Guest Blogger – Erich Stauffer – The Tipping Point

I often wonder what like would be like if some of the big decisions I made in life were made differently.  Would I have married my wife? Gone to the same college? Bought that vehicle or that house? The more I think about it the more I realize that these huge decisions were not made at the moment they happened, but were the result of a series of events set off by the smallest of circumstances.

You may have heard the proverb about the butterfly flapping its wings in one part of the world causing dramatic weather in another part.  This is called the butterfly effect or the chaos theory (depending on which movie you are watching).  Taking that idea down to the micro level, we can use one butterfly wing flap in my life which changed the course of history for myself and all those around me.

I was in 6th grade and I was new.  My parents had just moved us from the suburbs of Indianapolis to the country just outside of Franklin.  I didn’t know anybody, but there was a girl that I liked.  Her name was Chrissy.  She rode my bus and everyone at school knew I liked her.  That’s why one day in social studies, a guy named Matt told me about his church.  He said I might like it because Chrissy went there.

Of course I wanted to go and I just might be able to convince my parents to take me.  We hadn’t found a new church yet and so my parents were willing to try it out.  That Sunday my whole family went to Fair Haven Christian Church not knowing it was so that I could spend more time with Chrissy.  They loved it.  I hated it.  We went to that church for the next eight years.

I eventually came around to loving the people at Fair Haven. I loved it so much I invited Jason to join.  Jason and I were on the swim team together.  He swam butterfly and I swam the breast stroke.  Jason plugged into the church fast and became quick friends with my other friends, Derek and Ben.  We did everything together, including going to Summer in the Son (SITS) at Kentucky Christian University (KCU).

It was at SITS that Jason, Derek, and I decided to go to KCU for college and it was at SITS that Jason and Krista, one of the other members of our youth group, started dating.  Within two years, Jason and Krista were married. Jason and Derek had transferred to Ball State and I went to Milligan College with Ben from Fair Haven.  When Derek lost his roommate to Krista, I left Milligan for Ball State in Muncie.  It was there that both Derek and I met our wives.

So how did I decide what school to go to or who to marry? By the time I got to that point, the tipping point, it was already decided.  The butterfly, Matt, had flapped his wings back in 1992 and because of that three families, nine children, and four friend’s lives were changed forever.  If you have any inclination that your life has no effect on other people, consider this.  Matt never talked to me again nor did he ever attend Fair Haven while I was there.  You have no idea what effect your words and your actions can have on another person’s life so make sure you use your tongue wisely.  Choose your words wisely for they hold the power of life and death.