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	November 2003
		A Quick Word by Paul Grayston
			Try a little Zero-Tolerance Crack down on petty misbehaviour and watch the number of murders, kidnappings and armed hold-ups miraculously decline. That's the paradoxical approach of Zero-Tolerance policing. When minor crimes like drinking alcohol in public, loitering, evading bus fares, drug possession, graffiti spraying, vandalism and school truancy are pursued vigorously by the police, serious and violent criminal behaviour dries up. The Zero-Tolerance innovation is attributed to Nineties New York Police Commissioner Bill Bratton. Bratton used the terms 'community policing', 'problem-oriented policing' or 'broken windows policing' to describe the technique which halved the serious crime rate and reduced the number of murders to one-third of the previous levels. Mind you, critics claim it is draconian, expensive and wrecks police relations with poorer communities. But for all that, Zero-Tolerance policing is spreading to many parts of the world -as viewers of The Bill may have noticed. The Zero-Tolerance approach reminds us of the importance of the small things. In friendship, family or marriage, what a difference sharp words or slammed doors can make. What a transformation small favours or acts of thoughtfulness seem to bring. What about the small things of parish life? The welcome; a smile; remembering someone's name; a cup of tea; a kind word; a phone call; offers of practical help or thoughtful gifts. The small things, the way we speak to one another and how we treat one another, are of greater significance than we recognise. I suspect that the smallest things make the biggest difference in our churches. Not that our bigger schemes and programs and strategic decisions are unimportant, but where there is grumpiness, carping and scowling the big projects may never get off the ground. It is the small things that create the conditions for the big projects to flourish. Grump The NT Epistles often reveal a deep concern to get the small things right in the Early Church - care, speech, hospitality, kindness… After all, how can we minister the grace of God if we speak the way we sometimes do? How can we care for this hurting world if we cannot care for one another? How can we hope to help people find Jesus if we cannot begin to be the kind of people he taught us to be? Try a little Zero-Tolerance: Try saying to one another (politely): 'In this church we don't gossip, put people down, sulk, grump or speak rudely… We simply don't like to talk or act that way!' And learn from Jesus: Draw near to him and catch all this from the master! If we could get the small things right, the way we speak to one another and how we treat one another, our relationships and the health of our churches would be vastly improved!