Welcome to "Tuesday Mornings"—always a great place to begin your inspirational reading for the week.

 

This week's essay is entitled "The Small Stuff." My goal is not to denigrate "The Big Stuff"—whatever that means—but to celebrate the small and very necessary things that must be operational in order for "stuff" to grow and develop.  I propose that we modify the quote, "Don't Sweat the Small Stuff—It's All Small Stuff," and say instead, "Magnify the Small Stuff—It's All Small Stuff."  Several years ago Ford Motor Company embraced a slogan that helped them sell millions of cars and trucks. Their ads read, "At Ford, Quality is Always Job One." In other words, what goes into manufacturing a vehicle is what determines the quality of the final product. I believe in the "Job One" principle. I believe it applies to manufacturing, and I believe it applies to Christian living. And I believe it really applies to what the Christian Church does—or doesn't do.

 

In Christian work we like to focus on the future. It's easier than explaining the past or facing the present. In his book, Here and Now (Crossroad Publishing Company, New York, 1997, p. 17, 19), Henri Nouwen said,

 

"It is hard to live in the present. The past and the future keep harassing us. The past with guilt, the future with worries...To live in the present, we must believe deeply that what is most important is the here and now. We are constantly distracted by things that have happened in the past or that might happen in the future. It is not easy to remain focused on the present."

 

My essay today addresses the question, "How can I do a better job of living in the present and not be confounded by either past failures for future fears?" Read on whenever you are ready. Then begin to think about how you can address today's concerns through the power of the Holy Spirit.

 

Tom Barnard

A Senior Encourager

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The Small Stuff

Tom Barnard

 

’m weary of being admonished to “consider the big picture” and its comrades—“Think Big;” “Big Is Better;” “Big Works;” and “Forget the Small Stuff.” I prefer these: “Think Small;” “Small Is Better;” “Small Works;” and “Magnify the Small Stuff.”

 

One of America’s most successful para-church organizations raises over $120-million dollars a year in donations, but the average gift is only $32.00! It proves my point: Small Works! Small is where most people live—small cars, small incomes, small families, small budgets.

 

Thinking small doesn’t mean that we need to reduce the size of our vision. It simply means focusing on immediate and short-term goals and programs. It means taking one step at a time. It means looking at what is immediately ahead and doing those things well rather than moving at break-neck speed toward an unknown destination. It doesn’t mean that we should mount our administrative horses and ride off in all directions at once. But it does mean that we should mount our administrative horses and ride. It brings to mind my all-time favorite horse anecdote: “If the horse on which you are riding has stopped breathing… dismount!” And when you have found a horse that is still breathing, mount that one. And ride.

 

Let me illustrate. In 2006-07 the Boston Celtics had one of the worst records in professional basketball. Their regular-season record was 24 wins and 58 losses. They finished near the bottom of the Atlantic Division of the National Basketball Association. They allowed an average of four points more per game scored against them than they scored themselves. They were 28^th in scoring offense among the 30 teams in the NBA. What had once been one of the most successful franchises in professional basketball was now a mere shadow of its former self. Something had to be done. And it was done.

 

The Celtics traded away their high, first-round draft pick in the lottery for a seasoned all-star player from the west. They entered the free-agent market and signed several veteran players. They traded a group of their young guns for a veteran center-forward from the mid-west. They ended up with three veteran all-stars and a young supporting cast of players. They recently added a fourth veteran all-star to the mix.

 

So far this year they are at 52-13 (wins/losses as of 3/16/08), and they are in first place among all teams in the NBA. They average nearly 101 points scored per game, while allowing an average of 90 points per game against them. They are favored to win the Atlantic Division and compete well in the playoffs.

 

How did they do this? By focusing on the small stuff and pursuing short-term goals. They began the season by taking one game at a time, never looking beyond their next opponent. Commenting on their achievements so far this year, newcomer Kevin Garnett said, “I haven’t even looked at our record. I’ve looked at who we’ve played and the person I’m going to guard (in the next game). I don’t care about the record. My focus is on who we play one game at a time. That’s it.”

 

In church work we are tempted to look ahead—sometimes way ahead, even to the Second Coming, over-looking the challenges that are right in front of us today. We do long-range planning and dream of better days and larger crowds, when there are people who live within a stone’s throw of our church whose names we do not even know. Revivals are what happened 50 years ago. Sunday night services have been eliminated or replaced with other group activities. If we checked statistics, many of our churches would have to admit that their best days are behind them—way behind them—not ahead of them.

 

Maybe it’s time to seek the advice of some “veteran players” from the past—leaders who remember the days when the church rolled up its sleeves, visited the sick, witnessed to the lost, and tried their very best to reach a lost world for Christ. Maybe it’s time for someone to write a new book. I’ve got a title for it: Focus on the Small Stuff—It’s All Small Stuff. That’s how the Church of the First Century did it.