In November, 2010, Lance Wallnau, the founder and head of an organization called “Lance Learning Group,” visited Modesto. It was his second visit to the California city. Mark S. Vasche, editor of the The Modesto Bee, wrote about Wallnau’s visit. An image of his piece from the November 7th issue is printed above.
At the time of his visit to Modesto, Wallnau was a rising celebrity in the Seven Mountain Dominionist movement. He was traveling around the country teaching Charismatic and Pentecostal Christians how to gain control of the so-called seven “mountains of influence”: government, family, business, media, religion, arts, and entertainment. In June 2009 he was preaching Seven Mountain Dominionism at Sarah Palin’s Assembly of God Church in Wasilla, Alaska.
Watch:
In this video Wallnau teaches the congregation about the seven mountains of influence and the need to win the culture by replacing the current “kings” of the seven mountains with Christian “kings.” The leaders who currently sit on the top of these spheres or “mountains” of influence, he says, “are placed there by Satan and thus need to be overthrown.
Sometimes, Wallnau argues, God places an unbeliever on the top of the mountain to carry out his purposes. It is amazing to watch this 2010 video in the wake of the Seven Mountain Dominionist/New Apostolic Reformation/Independent Network Charismatic response to Donald Trump. In 2016 these Dominionists believed that Trump was anointed by God “for such a time as this.” God was using Trump to win back the seven mountains, or at least the mountain of government. Trump was a godly-appointed “king”–King Cyrus even!
Wallnau tells the congregation in Wasilla that they are “in the world’s system. Either take it over or it will assimilate you.”
Ultimately, Wallnau’s movement is a populist one. He says out loud what the more respectable Christian Right leaders don’t want to talk about publicly. The seven mountains are controlled by 5% (as Wallnau claims) of the population, but the majority of the people in the world are Christians and they need to rise up and take over these spheres. How do they do this? Well, according to Wallnau the work must be “overt and covert.” He says, “I don’t need to plaster a Jesus bumper sticker on my forehead to take territory.”
At this point, the video ends. But fortunately researcher Rachel Tabachnick witnessed Wallnau’s Wasilla lecture. She writes: “[Wallnau] spoke on stealth evangelism at Wasilla Assembly of God. In Guatemalan jails, according to Wallnau, New Apostolics teach prisoners a secularized version of ‘Kingdom’ worldview for a full year before making any attempt to convert them to ‘born-again’ Christianity. Wallnau encouraged the congregation to follow this example for infiltrating the seven spheres of society.” (Italics mine)
It appears that Wallnau was doing “stealth evangelism” in Modesto–presenting a “secularized version” of the ‘Kingdom worldview” by talking about “civic courage,’ sacrifice, and creativity.” And there is a good chance that the editor of the Modesto Bee, Mark Vasche, was in on it. A 2014 bio reveals that Vasche is an evangelical Christian who believed that God placed him in journalism “for a reason.” While in Modesto Wallnau spoke at Vasche’s “faith-based” Pinnacle Forum, an organization with the slogan: “Transforming Leaders Who Transform Culture.”
Notice how Vasche describes Wallnau in his editorial:
What it will take, [Wallnau] said, is leaders and residents to embrace a common vision, commit to a common goal and set aside personal preferences and pride to work “as one” to make the necessary changes [in Modesto]. That’s a message Wallnau advances whether he works with corporations, churches or communities. He tries to mobilize leaders–variously labeled as spheres, pillars, or mountains–from seven key areas of influence: Government, family, business, media, education, religion, and arts and entertainment. (Italics are mine).
Sounds like a “secularized version of “‘Kingdom world view’ if you ask me. Wallnau came to Modesto to “take territory.” In 2010 it was a “stealth” operation. Today, thanks to Donald Trump, 7 Mountain Dominionists like Wallnau are out in the open.