The Blind Beggar

An Odious Movement

Published by Rick Meigs on January 30th, 2009 in Other.

This is a cross post from my blog at Missional Tribe.

One of the Missional Tribe instigators Brad Sargent (aka futuristguy) brought to my attention a movement called The Seven Mountains.

Here is their guiding premise: “When we [Christians] lose our influence, we lose the culture, and when we lose the culture, we fail to advance the Kingdom of God.”

Now, I find this premise to be extremely disturbing, a completely non-biblical proposition and in opposition to the missional paradigm.

1) Jesus followers do not seek influence or power as The Seven Mountains movement advocates. Missionality is in part about being powerless. Not spiritual powerlessness, but material or temporal powerlessness.

2) We can’t lose something that is not ours. We live in a culture, we don’t possess it.

3) Not saying we don’t play a role, but the last time I check, God advances his kingdom, not us. And it certainly isn’t dependent on the culture one finds themselves in.

Speaking of Brad Sargent, he has just posted an excellent critique called Examining “The Seven Mountains” Movement. This is a must read in my opinion.

If you want to hear about this movement in their own words, check out this video.

Discussion question. How is the Seven Mountains movement a contrast or in opposition to the missional movement?

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7 Responses to “An Odious Movement”

1. Mark B
   January 30th, 2009 at 12:13 pm

   Don’t know whether you ave seen this from The Epistle of Mathetes (meaning “Disciple”) to Diognetus Chapter 5 “The Manners of the Christians” (thought to be 2nd C - but some think it’s much earlier… I particularly loved the bits in bold, but there’s so much in there!)

   For the Christians are distinguished from other men neither by country, nor language, nor the customs which they observe. For they neither inhabit cities of their own, nor employ a peculiar form of speech, nor lead a life which is marked out by any singularity. The course of conduct which they follow has not been devised by any speculation or deliberation of inquisitive men; nor do they, like some, proclaim themselves the advocates of any merely human doctrines. But, inhabiting Greek as well as barbarian cities, according as the lot of each of them has determined, and following the customs of the natives in respect to clothing, food, and the rest of their ordinary conduct, they display to us their wonderful and confessedly striking method of life. They dwell in their own countries, but simply as sojourners. As citizens, they share in all things with others, and yet endure all things as if foreigners. Every foreign land is to them as their native country, and every land of their birth as a land of strangers. They marry, as do all [others]; they beget children; but they do not destroy their offspring. They have a common table, but not a common bed. They are in the flesh, but they do not live after the flesh. They pass their days on earth, but they are citizens of heaven. They obey the prescribed laws, and at the same time surpass the laws by their lives. They love all men, and are persecuted by all. They are unknown and condemned; they are put to death, and restored to life. They are poor, yet make many rich; they are in lack of all things, and yet abound in all; they are dishonoured, and yet in their very dishonour are glorified. They are evil spoken of, and yet are justified; they are reviled, and bless; they are insulted, and repay the insult with honour; they do good, yet are punished as evil-doers. When punished, they rejoice as if quickened into life; they are assailed by the Jews as foreigners, and are persecuted by the Greeks; yet those who hate them are unable to assign any reason for their hatred.

   For me it captures some of the powerlessness, some of the ordinariness etc. of what it means to be a Christian (missional), about community etc.

2. Mark B
   January 30th, 2009 at 12:36 pm

   Watching the video (all characters by the way who where heavily involved in the recent Florida debacle!) I couldn’t help but describe what they are talking about as a kind of Religious Facist Dictaorship… if we get control we cal enforce/legislate the Kingdom… funny I don’t recall Jesus becoming high priest of the Temple, or King of Judah etc. etc.

3. Rick Meigs
   January 30th, 2009 at 5:26 pm

   Excellent Mark and thanks for sharing that part of the Epistle of Mathetes.

   It does have the ring of a Religious Fascist Dictatorship, and in a secular country of all places.

4. Matt Stone
   February 2nd, 2009 at 11:55 pm

   Ah, I sometimes go by the pseudonym of Mathetes. Love that passage.

   As for religious fascism, you know we Aussies find it amusing that this sort of thing arises again and again in America of all places, considering the offical stance on separation of church and state. Even Obama, much as I prefer him to Bush, gives the impression of pandering to civil religious sensibilities. There seems to be a strong shadow side in operation.

   The other irony in this situation: how do we sound a counter-voice while remaining powerless?

5. Sarah
   February 3rd, 2009 at 10:39 pm

   I think this is a new twist on dominion theology…

   The issue Matt mentions comes from the particular historical development of America, first as a colony of Puritan and other religious groups - then into nationhood. Manifest Destiny was the religious ideology of the day (for the early American colonizers) and the root of this situation.

6. Rick Meigs
   February 3rd, 2009 at 11:00 pm

   Matt… thanks for the comment. It is interesting that these things seem to arise here, but do remember that “separation of church and state” in our Constitution is one side. Government (state) can’t interfere with religion (church), but it imposes no restriction on the opposite.

7. Rick Meigs
   February 3rd, 2009 at 11:02 pm

   Thanks for dropping in and commenting Sarah.

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