MOMENTUM ENCOURAGING TO WORSHIP | WALK | WITNESS
FAMILY
MEDIA
November 2013 | Issue 4
EDUCATION DUCAT
RELIGION
BUSINESS
GOVERNMENT Issue Focus: Seven Mountain Mandate
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
November 2013
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4 cover story 7 Mountain mandate - Way forward by Jaya Abraham
Momentum is published in India by the Gateway Ministries family of churches, for circulation among members. Subscription free.
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Editorial | Mohan Varqhese
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Influencing the family mountain | Stanley Mehta
Chief Editor Mohan Varghese
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Artists as restorers | Mark Raja
Editorial Team Stanley Mehta David Selvan Editorial Consultants Anand Mahadevan Shobha Sreekumaran Design & Production Sarangan Ramaswamy Published by Gateway Ministries International B 215, 2nd floor (Deck Level), Belapur Railway Station Complex Tower no. 10, CBD, Navi Mumbai400 614 Maharashtra, India Telephone: +91- 2222150654 / 22189036 Email: momentum.gmi@gmail.com
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are taken from the New International Version of the Bible. Articles featured in Momentum reflect the opinion of the authors and not necessarily those of Momentum or GMI family of churches - Editor
11 Happenings & Events 13 The Media mountain | Mobis Philipose 15 The Mountain of education | Glenn Croning 19 Reclaiming the Seven Mountains | Os Hillman 21 Q & A on the Seven Mountains | Anand Mahadevan 23 Reader’s Views 24 GMI Vision
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November 2013
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The Kingdom of God is a tangible quality of life – a state of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost.
The Church of Jesus Christ has a missional call which has often been understood as a command to ‘go and make disciples’ of unreached peoples. The Great Commission however, has within it, a call to disciple nations and bring transformation into every sphere of life by being “Salt & Light”. This issue of Momentum will look at how the church can impact these spheres with the message of the kingdom of God. The 7 Mountain teaching states that there are seven “spheres of influence” or seven “mind moulders” of culture that must be influenced by the Word of God before a society can be transformed. All spheres of life are under the sovereign rulership of God. The seven spheres are: family, business, religion, arts & entertainment, media, education, and government. . Jesus and Satan met at the top of a mountain and he (Satan) offered Christ the kingdoms of the world (7 Mountains). Whoever controls the kingdoms rules the world. Jesus took authority and spoke the Word. We can now bring the Kingdom of God to earth (Matt 4). The Church has, for the most part, abandoned six of the seven mountains In Africa for example, we have the worst reported poverty, the worst epidemics and the worst combined economy of
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any continent on earth, despite evangelisation. This is because of the lack of righteous leadership to impact the other six mountains with the values of God’s kingdom. Joseph and Daniel did not impact Egypt and Babylon by convincing people to become Hebrews. They spoke the heavenly Kingdom into the lives of heathen kings and their kingdoms which shaped the future of those nations The Kingdom of God is a tangible quality of life – a state of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. Before you try changing culture on the outside, be sure to carry the culture of the Kingdom on the inside. Isaiah 2:2 states “Now it shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the LORD’s house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow to it”. As you read this issue and ponder over all that is written, it will be good to ask yourself which sphere or mountain God is asking you to influence and impact. We hope this issue will stir you to action . As always we will value your comments and suggestions.
Mohan Varghese pastors the Grace Tabernacle Ministries and oversees their churches. He is married to Sareeta and have three sons Adarsh, Ashok and Alex, the eldest is married to Tiqvah-El and they have a daughter Mireya.
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November 2013
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The 7 Mountain Mandate Way forward by Jaya Abraham Introduction:
About the author:
Jaya Abraham is a VP of a leading Indian firm & head of CSR of that company. She is a trustee of several leading Christian Boards in India and is a sought after speaker all over India, She carries a great burden for market place ministries. She is married to Abraham and is part of the GMI church in Bandra.
The historic moment first took place in 1975- when Loren Cunningham, the founder of Youth With A Mission met with another pioneer – Bill Bright of Campus Crusade - two leaders who had divine revelation of the Great Commission. These two great men explained the 7 SPHERES of influence that required to be penetrated by the generation to follow. Cunningham defined them as “mind molders” and Bill Bright described them as “world kingdoms”. In Revelation 5: 1-12, we get a glimpse of an amazing moment taking place in heaven. The One worthy to open the scroll is the One who was slain for us! He is described as having “seven horns” and that describes to us the 7 foundations of power that the Lamb has because of His act of redemption on the cross. In Matthew 28:18, we read “all authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.” These 7 culture-shaping areas are Family, Education, Media,
Business, Government, Arts & Entertainment and Religion. These 7 culture-shaping areas are the key to advancing the kingdom of God in the nations. Every one of us born of the Spirit needs to believe that this calling is a “God-assigned mission!” Caleb at eighty-five, knew the mountain he was to occupy and influence. It is in the heart of the Father, that each person reading this piece will be able to do the same. We need fast trackers that would take this mandate to the next level. How do I know, “What is my mountain?” Michael Maiden in Turn the World Upside Down, writes, “the mountain of influence which you are called to, is the place where you will find the job you love, financial success, people you enjoy being with, and the ultimate personal fulfillment. It is your ‘sweet spot,’ were you perfectly fit. Not only is it God’s place where you can most effectively bring to bear His
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presence and power to affect an area of your culture, but it is also your place.” In Acts 17:6, it is said of Paul & Silas that they “…turned the world upside down.” And would that be said of us?
Reclaiming the Family Mountain: This mountain is where we target social structures and bring the kingdom of God to them. There is much room in this mountain to create new institutions that will be catalysts in healing marriages, families and individuals. These would be ministries away from the pulpit but that is where the harvest field exists. Some ideas: Babysitting services, Daycare centers, Counseling booths, Adoptions, Fostering children, Legal services. The “eyes of the Lord “will be upon you as you engage in this mountain.
Reclaiming the Mountain of Education:
God has placed the first responsibility on the family and then on the church on how our children are to be educated. Proverbs 22:6 (AMP): (You) train up a child in the way he should go (and in keeping with his individual gift or bent), and when he is old he will not depart from it. Teachers, who are Holy Spirit- empowered, are the ones who will break the lies of the enemy that attacks this mountain. So a three- level strategy at the student, faculty and curriculum level, needs to be employed. This strategy will offer a kingdom template that does acknowledge God.
Reclaiming the Media Mountain: One of the greatest influencers of society is media. The weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God, to the pulling down of strongholds (2 Corinthians 10:4). The ones with anointing to do redemptive reporting will have doors of opportunities open.!The new I- Y generation will be a big
blessing with their creativity. Prophecy and dream interpretation through social media will become a directional tool to the lost generation. Praying for this mountain is going to be a powerful way of tipping to overflow, so as to influence and impact.
Reclaiming the Business Mountain: Work is a calling. God’s assignment is to take this mountain for His Kingdom. In order to walk with His favor in this mountain, you and I have to spread Godly influence, be Christ-like in our demeanor, and steward His wealth. We have to look beyond our primary passion of just making money. We would have to visualize community reach and development. The triple bottom line will be to be largely “people focused”.
Reclaiming the Government Mountain:
True Apostles will take over this mountain in a unique way. These men and women will be the ones with profound intimacy with God. These men and women will step into these high places into their God chosen role. Prayer strategy is the way forward to reclaim this mountain mandate. We need Laws that prohibit illegal activity and focus on governance by servant leaders that will lead to change of hearts and minds of the people. This will give us victory over issues that we battle with currently. Envisioning establishing kingdom attitudes along with practical kingdom culture among us is a priority. Johnny Enlow writes, “faith gets you into heaven, while works bring heaven on earth.”
Reclaiming the Mountain of Arts: “Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I declare…Sing to the Lord a new song, and His praise from the ends of the earth” Isaiah 42:9-10. God is doing a new thing in this mountain and He will make it known to His
very own before it takes place. God will cause love to triumph over every sector in this mountain. The world is looking for authenticityprophetic men and women will reveal the kingdom by showcasing God in unique ways.
Lastly, the over focused Mountain of Religion – Church:
The 7 Mountain mandate awakens us to the fact that the Great Commission is not just about making disciples but it is about discipling nations. Even when we don't see it, God wants us to prepare for the harvest that is plentiful. Isaiah 2:2 “Now it shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it”. In fact, true disciples will grasp the fact of God’s working in the rest of the six molders of society. The rest of the six mountains will flow from this one as the Lord is exalted and His house is established.
Conclusion: Malcolm Gladwell defines ‘The tipping point’ as that magical moment when an idea, trend or social behavior crosses a threshold, tips, and spreads like wildfire. Just 3-5% of the population in each of these mountains moving in the same direction will create a tipping point. A minority occupying the high places is stronger than a majority that is irrelevant. Would you and I be the ones who will hold close to our heart His scripted Word, as we get ready to see how He leads us on to be the ‘tipping point’. “Look among the nations and watch – be utterly astounded! For I will work a work in your days which you would not believe, though it were told you” - Habakkuk 1:5.
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November 2013
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Influencing the family mountain by Stanley Mehta The promise of the new Elijah: The book of Malachi ends with this verse “See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the LORD comes. He will turn the hearts of the parents to their children, and the hearts of the children to their parents; or else I will come and strike the land with total destruction.” (Malachi 4:6)
About the author: Stanley Mehta is the overseer of Gateway Ministries International. He loves training and conducting seminars on family, parenting and finance. He is married to Esme, and they have 2 daughters who are married and a son who is 22 years old. They also have two grandchildren.
We know that John the Baptist came in the Spirit of Elijah as the fore runner before the first coming of our Lord Jesus, to prepare the hearts of the people. John the Baptist, turned the hearts of people to their Lord and Master and many responded by going through the waters of baptism. But now before the second coming of our Lord, there is another corporate Elijah (called the church) that will rise to be the forerunner to do a similar job of turning the hearts
of fathers to their children as well as turning the hearts of children to their parents.
The problem: We see today the fulfillment of what was prophesied in 2 Timothy 3:1-5 “But mark this: there will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without selfcontrol, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God – having a form of godliness but denying its power”. We have young people in their early 20s earning a starting salary of what their parents retired with in their 60s, wanting a lavish lifestyle, creating a
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huge appetite for gadgets and amenities. Some of them have become lovers of money, lovers of themselves, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parent, etc. Today we have broken marriages, rise in divorce, couples living together without getting married, dysfunctional homes, teenage pregnancies, abortion, child sexual abuse and homosexuals fighting for acceptance and their rights. The celebrities like the film stars and sports stars have been divorced several times and remarried again and again.
The solution: The wonderful opportunity In such a scenario, the Church as a “corporate Elijah” has a significant role to play to reclaim that which is lost. It is a glorious opportunity to ‘love your neighbour’ because we are surrounded by these hurting neighbours all the time. First of all the folks in our churches need to hear and embrace the Biblical message of “Husbands love your wives, as Christ loved the Church.” And wives respect your husbands…” fathers do not exasperate your children …. And
It is a glorious opportunity to ‘love your neighbour’ because we are surrounded by these hurting neighbours all the time. The Bible mentions the worship of god Molech, a metal statue heated until it was red hot, and then the devotees sacrificed their children by putting their babies in the arms of this red hot god. We could squirm and be repulsed at the thought of it, but today we are no different. In the abortion clinic, that is what the abortionist does. He inserts surgical scissors through the cervix of the women and cuts the baby to pieces and sucks the dismembered parts of the baby with a suction pump. Or inject a salt solution in the womb causing the baby to be burnt alive. One can see the baby in the throes of death as the sonograph shows it clearly. Today the mother’s womb has become a baby’s tomb. It used to be the safest place for babies.
children obey your parents in the Lord.” As the church members embody this message they will be the best model to this broken world. Then there is scope to carry this message to the world outside the church. One of the several possibilities is to discourage women from aborting babies, and instead encourage them to give their babies for adoption. This message has been received well within GMI circles, so much so that today there are about 40 families who have adopted babies in addition to having kids which are born to them. And several other parents have registered themselves and waiting for their turn to be able to adopt babies. May their tribe increase.
Another alternative is to run ‘Children’s homes”. In an orphanage we may have one house parent looking after 50 kids. In such a scenario the kids will still feel like orphans. But in a children’s home with a ratio of one house parent to 10 kids would make it more like a home where they can get actual parental love. Various social networks under GMI are actually running such homes, Mahima Children’s Home and Anandalay being two of them. The movies and even soap operas on TV portray affairs, double dating, live-in relationship, obscene jokes, and lewd language, all in the name of comedy. All this causes the value system in the community to be eroded. Listen to the conversations while travelling in a train, or the language at a college canteen. Or listen to the language during a road rage. It is putrid. So to counteract this, we need to promote & recommend films which have godly values like faithfulness, courage, sacrifice, loyalty, and commitment (see some titles of recommended movies below). Also there is a scope to conduct marriage seminars and parenting seminars in housing colonies, in churches across denominations, in corporate circles (after all, the business executive is nothing but a spouse and a parent). The message is well received even among the police force and armed forces; as such seminars are well attended by them. We should train more workers so that the message could go far and wide. The matter needs to be translated into several Indian languages so that it penetrates the whole community.
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Other ways to minister would be to single parents, divorcees, widows and senior citizens. Perhaps a session in each church every quarter would help to understand and minster to their need. Every church has a significant number of eligible single unmarried women of high calibre who have been unable to find a suitable spouse. They are hurting and deeply disappointed. Churches will do well to help them find their areas of gifting where they could use their talents whereby feel fulfilled, and make them useful rather than redundant.
No weddings should be conducted unless the prospective bride and groom have gone through a premarital training course for which excellent courses are available (see recommended list below). The church in its current state has no awareness or ability of how to handle homosexuals, bisexuals, transgender, other than be repulsed by it. But these folks have faced tremendous rejection right from their childhood and are now protesting for laws which will force others to accept their status. But a loving church, which accepts and loves them as individual people (but
We have had innumerable opportunities to conduct Parenting, Marriage and Personal Finance Seminars in schools, to a few corporate sectors and housing colonies and have also been able to conduct the same abroad. Sometimes I wonder who on earth would have imagined that we would be doing this, or why would God chose us? It moves me to tears as I think of God’s unfailing love. It is only His grace that enables anyone available to undertake any task, great or small, with just one focus: to love God and love people. In all, we may have conducted more than 100 seminars, and would have reached out to more than about 1000 people. The most exciting bit is in being able to take it to the un-churched, and have reached out to more than 600 un-churched people through these seminars. The feedback received has been very encouraging. Some parents have even come forward for personal counselling, and some of them want more such seminars. The bridge is definitely being built to reach people outside the fold. Vasant and Praneeta of Grace Tabernacle Church, Vizag (under Mohan Varghese), have conducted more than 150 Parenting and Marriage Seminars in Telugu in Andhra Pradesh. They also had the opportunity to get a slot in the TV channel to conduct the same. The
not their sinful choice), will help in their healing process and lead to their restoration. Using the media to bring greater awareness, and publishing a magazine for the family will be another tool in the right direction (see the recommended resource below). Even as statistics released by the media is predicting a collapse of the Indian family by the year 2025, we can reverse the trend, if the corporate Elijah (the church) rises to the occasion. The enemy can be vanquished. Let the church arise.
organization called “World Vision” has opened the doors for them to penetrate all the communities where they are involved. Shoba Sreekumaran and Shiny Abraham were able to conduct and facilitate these seminars among the Police Force and Corporate sectors. Rajesh Matthew and Lilly, Ganesh Pawar and Varsha, Rajesh Kumar and Rhema have all been able to translate into Hindi and conduct similar seminars at various schools, NGOs and churches. Darryl and Rashmi Braganza and Max and Gillian Ferand have been able to facilitate the Alpha Marriage Course and have successfully conducted it for many groups. Jacob and Rani in Chennai have been using Rod Gilbert’s book called the “Marriage Masala” and have been conducting Marriage Seminars for various groups. Joe and Sunitha, Ashok and Suni, and Glenn and Daniella, have successfully conducted “Growing Kids God’s Way”, a course designed by a couple in Singapore. The need is great and the time at hand seems short, but the Lord’s hand is not so short that it cannot save. This mountain is to be conquered and those who are ready will keep advancing, because from the days of John the Baptist until now the Kingdom of Heaven has been forcefully advancing and forceful men (and women) lay hold of it. Let’s go for it!
- Esme Mehta 8
November 2013
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Artists as Restorers by Mark Raja
About the author: Mark Raja has pioneered Integrated Arts Movement (IAM) dedicated to inspiring followers of Jesus to engage their culture to create a more good and beautiful world.
Artists are normally considered as transgressors, opposite to conservatives, misfits, and even separated as rebels among some spiritual circles. The church is considered to be conservative and spiritual, so they do not have any role in matters of faith and holiness unless they make Biblical-themed art or design posters for Church events or sing and play accepted music at Church. Today many in Church believe that Art has its legitimate purpose only when made for the Church or for evangelism. But is that the only purpose God has for arts and artists? For many Christians, God’s story begins with the fall of man (Rom. 3:23) and ends with God’s redemption on the cross (John 3:16) and the preaching of the Gospel to all nations. Yes, this is the very essence of our faith, but is it all of the essence of our faith?
The story arc of the Bible spans across creation, fall, redemption and finally, restoration and the new creation. His glorious new heavens and new earth is for a sinless eternity. But do we not often truncate God’s story by only focusing on the redeeming work of Christ and missing His grand purpose for His creation and its ultimate renewal? (Gen. 1:26-28, Rev. 21 & 21, Col. 1: 15-20, Gen. 2:15.) For those Christians who focus only on the redemption aspect of the story, their main purpose is to save souls and go to heaven. They tend to separate themselves from the world. Their contact with the world is only to win souls. So they make Art only for Church or evangelism. Let us call them Separatists. Those who focus only on Creation are those who blend with the world. They are involved in many philanthropic projects but have a very
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very little understanding on the redemptive work of God through Jesus. Let us call them Blenders. But there is a third category – Restorers. These are people who live their lives with the understanding of the complete story as God the Creator, Redeemer and the God who is reconciling all of creation unto him. …and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross (Col. 1: 20). These people believe that telling about Jesus is extremely important, but conversion of souls is not their only motive. Their mission is to infuse the world with His truth, goodness, beauty, grace, justice and love. They pray “Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt. 6:10). They understand the fallen world and God’s original intent for man and all of creation is the world that ought to be. God often uses artists as restorers. They share the love of Christ and make disciples because people should restore their relationship with God. They make art to restore the world with Truth, Justice,
Goodness, Beauty, Love, Mercy, Healing, Hope, etc. We desire to see churches nurture artists as restorers. Often, art produced outside the Church is considered worldly or secular, and art made within the Church is sacred. This sacred-secular divide dishonors God. The Bible says that we are to live all of our life in the presence of God under the authority of God and to the honor and glory of God. (Col. 3: 23&24, 1 Pet 2:9, Matt 5:16) My Art, health, family, business, neighborhood etc., matters to God just as much as my soul matters to Him. Dutch politician and theologian Abraham Kuyper once said “…there is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry: ‘Mine!’” Lordship of Christ over the whole of man and the whole of the universe is what the Bible talks about. Art isn't inert; it actually does something to you as a person and affects your outlook on life and how you approach everything. So as an artist you have a unique role in God’s Kingdom. Typically, ideas spread through culture from Philosophers and Intellectuals
through Artists to Professionals and then to the Common man. Artists shape culture, in other words Artists disciple nations. If you have identified your role in God’s kingdom and have heard His call, respond to the burden God has placed within and in front of you by making great art works that incarnates Christ and communicates the restoration that’s possible in reality. The world will take notice.
How IAM nurtures artists as restorers • IAM facilitate discussions, film screenings, workshops etc. • Encourage meaningful use of arts in the Church. • Develop programs to encourage and mentor artists professionally and spiritually. • Our programs and resources equip the creative community to generate good, true, and beautiful cultural artifacts: sign-posts pointing toward the “world that ought to be.” • Through understanding the culture that is and looking toward what could be, we hope to re-humanize our world.
Vice President Pride Tom was so excited about his promotion to Vice President of the company he worked for and kept bragging about it to his wife for weeks on end. Finally she couldn't take it any longer, and told him, "Listen, it means nothing, they even have a vice president of peas at the grocery store!" "Really?" he said. Not sure if this was true or not, Tom decided to call the grocery store. A clerk answers and Tom says, "Can I please talk to the Vice President of peas?" The clerk replies, "Canned or frozen?"
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November 2013
| happenings
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1. Stanley passing on the baton to Joemon, as the latter takes over the mantle of BBC. 2. David Selvan receiving the “Best student award”, MA Christian Management (Martin Luther Christian University) 3. Anand speaking at RZIM National Conference in Hyderabad. 4. 10th year celebration of the CCC (Hyderabad) - Mohan & Sareeta praying over Jose and Annie. 5. Hyderabad Church (CCC) conducted an Eye Screening Camp at Vijaylaxmi Stonebridge Memorial School 6.Workshop at BBC Colaba “ Life’s Healing Choices”
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November 2013
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7 & 8. Rain Trek - Mumbai Youth 9. UAE Church - Family Camp 10 & 11. “Plunge� - Youth Camp 12. Anil Thomas conducting a training program for slum kids (in collaboration with Mumbai Police)
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November 2013
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The media mountain by Mobis Philipose
Adolf Hitler's propaganda chief, Joseph Goebbels, is believed to have said, “If you repeat a lie often enough, people will believe it, and you will even come to believe it yourself.” The irony here is that there is no credible source attributing this statement to Goebbels -- so it’s quite likely that the above statement itself is the result of a lie being repeated many times over.
Mobis Philipose works with HT Media Ltd and pastors a GMI satellite church in Kandivali, Mumbai. He is married to Sushmita and they have a daughter
Even so, this is the sad reality of the state of affairs in various forms of media we are exposed to. A Press Council of India appointed committee concluded that the pernicious practice of ‘paid news’ has become widespread across media in different parts of the country. A parliamentary committee concurred with these findings earlier this year. Paid news refers to the practice followed by some media houses of charging money for positive news coverage.
Such practices can be used by political parties to win elections; by business houses to further their own interests and sully competitors, and by those involved in corruption to deflect attention. Of course this is not the only challenge being faced in the media sphere – like in most parts of the world, even Indian media has developed a weakness for glamour, which results in a disproportionately high amount of time and space devoted to inconsequential news. Besides, a survey by UK-based International News Safety Institute listed India as the second most dangerous country for journalists, after Syria. Apart from killings, journalists and media houses are often harassed with law suits in different parts of the country; such forms of persecution further impact the media sphere and its ability to
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bring out truth. The church of the Lord Jesus Christ is best positioned to tackle each of these challenges. Thanks to God’s grace and redemptive power, his people are far better equipped to tackle the above-mentioned attempts to corrupt and threaten journalists to suppress truth. Also, while there already are wellmeaning journalists and editors, Christ’s followers have a distinct edge because they believe in an absolute truth revealed by God in the Scriptures. While all of the above refers to the redemptive role Christians can play in this sphere, it’s also important to see media as the mouthpiece for all the mountains. For perspective, the church is involved in transforming lives through Sahaara Charitable Trust. A kingdom-focused media organization will highlight this, while another media organization might not be interested. Similarly, the former will be naturally inclined to draw attention to truth, honesty and courage; while the latter is likely to be driven by other considerations. In fact, God can do amazing things through His ambassadors even
when they are not a majority and are not in control of newsrooms. I can say this with confidence based on the experience of other Christian journalists and my own journey in the media industry. Many of us already know how God opened a door miraculously for Anand Mahadevan (a senior journalist) to write about the story of
Greater things are yet to come and greater things are still to be done. his conversion to Christianity, just at the time when the name of God’s church was being sullied during the persecution in Orissa and Karnataka. God’s hand was evident as Anand wasn’t directly involved with the magazine the story appeared in. And when Mumbai was reeling under the shock of the serial train blasts in July 2006, Jency Jacob of CNN-IBN (a journalist), who escaped despite being on one of
the trains, declared to the world his Saviour – the Lord Jesus Christ – and two verses that gave him strength – Ps 23:1 & 4. God has provided me opportunities to bring out truth, despite various forms of pressure. Some stories, miraculously, have even turned out to be prophetic. In addition, one of the highlights of my work as a journalist was when our editor called me to do a background check on a senior bureaucrat, and later his decision on running an important story was based on this input. Besides, he asked me to speak on the importance of integrity and honesty in our organization, for a promotion. Is all this not God’s hand working powerfully in our midst, even though we appear to be a minority? Even so, as the words of Bluetree’s famous song ‘God of this city’ puts it, “Greater things are yet to come and greater things are still to be done.” Keeping this in mind, the church should not only pray for a more effective media industry, but also encourage its youth to shine their light in the sphere and claim the media mountain.
Jesus is watching you... A burglar broke into a house one night. He shone his flashlight around looking for valuables, and when he picked up a CD player to place it in his sack, a strange, disembodied voice echoed from the dark saying, “Jesus is watching you,” He nearly jumped out of his skin, clicked his flashlight off and froze. When he heard nothing more after a bit, he shook his head, promised himself a vacation after the next big score, then he clicked his light back on and began looking for more valuables. Just as he pulled the stereo out so he could disconnect the wires he heard, “Jesus is watching you.” Freaked out, he shone his light around frantically, looking for the source of the voice. Finally, in the corner of the room, his flashlight beam came to rest on a parrot. “Did you say that?” He hissed at the parrot. “Yep,” the parrot confessed, and then squawked, “I’m just trying to warn you.” The burglar relaxed. “Warn me, huh? Who are you?” “Moses” the bird replied. “Moses?” the burglar laughed. “What kind of stupid person would name a parrot Moses?” The bird promptly answered “Probably the same kind of people that would name a Rottweiler “Jesus.” 14
November 2013
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The mountain of education - another brick in the wall by Glen Croning Behind enemy Lines:
Glenn Croning is the Principal of Stanes Anglo Indian Hr. Sec School Coonoor & Stanes School Annur. He is married to Daniella. They have 2 children. Glenn's previous assignments were with Tata-AIG and TVS, where he imparted training in IT & Soft skills. During his corporate career, he has trained over 6000 individuals, including senior managers & CEOs. Enjoys cricket, video games, and watching movies. Loves Jesus, his Family and Church.
Little Johnny was asked by his mother what he had learned in Sunday School. Little Johnny quickly got his iPad and looking into it he said "Well, Mom, our teacher told us how God sent Moses behind enemy lines on a rescue mission to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. When he got to the Red Sea, he had his engineers build a pontoon bridge and all the people walked across safely. Then he used his walkie-talkie to radio headquarters for reinforcement. They sent bombers to blow up the bridge and saved the Israelites. "Is that really what your teacher taught you?" "Well, no, Mom, but if I told it the way the teacher did, you'd never believe it."
Some of us have used this in our sermons and most of us have laughed hearing it. Little Johnny is generation iY led by left-Brainism. What is Education? Education is the knowledge or a skill obtained or developed by a learning process. Institutes that are today at the top of the mountain are Harvard, College of William and Mary, Yale and Princeton. These four universities alone are responsible for eighteen American presidents. All these universities started with the sole purpose of creating a worldview that put God in the centre of life as the One around whom we all must orbit. Three hundred and fifty years later these universities continue to have the greatest influence on worldview but sadly they are a bastion for liberalism, which is manifested in a philosophy that displaces God from the centre and puts man there instead.
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This mountain was once dominated by those who believed in God as the centre of life. Today it is infiltrated and taken over by forces opposed to this view.
From Left-Brainism to RightBrainism. We are all born with a dual core processor, left brain and right brain. They process information in an entirely different manner. The left brain is similar to the ALU (Arithmetic Logic Unit) of a computer where information is processed analytically and sequentially. If you are weak in math you know which side to blame. The right brain is the creative side. It processes information all at once and is not highly organised. Art, Music, this article, all are products of predominately the right brain. Upon entering school, most children are right-brain. It doesn’t take long however for that to change dramatically after few years of education. Today 90 percent of the children are left-brain dominant. Why is this important? What’s wrong with being left-brain dominant? When Jesus came, the greatest influencers of the education mountain were the Greeks who were highly left brain dominant. So John the Baptist had to prepare the people by saying,” There is a man coming from Heaven and he is about to blow your mind, those with a left processor will find it difficult to understand.” Here are the challenges the left-brain culture faced when Jesus spoke. Logic states that two plus two is four. I’ll show you that one can put a thousand to flight and two can chase ten thousand. I’ll show you
how two fish and five pieces of bread can feed more than five thousand. And to really mess your left brain, there will be more left over than there was to start with! I am going to defy the laws of physics and walk on water. If you want to be great, you must become nothing. If you want to live, you must die. If you want to go up, you must go down. His principles baffled Greek computations. Unless it’s logical, it is not acceptable. All of Jesus’ teaching can be challenged by the left brain and can be rejected. With 90 percent of the current generation being left brain, you can understand how hard it is. Now do you understand the dilemma of Little Johnny who was asked by his mother what he had learned in Sunday School. Add Generation i Y to this.
From Generation to Generation: Let’s look at Generational demarcation. People born between 1926 – 1945 Boosters , 1946 – 1965 Boomers (baby boomers) , 1966 – 1985 Gen X , 1986 – 2005 Gen Y and 1995 > Generation iY. The difference between these generations can be illustrated by the story of three missionaries representing each of the three generations being asked by their leaders to jump in the air: the Booster asked, ‘How high?’; the Boomer asked, ‘Why?’; and the GenX said, ‘I’ll jump if you jump with me’! If we add Gen iY they might say, ‘I’ll jump if you hold my iPad for me!’ .
Generation iY is 1) An overwhelmed generation: 94% claim to feel overwhelmed by their lifestyles
2) An over-connected generation: they master new technology easily, but their lives are increasingly governed by devices that can be addictive psychologically and physically. 3) An over-protected generation: children have grown up in an obsessively protective world – shielded from danger, pain and discomfort, often sheltered to the extent that much of their life is spent indoors in front of screens – they live ‘virtual lives’. 4) An over-served generation: they grow up knowing they are the focus of their world – families, advertisers, retailers, educationists and politicians. They become narcissistic, idealists without the will or endurance to persevere and persist through pain and deprivation 5) Gen iY can also be energetic, confident and capable. They dream big, they are hugely optimistic and they care for their friends – peer relationships are often paramount because they lack points of connection with parents, family, teachers and society at large. This completes your understanding of Little Johnny, a generation iY kid lead by left-brainism. Are you still laughing?
The Strongholds: The stronghold of the left-brainism - “mind of reason” has led to Pride, Humanism, Rationalism and Atheism. Left brain thinking shapes all our educational institutions. It determines the careers we value - compare the pay scales for lawyers, doctors, and bankers to those of artists, musicians, and writers. What is the kind of man
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you want your daughter to marry? I am yet to hear one say I want mine to marry a poet.
Kingdom Strategy: How do we address this? 1) We need spirit-filled educators people who can present curriculum in a way that is balanced 2) Restoration of creativity - The left brain is designed to serve the interests of the right brain. We were created to submit the left brain to right brain perceptions. 3) Discovery of destiny & purpose we need to help all to understand that they have a destiny and purpose, and 4) Develop a kingdom worldview - a worldview that puts God in the centre of life as the One around whom we all must orbit. If we don’t, they’ll find something else - New Age, drugs, music, Harry Potter, or anything to satisfy the right-brain craving.
This is a huge mountain and needs to be addressed by a five-fold ministry. All need to play an active part. Apostles to influence thinkers and universities. Prophets who can see into the future of this mountain. Teachers who can bring balance to left-brain: right-brain thinking. Pastors who can help this generation connect with people.
Taking over this mountain is not to impose religion on anyone. Evangelists who can present the true gospel of Jesus. Intercessors who can pray for practical solutions to problems of this mountain. I am not suggesting that “Jesus” needs to be stamped all over the curriculum for it to be anointed and useful. The kingdom of God always advances under free will. Taking
over this mountain is not to impose religion on anyone. It simply means creating a level playing field. If we present the true gospel of Jesus, He will be so attractive that He will draw all men to Himself. Little Johnny will have the courage to believe and tell his Mom that it was Jesus who parted the Red Sea. This is the endgame of the mountain to be a source of “wisdom”. Let us help in raising a generation that is better than ours. So much is talked about and so much money is spent on leaving a better planet for the next generation; let us work towards leaving a better generation for this planet. (This article in inspired by many authors, borrowed Jokes and my own experience)
NOTE: Please refer statistics on the following page
Swim of Love... Once there was a millionaire who collected live alligators. He kept them in the pool in the back of his mansion. The millionaire also had a beautiful single daughter. So one day he decides to throw a huge party, and during the party he announces: "My dear guests, I have a proposition to every man here. I will give one million dollars or my daughter to the man that can swim across this pool full of alligators and emerge unharmed!" As soon as he finished his last word there was the sound of a large SPLASH! One guy was in the pool, swimming as fast as he could, and the crowd was cheering him on. Finally he made it to the other side unharmed. The millionaire was impressed. He said "My boy that was incredible! Fantastic! I didn't think it could be done! Well I must keep my end of the bargain, so which do you want: my daughter or the one million dollars? The guy says "Listen I don't want your money! And I don't want your daughter! I just want the goober who pushed me into that pool!
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Statistics on Education & Vocation in India The Indian education system is the largest in Commonwealth countries and the second largest in the world, after USA. Tremendous Growth since Independence, but still:
Gross Enrollment Ratio: Classes (I-V)
(6-11 years)
109.4%
Classes (VI-VIII)
(11-14 years)
71.15%
Classes (I-VIII)
(6-14 years)
94.92%
Classes (IX-X)
(14-16 years)
52.26%
Classes (XI-XII)
(16-18 years)
28.54%
Higher Education
(18-24 yrs)
11.61 %
(6-11 years)
25.47 %
(6-14 years) (6-16 years)
48.71 % 61.59 %
The dropout rate: Classes (I-V) Classes (I-VIII) Classes (I-X)
These high dropout rates in school, combined with low enrolment rates at the higher levels deprive tens of millions of children of their full rights as citizens.
Vocational training and self-employment avenues ! Every year 5.5 million students pass out of Class X, of which 3.3 million go to Class XI, leaving 2.2 million out of the education stream. ! Those who drop out after Class VIII are approx. 20-21 million. They need attention. ! Available formal training capacity of the country - only 2.3 million students. This leaves a gap of 18.7 million. The ITI system needs to revamp to fill this gap.
Among persons of age 15 years and above: ! Only 2 % had any type of technical degrees/ diplomas/ certificates. ! The proportion was only 1% in the rural areas and 5 % in the urban. ! Only 40 % of the 55,000 instructors have undergone a full instructor-training course” (Urgent need for training of trainers) (Planning Commission). ! About 95% of the world youth (15 - 35 yrs) age learn any type of vocation / skill / trade, with a choice of 3000 vocational streams. ! In India we have identified only about 170 trades and only 2-3% of the youth (15-29 yrs) goes in for formal vocational training.
! China has nearly 500,000 senior higher secondary vocational schools, whereas we have about 5100 ITI’s and 6000 VET schools in all. To boost Vocational Education and Skill Development, the Prime Minister in his Independence Day address stated that, opening 1600 new ITI’s and Polytechnics and 50,000 new Skill Development Centers, would enable 10,000,000 students get vocational training. Compared to many developed countries India is far behind in introducing new and innovative trades in VET to attract young children. Only 5% in the (20 – 24) age group have undergone formal vocational training as compared to 60 – 80% in most industrialized nations. Every year 5-7% should be involved in vocational programmes.
EDUCATING DROPOUTS WITH SKILLS Out of approx. 211 million children in the (6-14 yrs) age group - 84.91 % are enrolled in schools. More than 35 million children in the (6-14) age group are out of school Net primary school enrolment/attendance is only 77% By year 2016 there will be approx. 500 million people with less than five years of schooling Another 300 million that will not have completed high school. Two-third of the population will lack minimum level of education More than 50 % of the girls in the country do not enroll in schools Only 45.8 % girls complete education in rural areas as compared to 66.3 % boys. In urban areas, 66.3 % girls complete education as opposed to 80.3 % boys Children put in an average of 21 hours of labour per week, at the cost of education 60 million children are thought to be child laborers 35% of our population are still illiterate
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November 2013
| blog excerpt
Reclaiming the 7 mountains (excerpt from Os Hillman’s blog) The idea of “Reclaiming the 7 Mountains”, or “The 7 Mountain Mandate, has got a lot of attention in the Christian community in recent years. Whether you call them “mountains”, “spheres”, or “mindmoulders”, it is clear that this idea is not just a trend, and is here to stay. Every concerned Christian wants to serve God with the love, care, integrity, and selfless servant-hood that our Saviour Jesus modelled. The 7 Mountain Mandate gives us a framework to live out what Jesus said when he came to reclaim “that which was lost” (Luke 19:10).
Os Hillman is president of Marketplace Leaders, an organization whose purpose is to help men and women discover and fulfill God’s complete purposes through their work and to view their work as ministry.
Loren Cunningham described the revelation he received from God on 7 Mountains thus: And I said, "These are the areas that you can go into as missionaries. Here they are: First, it’s the institution set up by God first, the family. After the family was church, or the people of God. The third was the area of school, or education. The fourth was
media, public communication, in all forms, printed and electronic. The fifth was what I call celebration, the arts, entertainment, and sports, where you celebrate within a culture. The sixth would be the whole area of the economy, which starts with innovations in science and technology, productivity, sales, and service. This whole area we often call it business, but sometimes leave out the scientific part, which actually raises the wealth of the world. Anything new, like making sand into chips for a microchip, that increases wealth in the world. And then of course prediction sales and service helps to spread the wealth. And so the last was the area of government. Now government, the Bible shows in Isaiah 33 verse 22 that there are three branches of government, so it’s all of the three branches: judicial, legislative, and executive. And then there are subgroups under all of those seven groups. And there are literally thousands upon thousands of
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sub-groups. But those seven can be considered like mountains. Caleb said: ‘Give me this mountain,’ and they can be a ‘mountain’ to achieve for God. Or they can be a classroom that you’re going to disciple a nation in. Because Jesus said, ‘Go and disciple all nations. ’And it also can affect us because in those areas we can be changed, transformed by the Holy Spirit to be effective missionaries into the area that God has called us into, and we will see it as not just a job to get money to stay alive, but ‘as the Father sent Me, so send I you,’ Jesus said.
and seasoned than us? Are we willing to take risks, influenced by His leading and trustworthy leaders around us? Most often our pride gets in the way of being truly used by Him. But Jesus’ model is that of discipleship. If we are going to disciple nations, the culture, even our own communities, we need to be willing to be discipled ourselves. The higher you go up a “mountain”, the more intense it becomes. We need to make sure our foundations are solid and secure, especially in the area of family root systems, in
from here.” (Exodus 33:15) Moses knew He needed God’s presence to exercise His authority. Those God calls into leadership have the mark of His presence. His presence is the foundation for miracles. It means we have devoted ourselves to a life of integrity and of seeking after Him. His presence gives credibility, but we must also be credible in our field too. We must be excellent. If we are not credible, we lose our Christian witness. It’s as simple as that. Joseph was a Hebrew. He had a Hebrew’s heart. He was circumcised: a mark of his covenant with God Almighty. But, he ate, looked, and talked like an Egyptian. He learned the culture. However, he did not compromise his morals. This is how he was able to remain at the top, and even re-promoted after he was wrongly accused.
The higher you go up a “mountain”, the more intense it becomes. We need to make sure our foundations are solid and secure, especially in the area of family root systems, in order to ensure we are not taken out by the enemy’s schemes.
What do we have to do to raise up a generation of passionate, principled Christ-seekers, in education, in media, in entertainment, in business, in government?
First we have to realize that our lives are not our own. Our lives are not just God’s for two hours on a Sunday, or 10% of our gross income; our lives are His 24-7. There is no divide between our work and our calling. Our work is our calling. Our lives are our calling. Everything we do is worship to Him. Our lives are a reflection of His love and redemption – as we continue to allow Him to do his shaping work in our lives. “To whom much is given, much is required.” Our worldview must match that of the Bible. Second, we need to ask ourselves whether or not our faith is truly authentic. Are we hearing from God on a regular basis? Are we fellow-shipping with other believers? Do we make worship and tithing a regular practice? Are we willing to be mentored, or to learn the “paths” of Christ through someone more spiritually mature
order to ensure we are not taken out by the enemy’s schemes. (1 Peter 5:8) Living off emotions versus proven practice of principles will ensure our witness will not endure, and prove our root systems shallow. Many leaders discovered the integrity they began with was not strong enough to keep them on the top of a cultural mountain and were taken out through moral failure. Finally, how are we different from non-believers? Why would anyone who is not a Christian want to be like us? Do we have a life worth emulating? If we do not have the fruits of peace, joy, and love in our lives, why would people want to be around us? Leadership is influence. The truth is anyone can be a nice person. Anyone can walk in integrity. But, what is our mark of distinction? It is His presence. God’s presence enables us to have influence. His presence gives us favour; it goes before us. Moses said to God, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up
In summary, Reclaiming the 7 Mountains is a personal journal of encountering Christ in a real and tangible way every day. It then extends to every aspect of our lives, with whomever we encounter. We are called because we have encountered Him. We are called because we love. We are called because we serve. In whatever field or mountain you find yourself, seek God’s will in everything you do. His desire is for us to excel. His desire is for us to be influencers. But discipleship must happen in our hearts before we can disciple the world around us. People will begin to listen when our love and credibility precedes our message. Reclaiming the 7 Mountains is about manifesting the true love, nature, and character of Jesus in every place in society by living with Him every day.
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November 2013
|Q&A
A brief Q & A in the Seven Mountains Mandate by Anand Mahadevan A wonderful young believer, who is gifted in music, recently decided to quit a 'secular' rock band he was part of. This is how he explained his decision on a post on Facebook. "I really couldn't do justice to the lyrics of those songs. They were either too vulgar, or I couldn't mean it when I played them. However there are definitely a few nice songs."
Anand Mahadevan has been a follower of Jesus Christ since 1993 and a business journalist since 1994 and he works currently in ET as features editor. He is married to Ajitha and they have two children. Anand and a small team are planting New City Church in South Mumbai.
He made a wise choice. And many believers applauded his decision and encouraged him. But if this young man's journey in 'secular' music ends here, it would be a loss for God's kingdom here on earth. Music doesn't belong to the world. It belongs to God. It is a gift from God to humanity. But it has been stolen, corrupted and abused. This young man did the right thing by choosing not to sing songs that are vulgar. But that is only the first step.
The second step would be to prayerfully create excellent and beautiful 'secular' music that celebrates all of life and all that God has given to mankind. This young man needs to engage with the mountain of arts and entertainment. He needs to prayerfully work to restore it to the original glory God intended for it. The young man's journey, his doubts, his struggles and challenges mirrors that of countless other believers who engage with the seven mountains. What is right and what is wrong? How far can I go? How can I engage with only the good, beautiful parts of secular culture and reject the sinful parts? These are questions we need to wrestle with and find Christinspired answers to. Hopefully, this small primer on the seven mountains will get us started on that journey.
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What is the Biblical basis for the seven mountains mandate? God’s mandate to Adam and Eve was to have dominion over all of creation. This included the hardware – land, plants, animals etc. It also included the software – culture, arts, government etc. Adam’s sin messed up God’s plan for creation. But Jesus came to redeem humanity and all of creation (Romans 8:18-24). Jesus has also sent us to be `in the world, but not of it.’ He has sent us to be ‘salt’ and ‘light.’ He has given us the mandate to influence all of culture with kingdom values. Jesus also taught us to pray for God’s kingdom to come on earth as it is in heaven. The seven mountains mandate encourages believers and churches to actively live out all of the above.
What are some examples of seven mountains initiatives churches could consider? Arts & Entertainment – Encourage Christian artists to write and produce so called `secular’ music, theatre etc that is good, clean and beautiful and is deeply rooted in God’s vision for humanity. Business – Encourage entrepreneurship, especially startups that have a vision to benefit society at large. Media – Encourage believers to see career options in journalism as a calling. Social Media platforms are a great opportunity that now enables anyone to create media for the masses. Encourage believers to create videos etc. Again, these videos could be anything that is good, clean and beautiful and is deeply rooted in God’s vision for humanity. Government – Encourage believers with a vision for politics. Encourage believers to pursue a career in the government services as a kingdom calling. Education – Setting up schools and vocational training institutes. Encourage doctoral research on
issues that could benefit society at large. Help believers and families see that getting a good education is not just about 'securing our future' but it is more about 'using our education to extend God's kingdom here on earth.' Family – Develop and offer marriage and parenting courses not only to those in the church but also to those outside. Religion – This would cover all the ministries we do.
Does this mean the church should start projects in the seven mountains? Not necessarily. The church need not get involved in specific projects in each mountain, but it should encourage, disciple, nurture and release members to be salt and light in every mountain. For example, a church may choose to take on projects in the areas of family through a parenting course or in education by starting a school etc. But it may choose to pray for, encourage and spiritually equip believers as they move into the other mountains of arts and entertainment, media, business etc, without directly getting involved in projects there.
But is it really wise for believers to get involved in things like Bollywood, rock bands etc in the name of seven mountains? Won't these corrupt us and lead us into sin? We are a 'sent people'. Being salt and light means to spread ourselves through all culture in our cities and influence culture. We are not to be influenced by popular culture, but we are called to influence popular culture. We can't be salt and light from the outside. We need to be inside. "Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit."John 20:21 Jesus has sent us into the world just as the Father
sent Him into the world. And when Jesus sends us into the world, He gives us His Holy Spirit. Jesus has sent us to be ‘in’ the world, but not ‘of ’ the world. This is an extremely challenging balance and we are incapable of doing this right apart from the Holy Spirit. Pastors, elders, cell leaders and the church can play a big role in encouraging, nurturing and discipling those engaged in the seven mountains. They need to affirm those called to go into the seven mountains and teach them that none one can bear fruit unless they remain in Jesus.
A pastor or church elders may not have any expertise in some of these mountains. How can they help believers operating in these mountains? Christian artists, professionals, businessmen, politicians - all need discipleship. Church leaders may or may not be able to help them with skill, but they can certainly help them build character. To really influence the seven mountains, believers will need Christ-like character as much as they need skill. Lastly, influencing the seven mountains also involves spiritual warfare. Covering in prayer can really bless believers trying to influence these mountains.
Should all seven mountains projects be individual church projects? Of course not! We as churches need to really take a kingdom view in our approach to influencing the seven mountains. For example, churches in a locality could come together to do a seminar on 'family life' intentionally aimed at our friends who do not know Jesus. Or churches in a locality could come together to plan a 'musical night' with very carefully chosen 'secular' songs that celebrate God's gifts to humanity. These could also be great opportunities for us to meet our neighbors and build relationships. 22
November 2013
| readers write
Very proud of what God is doing through you all and through GMI Hallelujah! Rev Charles Lazaro, Senior Pastor, Dandenong Baptist Church, Australia
Dear Editor Wonderful work. I am really impressed with the design and the content. Really like it. Can you send me the previous 2 issues? I will be happy to have them too. | Chacko & Molly
We are very impressed with month's issue of Momentum! The layout, colour scheme and font used were professional and appealing. We like the way the particular theme of each issue runs through the entire magazine. The articles were well written and overall a very wholesome reading experience. So good to read something that is not only contemporary but trustworthy!
Thank you very much. It is much more than a magazine, it communicates the ethos of who we are and the life of a community called out to follow Christ. | Vasu
I do have a suggestion. Wonder if it would be possible to include an article by a young person - under 18 year old? | Kavi & Anna
The issue is good. Design and font was also good. Most of the articles on “Servanthood” were good. Perhaps you can have articles from great Bible preachers on theme topics also (according to space availability). Need to pay attention to spelling and editing issues to improve it.
Thank you for sending me Momentum. Excellent stuff! I read the editorial & Stanley's article so far. Very good! It's got a stamp of excellence in the way it is produced. Thank you again. | Arun Philip, Community of Grace
| Pramila
Greetings from Vancouver! Thanks a lot for sending through your recent Momentum publication. I thought it was good solid stuff! It reminded me of the New Wine magazine in the early 80’s, which looked in depth at different Kingdom issues. It’s a credit to you all.
Greetings. This edition of Momentum is a wonderful read. For me personally it was an eye opener and a character developing dosage... | Martin
| Steve
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November 2013
| gmi vision
It is the dream of a place where the hurting, the depressed, the frustrated, and the confused can find love, acceptance, help, hope, forgiveness, guidance and encouragement. It is the dream of sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ with hundreds of thousands of residents in and around Mumbai It is the dream of welcoming 10,000 members into the fellowship of our church family-loving, learning, laughing and living in harmony together. It is the dream of developing people to spiritual maturity through discipling and bible studies, small groups, seminars, retreats and a Bible school for our members. It is the dream of equipping every believer for a significant ministry by helping them discover gifts and talents God gave them. It is the dream of sending our members on short- term mission projects and as missionaries & church workers into major cities of India, to different states within India, to our neighboring countries and ultimately to other nations of the world. It is the dream of planting daughter- churches in every local language. It is the dream of becoming “Salt and light� in the community, thereby influencing every sphere around us with the Kingdom values, namely sphere of families, education, judiciary, arts & entertainment, Media, politics, business, industry, economics, social services, etc.
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