Christmas “Time” Hack
One chapter in Chip and Dan Heath's book The Power of Moments blew my mind.
They discuss why time seems to go faster as you get older.
Here's what they said (and why it's a great thing to be mindful of this Christmas).
As a 4-year old, I remember my mother telling me to "take a nap for one hour."
It was like I was being sent to hell.
One hour felt like eternity. I would ask my mom if it had been an hour yet....about every 10 minutes.
But now, it seems to me like a week passes as quickly as a single day from my younger years.
I cannot get over it: weekends now come hurling at me in record time!
The Heath brothers point out that our brains are wired to increase the amount of information they take in exponentially when we are in a new environment.
It's partly to learn, partly for protection and to increase awareness.
The opposite is also true. The more familiar we are with our environment, the less we take in. That's why I can drive to church and have no memory of how I got there.
I am so familiar with the route that the whole experience moves into a different part of my brain: a part that is somewhat disengaged so I can concentrate on other things.
So time "moves faster" when we are in the familiar, and "slower" when everything is new to us.
When we are children, almost everything is new....and time slows down as our brains take it all in.
As we get older, our circumstances and routines are familiar causing time to seemingly slip through our fingers.
Why am I sharing this?
Because it has at least two implication for your Christmas services:
1. Make the environment as magical and unexpected as possible.
Create something that makes kids and adults alike delight in what they see and in awe of what they experience.
From the encounters with people, to the smell of food, to the decorations and lighting... enchant them with the unexpected so time slows down as they take it all in.
(that's what this guide is literally all about)
2. Steer away from canned, cliche, and familiar ways of sharing the Christmas message.
This is hard to do as nostalgia (love of the familiar) is a huge draw of Christmas.
The solution: leverage the familiar in fresh ways.
RE-consider how you sing the carols, how you display the lyrics, and most of all, how you reveal the message of the good news through the lens of Christmas.
Creativity can literally open the minds (and hearts) of your guests to Jesus at Christmas.
1. Remembering the experience of the shepherds, Mary and Joseph on that first Christmas night, what can you do to add a little “shock and awe” to the Christmas experience at your church? Consider the guest experience journey from the street to the seat as well.
2. Do an audit of the language in songs, printed materials used in the service, and teaching elements. What Christmas cliches can be transformed into something thought provoking to draw them to Jesus in a fresh way?
