door god bouncers in church?

We were blessed by an old friend last night at our house for dinner. We've known her for years and have watched her faith grow deep and authentic, one that asks questions yet trusts. She's bringing her faith to bear on her life in a subtle yet strong way, like the slow move of the tide.

She's been trying to find a place to worship and was sharing obstacles I have never heard of before. As a pastor I usually here things like;
I don't need to be in a church, I can worship God on my own
I don't feel like I'm being fed there
I don't like the music

Her latest problem? The bouncer wouldn't let her in. Honestly. She arrived at a particular church (one that I would say preaches the the Gospel) a bit late which is very much like her she admitted. She was greeted at the door by bouncers who would not let her in. So New York she told me! But the reason they were there didn't blow my mind until I started to pray this morning;
They couldn't let her in because there was no room. It was packed to the point of fire code. What did they do? They polity handed her a ticket to the next service so that she would be guaranteed entrance.

Last night I laughed with her about it. This morning it caused me to pray that the healing, loving power of God and the desire to worship Him would fall so heavy on our community that we would have to use bouncers to keep folks safe.

Jesus did have bouncers; the disciples. They had it wrong though. They were acting like "door god's" in the Hampton's and only allowing those in who were on their "A" list (or who dressed hot enough).

Jesus didn't need bouncers to keep undesirables out simply because these were the one's he came for. He needed bouncers because so many wanted to be healed and experience the love of His Father.
Those who thought they were on the A-list were complaining to Jesus. His response? You can get in, but it's not about dress. It's about your heart. Read it in Mark 3:19b-35


So today I will be praying for a great reversal for all of our churches. I don't care about "the numbers game". I don't say a church is awesome because it has so many people in it. But I will pray honestly that our churches will need bouncers who are trained to keep the masses seeking Jesus safe, instead of ushers who are trained in greeting visitors so that they will come back.