What Happened?
I began to ponder why we have lost our influence if this strategy was introduced in 1975 by these major leaders.  Why are we in the condition we are in today? We seem to be making some strides in other parts of the world, but in our own nation we seem to be losing the cultural battle. Loren Cunningham and Bill Bright have done a wonderful work for the Kingdom. Who could question how God has worked in and through their ministries? Yet, I had to ponder whether the strategythat was used was the best strategy.

You see, one of the mountains of culture is the Church or Religion Mountain. The door that was used to reach the culture by Loren and Bill was the Church Mountain. They trained young people through this mountain and sent them out as missionaries.

These young people were being trained to win the world through evangelism. Once they won one person to the Lord, they moved to the next person. They appealed to the young people to be missionaries to win the lost. This appeal was seen as a higher calling. They often had to raise support and live on only what they needed to exist. This also contributed to a poverty spirit mindset and a dualism that says, “This is a higher call than working in a secular job.”

Consequently, over the centuries this has affected men and women to believe there is actually a higher call in vocational ministry. Decades passed and these young people were a byproduct of a cultural mindset that did not see secular education as a means of impacting culture, but saw it as a copout and even a lesser call, or in some cases, evidence of backsliding and selling out to mammon and an ungodly society. This has contributed to a subculture among evangelicals that is more concerned with criticizing culture than changing it.

I wonder what would have happened if we had trained our young people biblically and then encouraged them to go to Columbia University or Harvard or Yale and prepared them for a career in business, government, education, media, or entertainment to reach the culture through the these mountains. This is where real societal change is going to take place because this is where the authority lies to make societal change.

Francis Schaffer seemed to understand this dichotomy when he established L’ Abri Fellowship in 1955 which has study centers in Europe, North America, and Asia. These study centers were designed to stimulate students in an intellectually and deeply spiritual foundation to give representation to faith within the seven spheres of society.

When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; but when a wicked man rules, the people groan (Proverbs 29:2).

Another explanation for the lack of progress in our nation may be the fact it has not been until the last 15 years that an awakening among men and women in the workplace has begun. This silent majority has been awakened through a very real revival among this remnant of the church that had been satisfied to simply sit on the sidelines and write a check each week to their local church. This move of God has awakened them to the spiritual nature and value of their calls in and through their vocations. Martin Luther brought the Word of God back to the people, but the faith at work movement is bringing the work of God back to the people.

We are each called to become change agents in the sphere of influence God has called us to impact. As each of us does this, we reclaim the culture one person at a time, one industry at a time, one mountain at a time.  This becomes our larger story. In the end we know God will establish His kingdom on the top of every cultural mountain.

The International Culture Shapers Summit
One of the most noteworthy gatherings of seven mountain leaders to be convened in many years is coming up March 28-31 in Washington DC this year called the International Culture Shapers Summit. There has never been a gathering of more than 50 high level culture shapers in one venue like the Culture Shapers Summit.



Consider some of the speakers: Roma Downey, Arts & Entertainment; Tony Perkins, the Family; Del Tackett, Education; Lance Wallnau, the 7 Mountain Mandate; Hugh Hewitt, Media; Ken Blackburn, Government; Os Hillman, 7M Strategy;  and 40 other leaders will be presenting over 4 days. The Summit is co-hosted by the Museum of the Bibleand World Changer Networkand Marketplace Leaders. All attendees will have access to the Museum free as part of their Summit registration.

If you’re concerned about the direction of our nation, consider joining like-minded leaders who will convene March 28-31 in Washington, DC.