Storming the Gates

I had something of an epiphany the other day. I have debated about sharing it because it is doubtless one of those “revelations” that many readers will answer with a resounding, “Duh! Everybody knows that.” One of the consequences of being a life-long Bible student is that some of the older teachings get shed to make room for additional information. That’s brain science. Or it is possible that I never heard this idea taught quite this way; so here it is.

I am reading Simple Church by Thom S. Rainer and Eric Geiger. The authors’ premise is that churches can be more effective at making disciples with one simple process than with multiple, complex competing programs. I recommend the book, but there is one line of thought that I am really struck by. Rainer and Geiger bring up the question Jesus poses to his disciples in Matthew 16: “Who do you say that I am?” Jesus is pleased when Peter answers, ““You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Then comes the idea that struck me anew; Jesus tells the disciples that this proclamation will be the very foundation of His Church, “and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”

Rainer and Geiger point out that gates are defensive structures. The “gates of hell” are placed by the enemy around Christ’s Church in order to thwart its growth. The enemy uses his wiles to construct impediments that appear to confine the Church. Anyone who has read C.S. Lewis’ Screwtape Letters is familiar with the concept. Yet Jesus told the original disciples that the enemy’s efforts would be fruitless. Those of us who are modern day disciples have the same promise, echoed by John, “he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.”

So if the Church is the victorious force with superior strength, I have to wonder why we come across as such wimps when the enemy is engaged. Perhaps we fear failure. Failure is assured if we sally forth in the flesh instead of in the spirit as Paul counseled the Corinthians. Failure is assured if we have the wrong motives as James warned. Failure is assured if we twist the Scriptures to our own ends as Peter pointed out. Failure is assured if we hide the light under a basket. There are many ways to fail.

There is one sure way to win: The Church must storm the gates. Remember, Jesus promised the gates of hell will not prevail. What does it mean to “storm the gates?” Sitting in church on Sunday, no matter how good the church is, does not qualify. If the Allied troops had stayed safely aboard their ships on June 6, 1944, Hitler would not have been defeated. If they had simply listened to their leaders telling how big their guns were and how effective their strategies were but never stormed the beaches, the enemy would not have been overcome. Action is required to accomplish just about anything worthwhile. When Jesus described how his disciples should act, he talked about taking up one’s cross daily. He did not recommend sitting around in comfy circles singing songs about him.

Besides largely ignoring the call to action, the Church has done something else that can be illustrated with the gate metaphor: the gate keeps getting moved. To illustrate, when I was in high school, girls who would sleep with a guy were considered tramps – bad girls. If the polling is to be believed, an alarming number of today’s Christian young people are sexually active in high school. Satan has somehow tricked an entire generation into thinking that promiscuity is not that bad. Instead of standing firm on a Biblical principle when “free love” became fashionable in the 1960’s, the Church seems to have moved the boundaries. The same thing can be said of women’s fashion, popular entertainment and a host of other cultural markers.

To continue with the metaphor, the Church seems to have left the light behind and wandered through the gates into enemy territory without realizing they left the truth behind. I don’t mean to suggest that the Amish are right to remain stuck in the 19^th century, but face it: we are fighting battles on ground that already belongs to the enemy. How much sex is acceptable in a TV show or movie? How much cleavage is acceptable in a Christian woman’s style? How bad is homosexual marriage as long as the couple is monogamous?

I am beginning to think that the Church is in a similar position to God’s people who were taken captive to Babylon. We haven’t lost our Temple, but we have lost what it means to be the temple. We haven’t transgressed God’s law by erecting idols, but we have run after the “idols” of our culture. We are not an ethnic people taken captive by a foreign ruler, but we are a chosen people captivated by the enemy of our King.

The often quoted verse from Chronicles spoken to ancient Israel may be appropriate for this generation: “If my people [believers], which are called by my name [Jesus], shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land [church].” At that point, the Church will be in a position to storm the gates of hell and win.