What's the Deal?

Things are changing. I guess they're always changing, and that's probably good. But it seems in my little world that no one is volunteering for anything these days. We get desperate email appeals from the PTA at school asking for volunteers from helping with specific events to taking an officer position. I was talking to a friend from a different school, and same story there. The ministries at church are recruiting, too, always in need of more folks to step up and serve.

Has it always been this way? Do people have less time now? Are these institutions that count so heavily on volunteers becoming irrelevant? The rule of 20% of the people doing 80% of the work seems to be changing to 10% of the people doing 95% of the work. The "inner circle" of people pitching in gets smaller and smaller, rather than growing.

Is this a problem, or just the beginning of a transition to a new season, where things get accomplished differently? It's discouraging to watch it happen, and yet, each of us is limited as to how much we can do. Are people in my generation selfish and entitled, and in need of a wake-up call--having a few things disappear, or organizations just dissolving--in order for them to realize it can't go on indefinitely without some help?