Thinking small . . .

(If we wish to do something big)

“Think small and act small, and we’ll get bigger.”

Simple words, uttered by a guy named Herb Kelleher. And those words revolutionized the airline industry.

Kelleher, known as simply “Herb” to his employees at Southwest Airlines, made this single line one of the core principles of Southwest Air, leading to its rise from a fledgling, rogue airline in Texas to a national leader in the industry.

And the more I think about it, the more this phrase resonates with my faith.

Herb helped launch Southwest through a conversation back in 1966 with Rollin King at a cocktail bar in Texas, where they sketched a simple triangle connecting Dallas, Houston and San Antonio. The two thought that perhaps, a small airline focused on ferrying business passengers between these three cities could—possibly—make a decent profit.

They were thinking small, and that’s okay. In fact, it’s important. Vital.

With Kelleher fighting legal battles for Southwest against the major carriers, Southwest launched in 1971. Kelleher became CEO in 1981 and would lead the airline until 2001, expanding its reach and bringing the airline a streak of profitability that is unmatched in the industry.

Southwest’s outstanding success during his tenure can be traced back to Kelleher, and the Southwest team, living out the core value, “Think small and act small, and we’ll get bigger.”

The idea of course, is that if an airline—or any of us—focuses on the details and takes care of customers and team members because we see each of them as unique individuals, success is the natural result.

As a quick aside, Southwest’s profitability streak is no more. While the airline is not failing, it is undergoing an identity crisis as it makes massive changes. And it seems to me—one of Southwest’s fans—that each of its problems can be traced back to a decision where dollars got in the way of people.

Which has everything to do with our faith.

Sticking with small, growing big

The early church grew exponentially, we all know this. In this space I’ve talked about the verse which keeps me thinking and asking big questions: Acts 2:47 where author Luke says those first Christians were “. . . having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.”

They were growing big. But how? What was the secret?

First, there was no secret. It’s right there for us to read. And one of the core principles of this growing church? They thought small.

In the verses leading up to the one I quoted, we see these first believers ate meals together, shared whatever they had with each other, taught each other. They connected in seemingly small ways.

Simply put, no one was “too big” for the others. There was no Grand Poo Bah (reference from the ancient cartoon, The Flintstones) who gave the first Christians a list of “To Do’s” for creating a big explosion of faith.

They simply looked out for each other, stuck together, believed in each other.

And boy, “Boom” came to the church.

What about us?

If we wish to influence this world today, the formula is the same. It’s about thinking small.

We can have grand plans for church growth, buildings and all that stuff. And nothing is inherently wrong with this. Sometimes this is what we need.

But never should we grow at the expense of thinking small.

Just being honest, this is a challenge for me. I can get so caught up in something seemingly super important, I miss the person in front of me. But I’m trying. And learning.

A couple of weeks ago while at a conference, a ministry leader caught me during a break time and asked, “Do you have time for a couple of quick questions? Is this a good time?”

I can’t remember whether I was headed somewhere or just taking a break. But I did know that the Lord is teaching me about thinking small. So this time, I stopped. “No, this is not a good time. This is a great time,” I said. “I have all time you need.”

This is not an answer I would advise often, but in this moment, this response was vital for my growth.

We talked. We walked through her questions. I asked questions. Gave her some ideas. Affirmed that what she was planning sounded like a great course of action.

It didn’t take an hour. Twenty minutes, tops.

When she walked away, I knew that at least in this moment, I was thinking small—as I was supposed to.

The challenge

If we are serious about influencing our culture, thinking small is more important than we might imagine. Because when we think small, we see people, not issues. We see individual stories, not overwhelming problems.

Me? I want to think big. To think about major movements and influencing thousands. But most of Jesus’ greatest moments took place through individual encounters.

The Samaritan Woman would share the message of Jesus with an entire village, sparking an awakening. But her first encounter with the Messiah was when she walked to a lonely well . . . alone.

Peter would lead thousands to faith with his first message. But Peter’s first encounter with Jesus took place when Jesus looked him in the eye and asked the frustrated fisherman to throw out his nets—one more time—for a catch. When Jesus gave Peter a personal miracle, Peter’s journey to become Peter the Apostle began.

And Paul was only Saul, yet another Jewish zealot, before encountering Jesus on a road to Damascus. Now we know Paul as the most prolific writer in our New Testament.

Individual moments with Jesus. Jesus thinking small and connecting with one person. And those three “one persons” changing the world in which we live.

I don’t know about you, but tomorrow when I wake up, my prayer will be, “How can I think small?” Because maybe, just maybe, God wants to do something big.

Kirk’s Quick Notes . . .

• Yes, we are still booking events for Fall 2025 and into 2026. Here is my schedule and contact info!

• To engage on Instagram, I’m @KirkWalden. Let’s connect!