The Power of Ten
by Tom and Dee Yaccino
Those of us awakened to the reality of the plight of millions of people suffering from injustice often get plagued by one question, “What difference can I really make in this broken and hurting world?” We may say it out loud or in our minds, but the truth is we feel guilty when we sigh at disturbing news reports, ignore heart-wrenching images of crying babies, or hurry by the beggar on the street. And maybe when we look at the world with our eyes riveted on the problems, it is a rational and logical thing to ask.
But, everything changes when we begin to see through Kingdom lenses—even our complacency and doubt.
In a message entitled “The Power of Ten”, RdC DR network leader and pastor, Robert Guerrero, challenged listeners to consider what God meant when He said He would spare an entire city from catastrophic consequences for the sake of ten “just” people.
The teaching has special significance for the small, often marginalized communities of faith represented in the RdC networks that struggle against the tide to make a transformative difference in their neighborhoods, but it has powerful implications for all of us who are stumbling towards Jesus along His Way.
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The Biblical text for the message comes from Genesis 18:23-32 where Abraham barters with God over the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.
Then he said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more. What if only ten can be found there?” He answered, “For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it.”
Abraham was most likely looking out for his own interests (his nephew Lot and his family) and not necessarily the well being of a corrupt and unjust city. But what may have been a selfish inquiry by a concerned uncle is a useful object lesson for us all. The presence of only ten just Kingdom citizens in a city can make all the difference in the world.
Kingdom math takes a linear equation into the realm of infinite possibilities. For God, 2+ 1 ”the One” = ∞ “infinity”.
While we often get caught up in quantities, (how many volunteers are there, how much money have we raised, or how many people were baptized this month?) God seems more concerned that those of us who follow Him make His presence known by being truly “present” in alternative Kingdom ways in our towns, cities, and neighborhoods.
God continually reminds us that the mission is His. Our “Kingdom business” is to be about renewing and redeeming everything we can possibly influence.
Our constant struggle as a community of faith is that God’s measurements for triumph, success, power, and influence are usually co-opted by the world’s measurements so that, most of the time, we are scrambling in vain to accomplish plans and purposes that are not part of His mission to restore and transform.
Matthew 18:20 “For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.”
When we understand what the “Power of Ten” really means, we begin to open our eyes to all the possibilities we used to miss because we were fixated on what was “significant” according to a false system.
- We’ll see, for instance, that four Mexican Christ-followers from the poorest region of their nation (Oaxaca) can do incredible things to manifest God’s hope in ways that thousands of well-intentioned people before didn’t even entertain because of its relative insignificance.
- We will meet an unpretentious middle-aged widow from the barrios of Santo Domingo who catalyzed a series of events for people on the streets that continues to bring real change to her entire community and understand we have been with a powerful princess of God’s Kingdom.
- We will know that a few faithful followers in a favela in Northeastern, Brazil threatened by the powers and structures that be, can turn the tide from death to life by their unassuming yet influential presence as God’s collaborators.
The Power of Ten is Jesus’ model for fulfilling God’s mission. It acts more like a bit of yeast in dough than an unleashed tidal wave on an unsuspecting coastal village. Its effects are more like that of a tiny mustard seed than that of a huge army. Its wisdom is more like that of a little child than that of a multitude of knowledgeable adults.
We all need to be reminded about the Power of Ten because of the constant bombardment of false information that tells us that we are too insignificant to do anything of real value, that we are too few or weak or poor or powerless to be main protagonists in God’s dramatic restoration of Creation. But these messages can only persuade us when we are looking through the lenses of a fallen world.
If we would just dare to take another look, we may be surprised at all the ‘Power of Ten’ possibilities we see.