INFLUENCE VS. DOMINIONISM on the Seven Mountains
In our excitement over this new seven mountain paradigm and assignment, we may sometimes get a little carried away in how we express it. We have noticed that Christians tend to like to use language such as “I’m going to ‘take’ the Mountain of ______________.” Likewise, I have heard of a lot of aggressive conversation about how we Christians are “taking over”—and we also seem to have a significant fascination with the word dominion. So, before we embark on bringing reformation into the mountains of society, we will really have to exercise wisdom as we describe our missional narrative. Society is listening in, and we need to be aware that the attention they pay to us will only increase as we move forward. Humanity’s dominion mandate from God is clear from the book of Genesis, but we must understand that none of the descriptions of dominion ever talk about it in regard to dominating our fellow human beings.
“God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth...Then God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.’” Genesis 1:26, 28
Dominion is clearly laid out as a partnership between God and man over all other forms of life or existence, including the demonic realm. Therefore, whenever we use the language of dominion, if we don’t immediately follow up with an explanation about what that means exactly, then we leave a huge open door for controversy, criticism, and a backlash of fear. “Having dominion” is not about Christians ruling over non-Christians, and we should always be aware of that fact. The dominion mandate was about the sons and daughters of God— all of humanity—having dominion over fish, cattle, birds, and all the earth, including every creeping thing and every living thing. Those last two categories would qualify as potential descriptions of demonic forces and they must be the focus of the domination.
“We do not wrestle against flesh and blood [people], but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age [Satan and his demons] ....” Ephesians 6:12
The purpose of “wrestling” is to gain domination over the demonic realm and the lies it promotes about God. The targets of our domination are Satan and demons, and we must make sure that we always understand that narrative and represent it correctly. The history of the world is rife with examples of attempted Christian domination over all other religions. For many, many centuries, there was a pervasive atmosphere of religious imposition, and most of us would not have done well living in that reality. One needs only to read about the period of the Holy Inquisition to understand how a dominion mandate can get way out of hand. The true dominion mandate is stewardship over the planet, and it is to be seen as an extension of our carrying the image of the One who created us. It is a mandate to express His heart of love through every area of culture—and when that is done His way, the earth will rejoice!
Influence, versus imposition, happens in an atmosphere of freedom. The great value of influence is that it occurs under free will. Luke 2:52 says, “Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.” Influence is the by-product of having favor. Favor is an irresistibility factor that often defies logic. True godly favor is that which comes by carrying a high measure of love. That high measure of love will manifest in actions that are attractive to people of goodwill and unattractive to people of devious intent. This must be our goal for how we desire to advance the kingdom of God: We must resist any and all impulses to impose upon the masses that which should be only a matter of conscience between man and God. May what we write, what we say, and how we say it begin to catch up with that important understanding. There is a beauty of freedom that outweighs the beauty of order. Again, the kingdom of God comes in freedom, and the order it brings is an inside-out order, not an outside-in order. We must watch how we use dominion terminology and make sure that we are at no time shifting toward order by means of imposition, nor even a hidden agenda or motive to impose. God has always had the power to do in a mere instant what He desires to accomplish. Yet He has chosen to endure the arduous process of winning over hearts and minds through love. As He is, so must we be in this world.