The 80/15 Principle

Many of you may be thinking that I’m referring to the book by the name, “The 80/20 Principle.” Possibly you are thinking of the Pareto Rule that asserts that 80% of outcomes (or outputs) result from 20% of all causes (or inputs) for any given event — whatever that means. More likely you believe that the 80/20 rule pertains to church congregations where it is said that 80% of the work of any congregation is done by 20% of the congregants.

There is much to be said about my last example above, most congregations can use more volunteer effort. The work of the Body of Christ is essential to the spread of the Gospel. Take a moment to review 1 Corinthians 12:12-22

12 For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.

13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.

14 For the body does not consist of one member but of many.

15 If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body.

16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body.

17 If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell?

18 But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose.

19 If all were a single member, where would the body be?

20 As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.

21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.”

22 On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable,

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (1 Co 12:12–22). (2016). Crossway Bibles.

Especially, read verse 22. If you belong to a congregation (Gk. ἐκκλησία, or ecclesia), you are indispensable! So, think and pray about how you can help your ecclesia. Think outside the box, though. Perhaps you play guitar and sing Christian songs. Don’t volunteer for the Praise Team, learn some hymns, and go to a nearby nursing home to volunteer there. That is as much the work of the Body of Christ as working inside the building where His Body meets.

So, if you are thinking that the 80/20 principle got downgraded and now 15% of the ecclesia is doing 80% of the work, find your niche and get to work!

No, the 80/15 principle is from something our Pastor, Todd DuBord, mentioned in his sermon on March 10, 2024. His third from last message before he retires from pastoral ministry. Look back at 1 Corinthians 12 for a moment. To misquote Aristotle, “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.”

This is especially true when the Holy Spirit is involved, He will help the Body do the work necessary. As Pastor Todd retires, many of the Body will step in; Elder Scott Cory will take the pulpit every Sunday in April and I am looking forward to his messages. Even a teeny part of the Body, like me, will pitch in due to the occasion of my thirtieth Re-Birthday (May 5, though I will be out of town that week so it will possibly happen some other Sunday in May).

No, 80/15 refers to the wattage of our light. Matthew 5:14-16 Jesus said,  

14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.

15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.

16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Mt 5:14–16). (2016). Crossway Bibles.

What is the wattage of your lamp? If truth be told, my wattage is much closer to 15, and probably less if I’m being honest. Understand this; when and where your light shines can make a huge impact for the Gospel.

For instance, if things are going great for you and you are generating an 80-Watt light, that isn’t as great as you might think.

When things are going well, the sun is shining, and birds are singing that 80-Watts isn’t really that bright. Imagine that “city set on a hill” on a sunny day. 80-Watts doesn’t illuminate very much because the sun is far brighter.

But what if it’s Snoopy’s dark and stormy night? 80-Watts, indeed, even 15-Watts becomes a shining beacon. That barely 3-Watt light bulb that I can manage to generate when things are bleak might not be much, but it is a light that illuminates for someone else to see Christ.

Those are the times when the people around us can’t understand how we can still shine our light, weak as it is. When things are at their worst, that is when unbelievers wonder how we can have any kind of positive attitude. That is when they will ask the question that is inferred by Peter when he says in 1 Peter 3:15:

15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:

The Holy Bible: King James Version (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., 1 Pe 3:15). (2009). Logos Research Systems, Inc.

80-Watts on a bright sunny day doesn’t exhibit that hope, but 2 or 3-Watts during a “Dark Night of the Soul” can do more for the Gospel than 1000-Watts when life is sunny.