Falling in Love with Little Things

"It's to easy to fall in love with the great things, whether we are revolutionaries or church-growth tacticians. But we must never simply fall in love with our vision or five year plan. We must never fall in love with 'the revolution' or 'the movement'. We can easily become so driven by our vision for church growth, community, or social justice that we forget the little things, like caring for those around us.

There is a brilliant truth I have come to see, largely because of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, spiritual writer and fellow resister, whose words are now inscribed on my front wall. 'The person who loves their dream of community will destroy community [even if their intentions are ever so earnest], but the person who loves those around them will create community.' Many congregations are in love with their mission and vision and rip one another apart in committee meetings trying to attain it. And many social activists I know tear each other up and burn themselves out fighting for a better world while forgetting that the seeds of the world are right next to them."

-- Shane Claiborne, "The Irresistible Revolution"