Rick Warren uses the contrast between sunlight and a laser: sunlight diffused across a field warms the ground slightly; the same photons concentrated produce enough energy to cut steel. The physics is the principle. The same amount of energy produces radically different results depending on how it is focused.
A church doing forty things adequately is diffused light. A church doing five things excellently is a laser. The counterintuitive truth: doing fewer things doesn’t reduce impact — it multiplies it. And doing more things beyond what the church can do with excellence actually reduces total impact, because diffusion is the enemy of depth.
This matters in program planning, staffing, and budget allocation. Every addition to the portfolio costs focus. The question is not only “can we do this?” but “if we add this, what does it cost in terms of focus on everything else?” When leadership can’t say no to good ideas, it’s usually because there’s no shared principle (purpose) to appeal to — meaning every no is personal and every conversation becomes political.
The practical implication for a congregation: ruthlessly identify the 3-5 things the church does at a genuinely high level and protect those with organizational structure. Evaluate everything else against the question: does this enhance one of the five, or diffuse focus away from them?
Warren’s observation: “Churches that excel at a few things develop a reputation. Churches that do many things adequately develop nothing but a full calendar.”