I picked up a couple bad habits in Greece, like staying up too late (comes with the job - and the culture). Seeing as how it's currently 1 am, that one has stuck around. :(
Another bad habit is one that I just noticed Sunday. I knew I did it, but I realized that it has quite unfortunately carried over to Australia. In the car on the way home from church on Sunday, Andrew asked what I thought of the sermon. "It was fine," I answered. Truthfully? I had no idea. He asked me about some specific points and saw right through my generic responses ... I wasn't even listening to the message.
After two years of sitting through Greek services and meetings and artfully tuning out that which I did not understand, it is going to take some retraining of the brain to focus and actually listen to a sermon! No longer do I have a good excuse to use the time to think through my week's workout schedule or whether I should go back and buy that dress that I saw on sale a few days ago. It's in English now!
Don't get me wrong - I WANT to listen! There have been a few really good ones that have actually held my attention in the last couple months. But in general my attention span for anyone speaking in front of a group probably doesn't exceed 5 minutes at the moment. After that, I just can't help it! No matter how hard I try and focus, the wandering begins. Blame it on the Greeks who natter on incomprehensibly (to me, anyway) for three times the necessary time duration. Or blame it on my laziness. Whatever.
Bad missionary.
(I should have made a "bad missionary" label for this blog years ago - I would have so many awesome entries by now.)
4 comments:
I found that making myself take notes of the sermon helps...even if you toss the notes when you get home. If you're trying to write down the key points and make the connections on paper, it's easier to stay focused on what the pastor is saying.
And, honestly, this works better on a plain piece of paper than a prepared sermon outline sheet that you just need to fill in one word here and there.
I started doing this when I had a long-winded pastor that spoke way over my level many years ago and it's kinda stuck. When I don't do it now, I can feel my mind wandering again! :)
When I first started going to church in France the only word I understood from the pulpit was fish.
Andrew suggested taking notes too; he does. I might have to buck up and try it.
I remember the first sermon I "understood" in Greek, when I visited a new church with a different pastor. I was so shocked and amazed that I got the general idea of the message! It never happened again. :)
Ditto on the notes: and sometimes i take them graphically or as doodle diagrams. And if someone is speaking ponderously slowly (which doesn't happen at church, but for some lectures i've heard) try taking them with your opposite hand. :) It takes longer to write, which means i don't wander off into thought-land between words.
Isn't it nice to have someone to discuss the sermon with? :)
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