The Pareto principle (also known as the 80–20 rule…) states that, for many events, roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes.  – Reference, Wikipedia. This is the beginning of a series discussing the Pareto Principle “Trap” and why those in churches fall into it.

I’m sure you’ve heard it stated that 20% of the people are doing 80% of the work. It has been repeated over and over again within the church as members burn-out or seek to guilt others into serving. As I hear this principle slung around, it seems to me that the people shouting the loudest are those who believe that they are part of the 20% doing 80% of the work. When I hear this, I can’t help but think of the account of Mary and Martha when they entertained Jesus in their home.

Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:38-42 (ESV)

Can you hear people serving in your church crying out to Jesus, like Martha did? Lord make them work as much as I do, make the other 80% serve as much as I do. Some people are so caught up in service that they minimize others who are not as involved as they are in the life of the church. They begin to gauge spirituality on what they see people do in the church and not on their relationship with Jesus.

Could these people be called modern day pharisees? People who look to an outward expression of holding to tradition in order to gauge one’s relationship with God. Crying out, look what I’m doing for God, or sometimes just what they are doing for “the church” while minimizing efforts of others to show their love for God.

These people usually burn-out because they are too focused on what they are doing, and not why they are doing it. In other words, they are not getting their strength from the Lord, they are trying to do things with their own strength. They have fallen into the “trap” of the Pareto Principle in the church. When they tire, they begin to blame others for their lack of spirituality and service. They feel that they need to be active, they feel important because of their activity, but often are not aware of the hurt in those around them.  They may be people who truly love God, they may have just lost their focus. Think about your church, when do you hear this Pareto Principle vocalized? Is it when people get tired of serving? It is sometimes when we have trouble filling volunteer roles that this principle is embraced.

In the next few posts, I’ll take a look at some of these things and why the Pareto Principle is a trap that the church needs to avoid.