Tag Archives: SOCIAL TRANSFORMATION

BASIC COMPONENTS FOR SOCIAL TRANSFORMATION

BASIC COMPONENTS NECESSARY FOR SOCIAL TRANSFORMATION

Social transformation is an amoral, apolitical and areligious force that can be used for good causes and evil causes. Transformation is therefore blind to the influence of the transformative power that people wield through religion, family, and politics. The three primary influential spheres also impact media, arts and entertainment, education and business as subsets that derive their existence from the three primary areas of society. In my opinion, the essential elements that need to exist for social transformation to be initiated are:

  1. A perceived need in society or a felt need must be recognized for social transformation to be implemented.

The adage “if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it” applies to this first principle of social transformation. People need to see an area of the social structure as broken and in need of repair. It is from the actions of the cauldron of the committed that transformation happens.

  • A people group that is in dire need of help from society must be identified for the social reformers to place their focus.

Good people respond to the seen needs of the underclasses, the disadvantaged and the minority expressions that make up society. Without the identification of essential needs, reformers do not possess the prerequisite to formulating solutions for the needs abatement.

  • A strong leadership base must rise into a place of influence that is willing to sacrifice and work toward the transformation of the identified societal needs. T

he leaders of transformation are critical, as they serve as the inspirational force that others will rally around. The power of leadership is seen in every social revolution, either peaceful like Ghandi or violent like Lenin and Marx. Leaders who accept the challenge of transformation become historical icons. Moses, David, the Prophets, Jesus, Paul, revivalists, the Castro brothers and Che Guevara, Idi Amin and Pol Pot, Mao Tse Tung, all have left an indelible impression on cultures and societies. From an impact standpoint, the only differential seems to be which influencer influences the influential. Is it Jesus or is it the god of this age?

  • The needed transformation must be just and worthwhile to sacrifice for its achievement, or the drive to transform will lose its appeal.

This is where the rubber hits the road, as transformation will never happen without this pillar being in place. On the opposite side of the pro-life advocacy, which I have been a part of from Roe V. Wade’s inception, the battle has never been won because the felt need of the existing mother and family need has not been overcome by the needs of the viability of the unborn. We see the mothers and families that struggle to exist. We do not see the unborn. Until the argument changes, this required transformation will continue to go unheeded. Without the ability to be seen as being on the side of what is right, the ability to transform social issues will remain elusive.[1]

Conversely, when the need has existed to educate a population, the church has stood in the gap and created Sunday Schools and Church Schools in the 1800’s to address the needs of British and American children. The same has held true for the abolishment of slavery by legislation that recognizes the equality of the varied races of humanity. The same principle applies to the eradication of disease through medical research. Measles, mumps, and polio have felt the blunt force of a determined subsection of people who were dedicated to the betterment of humanity. We see the same zeal and fervor in the modern battle against the AIDS epidemic.

  • The general population of the society must be convinced that society will improve after the transformation has happened.

If the society awareness need has not been satisfied, the necessary legislation that is required to adopt peaceful change will go unattended. This was seen in the long struggle to rid Western Europe and America from the horrors of slavery, and it is still seen in the lack of abolition of the abortion industry and the annihilation of the millions of children who have never been born. The modern slaughter of the innocent began in the Soviet Republic in 1929 and had spread throughout the civilized world, with virtually every major nation allowing the practice of abortion to be performed on the most vulnerable citizens a country should be protecting. 

  • The society must embrace the challenge of transformation and implement the principles that were won following the battle to transform.

This is the legislative process. The legislative dynamic is the most vulnerable to regressive actions. Therefore, the participants in social transformation must allow the transformational figures to rise to positions of power and statutory authority. Without oversight and protection, the initial recipients of social transformation run the risk of massive loss of the hard-fought points of change. This is readily seen in the actions of President Donald Trump and his administration as they actively work to undermine and eliminate the advancements that the Democratic Party initiated under President Barak Obama. Elections have consequences.

MANDATES AND MOUNTAINS TO BE CONQUERED

Our future and our faith cannot be based on a notion or hope that the followers of Jesus should have no desire to influence the cultures in which they find themselves. This ideology that disallows effective interaction within the basic units of influence flies in the face of scriptural revelation and the Book of Esther in particular. This is what makes the Mandate of the Seven Mountains so compelling, as the antithesis of this Christian assertion of influence can readily be seen in the radical activist Saul Alinski’s Rules for Radicals: A Pragmatic Primer for Realistic Radicals. Alinski’s goal was to create a philosophical guide for the less fortunate, or “Have-Nots”, in order for them to gain economic, legal, political, and social power.

Jesus directly challenged His followers to be as gentle as doves, but wise as serpents when dealing with the affairs of this world (Matthew 10:16). This means that we have to perform an intricate balance, much like a high wire act, when interacting among the cultures of this world. On one hand, we as the church are to be dependent upon the LORD for our sustenance. On the other hand, we have been sent as sheep among wolves in this world. It is important to note that the systems of this world need to be interrupted and that the church needs to serve as the referent for this interruption.  

When attempting to define the Seven Mountain Mandate that has been proffered as a mode of action for believers as a prophetic inspiration, it is important to understand the context of the mandate. As Believers in the Lordship of Jesus Christ, it is assumed that the Commissioned mandate to disciple the ethnos of the world would include influencing the metrons of power that exist in the Nations that house the ethnos (people), and that the mandate attaches itself too in a real world association. Jesus parabolic admonition that the ‘strong man’ must be bound prior to plundering his household (oikos gr.) or economic/governmental influence is telling, Jesus said, If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. 26 And if Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but has an end. 27 No one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. And then he will plunder his house (Mark 3:24-27).

Under the American Nation’s current configuration, and the Nations of the world in general, they are under the rule of the Prince of the Air according to Paul the Apostle in Ephesians 2:2, whose sphere of influence must be displaced or disrupted in order to create a proper environment for the advancement of the Gospel into the arenas of mankind’s dominion. This means that the spheres of influence that men exert themselves into or mountains of influence as the current argument chooses to identify as the pivotal points of conflict, must be subjugated in order to see Christian ideology and practices serving as places of influence in these metrons. Metron is simply the Greek word that identifies a person’s sphere of influence by vocation, thus Paul’s metron was seen in his apostolic calling.

The New Apostolic Reformation and varying other proponents of the seven-mountain mandate is not an abandonment of biblical teaching concerning the end times as many of their opponents wrongly assert. Rather the teaching of the Seven Mountains as strategic points of influence, identifies the way and means of exerting dominion at its extreme incarnation, and influence in a minimalist variation within the world’s systems. The seven mountains include: Education, Religion, Family, Business, Government/Military, Arts/Entertainment, and Media. It would probably be wise to add that other metrons such as sports, or properly separating Government and Military, and Arts and Entertainment is not without merit when discussing the possibilities of bearing influence in the cultures of this world.

It is certainly not unreasonable to suggest that Apostles and Prophets, Evangelists and Pastor/Teachers should not present a case for the believers place among the metrons that exist during their lifetime and in their spheres of influence. History has demonstrated that when the church or ekklesia asserts itself as a gathering place for governance and militaristic advancement, nations change for the betterment of their people. When the church remains stationary or indifferent toward the cultural assumptions that are being advanced, the people that are found within the governmental structures of the nations that house the church suffer. In the modern era, there are not any better examples of this truth than the American experience and that which enveloped Nazi Germany.

Churchmen should rightly assert influence in the building of wealth and innovation within the sphere of business in order to better the plight of mankind through proper distribution of materialistic acquisitions, and for the financing of the churches many particular mandates that exist within itself as a corporate entity. It is fitting for the community of believers to assert their worldview in the arena of education, thereby toppling the heathen and atheistic influences that have ensconced themselves within the modern world of educational ideology.

If conservative methodologies are not embraced within the realm of religion, an insipid form of faith that is void of a proper relationship with God will be the inevitable result. This must not happen. The pillar of the family needs to find a proper mooring within the restrictions of Holy Writ. This includes the everyday definition of how families are to act, and what constitutes a family within the norms of society. The proper exercise of Judeo/Christian ideas and constraints upon the civil aspects of government lead to the proper use and restraint of the military components that should exist for the defense of the nation that the military serves. This thought process also applies to the realm of the arts, entertainment, and the media. When the voices of the believing ekklasia are muted, these realms will be used for the advancement of evil. When the church is unleashed, those who hold to Jesus as Savior can exercise their creativity properly.

Men who advocate the Seven Mountain Mandate like the late C Peter Wagner are to be applauded for their candor and boldness in seeing the darkness that is attempting to curtail the Western way of living, and not vilified, regardless of a doctrinal acceptance or rejection of the offices of Prophets and Apostles within the current churches configuration. The argument for exerting influence needs to be embraced by the church in general, and within the conservative branch of the church in particular.


[1] Schaeffer, Francis, A Christian Manifesto, Crossway, Wheaton IL, 1981, pp 117 – 122