them.

The Internet has some excellent resources but always take them with a grain of salt. Make sure you can back up claims made on Web sites. Wikipedia remains an excellent source for biographical information.

Vocational Ministry
J. Hudson Taylor - missionary to China.
Books: Hudson Taylor's Spiritual Secret, by Dr. And Mrs. Howard Taylor. Taylor's autobiography is available at amazon.com for digital download for $1.00.
William and Catherine Booth - founders of the Salvation Army. The founding of the Salvation Army is a story of faith and social justice. The couple realized that their evangelism trips into poverty ridden neighborhoods were ineffective. In order to minister effectively, they needed to share the lives of the people they hoped to reach. The result was an effective worldwide ministry. There are many surprises in this story. I found the Salvation Army's roll in World War I and India especially interesting. Catherine's work is a good example of women in ministry.

Science
Galileo Galilei - his story highlight the conflict between faith and science. While placed under house arrest for claiming that the earth orbited the sun (many theologians believed the earth was the center of the universe due to bad Bible study and the adoption of Aristotle's writings), he maintained his faith and described many features needed for a good relationship between faith and science. Amazingly the same mistakes that forced his house arrest still exist today.
Books: Science Held Hostage: The Galileo Connection, Charles E. Hummel
What's Wrong With Creation Science and Evolutionism by Howard J. Van Till, Davis A. Young and Clarence Menninga

Francis Collins - a good contemporary example of a healthy pursuit of faith and science. He headed up the Human Genome Project and is now the Director of National Institutes of Health as well as an outspoken believer.
Books: The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief, Francis Collins
Website: biologos.org

Miscellaneous:
John R. Mott - Involved in the early days of the Student Volunteer Movement and the YMCA (when it was still a Christian outreach), he gave his life to organizing world missions. He also used his contacts to help with relief work during and after World War I. He won the Nobel Peace Prize for his work for the gospel.
Resources: His Wikipedia entry is a good place to start. From there you can find entries concerning his Nobel Peace Prize. His Nobel Peace Prize speech is of special interest.

I'll add a few more next time.

Heroes Matter

Too often the Christian faith is presented as a series of mistakes. The Crusades, the Spanish Inquisition, the Salem Witch Trials, and angry evangelists yelling insults on the corner are offered as typical examples of the fruit of Christian faith. But that is far from the whole story. It is our responsibility that students get a bigger picture of what God has done through the life of his people.

I have heroes who are not Christian, and I don't discourage that. Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, and Steve Jobs have been an inspiration on many levels. Heroes are not perfect. Only God fits that description. These people all have flaws, just like I do, but that doesn't negate those parts of their lives that have made me dream bigger dreams.

That said, we need to teach each generation that great things have been done in Jesus' name. There is much to be admired in both Saint Patrick's very New Testament approach to mission work as well as the fruit that came from the effort he inspired. The commitment, struggles, and insights of J. Hudson Taylor are inspirational. As are William and Catherine Booth, Martin Luther King, Jr., Thomas Aquinas, and many others.

While it is important to pass on the stories of missionaries and clergy, I think it is vital that we give even more examples of Christians who were not clergy and made a difference in the world. Galileo had many faults, but his Biblical defense of science in the face of persecution was brilliant. Elizabeth Fry reformed the British penal system and returned hope to many who had been cast aside. That reform helped shape American Law. William Wilberforce used his political position to work for the abolishment of slavery in Britain based on Biblical grounds. It took most of his life to accomplish, but in the end success was achieved without a shot being fired. George Washington Carver started his life as a slave and ended it as an advisor to Presidents. He used his gifts to make discoveries so that fewer people would go hungry. His ethics, his understanding of science, the way he spent his life were all directed by the God he overheard white people talking about. The God that he was so intrigued by that he taught himself to read so he could read the Bible for himself. These are only a few of the people who were not clergy but used their gifts to help establish the kingdom of God.

Too often, vocational ministry is the model held up to students as a way to serve Christ powerfully. We may remind them occasionally that God uses everyone, but unless we have examples to give them, to feed them regularly, that message seems to be little more than an afterthought.

Our students are given a few examples of evil done in the name of Jesus. It's our job to supply them with the bigger picture, with all the good God has been able to do through us in spite of our shortcomings. They need specific examples, though, rather than vague statements. Our mistakes are exposed in excruciating detail, as they should be. The good deserves just as much attention to detail.

In the next blog, I'll offer some names and materials to help you introduce students to some heroes of faith.