Ekklesia & The 7 Mountains: Activate Your Role as a Workplace Apostle

I do not believe that we will see the social transformation we desire unless our workplace apostles are properly activated.

I realize that for some the notion that there even are such things as “workplace apostles” is a new thought. This is to be expected whenever there is a shifting into a new season of God. Social scientists, as I have mentioned, help us by distinguishing between early adopters, middle adopters, and late adopters when any significant new innovation is introduced to the public. As far as the urgency of taking dominion from the enemy is concerned, the body of Christ is probably finishing the early adopter phase and beginning to move into the middle adopter phase.

We need to understand workplace apostles and to be aware of the crucial task that they have in this hour. The left-hand pillar above shows where workplace apostles come from, namely the church in the workplace. And the foundation underlying this component is the biblical government of the church. Just as a reminder, I used the first chapter to attempt to lay the foundation of the biblical government of the church. In it I had a good bit to say about the gift and office of apostle in the church in general. We are now in the Second Apostolic Age. Yes, apostles are with us. But apostles are not all the same. Let me explain.

First Corinthians 12 is the most detailed chapter in the Bible on spiritual gifts. Among the many gifts listed appears the gift of apostle (see 1 Cor. 12:28, 29). The chapter begins by saying, “There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all” (1 Cor. 12:4-6). What does this show us? Every apostle would obviously have the gift of apostle, but not all apostles would have the same ministry or activity. This means that apostles in the workplace would be expected to have different ministries and activities than those apostles who minister in religious environments.

The Meaning of “Church”

The idea of a church in the workplace is rooted in the meaning of the word “church.” Most people think of “church” as a building for worship or a Christian service or a congregation with a pastor or an organized denomination. We commonly ask, for example, “Where do you go to church?” But what we usually think of as church today is not the full original biblical meaning.

The Greek word for church is ekklesia. In the first century when the Bible was written, the ekklesia was an assembly of the people convened for political purposes. However, in the New Testament the basic meaning of ekklesia becomes simply “the people of God.” Wherever God’s people are, there is the true church. Sometimes the people of God are gathered together in an assembly, and sometimes they are scattered throughout society. The New Testament uses ekklesia both ways, about half and half.

The tendency of Christian leaders throughout history has been to emphasize only the assembled people of God as being the real church. Some of this is based on stressing the political function of the ancient Greek ekklesia, as I have mentioned. True, the letters to the seven churches in Revelation 2 and 3 were written to the people of God assembled in certain places. But, on the other hand, check out the Book of Ephesians. Paul makes nine references to the church (ekklesia) in Ephesians, and not one of them signifies a church building or a geographical location or a specific congregation. They all refer to the people of God scattered out wherever they might be.

I’m belaboring this point because the recognition of a legitimate church in the workplace depends on it. Only if we follow the biblical pattern of the church being the people of God both gathered and scattered will the idea of the church in the workplace make any sense.

Our traditional thinking has been that the church meets one day a week, namely on Sundays. That, of course, is correct because on Sundays it is the church gathered. However, it is not the full story. Do the people of God who worship together on Sunday stop being the church the other six days of the week? Obviously not, because Monday through Saturday they are still the people of God, so logically they are just as much the true church as they were on Sunday. The one true church, then, has two different forms.

The Nuclear Church and the Extended Church

What can we call these two different forms of the church? I think it is convenient to take our cue from sociology, which has distinguished the “nuclear family” from the “extended family.” Most people are accustomed to this terminology. The nuclear family is those living under the same roof, ordinarily mother, father, and children. The extended family includes grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, in-laws, grandchildren, nephews, nieces, and the rest. It is all the same family, but taking two different and significant forms.

Why not call the two different forms of the church the “nuclear church” and the “extended church”? The nuclear church would be the people of God meeting in their congregation, whether in a church building or in a home. The extended church would be the people of God in the workplace, commonly called “the church in the workplace.” In fact, one of my more recent books has as its title The Church in the Workplace (Regal Books).

The 7-M Template

What are the major spheres of the workplace to which God might assign apostles? Everyone who is currently addressing issues relating to the area of faith at work recognizes that certain spheres exist. However, there is not yet full agreement on how many there are or what the spheres might be. I have seen lists as low as three spheres and as high as 113. There is a growing consensus, however, that we all agree on the “Seven Mountains” brought to our attention in the early 2000s by business consultant Lance Wallnau. Wallnau says, “If the world is to be won, these are the mountains that mold the culture and the minds of men. Whoever controls these mountains controls the direction of the world and the harvest therein.”

What are the Seven Mountains? They are the Religion Mountain, the Family Mountain, the Education Mountain, the Media Mountain, the Government Mountain, the Arts and Entertainment Mountain, and the Business Mountain. I have listed them in random order, not necessarily the order of importance. Obviously, each one of the seven could be subdivided any number of times. For example, the Business Mountain would include construction, shipping, health care, agriculture, engineering, insurance, mining, transportation, technology, retail, hotels, financial trading, and any number of other sub spheres. The other six mountains would have similar subdivisions. God’s desire is that kingdom-minded people influence each one and impart the values of God’s kingdom here on earth.

I found it fascinating to learn from Wallnau that these seven spheres of society can be traced back to two outstanding Christian leaders—Bill Bright, founder of Campus Crusade for Christ, and Loren Cunningham, founder of Youth with a Mission (YWAM). These two men reportedly first met each other at a luncheon. While they were eating, one of them listed off what he thought were the seven principal segments of society that must be brought under the headship of Christ. After he named them, the other reached into his pocket and, with a smile, pulled out a list he had prepared for that meeting. Amazingly, their lists, using slightly different terminology, were identical! They are what Wallnau has labeled the Seven Mountains.

Lance Wallnau would say that few, if any, outsiders could enter one of the Seven Mountains and expect to reach the top. They would need to be insiders. Why? Because each one of the Seven Mountains has a distinct culture.

There’s a lot more to domineering these mountains that is described more in my book, Dominion!.