The sons of Issachar understood their times and knew what Israel needed to do.
Darrow Miller · Occupy Till I Come
Darrow Miller, from “The Hidden Worldview Battle Behind America's Cultural Chaos w/ Darrow Miller & Naomi Smith” (Summit Ministries)
These Are the Days
These are the days in which we have been chosen to live. We need to live in the reality of the fullness of our story. We are called to face these days with courage, truth, love, and self-sacrifice. Let us watch for what God is doing in these dark times and join Him in His work.Occupy Till I Come
We don’t get to decide the times in which we live, but we ought to understand these times so we can know what to do.Occupy Till I Come
This Is Our Civilizational Moment
Guinness defines a civilizational moment as “a critical transition phase in the rise, course, and decline of a civilization when it loses its decisive connection with the dynamic that inspired it.”Occupy Till I Come
Here, Guinness describes a “cut flower” civilization. Cut flowers look beautiful for a moment while they decorate our home or office. However, after a few days, the flowers begin to wither and fade. Their doom was assured when the flowers were separated from their roots. It is only a matter of time before the consequences of severance are made evident.Occupy Till I Come
The Real Fault Lines
The West is crumbling—not because banks have failed or because we lack material wealth but because the soul of our culture has deteriorated. We’ve forgotten where we came from. I watch my own country spiraling into chaos and violence. While many point to economic turmoil and declare, “It’s the economy, stupid!” the issues run much deeper than money and markets. Material wealth cannot solve the problems we’re facing because the root cause isn’t economic, political, or even social instability. Economic, political, and social upheavals are downstream from cultural shifts. The fault line of this earthquake is moral and spiritual—something few people want to admit or address. This moral and spiritual crisis is rooted even deeper in the nature of the God or gods we worship. After all, we create cultures like the God or gods we worship.Occupy Till I Come
It’s Time to Occupy
The church has been sidelined for too long. Christians have retreated from culture for too long. The sacred-secular divide has crippled our influence for too long. It’s time to recover what we’ve lost. It’s time to reclaim our mandate. It’s time to occupy. Christ has given us authority. He has positioned us strategically. He has equipped us supernaturally. And He has commanded us clearly: Go and make disciples of all nations. Not just individual converts. Nations. Cultures. Civilizations. This is our calling. This is our moment. This is our mandate.Occupy Till I Come
From the study guide
Chapter 1 · This Is Our Civilizational Moment
We are living in a civilizational moment—a critical transition at a time in which Western civilization has lost its decisive connection with the Judeo-Christian worldview that inspired it. Like a “cut flower” civilization severed from its roots, we face three possibilities: renewal of our Christian foundations, replacement by another dynamic, or civilizational decline and death. Behind this cultural crisis lies a spiritual battle for mental strongholds, calling us to understand our times, as did the sons of Issachar, and respond with courage, truth, and love.
1 Chronicles 12:32—The men of Issachar who had understanding of the times and knew what Israel ought to do. Reflection: What specific steps can you take to develop the wisdom of Issachar in understanding your cultural moment? How might God be calling you to lead others in discerning His will for this generation?
Genesis 12:1–3—God’s call to Abraham to leave his culture and follow Him to an unknown future. Reflection: What aspects of your current culture might God be calling you to “leave behind” in order to follow Him more faithfully? How does Abraham’s courage to cross his own “Rubicon” inspire your response to God’s calling in this civilizational moment?