When the motion to introduce the Anti-Homosexuality Bill was introduced in the Ugandan Parliament on April 29, several key supporters of the bill were sitting in the gallery. The minutes record the following description:
Let us hear from hon. Bahati. In connection with the motion he is moving, we have in the gallery Apostle Julius Peter Oyet, Vice-President of the Born Again Federation; Pastor Dr Martin Sempa of the Family Policy Centre; Stephen Langa, Family Life Network; hon. Godfrey Nyakaana; the Mayor of Kampala City Council; Julius, a young boy who was sodomised, and his mother. His story has been in the press. They are all here in the gallery. Please, let us deal with them so that they can leave. There is also George Oundo who came out to speak against homosexuality. Please, let us balance the public good and our good since all of them are important. We shall do them all very quickly. Hon. Bahati.
Martin Ssempa and Stephen Langa are well known to those who have been following this story. Ssempa has been a vocal supporter from the time of the first reading of the bill in October and Langa was the organizer of the ex-gay conference in March which primed the Parliament for the introduction of the bill. However, the minister mentioned first, Julius Oyet, has not been as prominent in his support for the Anti-Homosexuality Bill. However, he was one of the key ministers to support the introduction of the bill. Oyet is a self-designated Apostle and leader of the Lifeline Ministries. He has found favor with President Museveni for praying against areas of Northern Uganda once controlled by the rebel Lord’s Resistance Army. Oyet’s Born Again Federation in Uganda oversees over 10,000 churches and estimates 9 million Christians attend these churches.
Oyet’s organization has an ambitious program to be achieved by year 2020. Much of they want to do will no doubt benefit many people. One plank will sound familiar to those who read the post yesterday.
Kingdom-Minded: Priorities are revealed in the proportionate use of time, funds and abilities directed to seeking His Kingdom with a perspective that intends to His Pleasure. The Kingdom must be our top priority, the principal thing to place before others as most important. To establish The Kingdom of God on the earth, we must claim and possess The Seven Mountains of Culture namely: Business, Government, Religion, Family, Media, Education and Entertainment.
Yesterday, I reported that Extreme Prophetic promotes the “7 mountains strategy.” Note that Oyet’s vision for 2020 is a reflection of the same 7 mountains teaching expressed by Extreme Prophetic. Extreme Prophetic and Julius Oyet promote the view that Christians are to infiltrate the various spheres of culture (e.g., the government) and administrate them as apostles of Christ.
This viewpoint seems to be quite popular among those who follow C. Peter Wagner’s New Apostolic Reformation. Wagner is the Presiding Apostle for the International Council of Apostles, a subsidiary of Global Harvest Ministries which admits new apostles by invitation only.
Wagner’s 2008 book Dominion: How Kingdom Action Can Change the World, is described by the publisher as an exploration of “the biblical roots of dominion theology.” According to Wagner, the task of the church is less about individual salvation and more about taking dominion over the culture by reclaiming seven domains: family, business, arts & entertainment, government, media, education, and religion.
In addition to C. Peter Wagner, Extreme Prophetic and Lance Wallnau, there are other writers and ministries which promote the seven mountains strategy. One I came across researching Uganda is called Reclaiming the 7 Mountains of Culture which is an offshoot of Os Hillman’s Marketplace Ministries. A brief description of the 7 mountains teaching can be found in their You Tube promotional video.
My intention today is to provide more information regarding the 7 mountains strategy and note the link to Rev. Oyet. While there is no direct link to the bill that I have found as yet, I think it is important to consider how reclaiming the mountain of government teaching would be expressed in Uganda. Tomorrow, I will note additional relationships between Apostle Oyet and Americans who promote the 7 mountains teaching.