Seven Mountains

The problem with the seven mountains teaching is that it is partly true. The so-called mountains (media, government, education, economy, family, religion, and arts and entertainment) are really important for shaping the direction of society. The problem is that in the past, Christians often dominated the culture of their nation, so they tended to dominate the seven mountains (some more than others). That was wrong because people who were not Christian hated having Christian ideals imposed on them against their will. God does not impose his authority on people. He prefers that people serve him because they love him.

As the gospel advances, the influence of Christianity on the seven mountains should increase, but this influence will come as followers of Jesus serve the people of the world and demonstrate excellence in their spheres of influence. They should rise up because they have the wisdom of God and are fuelled with a spirit of wisdom and humility, and are willing to serve generously. They must not attempt to impose God’s standard on they spheres/mountains they serve in. Rather they will love and serve, and do their work more excellently than anyone else. If they are squeezed out, they will not fight back.

The mountain that will be hardest to change is the mountain of government. All government is a way for one person, or a small group, or a majority of the people to impose their will on the rest of society. That means they have no place in the Kingdom of God, which is based on love and service, not imposed power and authority.

The problem with the seven mountains teaching is that many Christians want to use political power to impose Christian values on the seven mountains. This gives God a bad name, because people hate being forced to do things against their will.

The Kingdom of God is established by love suffering and service. In my book Government of God, I have described an effective model of government that that is not imposed using force and coercion.