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This month the Daily Dot revealed the existence of an underground digital network for followers of the Seven Mountain Mandate, where politicians running for office are organizing.
The Nexus Mountain Network espouses the tenets of Christian nationalism, which posit that America should be run as a theocratic state, where all branches of government, media, business, and entertainment should be helmed by Christians.
The social media site won over politicians who recently notched Super Tuesday primaries, positioning the Seven Mountain Mandate to have both app power users and true believers in Congress.
We sat down with investigative journalist Steven Monacelli who broke the news of the network.
This interview has been edited for clarity.
DC: So this is a new site that is nevertheless gaining traction. How did you find it?
SM: Like many good stories, I learned about the Nexus Mountain Network thanks to an anonymous tip. At first, I wasn’t sure exactly what I’d find. It crossed my mind that it could be insignificant. But after I spent a few hours digging into the user base, I realized there was a story.
DC: Your piece focused mainly on politicians’ use of the site. What are others doing on the platform, and what do you think its biggest utility is?
SM: Like any social network, people on the Nexus Mountain Network use it to connect with each other, share news articles, ask/answer questions, and more. Some have used the site to promote local meetups, support political candidates, and mobilize activists. I think the site’s biggest utility to the broader movement around the Seven Mountains Mandate is that it is a digital meeting place for Christian nationalists.
DC: The founder, Chad Hawley, detailed connecting communities to go after a school board in North Carolina. How effective was that?
SM: Posts on Nexus Mountain Network indicate that Hawley has played a direct role in mobilizing activists and school board candidates. One post promoted a workshop with Hawley and Leah Whatley, a Nexus Mountain Network user and school board trustee in Charleston County, South Carolina. Another post celebrated another Lisa Cline, a school board trustee in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school district in North Carolina and Nexus Mountain Network user. Other posts have urged supporters to show up to city council meetings and vote in elections.
DC: Is the app growing?
SM: Since I started looking into the network, it’s grown from a little under 3,000 users to over 4,100. Hawley has been making the rounds on right-wing media and at Christian nationalist conferences to promote the app. He’s also been networking with politicians. Most recently, Hawley was a guest on Flash Point, a right-wing religious political show funded by the wealthiest televangelist pastor in America, where he attempted a pre-buttal to my report and encouraged viewers to join the network.
DC: What is the wildest thing you saw on the site?
SM: There is a National Guard Chaplain who has an account on Nexus Mountain Network. He recently posted about meeting with high level officials during a trip to the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
DC: The Seven Mountains framework has exploded in recent years. Why do you think it’s gained such traction in America?
SM: I believe the spread of the Seven Mountains has a lot to do with demographic changes in Christianity over the past two or three decades. As I reported in the Texas Observer, a growing network of independent, nondenominational churches has supplanted evangelicalism. Leaders in this network, such as Kenneth Copeland, have embraced the idea, as well its primary proponent, Lance Wallnau. As religious scholar Anthea Butler told me, dominionism gained traction in the 2000s and was ramped up when Donald Trump took politics by storm with the help of pastors like Copeland and Wallnau. Today, it’s become a mainstream plank in certain circles of the GOP.
DC: What kind of future could be in store for us if the mandate exercises serious influence in government?
SM: We don’t have to use our imaginations if we want to know what the future could look like if Seven Mountains dominionists took over the government. All we have to do is take seriously what they say they want. Take for example North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson (R), who Hawley described as a “good Christian government mountain leader.” Robinson was found to have said he wants to return to a time when women couldn’t vote, among a number of other extremely concerning things. These folks aren’t hiding their intentions. They want to establish their religious values as the law of the land.
DC: What are your concerns if they achieve dominance in other mountains like entertainment and business?
SM: From what I’ve seen of right-wing Christian media, it seems highly unlikely to me they would be able to take over music, art, or entertainment. But it would certainly be alarming if a dominionist took control of a major news media corporation, or if dominionists were to establish dominance over a body that sets public educational standards.
DC: The leaders of the movement had some interesting responses to your reporting. What was your favorite reaction?
SM: It’s hard for me to choose one. I’d never been called a “spy” for creating a social media account before and I have never had a subject claim that God showed them ahead of time “the plans of the enemy.” Those were certainly amusing responses from Hawley. But I think the most interesting response was from Wallnau, who effectively recast the Seven Mountains mandate as “a blueprint for how the left took over America” instead of a strategy for Christians to influence and transform society.
DC: If you asked Trump what the Seven Mountains were, what do you think he would say?
SM: I’m not sure exactly what Donald Trump would say. So, I decided to ask ChatGPT to describe the Seven Mountains Mandate in the style of a Trump speech. This is what it gave me:
“Let me tell you folks, the Seven Mountains Mandate, it’s a tremendous concept, absolutely tremendous. We’re talking about taking control, real control, of seven key areas in our society. You’ve got religion, family, education, government, media, arts and entertainment, and business. Seven mountains, seven pillars of power. And let me tell you, we need to be on top of every single one of them.
We’re talking about leadership, folks. Leadership like you’ve never seen before. We’re going to have Christians in charge, strong Christians, who are going to bring our values, our beliefs, back to the forefront. We’re going to shape the culture, we’re going to shape the narrative, and we’re going to do it the right way.
Now, some people might say, “Oh, that sounds extreme.” But let me tell you, it’s not extreme, it’s common sense. We need to take back our country, take back our society, and make it great again. And that starts with taking control of these mountains. They’re beautiful mountains, by the way. The best mountains.
So, to all the Christians out there, I say this: Get involved. Get involved in your churches, get involved in your families, get involved in education, government, media, arts and entertainment, and business. Because together, together we’re going to make America greater than ever before. Believe me.”
