Three decades ago two luminaries of the Christian world got a flash of brilliance from God. Go to the youth of the nation, no matter how they want to earn their living, and capture their hearts and vision of a future with and for Jesus Christ. Two decades before that, I had decided to give up on being the geologist on the moon rocket, and to start shooting higher than the moon for my life’s work. In making that decision to go back to college and prepare to be a workplace minister, working with new and troubled churches, I would be earning the majority of my income in the market place. My deep conviction is that if Christianity does not work in the market place, it does not work at all. I have spent my life in unknown places, making the gospel known as I worked in the business world in Europe and the United States. It has prepared me for what God has in store for me, Agape Christian, and Morning Glory over the next twenty years.
The two shakers and makers that God sent a glimpse to, were Loren Cunningham of Youth with a Mission (YWAM) and Bill Bright with Campus Crusade for Christ. The impact of these two men with short term mission’s trips, campus work and the media with the Jesus Film that has now been shown to over 5 billion people, is monumental. The Jesus film has been translated into more languages than any other film and after the Passion of The Christ was shown in Arab countries, the film was in such demand that a million new copies had to be printed in various Arab and 10/40 languages. It was advertised as “the rest of the story.”
The glimpses that these men grasped were that if Christianity were to make an impact in the 20th and 21st century in the whole world, they would have to impact:
- BUSINESS
- GOVERNMENT
- FAMILY
- RELIGION
- MEDIA
- EDUCATION
- ART/ENTERTAINMENT.
Our Bible colleges, and seminaries have had some little impact on main street America. A strong impact in the third world. With the advent of mega churches doing so well in the Christian Churches and leading evangelical groups, still 80plus% of churches in the United States are at a plateau or declining. We are losing our teens that go to secular colleges at a rate of well above 90%. (Christianity Today and World Magazine have both reported that even the Campus Crusade for Christ, YWAM, and many campus ministries from coast to coast are predominantly Oriental, Latino. Anglos are a disappearing breed in Christian organization on campus. The other side of that story are Christian Church Campus houses in secular colleges that are reaching all flavors of the young). Across the nation, Bible College graduates with a ministerial degree are dropping out of the ministry at an alarming rate. I am a friend of our Bible Colleges, I have served on the Trustees of two different Bible Colleges over the years, and count a number of Bible College Presidents as good friends. My children that went to college, went first to Bible College. What I am about to write is nothing I did not say, while in board meetings, and in private conversations with leaders in the Bible college movement. We are missing the boat by not cross training our students so that they are most desirable to industry as well as ministry. I was constantly chided at Ozark Christian College in the 1950s, that “only those that could not get along with a church board and congregation became ‘tent maker’ or ‘market place ministers.’ I was at the top of my class, I would be wasting my time with small churches and the business world.” What I am saying, our Bible Colleges and those of a dozen other Bible believing denominations, have done fairly well with religion, but they have, in most cases ignored the other six areas of impact on culture. In the past decade, Walden Media has worked at taking Christianity in the arts and entertainment. Christian radio and TV are providing media for the choir (most of it non-biblical in my opinion.), Focus on the Family has worked at elevating the family back toward where God would like it to be. We really are, across the board, afraid of business, government, and education. To be bluntly honest, and even preachers ought to be honest once in a while, never before in U.S. history has Christianity had less influence on American culture than it does today. I do not believe that I need to illustrate or prove that point, if you read the news or watch “teleconfusion,” you know what I mean. I just want to make this caveat, there has been a good beginning in the right direction with Pacific Christian College in Fullerton. California, that has elevated to Hope International University, Cincinnati, and Kentucky and other having crossed that line, or others getting their ducks in a row, to cross the University line to have Christian Education for all seven areas of cultural responsibility, we are moving the right direction. But you still read and hear resistance from the old-line Bible colleges that think the only way to preach or witness is from behind a pulpit in a tie and suit.
Dr. Lance Wallnau is an expert in the elevation of Christianity to reach all seven peaks of culture. Let me list them again for you, they are critical: Business, government, family, religion, media, education, arts/entertainment. Dr. Lance writes, “That 3 to 5% of educated people control the national and workplace, agenda for ours or any country. In some third world countries it is even a smaller percent. These people dominate culture and set the direction for everyone else.” It is our goal at Morning Glory to provide Guatemala with a good number of that 3%.
Maybe one out of thousands will rise to this level from the ranks of religion. Once in a great while you have a Billy Graham that is respected but basically ignored by culture. A Mother Teresa that looked President Bill Clinton in the eye and called his attention to abortion, hunger, and illnesses world wide, he smiled and went on to shake the next hand. What you really have are hundreds from the business world that get quoted and followed in Time, News Week, and the like. You have thousands from the education world that are speaking out and being listened to. Nearly the whole country bowed at “the alter” of embryonic stem cell research at the words of Michael Fox and “Superman” Reeves. And then we could mention the influence in Washington D.C. at the words of Nancy Reagan and dancer son about how important to “science” this all is. No evidence, no facts, just emotion from media stars. The battle for Christian apologetics and our world view is no longer being led by us ministers, even the ones of us with a scientific education, it is a battle between highly educated scientists. And other highly educated scientists over the scientific autopsy report on what happened at creation and beyond, it is called Intelligent Design today. (After our 10PM supper last night Melba and I previewed the DVD “The Privileged Planet” by Dr. Gonzalez, astronomer with U. of Iowa. He was denied tenure because of his magnificent proof by our planet’s position and direction by Intelligent Design.) And the educational world is frightened to near death over I.D. They can’t refute it, they must ban it at once, at all cost, before anyone gets to hear the Conner’s report in the trial for public opinion. What I am writing is this, if we Christians want to make an impact on the next 93 years of the 21st century, we need to impact the seven mountains of culture, all seven of them.
Dr. Lance Wallnau went on, “That industry is not necessarily looking for Christian employees. They are looking for highly trained men and women that example Christian qualities in their lives. You know, “no drinking alcohol to excess (a Herb note, if you don’t take the first drink, you will never need to be picked up drunk off the floor. I ran for 45 years with the alcoholic auto world, I never once lost an advantage because of drinking bottled water or Sprite. In fact, a couple hours into the evening, I had all the advantages on my table), non drug users, solid family men and women that are not going to embarrass the company with scandal about sexual relationships that hit the news. Men and women that have been taught the work ethic of honesty, dependability, and who paid attention in class, learned the lessons and were not passed because of pressure from parents, or alumni.” Sounds to me like the average graduate from our Bible colleges and Christian Universities. If they are being properly educated, they can slip right into one or two of the seven mountains of culture and we will have a toe hold on a strong move upward. They can have a world wide impact for Christ. Dr. Lance is a very highly paid advisor to mega churches, multi-million-dollar para-church organizations, governments, business and Fortune 500 companies. He knows that for which they are looking.
This little piece of cyber space is a great place for me to get away to and sort out my thoughts. Sometimes I just need a “sounding board”, something to help me sort something out.