Category: DOC Thoughts
Is worship a consumable?
My preaching professor, Dr. Joey Jeter, often reminded students that you should speak as long as you need to say a good word, but remember that people usually tuneout after twenty minutes.1 I know some 12-15 minute preachers. I know some 25-35 minute preachers. Dr. Jeter adapted to the typical time slot provided for the preaching or a keynote at an event. One congregation I visit every now and then have had words in their bulletin noting the worship service usually lasts 75 minutes.
It’s interesting to hear a person say that a concert they went to was a religious experience. I can relate. Some branches of Christianity have taken that sentiment and applied it to their worship service by creating a concernt-ish experience. For some, this is an onramp for Christianity and community we call “church.” Worship is, has been, an experience. Now, it is one of many marketed experiences. Maybe it’s always been that way.
Just the right length
Pop songs are 200 seconds long because the mechanical properties of 78 and 45 rpm records can deliver one song with decent fidelity of that length. They can’t handle ten minutes, and one minute is too short to charge for.
The number of books carried by a local bookstore was the right amount to balance paying the rent and satisfying most customers. And the number of books published reflected the fact that the only way to get a new book in was for the store to take one out.
Movies are long enough to justify buying a ticket, but not so long that the theater can’t have multiple showings.
Books are around 350 pages because pamphlets are too hard to sell and books that are too long are hard to bind and manipulate.
Sitcoms are half an hour long because two sitcoms an hour maximizes the possible audience more than extending one to double the length might.
The newspaper is the length it often is because the editors are balancing the time each subscriber can spend with it against the publisher’s desire to sell the most profitable number of ads. “All the news that fits.”
When technology changes the media, when distribution and consumption shift, the definition of just the right length shifts as well. Podcasts changed the length of interviews, Linkedin changed the length of a resume and YouTube changed the length of funny videos… the cycle continues.2
- That was advice offered in 1990 when researchers were beginning to note the shrinking attention span. Dr. Jeter also offered that preaching isn’t supposed to be entertaining, but it doesn’t hurt to tell a good story, have a compelling metaphor, and believe you have something important to say even if you are not sure you do. ↩︎
- Seth Godin, May 28, 2025. https://seths.blog/2025/05/just-the-right-length/ ↩︎
Understanding a sigh
Jesus sighed . . .
In Christian tradition, that bit of scripture doesn’t get as much attention or repetition as, “Jesus wept.”
When a parent would sigh it was both a stall tactic for their own well being as well as the audible cue that my behavior or language was found lacking. It acknowledged that they knew that I knew better. It was an expression of both disappointment and motivation that didn’t always mean I was in trouble, but often preceded penance before grace.
A sigh needs context. I think of Bullwinkle’s pal Rocky exclaiming, “Again?” One might sigh to express exhaustion, melancholy, grief, relief, or frustration. And sometimes, a sigh is an expression of awe or wonder. “Look, they got it.” or “I’m proud.” I heard that sigh from my parents: when I stood up to the bully, demonstrated better sportsmanship in high school, did the ethical hard thing, at graduations, at my ordination, and our wedding.
For some it is hard to imagine Jesus as a frustrated leader of disciples that are always looking for him to do most of the work. A Jesus who might experience being “put out” or at his “wits end.” Many only imagine the positive sighing Jesus. But, as I look around our culture and the world right now, it is easy for me to imagine Jesus sighing “at” and “about” the people who claim to follow him in the 21st century. As a collective we are earning that frustrated sigh and eye roll even as individuals we are doing our best to live faith.
As I think about what is happening with the climate it seems like nature (creation) is sighing. Wildfires. Floods. Earthquakes. Extreme temperatures in all four seasons. Tornados where they don’t usually happen. Stronger hurricanes and a longer hurricane season. Rain on the peak of Greenland’s ice sheet. Covid-19 and other diseases, known and once thought defeated, and those yet known. Rising oceans and desalination of the oceans. Drought. Creation strikes back. What’s the penance?
I’m an ordained minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and serve in youth ministry in our Region. Our Regional Youth Council met in August via Zoom. It is not what we wanted to do, but it was the responsible decision given Covid’s rising transmission rate in Oklahoma. It is what intentional Christian community requires of us: to think of the other. You know, “neighbor as yourself” and “golden rule” stuff. We spent some time thinking about and talking about these two questions:
- What do you think is the single, most important, life giving characteristic of your church (local and universal)?
- When the church (local and universal) is at its best, what is it doing?
How would you answer those?
RYC members talked of generosity, being a helping hand, and welcoming people. They imagined how we can be better at grace, are non-judgmental and hospitable. My summary of their thoughts: “We are a church that gives without expectation of receiving.” An aside: Is that an evangelism strategy?
Right there in Mark 7, Jesus sighed . . . and said, “be opened.” Just moments before, a woman shamed Jesus to help her daughter. Even Jesus needed a remedial lesson. Be opened. It’s a risk, but who knows what you might see, hear, say, or do when you follow Jesus’ example of living and interacting with people here in the 21st century. That’s hard to do. It has always been hard.
I can hear Jesus sigh . . . at me.