Tools for Dominion
by Laurence Windham

When I was in Bible College, I would often read my Bible by candle light while standing at my window. I wanted to be the first to see Jesus part the sky when He returned. The world was going to hell in a hand basket and surely He would show up at any time to take us home. By us I meant at the time we fundamentalists. You cigar smoking, baby baptizing, pseudo-catholic Presbyterians were on your own. Maybe after we were all raptured and the Beast showed up, some of you would flee to the ancient city of Petra and find all those gospel tracts that we dispensationalists have been stocking there over the years and get saved before the Great Tribulation!

The immediacy of the Parousia permeated our thinking to the point that none of us knew there was a cultural mandate from God to subdue the earth. And of course, those who were aware of such a mandate from God would have seen it as Adam's job, not ours. But it is our job. We are God's people on God's world. We are the true culture. Like the mustard seed, least of all the seeds, we are called to grow to the point that we dominate.

Too often we are simply reactionary. If I see another Christianized "Got Milk?" rip-off I'm gonna scream! That we are in the world but not of the world is no reason to abandon art, true science, music, and literature. We are in the world but of His kingdom. Therefore we should manifest His glory through our lives. This is vitally linked to denying self. The denial is not done in a vacuum, but away from you and toward someone else. That someone else is God. How is this done?

First of all, keep yourself immersed in the Word of God. James tells us that unless we do this, we tend to forget who we are. Being conscious of who we are is vital. When we forget, we become who they are. Hast thou not heard it said that the music industry in Nashville hath converted more Christians than Christians have converted Nashville? The same can be said of Hollywood, Washington DC, and The Gap. Of course one major problem here is that we think we have to play by their rules. Big mistake. To hell with them, sort of. We have our own set of rules given to us by the Lord of the universe. We don't have to dress like them or think like them or pay homage to them.

For instance, I was in Florida last week and visited the campus of Florida Southern College, the buildings of which were designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, the Andy Warhol of architects. What an ugly sight! The structures are so "then" that they are being given cosmetic face-lifts to make them more attractive. Now, any aspiring Christian architect or designer should not have to feel that they have to see any beauty where beauty doesn't exist.

Secondly, see yourself as building the Kingdom. This keeps everything in perspective. Whether it is running for public office, planting a garden or raising the next generation, when we do what we do with the advancement of God's kingdom in mind, the mundane becomes important, the setbacks build character and faith, and the pain allows us to fellowship in His sufferings. Anything we suffer is not worthy to be compared with the eternal weight of glory, our sure and certain end.

We need good men to run for public office and lose only because they are Christians. Today we lose by 99.7%. Tomorrow we win by 51%. There should be musicians who love God enough that they make music for Him and don't even consider the Great American Marketing Machine. Become local legends. Make your own CDs. Set the standard. Make history.

You homeschooling moms out there should know that we at the Highlands Study Center confer on you, hero status. (Everyone else has to prove him or herself first.) (And we have conferred on ourselves the right to confer hero status on whomever we please.) You ladies are not just caring for children while your liberated contemporaries are out pursuing emptiness. You are pleasing God by raising the next godly generation that will do greater works than their parents.

We should all be thinking outside the box and inside the book. Write, draw, govern, paint, sculpt, teach, plant, build, bake, design, run, pitch, compose, cook, dribble, dance, brew, sing, play, film, serve, lead, develop, create, nurse, but whatever you do, do all to His glory.

Remember to Whom you are accountable. Think of your life's industry in this way; The King of Kings, your ultimate provider, will come one day. Imagine giving Him a tour of your home, your business, your pursuits all the while explaining to Him how this has benefited His Kingdom, that to which He has commanded us all to give preeminence. It is this truth that should keep us evaluating every area of our lives. Not with the fear of being downsized because of poor performance but out of gratitude for what He has done for us and because we long for His coming.

Join yourself to likeminded people. I truly wish that my previous point was my last point. But we live in an era where the church is weak. You will have to be deliberate and desperate in this area. There are not many who will even understand your passion much less bond with you to accomplish these normal Christian goals. Encultured people are like that. They are your mission field not your fellow soldiers. Find someone who cares and start meeting with them on a regular basis for encouragement. This world is ours for the taking, because it is already His. Oh, it might take a few generations, but it is doable. And it is our job. Let's get to it.