Church Gatekeepers: Who are they and how do they operate?

“So, what are you doing with yourself at the moment?”, my friend asked as we sat in the coffee shop waiting for our meal.

“I’m writing about how difficult it is for local churches to change the way they do things”.

“Ah!” she commented, “That would be the gatekeepers.”

The following example echoes this sentiment:

A clergy colleague was warned about the church where he was about to take up an appointment. “You won’t get anything much done there.  There’s a very strong gatekeeper in that place.”

Gatekeepers may be the secretary of church council, the Bible study leader, the music director, the treasurer, the person in charge of the church kitchen, the minister and so on. They may also be a strong person who determines whether a newcomer is welcome into their friendship group or not. All gatekeepers are leaders of some aspect of church life, and they often have a very bad press. But are they solely to blame for lack of progress in our local churches?  In this series of blogs I take a look at who the gatekeepers are, what their role in church life actually is, and how we can successfully work with them to further the realm of God.

In colloquial terms, gatekeepers are often perceived as those leaders who abuse their power by blocking suggestions, preventing new projects from getting off the ground, and refusing to allow new people to participate fully in church life.  They are often labelled as being ‘over-controlling’ and ‘power hungry’.  Gatekeeper has become a term of disgust.

However, there is a lot more to the art of gatekeeping than just blocking new projects or excluding particular people. So, let’s look more closely at what it means to be a gatekeeper, and acknowledge the following truth:

Some gatekeepers are cooperative and helpful.

Here are some examples of good, and not so good, gatekeeping. In these examples, it can be seen that the gatekeepers control people’s access to their group or program.

Control of people entering the group

Sunday School Coordinator – Example A

The church had a small Sunday School of about twenty children.  The Sunday School Coordinator was the gatekeeper to this little group.  Her administrative tasks included making up a roster of teachers and seeing to it that they had the relevant curriculum material.  She also ensured that the roll of children was accurate, that their families were pastorally cared for, and that the tables, chairs and equipment were set out each Sunday.  If she couldn’t do these things herself, she made sure that someone else did.  Her control over the entry of new people into the group was made evident when she called the teachers meetings.  Each year there was a planning meeting for the upcoming year.  The Coordinator was very democratic, so parents and carers were invited along to this meeting where they were listened to respectfully, and suitable ideas were adopted.  Thus, the leader opened the gate and let the parents come in.

The Sunday School Coordinator was not obliged to include the parents in the staff meeting. However, by doing so, her actions helped create a warm, involved community, and enriched the Sunday School curriculum.  She was a good gatekeeper.

Sunday School Coordinator – Example B

The young woman was 18 and had come to Adelaide from the country to begin studying at university.  In her home town, she had been an active member of her church and had taught Sunday School.  One of the first things she did upon arriving in Adelaide was to find a church to attend.  After a few weeks of turning up regularly for worship, she thought she would like to become more involved so, she asked the Sunday School Coordinator if she could help out in the Sunday School. “No thanks, we have enough teachers” was the reply to her request; and that was it.  The young woman felt rebuffed and hurt. She reported that she had to force herself to go to church on Sundays after that. She very nearly left the Church altogether.

In this example, the Sunday School Coordinator’s control over the roster meant that she became the gatekeeper to the Sunday School and could include and exclude people at will.  She obstructed the young woman’s entry into the group as it would have upset the carefully planned roster.  Unfortunately, her understanding of her role was too narrow for she neglected another part of her role as a church leader, viz. making space for new members to use their gifts. For this reason, I suggest she was not a desirable gatekeeper, as her short-sighted actions put the inclusion of a young person into church life at risk.  However, it must be acknowledged that if a potential group member is harmful to the group, it may be necessary to prevent their admission.

Control of group programs

Gatekeepers can also either facilitate a new program or activity, or block its progress.  In this next example the gatekeeper enabled a huge change to occur in his church’s life for the greater good.

The gatekeeper was the chair of the church council in his small church. There were several Uniting Churches in the neighbourhood which were all small and failing to thrive.  They decided together that it would be best if they merged into one larger, more viable church. 

Despite being aware of the benefits of the merger, the change also occasioned a great deal of loss for the members of the little church in our story.  Many had been baptised there, married there and had attended funerals of friends and relatives. The move meant giving up their history.   However, this particular gatekeeper could see that the mission of the church, and the proclaiming of the gospel, would be better served in a larger place with more people.  He accepted that the change was necessary, and supported and pastored the people of that little community. They trusted him and followed his lead so that the transition was as smooth and painless as possible.  In the new structure, there was no place for him to be a leader, but he continued to care for those people and faithfully attended the new church.

In the following example the gatekeeper demonstrated his control over the group’s output.

During the Church Council meeting, the upcoming church anniversary was discussed.  The grounds needed tidying up as the gardens were overgrown with weeds.  The Council decided that a working bee was out of the question as the time frame was too short and the church members were ageing and not really up do doing the amount of work required.  They allocated some money to enable the Property Committee to hire a gardener to do the work.  The Chair of the Property Committee, viz. the gatekeeper of this committee, was present at the meeting and appeared to be in agreement. It was his job to hire the gardener. The day of the anniversary dawned and the guests began to arrive.  To the Council’s embarrassment, the grounds had not been touched and looked awful.  The Property Committee Chair had used his power as a gatekeeper to put a stop to the Council’s plan.

Conclusion

Despite some negative experiences of gatekeeping behaviour, we need to acknowledge that this is not the whole story. Rather than using the term gatekeeper negatively let’s concentrate on defining these people by the role they play in church life.  Some are controlling and difficult but many gatekeepers labour away quietly in the background as they enrich and expand church life.

In an upcoming blog, we will explore where the term gatekeeper comes from in the Social Sciences, and where it is found in the Bible.  Can we develop a theology of gatekeeping? What does this mean for our attitudes towards this particular form of leadership?  What practical steps can we take to ensure our gatekeepers function well?

Image Credit: The gate of the Tintagel Castle, Cornwall, UK by Giuseppe Milo is licensed under CC BY 2.0 https://www.flickr.com/photos/giuseppemilo/