Coming 2 America : The Dung Gate

One Sunday, while in church some years ago, an elder who was well aware of my staunch allegiance to my God, and to the things of God, asked me the following question: “If God told you to take a stand against something, and in taking that stand you would be standing against your own church - would you do it?” Without hesitation, I responded, as one elder to another, “Absolutely! I will do what God tells me to do. My allegiance is to God; not to a church.” And then I asked him, “Wouldn’t you?” He never responded. He simply walked away. In asking me this question I knew that this elder had an ulterior motive, but I had no fear of his motive. I feared and do fear God and God alone.

Every leader in the kingdom of God must make their calling and election sure and not be afraid to play their role with integrity. Speaking out against what is unpopular, or what goes against the status quo will not get you “likes” in a culture where holiness and truth have been crushed in the public square. Cancel culture will cancel you in 30 seconds or less! Yet, like the sons of Issachar (1 Chron. 12:32), and like the prophets of old, those who have been called to bring Light into the midst of darkness, hope in the midst of despair, correction, warning and rebuke to a wayward people careening towards destruction, must be willing to speak what is unpopular and what threatens to cancel us out of the necessary conversations of our times.

When Nehemiah undertook to rebuild the walls around Jerusalem, one of the gates he had to rebuild was the Dung Gate. This gate was significant because it was through this gate that the residents of the city would carry all of the dung and ashes from out of the city and the Holy Temple - to be removed from their midst.

Many of us have allowed the Dung Gate in our lives to be torn down, and we have not been diligent enough, nor have we seen the importance of rebuilding that gate. But it is vital that we rebuild our Dung gates.

Let me provide the definition of dung according to scripture: that which is unclean; which shall perish; which defiles and is used to degrade; that which shall be disposed of and not used in the sacrifice; that which is useless.

I suppose that this blog is mainly directed towards my people, who are also among the saints of God. We must rightly discern the Dung Gate as a safeguard against impurity, thereby guarding the gates of holiness and purity in our lives and protecting us from continued degradation, as a people loved by God. God is on the side of the oppressed, yes, however, He can only fight for us if we are living in obedience to His commands and according to the plumbline of holiness that He has set (Amos 7:8).

Recently I tried to watch Coming 2 America. After about 15 minutes in, I had to turn it off. My spirit was highly offended by all the filthy language and overt sexual imagery. It was just non-stop dung. I watched as long as I did because I was hoping to get past the dung to whatever “great entertainment,” or “message” might have been there. After about 15 minutes in, the Holy Spirit seemed to say, “Have you seen enough yet? Can we go now?” I turned it off. I had this exact same experience when I attempted to watch One Night In Miami, produced by Regina King. I gave it a good, honest attempt, but my spirit could not endure it. 

As a people, we must watch our doctrine. Just because it has a Black producer, or a Black cast, or retells a message of our Black history, this does not make it wholesome viewing. Blackness is not and cannot become the foundation of our doctrine. As followers of Christ, we cannot afford to sit and eat at everyone’s table, even if the table is set with cornbread, and collards. If you have to pick dung out of the plate before you can enjoy the meal - maybe it’s just not worth eating. And if you’re okay with eating dung with your meal, this is a sure sign that your Dung Gate has been in disrepair for too long. 

My people, we are in danger of violating the covenant of God. He has promised to spare those who have set their lives apart to worship Him. He will make a distinction between those who live profane lives in rebellion to Him, and those who sigh and groan over all the abominations, which are being committed in our midst, by marking their foreheads to be spared in the day of judgement (Ezek. 9:1-6). It is important to note that the instruction from God, to the man commissioned to mark the foreheads of the worshipers, was to “begin with the elders who were in front of the temple”. Why? Because judgement begins in the house of God, and furthermore, it was the responsibility of leadership to teach the people the difference between the holy and the profane (Ezek. 44:23), not to indulge alongside them, thereby condoning the sin and leading the people even further astray.

I once sat under a pastor who constantly, with his false doctrine, and in his greedy attempt to wrestle every dime out of our pockets, would always aggressively yell out to us, “It costs to be a leader in this church”! He would then proceed to ask, for the third or fourth time in one service, for us to give yet another offering. But, in truth, the cost of leading in ministry is being willing to speak out against such false doctrines at the risk of being loved one minute and hated the next, of being ostracized, rejected, black-balled, and of having your bags packed and waiting for you at the god-forsaken back door of the church, and being told to shut your mouth and leave quickly and quietly.

The cost of true leadership and allegiance to Christ is being able to take hold of the courage in Christ to lead in the things that call for holiness and truth, at the risk of being cancelled, when all have itching ears to hear only what makes them feel comfortable enough to sit at a table with family and friends and to, nonchalantly, and ofttimes ignorantly, eat dung at every meal.

I have been guilty of eating dung with my meals in the past. Yes, I have. So, it is not that I have already obtained all this, as Paul said, but with an understanding of the times, knowing that as a people, we need God’s strength and His aid as we continue to fight in the battle that has enraged around us, around our children, and our grandchildren, I make it my strong goal to press on to do better. In Phil. 3:8 Paul says,  “I count all these things as dung that I may gain Christ”.

I realize this blog will not be popular and will invite scorn. That is okay. I began this blog by stating that I fear only God. Every man must play their role. We are not our own. James Baldwin said, “The [authentic] writer writes not because he wants to, but because he has to”. I am compelled to be true to my God. I have been purchased by Hs precious blood to do those good works which He ordained me to do before the foundation of the world. I write because He has ordained and anointed me to write. I am His scribe.

Unfortunately, if there was any noble message, or any great entertainment in either Coming 2 America, or One Night In Miami – I never had the privilege of enjoying it. This tells me that my Dung Gate is in pretty good shape – not perfect – but pretty good. I still have work to do on it. While many of my people are talking about these movies, even promoting them, and while they may even win secular awards, I am content to be left out of those conversations. Furthermore, what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul? (Mk. 8:36)

My prayer is that this blog will convict by the Spirit of God, and not condemn. I pray that it will cause some to see the urgency to rebuild the Dung Gate around their hearts so that impurity will no longer be easily digested, and that the profane will lose its power to degrade a people who have endured much scorn and degradation for far too long.

While you are here, I invite you to purchase a copy of my book, Who’s Guarding The Gates?, and its Companion Study Guide. Also, check out my newest book, Nothing But Bread and Water/ Reflections from an Exile.