I'm told that if something is repeated five times without variation it becomes a habit.
Habits affect everything we do.
They are neither good nor bad. Good habits are good. Bad habits are bad.
This year I've been deliberately sitting near the back of churches in order to observe the behaviour of people during church, and I've noticed a number of habits.
Here are two of them.
1. We have different postures for different aspects of our gathering. I notice that people physically change the way they sit for Bible reading, the sermon, for announcements and for prayer - and I have noticed that they are quite common across a group. It is interesting that our Prayer Books give instructions for postures during various parts of a service, but even without the instructions people still have normally adopted postures. The posture of a person, of course, affects the way they relate to what is happening.
2. There is variation between different people about what they do once the sermon commences, but individuals often do the same thing each week. I have noticed one person immediately begins doodling on the service sheet. I have noticed another reads the Bible, but a different part to that being preached on. I see others begin taking notes furiously from the first word spoken by the preacher. Others look at the windows, others their electronic diary. (Another person watches the congregation to observe the habits of then listeners!) I also see the majority engaging with the sermon with real interest.
It appears to me that the highest level of disengagement in a church gathering is prayer and Bible reading, which should be the high point of our meetings together with God. How can we help people with this? Should we get our listeners to answer, "what is the burning question for you that must be answered from this passage?" Should the reader lead us in prayer for the things flowing from the passage?
Lessons for preachers
From these observations I draw three conclusions:
"¢ For those who disengage before a word of the sermon is even uttered, we need to create some change, so that the habit can be broken. Our normal solution is to try to write riveting introductory sentences to a sermon. But some people are lost even before that point! It might be even better to think carefully about what happens as we lead into the sermon. The right answer might be as radical as calling everyone to move location in the building. It may be as simple as getting the person sitting next to you to do something that will help you listen (since I assume that everyone present wants to know God better).
"¢ Good habits are still good, and shouldn't be overturned. Taking notes, whether I keep them or not keeps my mind from wandering too much. This is good. Let's think about how to promote those habits that help.
"¢ Habits seem to arise from expectations. If the preacher expects that people will hang on his every word, then people are more likely to do so.
