“What’s the difference between an organist and a terrorist?” asked the vicar with an ironic smile. Without waiting for a response they continued ruefully, “Sometimes you can negotiate with a terrorist.”
Gatekeepers: those entrenched holders of influence that seem to be a feature of every small church, rural footy club and all kinds of other long-established organisations. Sometimes they’re organists, sometimes they’re the former chair of the board, the leader of the catering committee, a descendent of the founder.
Gatekeepers are people who generally have a very high sense of ownership and responsibility for the welfare and longevity of the group they serve. They often have a long history of hard work and generous giving. They’ve usually held a variety of leadership roles over the years and may still serve on a variety of boards and committees. They’re invested. They’re known and often loved by everybody. So what’s the problem?
Ownership and investment may translate into being entrenched. A gatekeeper differs from a regular hardworking member in that a good degree their investment is in maintaining their position of influence, prominence and recognition.
As a social species, humans automatically form hierarchies and instinctively protect their positions, mostly without conscious awareness of the drive to do so. Gatekeepers need the church or club to continue in order to maintain their identity and sense of purpose. Losing their status feels like losing themselves and they’ll instinctively fight to ensure that doesn’t happen.
In churches, a sense of belonging and importance are indissolubly linked to familiarity. Knowing who everyone is, where everything is located and how everything works creates a sense of comfort and competence. New people, changes to the building and its furniture or innovations in ritual and music spark unwelcome feelings of unfamiliarity. The instinctive reaction is to push for a return to predictability, and a gatekeeper will often lend their considerable influence to a change-it-back response.
The problems for ministers serving churches with long-established gatekeepers can seem insurmountable and it’s common for them to feel stuck. Common clergy reactions to gatekeepers include:
- Freeze ‘em out – avoid contact and try to cut off their access to information, because information is power.
- Force ‘em out – work to get new people into positions of influence and over time push gatekeepers to the periphery.
- Fight ‘em off – mount impressive arguments in an effort to overcome resistance with sound theology and articulate reasoning. Recruit a team of supporters and create ‘sides’.
- Leave ‘em to it – emotionally resign, go through the motions of running services and providing inoffensive pastoral care.
Each of these reactions will have some kind of effect. Occasionally it will be the one the minister hopes for.
Are there other options? Sure. Sign up for the online workshop Working with Gatekeepers on Thursday October 3rd at 10:00 AM AEST. Register here