Steward the Small Stuff By R. Scott Rodin

Make 2026 the Year of Small Stuff

January is an excellent month for those of us who prefer to think strategically rather than get bogged down in the small stuff. If your StrengthsFinder puts you high on the Futuristic and Strategic scale, this is your month. As leaders, we can see January as a clean canvas on which we can paint our big dreams, sketch out bold plans, and craft a narrative for our ministry that makes us bigger and more effective in carrying out our mission by December 2026.

The temptation and danger in all of this big-scale thinking and envisioning is that we develop plans that focus on quantum leaps. If our action plans are as big and bold as our dreams, we will too often stretch our capacity to execute beyond its limits. In a few weeks, we see our plans as fledgling and our team stressed. We get caught in the trap of believing we need to do things big and fast to affect the change required to realize big goals.

The Law of the Small

In place of the significant and fast, I suggest we pay attention to the ‘Law of the Small’. This Law states that tiny, consistent actions (1% better each day) compound over time into massive results, while tiny negative actions (1% worse each day) compound into severe decline. I realize this focus on the small presents a problem for us from the start. As leaders, we seldom get accolades for accomplishing small things. It’s hard to inspire others with gradual processes or mobilize donors to support incremental steps. Yet it just might be our failure to steward the small things that will undermine our ability to accomplish our big visions.

This ‘Law of the Small’ mirrors the biblical principle that great things come from small, faithful actions done over time, often hidden and unnoticed at first.​ A daily quiet time, a small act of service, a faithful “yes” to a small assignment can, over the years, produce a life of profound wisdom, influence, and fruit.​ Consistency creates a positive spiral. When we are faithful in small things (prayer, Scripture, kindness, honesty), God blesses us with small daily miracles (peace, guidance, open doors) that build into marvelous works over time.​

Circular Cumulative Causation

This concept is also laid out in the Circular Cumulative Causation theory from economics, which states that a change in one variable (e.g., income, education, or trust) causes changes in related variables, which then feed back and reinforce the original change, creating a cycle that grows stronger over time. Think of this circle in personal, organizational, and spiritual terms.

Habits

In our personal development, a small habit (daily reading, exercise, prayer) → small gains in knowledge, health, or peace → greater motivation and discipline → even more growth, creating a virtuous circle.​ Conversely, neglecting health or relationships can set in motion a vicious circle of decline.​

Trust

In our organization, a small increase in trust or cooperation in a community → more collaboration → stronger unity → even greater trust, in a cumulative, positive spiral.​ Distrust, fear, or envy can also spiral into deeper division and conflict if not interrupted.​

Kingdom

In kingdom terms, regular time in Scripture and prayer → greater love for God and others → more obedience and service → more profound joy and peace → even greater desire for God, forming a holy, upward spiral.​ Neglect of spiritual disciplines can lead to a downward spiral of hardness, indifference, and distance from God.

Reap and Sow

This Circular Cumulative Causation is also seen in the Law of Sowing and Reaping. Our faithful sowing creates the same underlying reality: small causes, repeated and reinforced, produce significant, self-sustaining effects over time.​

Cultivate

As leaders, we should consider how we cultivate this virtuous circle or positive spiral. Personally, it means that if we sow faithfully through daily prayer, Scripture, repentance, and service, we can expect to reap the fruit of greater love for God, abundant peace, wisdom, answered prayer, and fruit in relationships. Cumulative efforts over months and years produce profound change: our character is transformed, and ultimately, we become more like Christ.

In organizations, this approach means creating a vision for the types of small, incremental practices, habits, and procedures that can lead to systemic change and advance our goals through their cumulative power. To achieve this, we, as leaders, must move our sights from quantum leaps to cumulative consistency. We must steward the small things, value the God-honoring daily choices,s and lead our people to do the same. The small decisions are not trivial; they are seeds that will grow into a harvest.​

Faithfulness in little things is the foundation of faithfulness in much. “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. (Luke 16:10).​

The Greatest Challenge

The greatest challenge we face is impatience. If we steward the small things, we must also expect change to take time. It will not produce instant results. Like the farmer, as leaders we must be patient: “At the proper time we will reap, if we do not give up” (Gal. 6:9).​ We must trust God’s timing, not ours. He often works gradually, line upon line, precept upon precept.

Seven Practical Small Steps

Here are seven practical small steps we, as leaders, can take to start our ministries on this upward cycle.

1. Work with your team to identify small seeds and encourage everyone in your ministry to sow them daily.
2. Lead by example. Commit yourself to small disciplines in your own life as a leader, especially prayer, Scripture, and fellowship.
3. Keep your focus on investing in the long term, not just the immediate term.
4. Be patient and allow the positive spiral to become the DNA of your ministry, trusting God for the increase (1 Corinthians 3:5-9).​
5. Speak into your culture to create a sense of value in these small, daily actions, starting with your board and moving to your larger community.
6. Guard against the negative spiral. When you notice envy, bitterness, or neglect, confess it and return to small, faithful actions.​
7. Live in the circle. As you see God’s faithfulness in small things, let that fuel greater faithfulness, creating a holy, upward spiral of grace and fruit. And be sure to give him the glory!

R. Scott Rodin is the Senior Consultant/Chief Strategy Officer for The Focus Group. Over the past thirty-eight years, Scott Rodin has helped hundreds of organizations enhance their effectiveness in leadership, fundraising, strategic planning, and board development. His books and articles have been translated into over twenty languages, and he has taught and consulted with ministries across five continents. Scott also serves as a Senior Fellow of the Association of Biblical Higher Education and as board chair for ChinaSource.

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