The Tipping Point
Rev. Mark Stringer
First Unitarian Church of Des Moines
10/24/04

Reading  A wisdom tale entitled “The Magic Vase”
[From Margaret Silf’s  One Hundred Wisdom Stories from Around the World (Cleveland: Pilgrim Press, 2003]
 

There was once a poor family who lived in a drab little house in the neglected part of the city.  They tried to be a happy family, but times were hard, and jobs were not easy to come by. As time went on, they began to feel more and more depressed.  You could see their depression etching itself even on the house they lived in.  They no longer bothered to clean the windows.  They didn’t tend the little patch of garden in front of the house.  The paint peeled off the door and cracks appeared in the brickwork.

One day, the eldest son of the family was roaming idly through the town and he came upon a market place.  The stallholders had set up their wares, and there was a bustle of activity.  In spite of his feelings of near-despair, the boy found himself being caught up in the excitement of the morning market.

He stopped to watch the people buying fruit and vegetables, freshly baked bread and tempting cakes.  He noticed the line at the fish stall, and took a deep breath of pleasure as he passed the stall of fresh summer flowers.

But the stall that attracted him most was a little second-hand stall, tucked away among the awnings of the regular marketers.  He had never noticed this stall before.  He stopped to investigate. And there, hidden away in the dark recesses, he noticed a beautiful vase.

Rapidly, he fingered the coins in his pocket.  He had just enough to meet the modest cost of the vase, but there would be nothing left over. “Ah well,” he though to himself. “Why not?  Even if we have a few lean days, I am going to buy this vase.  Mom will love it.  Everyone will love it.”  And he handed over the contents of his pocket to the man behind the counter.

As he wrapped the vase in brown paper, the stallholder said to the boy, “Enjoy it, won’t you?  And treat it well, because it is a magic vase.”  With these mysterious words ringing in his ears, the lad went off home, proudly carrying his purchase.

Everyone at home was delighted with the vase, and no one reproached him for spending his last few coins on it.  Quite the opposite, in fact.

When Dad saw the vase, he realized how shabby the room was, and he went to the cellar, got out the paintbrushes, and gave the room a makeover. And when the second son saw how nice the room looked, with its fresh coat of paint, he fetched a bucket of water and washed the windows, for the first time in years.  When the third son looked out of the bright new windows, he realized what a state the garden was in, and went outside to dig it over.  When the fourth son saw the newly dug garden, he planted seeds in the flower bed and watered them lovingly, all through the spring.  When summer came and the baby daughter of the family went out to play in the garden, she noticed the flowers that had grown from the seeds, and she gathered a bunch of them to give to her mother.

“Here are some pretty flowers, Mommy,” she said, “because we love you.”  Mom was overjoyed.  With tears rising in her eyes, and a lump in her throat, she put the flowers in the magic vase.

 

Sermon
As part of the newcomer classes we offer here at the church a few times a year, we often show a video that attempts in about 24 minutes to lay out the history of Unitarian Universalism.  It is a video packed with names and quick summations of over 200 years of history.  One of the people mentioned in the story is Thomas Jefferson, who is quoted as saying that he believed Unitarianism would, within a generation or two, be the world’s dominant religion.  The narrator of the video then quips, “Jefferson was brilliant, but not infallible.” 

 

Not long after I discovered Unitarian Universalism in 1996, I was so excited to find a religion that actually meshed with my emerging beliefs and those of so many of my friends (whether they knew it existed or not) that I believed, as had Jefferson, that UUism had enormous potential to be spread all over the country…if not the world.   I was so excited about Unitarian Universalism because it offered an alternative to what I found to be the troubling features of other religions.  I saw in the Unitarian Universalist commitment to democratic process a counterbalance to unhealthy and often times patriarchal hierarchies.  I found in the UU respect for the wisdom of other world religions, a humble acceptance that one group’s cultural perspective is not definitive or even trustworthy when kept in isolation.  I discovered in the UU belief in religion as process not absolutes, a willingness to see the sacred not just in a single text or canon, but in the past, present and future words, deeds, and experiences of all humanity, and in our unfolding knowledge of the universe itself.  And I heard in the UU principles that talked about the inherent worth and dignity of all individuals…justice, equity and compassion in human relations…and encouragement to spiritual growth, a sincere voice of acceptance and respect for the diversity of experience, background, and capacity of belief found in any human community, as well as a motivation to work so that these things could be possible for more people more of the time.

 

From the start I believed in this faith, this Unitarian Universalist faith.  I was fired up, raring to go, ready to spread the UU gospel to the world. I didn’t know why more people didn’t know about it, but I believed they should.  Is it any wonder that I applied to theological school to become a UU minister less than a year after walking through the door of my first UU church?  Is it any wonder that some of my favorite mornings of the church year for me are the Sundays, like today, when we welcome new members to our fold?  During these ceremonies, when I shake the hands of the people who have signed the membership book, I know that I am touching the past and the future:  I am reconnected to the person I was when I first joined a UU church and I am reminded that I have a responsibility to nurture along with these new members the holy possibilities of human interaction that I believe are at the foundation of our approach to religion. 

 

All of us who have joined this church, who have given ourselves in commitment to the ideals of Unitarian Universalism, are not simply members…dare I say it, we are Unitarian Universalism itself.   For better or for worse, we are the people who will steward this faith for those who will follow us. We are the ones who hold the power to either advance this religion and spread its good news or to selfishly keep it to ourselves.

 

When I graduated from theological school and began looking for a place to minister, I knew that I wanted to be called to a church that was not content with the status quo.  I wanted to be called to a church that was not simply open to growth, but could see the sharing of our UU faith as an obligation…an obligation because its members would know in their hearts that there is little value to a faith that is not made public, shared with others so that they may find the comfort we have found, so that they might find the challenge to lead lives of meaning and purpose that we have found.  Who are we, after all, to turn away those who wish to follow us?  Who are we to hold this Unitarian Universalist faith back?

 

Despite my optimism and expectations that UUism could and should be shared with more people, I recognize that we are still a tiny minority in the world of religion.  So what will it take, I ask, to bring more people to this religion that has meant so much to so many of us?

 

Not long ago a friend gave me a book called The Tipping Point [Boston: Little, Brown, 2002], in which the author, Malcolm Gladwell, contends that contagious new ideas, trends, even changes in social behavior, take hold much like epidemics do: they spread like wildfire when the conditions are right, and these conditions are less complicated that what we might believe.  Gladwell came to this conclusion after considering the nature of epidemics, how viruses are spread and how quickly something can go from a nuisance to a full-blown crisis.  Acknowledging that when we think of epidemics, we usually think of unpleasant things like illness, crime, or fear, Gladwell’s primary hypothesis is that we can learn some important things from these negative epidemics that will help us create positive epidemics…or in other words, viruses of the good.

 

Gladwell finds three primary rules of epidemics…three factors that can lead to “the tipping point”…the event that takes any idea beyond a small group of people and to the masses…the dramatic moment when everything seems to change at once…the point in time when what was once unexpected becomes not only possible, but certain.  The three dynamics that can bring an idea or movement to its tipping point are
• the law of the few •the stickiness factor and •the power of context. 

 

In our time together this morning, I will consider how each of these dynamics might apply to our past and present as a church community, including the questions of what is our tipping point as a church, and how might we get there?

 

First, the law of the few says that little changes can have a big impact and that any epidemic for the greater good, no matter how many lives the epidemic eventually touches, begins through the initiative and commitment of a handful of people.  If we simply take a look at the recent history of this church, we know this to be true.  

 

During the two-year interim ministry of Rev. Annie Holmes that preceded my time with you, the church membership had the opportunity to consider where they had been as a community and where they wanted to go.  They discovered that the membership totals over the past 25 years or so had remained mostly stagnant and were not in keeping with the population growth of metro Des Moines.  A few members took part in leadership training opportunities that effectively increased their commitment not only to the church, but to Unitarian Universalism, and they, along with Annie, led the rest of the membership to commit to a very ambitious goal of having 505 members in our church by the year 2005…a doubling of the membership in five years. 

 

Of course, I was not here at the time, but I can bet there were many in the church who were uncertain about this goal.  I’m sure some of the issues imbedded in their skepticism included fear of change and concern that what was good about the church would be lost if it grew…if the church added large numbers of new members would there still be a place for the current members?  So while there was much hoopla around this goal of 505 in ’05, I’m sure the vision was primarily held by just a few folks…true believers, if you will. 

 

As I’ve already confessed my eternal optimism about the growth potential for any UU church, and the benefits of increased membership, which easily outweigh any loss of how things used to be, you can imagine how I perceived this goal when I was looking for my first settlement as a minister.  I thought it was awesome! I immediately knew that this is a place I wanted to serve.  I remember telling one of my mentors all the things I liked about the Des Moines church and the potential I saw here.  “And get this,” I told her with pride that a church shared my excitement about growing our movement, “they have a goal of 505 members by 2005.”  Verbally patting me on the head while smiling with a certain level of protective pity, my mentor responded, “Well, that will never happen.” 

 

You might imagine that I would have taken her voice of experience as the truth…perhaps this church was deluding itself…and me, too.  However, her quick dismissal of your goal actually energized me.  I wanted you to prove her wrong…and I wanted to help you get there.  I wasn’t just being defensive, stubborn, or dangerously optimistic.  I believed in you.  I believed in us. Why?  Because while everyone eventually would need to do his or her part, I knew that it would only take a few people to get us moving, and these people already had the commitment and the initiative.  I believed that emotion is contagious, that the nature of the messenger is just as important as the message itself.  The few who were leading the charge here were confident, hopeful and, perhaps most importantly, joyful.  This spirit is contagious and I believe you can see the impact of it even today.  But most of all, I think I intuitively understood Margaret Mead’s famous line that effectively expresses the law of the few.  She said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”  The law of the few was definitely in place at First Unitarian…and it still is.  And with every new member Sunday we move closer to the goal you set.  In fact, if you include children enrolled in the RE program, we are within striking distance of that lofty goal my mentor said would never be reached!  And guess who’s getting a call when we do.

 

Gladwell’s second dynamic of epidemics is the stickiness factor: the degree to which the idea or concept being spread makes an impact.  Once exposed to its message, can the recipient get it out of her head?   Is the message so memorable that it can spur someone to action?  This week, I was in Minnesota for a district ministers’ meeting and retreat.  I spent three days with 30 other UU ministers from the several-state area that makes up our Prairie Star District…a district, which you might be impressed to know, is the fastest growing district in the country. Our increase in membership at First Unitarian is, of course, a contributing factor to this growth.  But I’m pleased to tell you that other churches are doing their part as well.  It’s an exciting time to be a UU in the Midwest.  We spent one of the days discussing the core of our UU faith.  It was an energizing discussion that reminded me that when we UUs don’t get caught up in the dogma of what we don’t have in common, we become more free to embrace the things we do hold to be true.  One of my colleagues [Rev. Brian Eslinger of UU Fellowship of Ames] expressed the foundations of our religion most succinctly when he said that throughout the history of Unitarianism and Universalism there are two primary ideas we all share:  The first is the unity of existence…that our interdependence and ultimate connection to everything else requires a sense of responsibility, to ourselves, to each other and to this world we share.  The second is the humanity of Jesus, which reminds us of possibility…that if a man like Jesus were simply human, albeit an extraordinary human, we all have within us the possibility that we might do great things as well.  Each of us might find within ourselves the ability to love beyond what we once thought possible.  These concepts of responsibility and possibility are simple, memorable and sticky.  Much stickier than descriptions of UUism like “you can believe whatever you want,” or “it’s the church where you don’t have to talk about God.”  

 

I think the core of our mission statement is equally important…equally sticky.  “Celebrating life,” we say, “we strive to transform ourselves and our larger community.”   Of course, transformation is wonderfully ambiguous:  transform from what to what, we might wonder.  And yet, I think it is from this ambiguity that transformation derives its strength.  Transformation, in my mind, is anything we can do to change things for the better…to become more engaged in our own lives and in the lives of our companions.  If we are truly interested in transformation, we are interested in helping each other discover our own internal tipping points, those places where we can see beyond our limitations and discover our inherent resilience and ability to effect positive change in our own lives and in the lives of others.  To strive for transformation then is to accept that we always have more to learn, to believe, and to become…that our souls always have room for growth.  The more skill we develop for encouraging this kind of transformation, the stickier our goal of transformation will become and the more people will emerge who will want to join us.

 

The third dynamic of epidemics is the power of context, which reminds us that humans are influenced by and sensitive to their environment…
even more than we might think we are.  I think about the context of our church community.  We have this beautiful, albeit somewhat disheveled building…a building that has served this church well for about 50 years, leaky roof and all.  And we also have a special tree-filled property with a creek where we can be reminded that our lives as humans are always existing within the boundaries and bounty of the natural world.  But even with this unique building and land, we are limited in our ability to welcome newcomers.  Most of the building is not handicap accessible. The ground level of our church, where our children spend most of their time, does not have enough natural light and is not laid out to promote community, and the primary corridor is a bottleneck that always makes us think there is not enough room for more people to join us.  We don’t have enough meeting spaces for ourselves or for other groups in the community to whom we might offer our church.  And we are limited in the kinds of lectures, concerts and other special events we might host.  The building, as comfortable and familiar as it may be to us, is actually limiting what we can do and who we might become.

 

At a congregational meeting last week, a vote was taken as to whether or not the membership will proceed with planning for a capital campaign to improve our facility and make it more in keeping with our goals as a church.  By a vote of 102 to 1, the members present said that if the funding is there, they want to pursue an ambitious plan that would considerably expand our facility and literally transform the context in which we gather and practice ministry together. 

 

What might happen if we are able to reach the lofty goals of this effort?  How would the expansion and makeover of our space impact our ability to further the mission and vision of the church?  While none of us can know for sure, I believe, from my experience with other UU churches, we will be shocked by the transformation awaiting us.  Working together on such an ambitious capital campaign and building project will require that we each come to terms with the importance of this community in our lives.  We will each have the opportunity to carefully consider the value of our commitment…and to act on it.  In the process, we will discover new possibilities for our collective ministry that the new and improved context of our ministry will create.

 

In this morning’s reading, we heard the story of how a simple vase, bought with love and offered with care, changed the context and course of one family’s life.  It was a simple change with great consequences.  It was a single act that provided a tipping point for the family’s relationships to each other and their world. 

 

What might be the tipping point for our church community?  What will it be that will enable us to more fully inhabit our mission of transforming ourselves and our larger community?  Some might say the tipping point has already occurred.  It might have been the ministry of Annie Holmes.  Perhaps it was the lofty goal of 505 in ’05.  Maybe it was the audacity of the members of a search committee who just over three years ago followed their hearts and called a minister right out of seminary.  Maybe it was the implementation of Small Group Ministry, or our new caring ministry plan which will help us more effectively care for one another, a caring ministry plan with over 50 members of our church already registered to help and room for you, too.  (You still have two more weeks register…just visit the table in Channing Hall after the service).  Perhaps the tipping point was our commitment to AMOS or our increased giving to outreach.  Or maybe the tipping point was last week’s simple vote to move forward on a plan for our church that may open countless possibilities.  Perhaps the tipping point is yet to come.  We won’t know for sure until many years down the road.  But I want you to know that we are not done with our changes, nor should we be.  Transformation after all is an ongoing process and a hallmark of a healthy, vital church.

 

As we look to the future, we will still rely on the law of the few to lead us…the few ambitious, committed, and imperfect souls who have experienced an internal tipping point of their own, who recognize that it is exciting and enriching to be a part of a winning team, a church that reaches out as much as it reaches in, a religious community that celebrates life and strives to transform itself and the larger community. Have you been one of these few leading the way?  If not, what might be holding you back?  We have been waiting for you.

 

We will still rely on each member doing his or her part to articulate Unitarian Universalism to a world hungry for its message, and to be representatives and stewards of our faith.  Are you doing all you can to become familiar with our past and our present so that you might contribute more readily to our future?  Come visit with me sometime.  I’d love to show you how.

 

We will still look to every member and friend to continue to nurture the various ministries that create the context of our church…the ministries of caring, hospitality, creativity and leadership. What ministries might you provide?  I’m certain there is a need for what you have to offer.

 

And, someday in the future, when we look back on this time, I believe we will have reason to fondly remember the commitments made when all we knew for certain about the future was uncertainty.  And we will celebrate each decision that was made along the way, large or small, that led us past the tipping point of our reservations, past the tipping point of our indecision, past the tipping point of our disbelief that we could be more than we ever thought we could be.

 

In the meantime, let’s be grateful and energized by the fact that glorious possibility waits for us…
it waits for us…
as it always has. 

 

All we have to do is reach for it.

 

Closing Words (Theodore Parker)

Be ours a religion which, like sunshine, goes everywhere,

Its temple, all space;

Its shrine, the good heart;

Its creed, all truth;

Its ritual, works of love;

Its profession of faith, divine living.