“I’m wondering whether I should view Christianity not only as misguided, but as an existential threat to me and my family, and actively fight against it.”
I saw this message pop up on a group chat I have with some high school friends. As a pastor and the only Christian in the group, I felt obliged to chime in. As I chatted with my friend of 20 years, he expressed his growing uneasiness with my faith. He’d recently listened to a podcast about the Seven Mountain (7M) mandate—a call for Christians to throw themselves into a culture crusade and to vote for political candidates who’ll lead this charge. The militant tone of the podcast raised alarm bells for my friend—for good reason—and our conversation led me to explore several questions. What should evangelicals make of the 7M mandate? How does it stand up biblically, and what can we learn from its faults?
Seven Mountain Mandate
The seven mountain mandate, or seven mountain prophecy, is a strategy for cultural engagement popularized by Lance Wallnau and Bill Johnson in their 2013 book Invading Babylon. Since its advent, the perspective has gained popularity, especially among charismatic and Pentecostal Christians. Proponents of the 7M mandate call on Christians to retake seven spheres (or mountains) of cultural influence: religion, family, government, education, media, arts/entertainment, and business.
On one level, the spheres of influence the 7M mandate describes are a good summary of institutions that shape our culture. Anyone with strong convictions, whether conservative, liberal, Muslim, Jewish, or secular, naturally wants his values to be adopted and heralded on all seven “mountains.” A Buddhist, for example, believes schools operate best when following Buddhist principles. Whatever your deepest convictions, it’s natural to think they’re not only good for you but good for everyone.
But the 7M mandate goes further, and the devil is in the details. The perspective is ultimately built on a dual misunderstanding of Scripture and of Christ’s purposes in the world.
The seven mountain mandate is ultimately built on a dual misunderstanding of Scripture and of Christ’s purposes in the world.
Advocates of the 7M mandate find their biblical warrant for retaking the culture in Revelation 17:8–10, a passage that describes a scarlet beast with seven heads which, John says, “are seven mountains” (v. 9). The passage was intended as a picture (within a book of pictures) of the spiritual battle waged through all history until Christ returns. It was intended to give Christians hope amid their suffering and cultural loss.
The seven mountains likely refer to the seven hills in ancient Rome. When John wrote, the Roman government opposed Christ and his ways. However one understands the beast, prostitute, kings, and mountains in this passage, the conquering warrior is always the crucified Christ, not a sword-swinging church.
Misplaced Hope
Even if you’ve never heard of the 7M mandate (and its strange reading of Revelation), it can still be tempting to think Christ’s kingdom grows by “winning” cultural power and influence. If this is where we place our hope, it’ll be hard to stomach the losses.
Evangelicals increasingly run the risk of being seen as sore losers in the culture war. Our inability to let go, to relinquish positions of public prominence and power, reveals a misplaced faith. Too often, we’ve entangled Jesus’s name with a political agenda, as mainline Christians did when they made the church into little more than a social club for liberal activism.
I pointed my friend to Jesus’s words to Pilate: “My kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36). I told him that at his arrest, Jesus rebuked Peter for striking with a sword. That led to fruitful conversation, but it also led me to ask, What does faithful witness look like as evangelicals lose the culture?
Better Way
Jesus tells his followers to take up their crosses, not their crowns (Matt. 16:24–26). Historically, the church has thrived during some of its bleakest winters of cultural power. We can see modern examples of this in Iran and China. Though our faith may be increasingly marginalized and devalued in the West, losing cultural battles with grace, dignity, and love can persuasively display Christ’s cruciform beauty. Conversely, there’s nothing persuasive about chasing the perks of power.
Peter wrote his first letter to Christians facing intense persecution. It’s a treatise on how to suffer faithfully, a lost art in a world taking its cue from social media influencers. Peter cautions the beleaguered believers that though it’s worthy and beautiful to suffer for faith, they should be careful never to suffer as criminals or meddlers (1 Pet. 4:15). Suffering because you’re harmful or obnoxious isn’t Christian faithfulness. Worse, desperately clutching for the instruments of power or elbowing to get a seat at the table sacrifices Christ’s cause to chaos.
Jesus tells his followers to take up their crosses, not their crowns.
This doesn’t mean Christian political savvy is thrown aside while we lie down and float away with the cultural tide. It does mean American evangelicals have a golden opportunity, even in years when it seems the sun is setting on our influence, to prove our hope is vested beyond the material and visible. We can chart for the next generation a trail of faithfulness that avoids bitter and reclusive cultural withdrawal on the one hand and vengeful scorched-earth behavior on the other.
Losing well has to do with attitude. We soften our tone but not our convictions. We pursue what is excellent and praiseworthy because we care about what is good, not because we’re always right and have to win. We find ways, like Daniel, to bless people and institutions that are riddled with problems. As faithful evangelicals, we advocate for God’s ways and encourage our neighbors to follow them while leaving the results to God.
We may not ascend the seven mountains of cultural influence, but as we continue to promote our values, we can remember that one of our cardinal virtues is love. Jesus suffered for us when we were still his enemies (Rom. 5:8). For his sake, let’s love our enemies with grace even if we suffer because of them.
The Gospel Coalition