The Pareto Principle (a.k.a. the 80-20 rule) states that 20% of your activities will account for 80% of your results. In the late 19th century, Italian economist Wilfredo Pareto discovered that 80% of the peas in his harvest came from 20% of the pea plants in his garden. He then observed that about 20% of the people in Italy owned 80% of the country’s wealth. This principle was used in business, eventually becoming a mainstream concept: we should focus on the “vital few” and ignore the “trivial many” in order to achieve the greatest success.
The Problem
I have no interest in arguing business principles in a blog on church revitalization, but hear me out. This principle has crept into the Church and personally, I don’t like the results. How many times have you heard someone say that “20% of the people in a church do 80% of the work?”
The phrase itself doesn’t sound much like something Jesus would say, and, in fact, I can’t think of a single Biblical reference to the “trivial many” or the “vital few” at all. We keep hearing about these “vital few” at Cyclical Full Circle. People keep telling us that engagement is way down and the same few people are doing all the work. And guess what? These people are now exhausted. They are leaving the church in droves–pastors and leadership teams are more tired and burned out than ever before. But we cannot recognize this without also acknowledging that we have created these very systems. There is no such thing as the “vital few” or the “trivial many,” because the ministry of the church belongs to everyone.
Even the Great Prophet Moses Wanted To Die
“Moses heard the people weeping throughout their families, all at the entrances of their tents. Then the Lord became very angry, and Moses was displeased. So Moses said to the Lord, ‘Why have you treated your servant so badly? Why have I not found favor in your sight, that you lay the burden of all these people on me? Did I conceive of all these people? Did I give birth to them, … I am not able to carry all these people alone, for they are too heavy for me. If this is the way you are going to treat me, put me to death at once—if I have found favor in your sight—and do not let me see my misery.’”
Numbers 11:10-15
In the above passage, an exasperated Moses is so tired of going at leadership alone that he would prefer death to continuing on like this. Overwhelmed by the people of Israel and their burdens, their moaning, and their weeping, Moses knows he can no longer do this work alone. He pleads with God, begging for help engaging the people and utilizing their gifts of leadership. God comes to Moses’ aid and pours out the Holy Spirit on 70 elders in Israel to help Moses share the the burden of leadership together.
Leadership Lesson Learned
A high-engagement church is one whose members use their Spirit-breathed gifts to extend the kingdom of God, while a low-engagement church is one in which everything is done by a small handful of people (who are probably pulling their hair out and ready to quit). About 6 months ago, I realized we had started to become the latter. After losing our worship space to the pandemic, our church was online for a year and a half. We did a pretty good job transitioning, but on a Zoom screen, only one talking head can lead at a time. When we re-entered a physical space, it took me a full 8 months to realize that we had gone from a high-engagement church to one in which most of the work was done by our (overworked) part-time staff. We were a picture of the Pareto Principle. Many of the saints of the church were either M.I.A. or spectating. Why? Because I had unknowingly stopped inviting people to use their gifts to build up our church community. As a missional church with a tiny, part-time staff, we need the saints of the church to engage and participate in helping us achieve our mission. We need the many to join with us in realizing the vision of where we want to go as a church.
If you simply live by the Pareto Principle, you may end up going at it alone, until you too, become so exhausted that you walk away.
Helpful Steps To Consider
I want to see the Church reverse the Pareto Principle–and not just a little bit. To be honest, I have lofty goals and high expectations. I want to see 100% of the saints of our church using their gifts to serve both our congregations and our neighbors. Pareto might say that I should only focus on the 20%, but the 20% are tired too. How might we consider raising up the 80%, those who are perhaps just waiting to be invited to lead. Here are some helpful steps to consider:
- Invite staff and key leaders to ‘give one thing away’
- Care for tired leaders
- Examine the leadership holes at your church
- Share your engagement goals with the saints of the church and extend invitations
- Develop language around gifting
- Mine the missional impulses of your leaders
- Design experiments that require new leaders and new gifts (and debrief following)
- Adopt a facilitators posture, making sure everyone’s voice is elevated
- Adopt a coaching posture as you are helping them live into their calling
- Trust God and pray for help (like Moses)
Reflection
- What does the Pareto Principle look like in your church?
- Describe the levels of engagement in your congregation? Are they up or down post-Covid? Why?
- Can you identify leaders who may be burned out? Care for them before it’s too late.
- Reflect on your own leadership oversights (mistakes). What are you learning?
- What are a few next steps you will take to boost engagement by the saints of your congregation?
Encouragement
Moses got the help he desperately needed, and all he needed to do was ask. So did I, when I realized my mistakes and made a course correction. Since focusing on our 80%, engagement is up and people are beginning to share their gifts! The Pareto Principle may be good for business, but God certainly never intended for the church community to focus on the vital few. The business of the church is the many–and to do the work we are called to do, we are going to need all the help we can get.
