Writer Malcolm Gladwell calls it "the tipping point." In his now popular book, The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference (New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2000), Gladwell says his work is "the biography of an idea." And the idea is really quite simple.

The best way to understand the emergence of fashion trends, the ebb and flow of crime waves, or, for that matter, the transformation of unknown books into bestsellers, or the rise of teenage smoking, or the phenomena of word of mouth, or any number of the other mysterious changes that mark everyday life is to think of them as epidemics. Ideas and products and messages and behaviors spread just like viruses do (The Tipping Point, 7).

I have thought about Gladwell's expression of this social theory for several years now. Frankly, I believe there is a great deal in his insights for praying Christians to think about when it comes to revival. In tipping point theory, it is the little changes that generally have the biggest effects. And, when the tipping point is finally reached, the response will usually come in a hurry. If you think of an epidemic, how it begins and then how it spreads, you will soon realize that little changes often have the largest impact when things really begin to move.

I relate this because I, and countless others, have been praying for a true revival for decades. Following the Jesus Movement of the late 1960s, when God had very clearly touched a large number of people in my generation, many of us have cried again and again, "Lord, do it again, and revive your people in our time."

The Law of the Few
Gladwell writes of what he calls "the law of the few." This is the first rule of the tipping point. In a social revolution he believes that it is those people who are "connectors" who are most directly used to reach the tipping point. Such people are what we call "networkers" today. Gladwell uses Paul Revere as one historical example of how a moment spread very quickly. Paul Revere was a man with the equivalent of a large Rolodex who became actively engaged in gathering important information and using it to influence others. When a few such individuals begin to reach the point of impact upon a number of other people, the tipping point may not be far removed.

In this light I am reminded of just how important it is to influence just the few, the handful. This has always been the way the kingdom of God advanced in the world. We are inclined to seek bigger crowds. God apparently seeks faithful, connected people with a vision for making a difference in the world by radical obedience. Jesus spoke to crowds, for sure, but his focus was primarily upon a faithful remnant that would follow him closely and never give up. He poured his life into those few and they eventually were used to reach a tipping point in the ancient world.

The Shema is the foundation of all Jewish and Christian spirituality. It reads: "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts" (Deuteronomy 5:4-5). Jesus used this Shema to explain what was the "greatest commandment" in all the Law and by it he showed that the kingdom of God would consist of two loves, the love of God and the love of neighbor (Matthew 22:37-40).

Generally speaking, you cannot love well until you learn to love one here and one there. This reminds me of the Snoopy character in the cartoon series who once cried, "I love the human race, its just individual people I can't stand." We find it hard to relate to individual people. But, when you look at the Ten Commandments carefully, you soon realize that more than half of the commandments deal with human conduct in dealing with human relationships. In fact, way more than half the content of the Bible is taken up with the actions of individuals and the implications of such actions for human society or community.

When Jesus says we are to love our neighbor as we love ourselves, and then connects this expanded version of the Shema very explicitly to individuals, he may be saying that love for God cannot be expressed at all except in human relationship with other individuals. Or, he could be saying that we can only love and obey God with our whole heart when we love our neighbor as we love ourselves. In either case the love of the few is linked to true love for God and a mature life in the Spirit.

Jesus was asked, on another occasion, "Who then is my neighbor? (Luke 10:29-37). His answer is the story of the Good Samaritan. What was his point? Namely that anybody I come in contact with, who has a real need, is my neighbor. This includes those who are enemies.

In terms of revival movements, the point here is clear. Church renewal is not just about speaking to masses of people or utilizing technologies that impact millions at once, in what we call "real time." This is a great temptation for moderns. We have come to think that using the newest technologies equates with love and faithfulness. But the impact of my life upon the few has more eternal impact upon the advance of real spirituality in my life and others, and real good in the world, than the all the public things I do for larger numbers of people. In fact, my public persona is only truly connected to kingdom reality and impact when my involvement with a few has both integrity and authenticity. In revivals this point has commonly been demonstrated by the fact that true movements of the Spirit begin among one or two. Only then does the impact of the few become the influence upon the many. This is why we must always be careful not to "despise the day of small things" (Zechariah 4:10) because that is precisely where true movements of the Spirit always begin, among the few.

The Law of Context
Malcolm Gladwell also speaks of the law of context. The power of any idea will be revealed in a particular (very human) context. That context will determine when a tipping point is reached. This observation takes note of an important kingdom principle, in the light of the Bible's emphasis on the slow and necessary development of the kingdom of God.

God's kingdom always advances in particular human contexts. We forget this, looking for the moment, to the next great person or event. But the Bible reverences the ordinary moments of life. Heavenly things are never divorced from ordinary human realities in Scripture. This means context is everything. Since the Spirit now lives in all who know the Lord, the life from above has been brought into every human situation. This means, simply, that you will never know just how related to divine context your life really is from day-to-day.

Revival movements are generally birthed among the few, in very human contexts of love and fellowship. Here, often in small groups where prayer and love are a profound reality, a small fire begins to burn and spread from one context into another. Wesley understood this and utilized Methodism for this very purpose. When it can be shown, by God's Spirit and not by our own might, what the Lord does for those who wait for him, renewal is often not far behind.

I Have Hope
I am often asked if we are nearer revival today than we were a few years ago. Well, of course we are, at least in terms of the divine purpose. But will this generation see the next great move of God to renew his people and spread his glory throughout the earth? I do not know the answer to that question. I remain suspicious of announcements that are certain of what God will do and when, given the failed prophecies on this matter stretching over the past thirty-five or so years. But I am also filled with hope for several reasons.

First, we are warranted to be people of hope, given the Bible's multiple promises about the Lord spreading his glory among the nations. The fact of the matter is this-he is spreading his glory widely and powerfully right now in Latin America, Asia and Africa. Even France is seeing a new growth of evangelical religion that is rather astounding, and quite unlike anything seen since the times following the Reformation (see Christianity Today, April 2005).

Second, little bands of earnest praying people are rising here and there across North America. This speaks of a potential tipping point that may be reached at a time and place known to God alone. I can stir interest in such groups and I can participate in one or more. So can you. Put your life in the place where you might contribute to the spread of renewing mercy and you never know how the Lord will use you.

Finally, practice the Shema in your day-to-day life. Remember both the law of the few and the law of context. When people really love God with all their heart, mind, soul and strength, and when they truly love their neighbor as themselves, then the life of the Spirit is at work in a context that just might spark a larger movement of grace. Your life matters far more than you can imagine. You have opportunity every day to invest yourself in small ways that could make a huge difference. You might even become an instrument of grace that brings about the next great spiritual tipping point. As Gladwell notes, ideas and fashions do spread rapidly when the tipping point is reached. We need to continually ask ourselves: "Is anything too hard for the Lord?"