the 20/80 rule
I’m sure everyone has heard of the 20/80 principle—20% of people do 80% of the work. I have found it to be frustratingly true. How many of you in church ministry see new faces volunteering each week? Nope. For example, it’s the same sweet two little ladies serving coffee and donuts after Mass for the past 56 years. God bless them; I love after-Mass coffee and donuts…
But friends, they need a break. Let these two little ladies sit and enjoy their coffee and donuts without them also having to pick up your soggy napkins and crumbs —pick up theirs for a change. And while you’re at it, haul the juice, cups, and creamer back to the kitchen. Grab some soapy water and clean out the coffee pot, and finally, rather than triumphantly placing your paper plate covered in powdered sugar and a coffee cup 2/3 of the way full on top of a mountain of gooey trash like you’re in a Jenga all-star game, go ahead and just take it to the dumpster.
I get it; some ministries aren’t a matter of life and death. If these two sweet ladies choose to no longer serve coffee and donuts, then after a while of missing out, someone else will pick up the ball and get it back going. While ministries like these are great for building community, they aren’t everyone’s calling…
You know what is everyone’s calling? …Pro-life ministry.
Hear me out… We live in a culture today where the objectification of the human person has led to abuses against man that exceed the evil we can even conceive as possible. I know you believe me deep down, look at the news. If Jesus was still walking the earth in His humanity, you best believe some tables would be overturned.
But I get it, it’s not always easy to step into pro-life work. Many communities don’t have a pregnancy resource center to support. Many times, the red tape at churches makes it challenging to spearhead new initiatives or rally the troops. Many feel overwhelmed with the rhetoric of it all and would feel entirely inept to verbally share the heart of pro-life work with someone asking very difficult and probing moral questions. Many of us have fiercely pro-abortion, pro-physician assisted suicide, and pro-anything else that denies the inherent dignity and right to life of the human person friends, who we don’t really feel like being raked over the coals by. The 20% who are doing the work are burnt out and discouraged by the low participation and lack of overall chutzpah from their brothers and sisters in Christ.
We get it.
Crystal and I GET IT. My friends, we get it. That’s why we started The Pelican Project. Pro-life work begins as a movement of the heart, it must be fostered by quality formation and education, and then must be put into action in concrete and diverse ways to attack this evil on all sides. It must be a movement led by the Holy Spirit, and we must work together as the Body of Christ.
We agree that not all people are called to pro-life work in the same way. For some of us, in this season of life, prayer is what we can offer, and we can offer it up well – that’s huge. For those who want to roll their sleeves up, new and unique outreach ideas will serve communities in bold ways, and finally, for those who have a desire to grow in knowledge, Christ-centered, interactive resources are a must. Luckily, The Pelican Project can help you with ALL of it.
This is an educated guess, but when you die, God will not overlook your inaction in pro-life work. My bet is that He won’t say, “No problem, pro-life work “wasn’t your thing,” we had plenty of people covering it on your behalf.” Nope. My bet is He will judge your inaction as action.
I invite each of you to encounter our beautiful Respect Life Month calendar called October’s Little Way, with a heart towards teaching your children, your students, or your parish about the dignity of the human person and the sanctity of human life— if you don’t do it, who will?
For more information about joyfully reawakening a culture of life within your domestic church, visit www.pelicanprojectministry.org.
