We are spending five weeks exploring Fabric’s five core values. These aren’t the core values we would like, but what has been at work all along when we were at our best. This one is “Think Big.”

January 30 - At the Core: Think Big How big? Really BIG! Why not? What does Fabric have to lose? Our reputation? Our perfect record? The hard work of trying to pull it off? Yeah, sure. But we also lose our chance to make a difference. To believe we are part of a movement of cosmic importance and proportions. We want to be part of that, so we have Thinking BIG at our core. How do you see that in our community? How do you play it out in your life?

Knowing what is at your core, driving your choices, actions, behavior is important. Why?

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT CORE VALUES listen to the first seven minutes of the Jan  podcast on “Choose Connection.” LINK

This week’s core value that we are exploring, Think BIG, balances last week’s, Brave Uncertainty, in many ways. One might think that the ever presence of uncertainty ought to make us cautious and moderate. Shabana Basij-Rasikh puts them together powerfully in her TEDWomen Talk about SOLA, a school for Afghan girls in Baghdad. LINK

“We have faced the uncertainty of what might be, 
and we have turned it into the certainty of what will be.”  Shabana Basij-Rasikh

Fabric is Thinking BIG because church needs to be re-invented for millions of people.

Justin Ley is Thinking BIG with Reema Health (reemahealth.com) and 
Karl Ulfers is doing the same with DUOS. (getduos.com). Listen to their interview to hear how.


Thinking BIG isn’t just for CEOs, it is for everyone! We all have a way and an arena for our Big Ideas!

On the one hand, “God, give me the wisdom to realize I am not you.” 
That is humble.
On the other hand, “God, give me the wisdom to realize I am part of what you are doing!”
That is audacious. We need to be both humble and audacious.

Don’t only consider the insignificance of your life in the universe, being only 1 of 8x109 people in the world. Also consider the significance of you, particularly you, being the one who stands on the earth out of the unfathomable other possibilities that could be in your place! The odds of particularly YOU existing is calculated to be 1 in 1045,000. That makes you one of the universe’s most precious investments of possibilities! You matter!

Different ways of Thinking BIG.
Jesus – How did he represent Thinking BIG?

Moses – (Exodus 18.13-23) What did he learn about Thinking BIG?

“Your BIG Idea, hope, dream doesn’t need to be big geographically, financially, or in the number of employees it requires. Its greatness comes from the wonder of your dream and your ability to make it come to be.”

Some Components to Thinking BIG.

  • You need a GOAL. You don’t need to know everything about what your goal will be like, or how to get there, but a clear enough vision to make your next step towards it.

  • Use your PEOPLE. “Choose Connection” Just because it’s your idea doesn’t mean you have to do it yourself. In CareIQ language, we call it “Expand, or Widen the Circle.” 

  • Trust the PROCESS more than your certainty. Your confidence is better grounded in knowing how to figure out the way, than in knowing the way. 

    • Focus on your goal, review what you learn, test ideas, question what you observe, revise what you do and how, and cling to your vision.

  • Watch for WAVES. Attach your BIG to a BIGGER BIG. What is something even bigger that your big idea is part of? Don’t be afraid to be part of that movement. You don’t have to be the first, biggest, most original. 

  • AVOID Either/Or’s, LOOK for Both/And’s. If your Big Idea doesn’t match up with how you are getting there, it doesn’t mean you have to give up, or that you are doing it all wrong. It’s time to Think BIG about what you are doing and how. Look for how they can help each other. Trust the process.

Your ‘Think BIG’ Homework.

You are doing many things, what is important enough for you to Think BIG about it?

You can have more than one! Remember, there are many types and arenas for Thinking BIG and we need them all! Is it your work? A mission you are passionate about? Your family? A hobby? 

How can it make love, and the quantity and variety of life abound because of it?


Mentioned in the podcast: Care IQ