David Lane is the founder of American Renewal Project. This is a political organization thinly disguised as Christian advocacy. It is the type of organization flourishing from the influence of the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) in these last days. They twist the morality of God for the personal lives of believers into a political hammer and then wield it against any who would dissent. Make no mistake about it beloved, they are simply an extension of the heretical seven mountains mandate that believes in a dominionism that requires taking over the world in order to facilitate the second coming of Jesus Christ. It takes our eyes off of the eternal and has them instead become enamored with Babylon and all things carnal. Let us never lose sight of the fact that Jesus was entirely apolitical when He walked the earth. In fact, his followers wished He was more NAR'ish in that they desired to be freed from the oppression of Rome. But Jesus came to deliver them from the oppression of their sin and His Gospel has not changed since then. We are not charged anywhere in Scripture for influencing culture, conquering societal mountains, and believe me -- Jesus does not need our help to return.
We must also fundamentally understand that the foundation of the NAR dominionism is rotten to the core and completely unbiblical. Beloved, the lost people in this world are blind to the things of God. They think they are utter foolishness to them. What the NAR and people like David Lane envision is a pseudo-theocracy where the world behaves better so that God would somehow stay His coming wrath. Besides being biblically illiterate it is simply absurd. The Gospel is not behavior modification. Behavior changes as a result of salvation -- not in advance of it. The above link is the latest NAR propaganda from Lane and while meandering and long winded, I have isolated three portions that reveal typical indicators of this flawed and dangerous theology. Let us reason once more:
"America is besieged by the opposing but cohabiting forces of human secularism, political correctness and multiculturalism. "Western culture that at first drifted and is now rushing headlong into apostasy from the Triune God" is a direct result of the vacuum created as American Christendom relinquished the town square (P. Andrew Sandlin, Foreword to The Mission of God ). The disengagement from the culture by Christians left a void in America that is now being filled by everything anti-Christ." -- David Lane
The NAR dominionism is built upon the fallacy that America was once a Christian nation. It never was. Were the founders more religious than folks today? Of course, the entire world was. Would most church goers today consider them brethren? Absolutely not. Most were deists who believed in "a" god but not THE God. Jefferson rewrote the bible and removed every reference to the deity of Jesus Christ. Many were atheist or agnostic. What is possibly more disturbing is the transposing of the church and the world. The world cannot be apostate. Only the church can. This is how people like lane and the NAR actually view the world! They think the unsaved world has drifted away from God, renounced biblical Christianity and are now in apostasy. That is ridiculous. Just like you cannot revive something that was never alive, you cannot fall away from something you never believed in to begin with.
The church however is going apostate and ironically is the number one reason why society is in such a free fall morally. They can no longer tell the difference between those who claim to know the Lord and those who do not. Under the false teachings of the purpose driven church and the seeker friendly industrial complex, pastors have sought relevance with the world for decades and the result is they can no longer be distinguished from them. The church is fulfilling the biblical revelation of the great end times apostasy. They are apostate through false doctrine after false doctrine. Pursuing wealth, prosperity, false signs and lying wonders, and yes heresy like the NAR and the dominionism it represents.
"What Christian minister and cultural theologian P. Andrew Sandlin styled "Sunday go-to-meetin' Christianity" has been the prevailing attitude over the last century. Making no demands on the culture, this attitude exposed "the entire West to the risk of a grave cultural and political crisis, and perhaps to a collapse of civilization" (Marcello Pera, Why We Should Call Ourselves Christians: The Religious Roots of Free Societies )." -- David Lane
Yeah, no. Civilization will collapse all on its own. The church is not responsible to extend culture but to save people out from it. Another of the false foundational planks of the NAR dominionism is that the church is not supposed to be about the saved. Think about it. Most churches teach this utterly heretical notion. That the church needs to be geared towards the very people who think the things of God are utter foolishness. So you have topical sermons about carnal garbage while the sheep starve to death. Read Acts 2 and you will see God's design for the church was for the saints. It is the oasis from this world for believers. Do we want the unsaved to come? Sure because it might be the only place to hear the Gospel. The notion however that because the Gospel offends we must water it down to ensure they come back is equally heretical and silly. Jesus said He did not come to bring peace but a sword and the NAR, purpose driven church dulls that sword to the point that it can no longer perform the surgery needed to save someone. Sunday "go to meetin Christianity" barely exists anymore. That is why the world is in such peril. There is no more oases to go to where they can hear the eternal word of God.
"The contemporary self-effacing church culture, hidden behind the walls of the meeting place, is not up to Christianity's required standards. A different type of church will be required for America to be born again. Budgets, buildings and butts in seats won't be the theological focal point if America is to survive. Christians operating in the public square will be, empowered by wisdom from above." -- David Lane
For America to be born again? The final absurdity to discuss today is the notion that the entire nation can be saved. It cannot. Again, Lane is espousing the desire for behavior modification not eternal salvation. Our salvation begins with faith, not behavior. Faith is only attained by hearing the word of God and when you have removed sin and repentance from the Gospel it is simply not attainable. Christianity's required standards have absolutely nothing to do with trying to change culture, society or politics. It is a dangerous heresy that has led a lot of well-intended people to follow false gospels and believe they are saved when they are not. That is how people stand before Christ in Matthew 7 and say "Lord Lord." Church should be about Christ for the edification of the believers. If yours is sounding like David Lane, pursuing culture and the carnality of this world I suggest you run as fast as you can.
Rev. Anthony.
