Sleeping Youth Or Lengthy Sermons ?

It was not so long ago since I attended church with my beloved mother, which was more of a mandate than a choice, as it was a custom for me to attend church every sabbath with my family. However, whenever I was in church, I would fall asleep every time the preacher was about to deliver the undiluted word of God. I would not fall asleep when the introduction of the speaker was being done nor would I fall asleep after the song of meditation, or even to the preacher's opening speech; regardless of how eloquent and charismatic he or she was, as they began preaching here comes dreamland.

The book of Acts: 20, verses 7-12, records a similar story of a young man whose name was Eutychus, he fell asleep while he was sitting at the church's window during a prolonged worship service. The background of the text suggests that Paul (who traveled with his friends), and who is known for his missionary exploits in diverse places, was the guest preacher/pastor at Eutychus's church which was located in an unpopular district called Troas, situated in the east near the Aegean Sea, which is known today as Turkey.

It is said that this stop was his third missionary journey, as he had traveled through Asia Minor and Greece.

The Narrative is not only exposing pastor Paul's commitment to the mission but also the sleeping youth. To the average person, it would appear as if this youth had no regard for the solemnity of the preaching hours or even for the gathering of the brethren.

"And upon the first day of the week, the disciples came together to break bread" as it was customary, to pay homage to Christ. Paul now complements this ceremony with his final or farewell preaching until it was midnight, as he was expected to leave the next day.

Paul seems to have a preference for midnight preaching for not so long ago, he traveled to Philippi accompanied by Silas, where they were jailed and beaten but the the account would have us know that at midnight Paul and his friend sang praises unto God.

Here again, Paul is now preaching and he’s expected to finish at midnight. While the commencement time has not been recorded - in the Bible at least, we know he adjourned his preaching at midnight.

I seek not to bring the tension out of the text; however, if there is one thing that I need to work on it is changing my view about long sermons. Some preachers including myself, exhaust the preaching hours repeating the same messages in different ways; and in some or most instances other preachers use the pulpit to scold members with judgmental 'belts and indelicate whips.'

While preaching may or may not be primarily used for entertainment, preachers should be considerate of the diverse group of people they are ministering to. While some folks are not bothered by this phenomenon others are more worn than revived due to many of these prolonged services. Sin-cursed earth means that one's attention span is limited, and as such, it shouldn't hurt if some preachers become more aware of this sad and daunting reality. It is sad to say but the longer this earth carries on the more degenerated we've become in mind body and soul. My Intentions are not geared to formalize a time set for a sermon, because God is and should be the one speaking whenever a sermon is being preached; which means if He stops speaking then that should be a prudent reason for one to adjourn on the premise that there is a time limit for you and I. It does not have to be everlasting to be eternal!

Whenever God’s people decide to gather and pray, or anything of this nature there should be order fused with balance.

The Author Luke Dr. Luke, as he was a medical doctor was the chosen one, under inspiration, who wrote the Book of Acts. Therefore, can we pause for a moment, and think of what could have possibly led this young man to sleep while he was in the edifice? The obvious emphasis should have been on the sermon, but, I cannot help but to use my curious imagination to zoom in on the sleeping youth at church in the window.

Can you imagine a room filled with people, many oil-burning lamps illuminating the warm crowded room, can you feel the ambiance that is complemented by the soft hues of flickering yellow lamplight? Breathing now must have been difficult without fresh air circulating in. By now the youth's body clock or Circadian Rhythm must have been thrown off. Circadian Rhythm is the natural cycle of physical, mental, and behavioral changes that the body goes through in a 24-hour cycle. Imagine with me as young Eutychus now yawns a few times and stretches more than he ever could but now sees a spot of comfort where perhaps he just wanted to catch some fresh air but the distraction of the world keeps pulling him closer and closer until he is now out and dead!

What Makes You Sleep In Church?

I cannot imagine one falling asleep comfortably in a room filled with light, could it be that the young man fell asleep because there wasn’t any attention paid to him or perhaps the church was too comfortable?

What is making you sleep in church is a question we should ask ourselves. We have to be more mindful of how caught up we are with how the church looks as opposed to the mission or vision. The devil has launched an attack on our youth and we have to find creative ways to keep our young and vibrant alive in our churches.

"The church should not be doing youth ministry; the entire church should be youth ministry. True youth ministry occurs, when all the adults decide to connect with all the youth and do church together." -The Late Mike Yaconelli

I am totally in agreement with Mike, there should be a common ground where both youth and adults are on the same page with the understanding that we are equal at the foot of the cross, but we the adults are here to guide and correct in love. Not to do an autopsy searching for the cause but to do an immediate surgery in fixing the effects of the cause through kindness and encouragement. How many of our youths today have fallen asleep, and there is nobody there to wake them from slumber? This world is like a hungry lion and the youths of this 21st century are its prey. Let us pay attention to those sleeping youth, encourage the youth who were once active, create a safe space where their respective needs can be met and finally let us all pray for our sleeping and awaken youth.

What Is Making You Sleep In Church?

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  Lengthy Sermoms
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  Non-Youth Related Programs
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  Destructive Criticism by Members
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  Lack Of Understanding of Doctrines

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