Closing the Church Doors

 

The above is from my church’s website.  I designed the website, and I worked hard on the slogan and pictures, wanting to create a sense of welcome for all those that stopped by.

But, I am the only staff member at our church...and I am a female.  I’m often alone in the church, which might not be so bad if we weren’t so far out in the country.  Yesterday when I was there alone, a man knocked on the door looking for help (which is not that unusual in our area).  I don’t let people I don’t know in the church, and all the doors are kept locked.  I opened the door a little bit to talk to him, but he kept trying to get in the church.  He kept looking past me, and three different times he gave me reasons why he needed to come in (restroom, phone, etc.) He wouldn’t look me in the eye the whole time he was telling me his story, and I just got an awful vibe from him.

I packed up my things and left, not wanting to give him an opportunity to come in again, and left, on the whole, feeling rather unsafe to be in my office.  But I’m also feeling like a pretty shabby representative of God.  It was cold outside, and I wouldn’t even let him in.  He needed help, and I hesitated...even to let him use the phone.   My behavior went against what I’ve read in the scriptures, but how do you live the gospel while keeping yourself safe in this world?

What say you?