He cites the 1964 stabbing of a young woman in Queens New York, where she was attacked three times on the same street by her assailant while 38 of her neighbors watched from their apartment windows. None of the 38 witnesses called the police. After the incident many tried to explain the behavior of the 38 by highlighting the cold, unfeeling, uncaring nature of urban life in which people become rather indifferent and numb to the realities around them. But a couple of psychologists in New York conducted a social experiement to try and explore this behavior more deeply. They named it "the bystander problem". And they basically staged emergencies of different types in order to see who would respond with help. Of all the different kinds of emergency situations they simulated, they found one key factor that influenced the response of bystanders. The factor was how many actual witnesses to the event there were.
So, for example, when there was one person in the room next door, listening to someone having an epileptic seizure, that person rushed to help the victim 85% of the time. But when that one person was told that there were four other people listening, and overhearing the seizure, they rushed to help the victim only 31% of the time. Basically, they concluded that when people are in a group, their responsibility for acting is diffused because they all assume someone else will take the initiative to help. Or... they assume that because no one else is acting, the immediate problem must not really be a problem. So the argument being made here is that the real reason the 38 people didn't call the cops while witnessing a violent crime was not because they didn't hear the lady scream for help, but it was precisely because they heard her cry for help.
Ironically, if this lady was attacked in an alley way where there was only one witness, she just might have lived!
I'm reminded of what my NT Greek professor in seminar always told us when interpreting Scripture: "Context is everything". My thoughts gravitate to New Life Center, and I wonder if God will use the small, seemingly insignificant things within the context of our congregational life to prepare us for transformational growth (radical change). These things are not the large, immediately visible elements of our church life. They are things like personal testimonies of what God is doing in the lives of individuals and families, or the placement of singers on the platform, or the "on-the-shelf" leader who begins to step out of the woodwork and begins influencing others positively, or the morning prayer meetings held once a month and attended by the few but faithful, or the significant connection initiated by a leader with a concerned parent, or the relative unity of the leadership teams that get 80% of the work done...things like that make up the hidden landscape of our congregational life.
Most of the congregation may not immediately notice such things that are done by the few, but perhaps Gladwell has a point. We tend to think that if we just had more or this or more of that, then we could really grow and do something for the kingdom of God. But it is the power of the few acting in ways that influence the context in small, indirect perhaps, but significant ways that can lead the way toward radical transformation of the church as a whole and bring about a tipping point for growth and health in the life of the church.
Where do you see the power of these dynamics at work in other places in our church, or even in your life?
6 comments:
Well put together Ken. The indirect problem is that most people in our congregation assume enough is being done to grow our Church. Not just in numbers put in leadership roles. Ministry involvment is very critical to expand the vision of our Church.
The excitment and life transformation from a new or season believer will be evident in their walk with Christ.
Even in times of recession, trials and storms that come in our way, trusting the Lord with all our heart, obedience and faithfulness will help us get through the difficult moments.
Yes, small groups are great but ultimately is the persons humble heart that will allow Christ to bring a fire in their life. Make sense?
Theres times I feel called to do something radical for the Lord, so I change my commitment to attending a small group session. I'm working on calling in as a courtesy to my facilitator.
Nevertheless I stay bussy and accupied with what the Lord would want me to do.
Personnly I'm excited where the Lord has my right now and I'm looking forward to more adventure and radical things God wants me to do.
Peace and Blessings!
Ricardo
The interesting thing about being radical is that it sometimes is not interesting at all.
As a society, America values the ideal and concept of the "Rugged Individualist" the Horatio Alger ideal. That is we value the radical who seems to stand out - who does things their own way and survives. Who thrives.
We tend to devalue the radical who just simply does what they are supposed to do - yet that is the most effective type of radicalism - the simple form.
The difference is the simple, almost unnoticed things. Long story short, I am blessed by both what Ken and Ricardo shared here - and I want to offer a challenge to everyone who reads this comment:
Ask yourself this - what ONE thing can I do this week, simple, almost insignificant thing, can I do this week that is nothing more than a simple act of obedience to God.
I pray that I can do that, and that anyone who reads this can do it to. If we are start with a little thing, as Pastor Ken mentions, imagine how big that can be.
The amazing thing about Jesus and what he did, aside from the miracles, was that he stood for he knew. And, in doing what he knew, most termed radical. Granted that Jesus was God and everything, but Jesus didn't try to do anything outside of the box.
Remember, Jesus told the people that he didn't come to abolish the Law and the Prophet. He came to fulfill them.
Jesus simply did what he knew was God's truth and God's will.
I think Nate is on to something. I think, many times, we try, especially here in L.A., to do things outside of the box just for the sake of doing things outside of the box. It's similar to the whole Emo movement. People chose to be depressed, down, and sad just for the sake of being Emo.
It's the in thing.
And, if we're not careful, doing radical things for Jesus can turn into "just for the sake of..."
However, on the other side of the radical argument, and Gus alluded to it two weeks ago, when we move toward doing the simple things for God and doing things according to his will, it's automatically going to be radical in relation to the world's standards. So when we choose to pray more devotedly, read our Bibles more dedicatedly, and give more graciously, because it's not the status quo, it's radical.
In addition, I do agree with Ken's write up, in that I think many in the church, and not just ours, have the mind set that enough is already being done, so more doesn't need to happen. I think it's easy to sit comfortably and think other people are already doing the work of God that more help would be insignificant, especially when the church experiences steady growth like ours. I think that some our thinking, if evident growth is happening, then help is obviously not needed.
But imagine if everyone did the little we know we all can do. Imagine if we all gave the minimum that God asks us to. Imagine if all of us actually prayed more often. Imagine if we all read our Bibles one chapter more.
The church would see some significant progress toward the heart of God.
great comments guys. I love the perspectives on Jesus' life and church life you brought out in connection with Gladwell's argument about how radical changes happen in the world. I agree with what seems to be the common strand here: that radical change begins in the heart of the individual, and plants its seeds through simple obedience and pure devotion to God, those seeds of change grow as more and more individuals begin to respond to God in these simple ways.
I remember in Gus' message a couple weeks back, he said that the word "radical", from the world of botany, actually means "root" or "springing from the root". In this light, radical changes really come from people doing the fundamental, basic things that make up the normal Christian life. Such things are what help people get rooted in the faith. And to be rooted in a sense is to be radical. It really is quite simple, and it's our tendency to stray to the false attachments of secular culture that turns the whole thing bass-ackwards and creates our ongoing need for renewal, which sometimes requires a return to the basics of our life with God.
You guys bring up some really great points! I would hope to be the kind of person that acts instead of standing by, but I almost feel like I'm part of the majority that is just watching and thinking that the church would be just fine without them. If you don't know what God wants you to do in a church then where do you even begin?
thanks for your comment, "anonymous". i think the best place to begin is with relationships. ministry flows better through relationships. that can be a good thing, and a challenging thing because we're all fallen human beings. But the context for how we even figure out what God wants us to do is a relational context. If you're in "community" so to speak, then you can feel a bit more free to try things out in terms of serving, or at least let someone know what you might be interested in doing. Sometimes God will use others to speak to you regarding a possible area of service, or will put something on your heart to see changed and to be involved in. Our hope as a church is to provide as many entry points for serving as we can. We're working on that, helping people identify their strengths, gifts, passion, etc., and then helping them find their ministry "fit". That's a process that involves being in relationship with others.
A Question for you and everyone else: What other kinds of things can the church do to help encourage members to be active in serving?
Post a Comment