Real Talk

"These three characteristics - one, contagiousness; two, the fact that little causes can have big effects; and three, that change happens not gradually but at one dramatic moment - are the same three principles that define how measles move through a grade-school classroom or the flu attacks every winter. Of the three, the third trait - the idea that epidemics can rise or fall in one dramatic moment - is the most important, because it is the principle that makes sense of the first two and that permits the greatest insight into why modern change happens the way it does. The name given to that one dramatic moment in an epidemic when everything can change all at once is the Tipping Point (Gladwell, p. 9)."



"While Peter and John were speaking to the people, the priests, the captian of the temple, and the Sadducees came to them, much annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming that in Jesus there is the resurrection of the dead. So they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. But many of those who heard the word believed; and they numbered about five thousand(Acts 4:1-4)."


"But among them were some men of Cyprus and Cyrene who, on coming to Antioch, spoke to the Hellenists also, proclaiming the Lord Jesus. The hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number became believers and turned to the Lord (Acts 11:20-21)."


"But each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ's gift....The gifts He gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers...(Ephesians 4:7-11)."


Peace and blessings,

I just wanted to follow up with my thoughts of Malcolm Gladwell's (2000) "The Tipping Point." Last time I briefly touched on two main ideas of the book. The first was the idea that social epidemics occur in pretty much the same fashion as biological or medical epidemics. This point is illustrated in the first quote above. The other idea was his argument that in many if not all social epidemics, the three types of people who are essential to the movement spreading are Connectors, Mavens, and Salesmen.

In this follow-up, I want to share my thoughts on how I think these two ideas can be applied to our understanding as Christians of the roll all of us play in the Great Commission which Jesus outlined for us in Matthew 28:18-20. I am going to begin by highlighting what I think are some general connections between the gifts God has given us and the three types of people described by Gladwell (2000), and conclude by drawing similarities and distinctions bewteen Gladwell's "Tipping Point," and what I believe to be the Christian equivalent.

In the last quote, Paul lists a few gifts that God has given us, to be used in the spreading of Jesus' ministry. Like Gladwell's (2000) descriptions of Connectors, Mavens, and Salesmen, the gifts that have been distributed among believers each play a specific role in the movement. For instance, the gift of teaching may embody certain skills, dispositions, and temperaments that differ from the gift of evangelizing. Now of course these gifts do not have to be independent of each other, because I believe that we are all born with multiple gifts. Further, I believe that which gifts are able to "sprout up" and which ones are "shut down" has a lot to do with our environmental influences, but that's a topic for another time, lol. In addition to this idea that we as individuals play an important role in bringing about movements or social epidemics, Gladwell and Paul (or someone writing in the name of Paul) are suggesting that humans are inherently social, therefore understanding our gifts, skills, and temperaments is to understand the great movements or social epidemics of our time. Indeed, Stiles (1995) echoes this notion of social influence in his book "Speaking of Jesus," where he talks about the significance of divine appointments and how the most minor or casual conversations can lead to monumental changes in people's lives.

In addition to these three types of people, Gladwell (2000) argues that there are three rules to social epidemics. Further, he argues that the third rule, which is that change happens in one moment dramatically and not in incremental moments gradually, is what he refers to as the "Tipping Point." Before I go on to talk about his notion of a Tipping Point, I first want to comment on his belief that change occurs dramatically and not gradually. I would have to disagree with this assertion, because I think that most instances of major change is a result of both gradual and dramatic moments. In many of the examples he gives in the book (e.g. the popularity of airwalk shoes, teen smoking, and teen male suicide), I would argue that underlying those "dramatic" changes are slower, gradual changes. In other words, I think that it is because of incremental changes that dramatic change is possible. Ok, back to what I was saying before, lol...

In the two instances in the book of Acts that are captured above in the second and third quotes, the Great Commission was being carried out in major ways. Large groups of people were experiencing and coming to Christ in notably dramatic fashion. In Acts 4:1-4, about five thousand people came to Christ. Now talk about a social epidemic! Similarly in Acts 11:20-21, large numbers of people also came to Christ. What could have "caused" these dramatic changes? What accounted for the spread of this "epidemic?" As mentioned earlier, Gladwell (2000) and the author of Ephesians agree that we are social beings, and thus have an important role in bringing about major change. Where I think the difference lies is in their views of what the Tipping Point is. For Gladwell (2000), the Tipping Point can come about due to a certain number, context, or action. For Christians, the Tipping Point is something different. It is true that in both of these instances in Acts, there were dedicated, influential, people of God teaching and proclaiming the gospel to massess of people at the time these major changes were taking place. However, I'm certain that it was not the teachers and proclaimers themselves that caused all of those people to encounter Christ and come to believe. The Tipping Point which led all those people to come to Christ was none other than the Holy Spirit Himself. Sure, the preachers and proclaimers played a role, just as all of us as Christians play a role in sharing the love and gospel of Jesus Christ. However, I strongly believe that the roles we play are only to "set up" the situations to where God will move, bring about His will, and get all the glory in the process. Now, I'm not saying God needs us to set up these situations, because He doesn't. God will do what He's going to do with or without us. Because He loves us and calls us into a relationship with Him, He also calls us to take part in His reaching the world. This is an ongoing theme in many of Brux Cavey's messages, who is Pastor of The Meeting House in Canada. Isn't God amazing?

I know this is a lot to throw at you, but I would really appreciate your thoughts on this issue. Until next time, stay blessed and speekonit...

Labels: Acts, change, Christ, Ephesians, gifts, Gladwell, Great Commision, Holy Spirit, Jesus, John, Lord, Matthew, Peter, Sadducees, Tipping Point

Peace and blessings,


Before I get into this piece, I wanted to start off with the scripture that some brothas and I were discussing that inspired me to write on this topic.


"11Put on God's whole armor [the armor of a heavy-armed soldier which God supplies], that you may be able successfully to stand up against [all] the strategies and the deceits of the devil.

12For we are not wrestling with flesh and blood [contending only with physical opponents], but against the despotisms, against the powers, against [the master spirits who are] the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spirit forces of wickedness in the heavenly (supernatural) sphere.

13Therefore put on God's complete armor, that you may be able to resist and stand your ground on the evil day [of danger], and, having done all [the crisis demands], to stand [firmly in your place].

14Stand therefore [hold your ground], having tightened the belt of truth around your loins and having put on the breastplate of integrity and of moral rectitude and right standing with God,

15And having shod your feet in preparation [to face the enemy with the [a]firm-footed stability, the promptness, and the readiness [b]produced by the good news] of the Gospel of peace.(A)

16Lift up over all the [covering] shield of [c]saving faith, upon which you can quench all the flaming missiles of the wicked [one].

17And take the helmet of salvation and the sword that the Spirit [d]wields, which is the Word of God.

18Pray at all times (on every occasion, in every season) in the Spirit, with all [manner of] prayer and entreaty. To that end keep alert and watch with strong purpose and perseverance, interceding in behalf of all the saints (God's consecrated people)."

-Ephesians 6:11-18 (Amplified Bible)

In our discussion, we focused on the idea of putting on God's armor, especially when it comes to us leading others to Christ. We talked about a couple of situations in which we feel compelled to as well as struggle with spreading the truth and Gospel of Jesus Christ. On an individual level we talked about situations where we have one-on-one relationships with people (e.g. friends, family, others, etc...) who for whatever reason do not believe in God and/or that Jesus Christ died for our sins and resurrected. On a social level, we talked about situations where we may be (or feel as if we are) the only Christian in a particular situation (e.g. classroom, etc...).

In social psychology, there has been a lot of research on the various contexts in which people are more or less likely to influence others. When I originally thought of the idea of influence, I thought it usually occured in two situations. One situation is where the person being influenced is in a close, trusting relationship with someone they consider to be an important figure in their life (e.g. child-parent, mentee-mentor, student teacher, etc...). In this situation, the person being influenced most likely assumes that the person they are learning from has their best interests at heart. The other situation I thought about was where the minority is influenced by the majority. This type of influence occurs often, for example there are times where I get interested or involved in an issue or cause primarily because it affects and concerns the majority of people.


Although these forms of influence tend to be more common and visibile, I learned about an idea in social psycholgy known as minority influence. According to this concept, there are situations where ordinary individuals can exert influence over a group or social context. While attending Pentecostal Tabernacle in Cambridge, MA, the pastor would always emphasize the importance of a shared purpose and destiny. In one sermon that continues to stick with me to this day, he emphasized that as Christians we are all leaders. Further, he said that we are constantly surrounded by people who for whatever reason, are not communicating with and/or do not have a relationship with God. Therefore, these individuals are depending on us to pray to God on their behalf (i.e. to intercede).

Understanding this, and also considering this idea of minority influence, the question then arises: How do we as Christians exert godly influence (i.e. be a light) on others and our surrounding situations when in those situations we are(or at least we perceive to be)a minority? I think the best way to answer this is to refer to the abovementioned scripture, which talks about the importance of equipping ourselves with and utlizing the full armor of God (e.g. truth, righteousness, faith, salvation, scripture) through prayer. Ultimatley, any influence we exert is not by our own doing, but only through the works of God through us. Therefore, we must constantly stay "prayed-up" so that we can be light in ever situation, environment, and relationship we find ourselves in. Below are a couple of clips of the "Matrix" and "Matrix:reloaded," because I think that the whole idea behind the Matrix relates closely to this idea of the minority having the power to exert influence over the majority. Plus, I think everything can pretty much be explained by the Matrix Trilogy, lol. Take care, and please share your thoughts. Speekonit...

Labels: Christians, contexts, Ephesians, God, influence, Jesus Christ, Matrix, Matrix Reloaded, minority, scripture, social psychology