It starts small

          You may have heard a line from that hymn once upon a time "let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me".  For years, I thought that was kind of a cop-out.  I'm all for personal peace, but we'll never have peace on earth if we only worry about ourselves!  We have to get others to be peaceful too!  But as I grow-up (a perpetual process for me) I'm starting to believe that if I really live out the values I care about the most in my daily life and in every circumstance, there is the power to send ripples across the globe. 
          It starts small.  Jesus started small - on purpose.  He could have preached to thousands of people every week for more than just 3 years (instead it's only recorded that he did this a handful of times).  He could have built the best church ever and established worldwide programs and ministries over the course of a rich and lengthy tenure as Savior-in-residence.  But he went small.  Very small.  His locale was no where near the center of the world at that time, his clientele were far poorer and less educated than the movers and shakers of the day, and his preferred method of transferring his ethos and kingdom on to future generations did not include vast networks of thousands - it was made of 12 people. This was small stuff.  Why only 12?  Why in Galilee?  Why only 3 years? 
          If I had 3 years and was stuck in the hill country of Texas, would I spend the vast majority of my time with the same 12 people?  Is that really the most effective way to begin a global, earth-shifting movement?  Apparently it was the perfect way.  It started small.  From what we can tell the early christian movement (which exploded to include a good half of the Roman Empire in less than 300 years) never had a church with over a hundred people.  Maybe they would gather in big groups sometimes, but their method of discipleship was modeled after the one they were disciples of: KEEP IT SMALL. 
          For Christians today, we must start even smaller than 12.  We must begin to personally live out, embody, and radically display our Kingdom values in every day life. If we can do that we are exceptional among the saints.  If we can then extend such Kingdom living into our immediate family we accomplished a great thing.  If our family can then witness to and teach a few other families to live out the reign of Christ in the world, we will have become the epicenter for transformation in our community.  And if a church can be mobilized to act according to its gospel principles and Jesus culture - it will do nothing short of change the world. 
          You see, spreading the gospel and bringing light into the world is not about getting more people together.  Its about having people actually live out what Jesus taught in their daily lives - with their families, at their workplaces, in their financial decisions, in their social circles, and during their trips to the grocery store.  Do it right - beginning with your life, see where it goes and who takes it up for their life, and who knows what kind of things will happen.  It starts small.