overthrow

I was privileged to get invited to the Santa Barbara Community Prayer Breakfast this morning and join with hundreds of Christians in praying together for our city. The event was structured around the seven “mountains” of culture which are in need of redemption by the Church. Religion, Family, Government, Education, Arts and Entertainment, Media, and Business. The focus of our prayers was in asking God to take back these influences of culture for His name. That if we, Christians, can assume our place on these mountains, we will be able to reach people with His love.

I want to start by saying that there was much about the event that was easy to appreciate. The short speeches delivered by five local pastors and two local businessmen were based on Biblical truth and their prayers focused on God’s love. I said ‘Amen’ to every prayer. It is exciting to see so many Christians gather for the important task of petitioning God on behalf of our city. (Even if we didn’t actually get to pray out loud.)

But, to say it clearly, I believe the foundations of this meeting were greatly flawed. I realize that I am just a 21 year-old writing on a seldom-read blog. So I approach this post with humility. I have great respect for the Christian leaders of our city and those who hosted the event; I can only hope to one day enjoy the nearness with God that I see in the lives of these men.

My issue is with this idea that Christians need to dominate culture in order to influence the world, or at least to maximize our influence on the world. What the “seven mountains” philosophy teaches is that controlling culture is one of the most effective ways to love people. I realize that a word like “controlling” has negative connotations, but when Christ followers constitute a minority in our society, this is unfortunately how Christian dominance is construed.

This idea of pursuing cultural redemption makes sense in a lot of ways. If our post-Christian society is using these strongholds (government, business, etc.) to dictate anti-Christian sentiment and behavior, then we as God-fearers must be deeply grieved. And the response that would seem to follow is to fight for them.

However, here are two objections to this line of thinking:

1. It’s not a Christlike model of mission.

Jesus wasn’t about ruling on the mountain, but about dying in the valley. He was about selfless submission, not about securing power. Remember that in the wilderness, he rejected Satan’s offer of the kingdoms of this earth, and that reigning in authority was what the people wanted for him, not what he wanted for himself.

The Bible does not teach us to dominate culture. It teaches us to live with a love so counter-cultural that it catches a fleeing world. To live generously. To love strategically. But not to capture culture.

2. It’s not an effective form of mission.

If you’re in tune with American culture today (as, unfortunately, it appears much of the world is), you know that it values just about everything that God does not. Pride, selfishness, violence, sexual sin, etc. The Church does not have a diminishing grip on culture- it has lost it entirely. If you live in the church world, you may be persuaded to think that Switchfoot and Facing the Giants have a chance to swing the pendulum of culture back to Christianity with a little more help. I encourage you to spend a lunch period at La Cumbre Junior High and see if you feel the same.

Equally importantly, what is the message that we send when we attempt to control culture? It’s not a secret that the vast majority of Americans see the Church as hypocritical, judgmental, and uncaring. But this is not because it is what culture teaches. It is because it is what we teach when we try to control culture. We ban gay marriage and teach homosexuals that they don’t deserve the same rights as we do. Even though that’s not what we’re saying, it’s what they’re hearing. This is the message that society is receiving from us today.

So, should our response be to flee from government, from education, from entertainment? Hardly. But we must not make the mistake of overestimating their salvific value. Love is our only hope. A Church that seeks influence in culture will see its struggle increase as culture moves farther and farther from the Truth. But a Church that seeks to glorify God by following His commands to love our neighbors as ourselves, to provide for the poor, to empower the oppressed… this church will enjoy the favor of the people. This message of love is the one that I heard presented by the leaders of the Santa Barbara church this morning. Let’s pray that together we would pursue an engagement with the world predicated on God’s love as He would have us express it.

If you can overthrow then overthrow,
If you can overthrow your soul
If you can overthrow then overthrow,
If you can overthrow yourself, yourself, yourself

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