Are you a 2 percenter?

John Trent, author of Heart Shift, and a professional counselor, tells of a plane trip he took where he sat beside a NASA engineer. He took advantage of the opportunity to ask the missile scientist, “How many degrees can a space rocket be off before it becomes a huge problem? Could it be two degrees off?”

The man pulled out his calculator and started punching in numbers. “To be two degrees off from when you blast off, and taking into consideration the time and distance traveled, you’ll miss not only your point of orbital entry, but you’ll miss the moon by 11,121 miles.”

If James Cook had been 2 degrees off course when he left England on his first voyage of discovery in August 1768, he would not have discovered New Zealand, nor would he have made it home. Cook, his crew and ship would have become entombed in the ice fields that surround Antarctica. 

A 2% rate increase on a $200,000 mortgage with a life of 25 years will cost an extra $75,600! A 2% rate increase on a compounding interest retirement savings scheme with a monthly deposit of $100 will return an extra $97,000 if the saver were to retire at 60! That's an impressive increase on the expected $452,700 the account would return if the interest rate did not change.

Elections have been won or lost with a 2% swing in the vote, and as result countries have changed direction completely. The UK general election of 1974 saw a 2% swing to the Labour Party, which resulted in Harold Wilson forming a government with a majority of just 3 seats. Social and economic policies did an about face, and this eventually led to the rise of Margaret Thacher and the tumultuous years of her stewardship.

The rise of "consensus government" (MMP in New Zealand) has led to political parties with tiny majorities holding the "reins of power" and thwarting the desires of the majority.

Social scientists have observed for years that the quality and nature of a whole culture can be changed if just two percent of the population has a new vision of what needs to be done and starts doing it. Social engineers are also well aware of this fact, and craftily manipulate citizens with that great catch-cry "public opinion".

Advertisers consider a 2% "strike rate" with that modern bane of urban society, "junk  mail" a good return on their dollar.  Just imagine, for one crazy moment if 2% of us who carry the Lord's name actually decided to change the condition of our decaying society!

Do you want to be part of that two percent, firmly focused on God’s Word, living it daily, and proclaiming the whole gospel to the whole world? A small percentage can make a large difference. We can reverse trends, change lives, restore families, heal the sick, bring peace to warring factions; in other words we can revolutionize our society, and all without resorting to AK47's

In 1905 a group of young people got together in Wales, and ignited a conflagration that swept the world, ushering millions into God's Kingdom: and yet, for many Welsh people today, 1905 is remembered not for the religious revival but for the glorious day when the Welsh international rugby team defeated the unbeaten New Zealand ‘All Blacks’.

If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7:14