Message from the Head of School – February 2026

The Domino Effect: Small Habits, Big Results 

One of the books on my reading list this year is Do It for a Day by Mark Batterson. I am not far into it, but the introduction alone gave me something that I wanted to share with you.  

Batterson references what he calls the Domino Effect, an idea grounded in the physics of mathematical induction and exponential power. Physicist Lorne Whitehead discovered that a domino is capable of toppling another domino approximately 1.5 times its own size. On its surface, that does not sound like much. But follow the math: start with a domino just 5 millimeters tall, and by the 29th domino in the chain, you could theoretically knock down a structure the size of the Empire State Building. 

That’s not a motivational gimmick. It’s physics. 

When Batterson applies this principle to habits and personal growth, the insight is simple but compelling: small actions, practiced consistently over time, produce exponential results. The challenge is not to achieve some type of dramatic transformation overnight, but instead, the challenge is to identify the domino and then have the discipline to push it over, day after day. 

Batterson puts it this way: “If you do little things like they’re big things, God will do big things like they’re little things.” 

This echoes the parable of the mustard seed, the faithfulness required in small things before greater things are entrusted, the quiet but persistent work of sanctification. Sometimes, God does not seem to be in a hurry, but He is always at work, often through the ordinary and routine events in our daily lives.  

I recently had the opportunity to share this idea with our Christ’s Church Academy Student Ambassadors, and I asked them a straightforward question: What is one small habit you could start right now that would produce meaningful results by the end of the school year? The conversation that followed was encouraging. Students began naming things like reading more consistently, managing time better, starting their day with prayer, and reading their Bible more. Seemingly small dominoes, but dominoes with real potential. 

I want to ask you the same question, not about your student, but about yourself. 

Being a parent is by far my hardest job. The results of what you do today may not be visible for years. The conversation you have at the dinner table, the book you read aloud, the way you handle conflict or disappointment in front of your children, the habits of faith you model in your home, all of these are dominoes. Small and perhaps unremarkable in the moment, but these daily dominoes are falling, and they are setting other things in motion. 

This realization is both sobering and encouraging. Sobering, because it means our everyday choices matter more than we sometimes realize. Encouraging, because it means you do not have to do something extraordinary to make a meaningful difference. You simply have to be faithful with what is in front of you. 

At CCA, we are committed to partnering with parents in Christian education. Our faculty and staff are committed to the formation of your children, both academically and spiritually. But we know that the most formative environment in a child’s life is not the classroom. It is in the home. The habits, values, and rhythms you establish there are the early dominoes in a very long chain. 

So, as we move through this school year, I encourage you to give some thought to your own domino. What is one small, sustainable habit that you could begin or renew right now? Do not underestimate it because it seems small; after all, toppling the Empire State Building starts with a 5 millimeter domino. 

In Christ,  

John Stubblefield