distractions | More Than Dodgeball

Geoff StewartMore Posts GUEST POST: Don’t Buy the Short Attention Span Myth

I hear it all the time.

“Keep your message short” - “Teenagers only have a 15-minute attention span” - “Attention spans are shorter than they used to be”

Have you ever heard similar advice?

I’m going to go ahead and call bull. I’m not saying that getting the attention of an ADHD junior high kid isn’t difficult. But I have made a few observations over the years. Teenagers will sit easily for at least an hour to watch their favorite TV show. They will listen intently to a stand up comedian for an hour. They will sit for 2 or 3 hours to watch a new movie. They have even been known to play the same video game for 3 hours or more on end.

I don’t buy the short attention span myth.

Think about it. TV show are actually getting longer! Most prime-time shows are now an hour long. Big season premieres and finales may even run up to two hours.

Here is the point: We don’t have to preach shorter; we have to preach better. The bar has been raised. Their standards are high, because they are surrounded by high quality entertainment 24/7. They can spot boring quick. We have to be more engaging.

Tell stories (Jesus did). Use humor. Ask questions. Draw them in.Don’t sell out. Don’t think you have to just play a lot of games and sneak in a quick surface-level message before they notice.The short attention span myth is a cop-out for putting in the hard work to creating messages that resonate with students and create a lasting impression.

Now, don’t go overboard. They don’t need to hear you ramble for over an hour on the sacrificial system of the old covenant. But don’t sell yourself short. There is power in the preaching of God’s Word.

Engage your students. Get excited about the message. Make the Bible come alive for them. Keep working. Keep improving. Don’t give up!

Put in the work and you just might be surprised how long they will listen.

Brandon Hilgemann has been working in Youth Ministry for years in churches across the country from church plants to megachurches. He has been on a personal mission for the last 9 years to become the best speaker he can be. For more of his thoughts on preaching, check out his website right here.

-GS

3 View Comments February 13, 2013

Josh GriffinMore Posts GUEST POST: #FAIL – Not Ministering to Student with Special Needs

I recently read an article called #FAIL in youth ministry and how to deal with distractions while preaching (you can read it here). Students need to understand the rules and when they don’t follow them during service, a youth leader needs to come along side and correct that behavior.

The illustration that was used in the article turns out to be a special needs student who was the distraction. Granted, the youth pastor or the leaders didn’t know about this student at the time, but the lessons learned from this situation didn’t reflect that they were a special needs student who couldn’t control their actions.

So here are some lessons that could have been learned:

1. Our youth service is not more important than people. I don’t know of very many churches that accept special needs children and their families. If they do, they are very rare. My son, who has special needs, makes all kinds of noises in church that would definitely count as a distraction, but people have grown to accept my son and love on him every time they see him. ::You should see him worship God ::

2. We can use that situation as an opportunity to teach students to love and respect everyone. Teenagers love to be in their groups that are comfortable. Let’s get them to get out of the coziness of their friends to reach out in love to these students. This is not a one time love, but it has to be shown over time.

3. After knowing that the student has special needs, why not create a buddy system for these students where a student would be with them the entirety of the youth service. It would create a sense of peace in the parents to know that someone cares about their child, and buddy would be able to help curb the response of the peers wondering what is happening.

These are just a few suggestions. I am still trying to figure out how to minister to special needs students and their families. I know that it is a huge mission field for sure. If my oldest son didn’t have the needs, I might have reacted the same way. It is my world that I live in all the time, and for a church to rally around these students would shine brightly for Jesus.

Bill Peterson is the youth pastor of Crossfire, a ministry of the Worship Center in Leesburg, VA.

5 View Comments November 14, 2012

Geoff StewartMore Posts Ministry GPS: Course Corrections:

I don’t own a GPS, one because I’m too prideful to admit that I might not know where I am going and two because my car does not possess and such fancy-pants technology . I may not have one, but my dad does and he loves it because it is really helpful to get him to where he wants to go, and even better it helps him to get back on track when he missed a turn or deviates from the course.

Its November and for many of us, we had high hopes of what the year was going to look like, grand plans for new initiatives and excitement about what God was going to do this year. If you are anything like me, I had some goals and initiatives that were going to happen this fall and while many of them of have taken flight, others have not. The good news is, its only November and there is plenty of time to make the changes necessary and this is why I am asking myself a few questions this week:

1 – What direction were we supposed to be heading? It seems obvious, that if you don’t know where you are headed, its hard to tell you are lost. Thinking back to the meetings we had with students and leaders in the summer,where did we say we were going and what did we say we were going to start? What elements, events, opportunities did we have on our list as action intems this year? Which of those have we started, which have we not? While evaluating that, its important to first consider where God is leading you 2 months in and perhaps He is leading you in a totally different direction and perhaps that idea we never got off the ground is best left on the shelf for the season.

2 – How did we get off course? It could have been a lack of time to implement all we had hoped to, a lack of resources or just too many great ideas. There are all sorts of reasons that an idea might not have happened, but the question is now is: Should it have? If the answer is yes, then its time to figure out how. Distractions are abound in ministry and sometimes well meaning youth workers often meander and stray from what they are called to do, luckily its still not too late. At this time you can take a moment and lament if you must, but its time to shift gears and get things moving.

3 – How do we get back? By November you are probably starting to see who you shining star leaders are, and perhaps one of them could be the one to help you help you get back on course with where the year was supposed to be heading. Empowering leaders to take on part of the ministry is a game changer and getting back on track might mean giving responsibility and authority to a member of your team. Getting back on track also may require a re-statement of vision, helping your volunteers and if necessary, students to help them understand the purpose and mission of the group.

The year has only begun and its not too late to get things back on track, these mid-season adjustments are a part of the life of a youth pastor. So embrace this opportunity to remind yourself of what God is calling your ministry to do this school year.

Geoff (Twitter)

Add Comment November 7, 2012

Josh GriffinMore Posts GUEST POST: How iO6 Can Save a Pastor’s Soul

For all of you Apple fanboys and girls out there, you know about the free release of iOS 6. Have you downloaded it yet? The newest update has some great features on it, including a new Maps that has turn-by-turn instructions, the Passbook app that integrates your life and phone use better, and Do Not Disturb feature for your phone.

For the pastors with an iPhone that are not sure if it is worth the 15 minutes that it would take to download and install onto your phone, let me tell you that doing so could save your soul. Seems like a bold statement but hear me out.

We need our rest, we need time with family, and we must have those moments with the Lord. It seems so hard to be able to put margin in our lives, to have the solid boundaries so that we are honoring God, family, and ourselves, and it almost seems selfish when so much hurt is going on. Yet, we always regret when we do not do it.

We Have Good Intentions…
We may have all been there, you have the good intentions of taking 24 hours for a Sabbath, not talking on the phone at supper with your spouse and/or family, and going to bed on time. Unfortunately, “important” phone calls and texts come up that really do not seem so important after the fact, we feel guilty for hitting the ignore button, and we use the excuse that we are not doing anything important. Time with God, family, and for self is VITAL! Thus the Do Not Disturb feature becomes amazing!

Do Not Disturb
Check it out now. Serious, download it, install it, and open it now from Settings > Notifications > Do Not Disturb. I’ll wait.

Okay, you will see the screen below that allows you to turn it on (do it!), schedule when it should block phone calls, and who you will allow phone calls from. I have personally elected to not allow phone calls to come in while I am asleep. My favorites section has family and my supervising pastor only as well as I have turned on the Repeated Calls for those who may have an emergency and call twice in three minutes. No one else has the ability to grab my attention after 10PM and before 7AM.

Why Is This Important?
Too many pastors get distracted because a text message comes up, an email buzzes our phone, or a call comes in from the volunteer of women’s ministry, we take it, and then we undervalue those we are with. To not give your spouse your time could long-term jeopardize your marriage, ignoring your family makes you that father who is there… but not really there, only giving God part of your life is dishonoring.

iOS 6 is the practical way of ensuring you have the boundaries and promoting the priorities you have in life. What other tech tips do you have to ensure you honor the priorities in your life?

Jeremy Smith is a youth worker at the Air Force Academy chapel, working for Club Beyond, and attending Denver Seminary for his Masters of Arts in Counseling Ministries. He has been involved in Youth for Christ for eight years — check out his blog at Seventy8Productions.

Add Comment October 15, 2012

Josh GriffinMore Posts 5 Ways to Squeeze More Out Of Your Youth Ministry Schedule

I might not be the best person to take time management advice from – I perpetually run about 15 minutes late to everything. So I don’t have it all together but have found a few ways to squeeze a little extra productivity out of the work week. Here are a few of the ones I like the most:

Get a 10-minute jump start on your day the night before
This one might not be the best one for everyone in case it would upset your restful sleep – but for me I can get a ton of work started if I do a quick check in right before bed. Once the family is set for the night and the house is quiet, I like to steal 10 minutes on webmail to set the day tomorrow. Maybe a quick scan of the calendar, a short reply, or an awareness of tomorrow’s challenges help me prepare mentally for the next day.

Turn off work on your day(s) off
When it is time to be off – be off! I realize that many church cell phones are also your personal phone, but you’ve got to shut them down. If you play hard, it’ll help you focus on work when it is time to work. Religiously take a day off, and make sure you’re really off.

Ditch TV unless you’re exercising or being productive
A great way to make sure you get both exercise and entertainment in during the week is to combine them. If you find yourself killing too much time on the couch, limit the amount of TV you watch by time on the treadmill. You might be surprised by what you could do (start a blog, write a book) if you force yourself to be productive at the same time or drop TV altogether.

Cut the distractions in the office
Turn off your email alerts. Disable Facebook’s constant stream of interruptions. Make sure Twitter isn’t always stealing your focus and concentration. Close your door if you have to. When you give yourself wholly to a task or complete it, reward yourself with a social media break or walk around the church office.

Lump similar tasks together
Let’s say you have to make 5 phone calls, write 15 cards, return 16 emails and work on budgets with multiple people. By putting these tasks into chunks of time you’ll be able to knock them out more quickly. Get in a rhythm, crank out the calls or projects all at once.

How do you squeeze more work into your work week?

JG