I was wondering if there are any fellow Christians here who find it difficult to concentrate or listen to sermons in church?

I listen to some sermons on line. But I actually find it easier to listen to these, because: 1. I can push the pause button when my mind starts to wander and come back after I've taken a break. 2. The pastors I listen to are engaging by including funny antedotes or they speak about stuff that is relevant to me, and 3. They preach through books of the Bible, by going through verse by verse and pausing to explain what they mean. Not only does it help me to understand the Bible, but I find it a little easier to focus.

However, I really find it difficult to focus when I'm actually in church, because our pastor usually just picks one section of text and then goes all over the place with it. Most Sundays now I just go out to help with the Sunday School class, rather then try to listen to the sermon while my mind wanders, thinking "When will this be over?"

Everytime I went to mass, I would be so worried our Priest would pick me out of the crowd and ask questions on what he was talking about!! Of course he never would do that, but I found it so hard to listen, and it reminded me of school, and the torture of not knowing the answers..It was a horrible feeling for sure..
So, nope, you are not alone there!

I don't, but it's not because of the ADD. My pastor is awesome. He teaches by showing you how to walk as a Christian today. He doesn't read straight out of the Bible and then make a few points. He develops a lesson dealing with something everyone goes through, and then used the Bible and Jesus to back it up. It's interesting because it pertains to me and everyone else listening. Makes it easy to pay attention. He's also very entertaining and a great speaker, so that helps too.

HOWEVER, I can't even pray without drifting out. I used to get up and try and say my prayers in the morning and at night before bed. I was always taught that I should sit and pray in one sitting. I can't get through 15 seconds without my mind drifting. I've found that just saying short little prayers all day long when they come to mind works awesome for me.

When I wake up I say "Jesus, thank you for another day. Help me make the most of it". If I'm driving to work and notice that it's a really nice day, I'll say "Lord, this is an awesome day. Thanks". If I'm having trouble focusing or have a problem, just a quick sentence to Jesus. I basically have very short conversations throughout the day and it's really awesome. You never feel alone.

Plus you don't fall asleep in the middle of a 5 second prayer. :faint::)

If you're having trouble focusing in Church, try some others. Find one that you're interested in. If you're not getting anything out of it because you drift off, you might as well not go. Don't go just to go through the motions. Easier said than done. I know.

ADD is all about adapting until you find something that works. Good luck.

Long prayers are something I find difficult to focus on too, which is why I also prefer short prayers throughout the day. As bad as it may sound, I don't look forward to prayer time when I go to Bible study on a wednesday night, because some people seem to go on and on when they prayer and that is when my mind starts to drift. I believe our prayer times with God are important and it makes me feel guilty when I can't focus.

It's definitely important. I just changed the way I do it, like I mentioned above. I don't think Jesus cares how we pray, as long as we're talking to him. My short 5 second prayers all throughout the day are straight from my heart to him, and I think that's all that matters. Try it sometime. I felt guilty too until I just started talking to him throughout the day. Now...no guilt. When my Bible study group prays, I'm gone somewhere. Sometimes I focus so hard on praying that I'm just focusing on trying to pray, and not praying.

He made us all different and I'm sure all prayers are just as important to him. Personal opinion.

How awesome to read this. I have been sober for a number of years, and have been taught to pray when I wake up, and before I go tao bed. But I've always had such a hard time keeping focused enough to pray. So I say the Jesus Prayer throughout the day, as often as I remember. - "Lord Jesus Christ, Have Mercy on Me" - it's a mantra of sorts. St. Paul in Thessalonians admonishes to "Pray Continuously". This works!!

Unless the preacher is pretty riviting, I drift in and out a bit. I like to do something with my hands during the sermon. Since I currently have young children I often color their pictures!:)


I'm prefer shorter more frequent prayers -- being ADD they frequently begin with "Help ...."

Take care,
Scattered

I haven't been to a church in almost a decade. The last time I was in one, I fidgeted like crazy.

Then I fell asleep in the small pastor led class I attended afterwards.

Oy vey.

I'm lucky to have a pastor who's an extremely gifted speaker, and the sermons are always very interesting and personally relevant. I've heard many different pastors speak, but my current pastor is the only one who speaks to me.

It doesn't make if I take medication or not; the sermons are just that good.

I have problems with paying attention in church, and yes, it does remind me of "school" distractions....I am always afraid that I cannot find my way to the passage in the Bible fast enough, and will be still flipping through pages when everyone else is at the passage in question. I am a writer and sometimes I get distracted by an idea that pops up in church--I am glad to say I am inspired by God, but I need another time for this to happen and not in church.......

It depends on the topic for me.
If it is something that requires deep thought, very philosphical, I can focus, pick out things I agree with, things I don't and retain what was said.
If it is spiritual fluff, I'm doing tic-tac-toe with my daughter.

I beg to differ here, I love the Lord with all of my heart and desire with all that is in me to serve Him-I love the sermons our Pastor gives us-like bread and water to my thirsty soul. I do believe however, in critically thinking about the truth-what is truth? Weigh it-and sometimes it just takes belief. I believe in living an authentic Christian life.

I have always had a problem with church sermons. I drift away to the point where it is not worth going. Even when a pastor is more interesting than usual, it is still difficult. My burning question to my parents always was (when younger) "... if I'm going to go to Hell if I don't come here, then why does God create people that are so easily bored with this?"

By the way, I learned absolutely nothing in Sunday school either. Nothing at all.

It is hard to stay focused in church having ADD, so I use a sheet out of the church bulletin and take notes on the sermon or I have a small notebook handy for the same thing. Taking notes forces one to stay awake and stay focused.

Sometimes, just hearing the sermon one can miss something that was said, but with the notes one can always review later and it might surprise you what you have picked up from the sermon. Anyway, it works for me!

I drift too in sermons. I then count how many people are wearing red in the choir. Or I count the ceiling tiles. The nmy mind drifts back to it. I make sure I have my caffeine before church and then i concentrate. I have a very stimulating pastor so that helps.

I go to a non-denominational church and for the most part my pastors are pretty ADD themselves, so I am usually on the same "wave" as they are..


I was wondering if there are any fellow Christians here who find it difficult to concentrate or listen to sermons in church?

I listen to some sermons on line. But I actually find it easier to listen to these, because: 1. I can push the pause button when my mind starts to wander and come back after I've taken a break. 2. The pastors I listen to are engaging by including funny antedotes or they speak about stuff that is relevant to me, and 3. They preach through books of the Bible, by going through verse by verse and pausing to explain what they mean. Not only does it help me to understand the Bible, but I find it a little easier to focus.

However, I really find it difficult to focus when I'm actually in church, because our pastor usually just picks one section of text and then goes all over the place with it. Most Sundays now I just go out to help with the Sunday School class, rather then try to listen to the sermon while my mind wanders, thinking "When will this be over?"

As a recent seminary graduate I can speak as an ADDer who both listens to who has preached sermons. There are times I find my mind wandering (and sometimes feel guilty for it), or the person is giving me too much and I end up in information overload and can't take in anymore and the sermon feels a bit long. In my demonination sermons typically run 10 to 20 minutes. If the person is fairly organized I can usually follow. The problem is when the person jumps all over the place, or really has 3 sermons in one.

Recently I attended a service where someone preached long (30 to 45 minutes). Some loved it but for many it was too much. To me it felt more like a lecture (not off the mark since the preacher is an academic). I was with the preacher for the first half but it was too much and I began fading in and out - engaging in silent prayer, wondering how long they had been preaching and would it ever end, thinking that this preacher needed a chat with my preaching professor.

Our professor told us to narrow our sermon to one theme, to write it in a simple (not compound) sentence. He suggests keeping that sentence in front of us as we write the sermon. You might come up with a great idea but if it doesn't help make the point or fit the theme then it should get cut because you're going to have more ideas than you can cover. The key is to know that and know you will be preaching again, so don't try to fit it all into one sermon. Save something for next time, and also be prepared to cut out our favorite phrase if it doesn't fit.

The big thing was to pick one theme and go with it. I think when sermons seem to wander the person didn't consciously pick one direction and so they may have some good ideas all associated with the text but the listener may have a hard time seeing how those things are connected.

If you can't follow the sermons you have several options.
1) Talk to the person who typically preaches. They might be open to constructive criticism. Maybe they've got some continuing ed they need to do and will take a preaching refresher course, or maybe nothing will change - you won't know unless you say something. If you say nothing then it's more likely that nothing will change.

2) Decide how important to you the sermon is. If you are able to get sermons off the internet etc. that you can follow and you like the congregation, the worship, the location, the minister's pastoral presence then you may decide it's worth sticking it out despite the sermons you can't follow. Maybe you can try taking notes like someone suggested, or if they post them on the website you can go back and re-read them later.

3) If following the sermon is important to you then you might look around for a church that fits you that also has sermons you find easier to follow.

Hope this helps.
~~bythesea

Well, I wish I had a laptop or something so I could multitask & wait for a new response...I'm making jewelry & need to get back to it. Yes, I have had trouble concentrating in church on the sermon. Depends. I do my best & take my medicine to concentrate & focus, TRY to make sure I get to bed on time & get a breakfast & don't worry too much because it's good for us to go & I can feel the difference in my week. So I go & do my best & enjoy whatever I'm looking at -- stained glass windows -- I like to look at the shiney hair of young women or girls because mine used to shine like that when I was in my teens and 20's. When you get into your 40's, you lose some of the natural lustre in your hair. It's nice to enjoy someone else's shiney hair if I can't have it myself without gobs of product...


I was wondering if there are any fellow Christians here who find it difficult to concentrate or listen to sermons in church?

I listen to some sermons on line. But I actually find it easier to listen to these, because: 1. I can push the pause button when my mind starts to wander and come back after I've taken a break. 2. The pastors I listen to are engaging by including funny antedotes or they speak about stuff that is relevant to me, and 3. They preach through books of the Bible, by going through verse by verse and pausing to explain what they mean. Not only does it help me to understand the Bible, but I find it a little easier to focus.

However, I really find it difficult to focus when I'm actually in church, because our pastor usually just picks one section of text and then goes all over the place with it. Most Sundays now I just go out to help with the Sunday School class, rather then try to listen to the sermon while my mind wanders, thinking "When will this be over?"

<TABLE class=tborder cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=6 width="100%" align=center border=0><TBODY><TR title="Post 310215" vAlign=top><TD class=alt1 align=middle width=125>Oh, yeah. I forgot to mention that if I take notes, I can always stay with the sermon then.







bythesea
</TD><TD class=alt2>I have to "do" something with the material to be able to follow along at times. Unless the sermonn is riveting. High protein helps, and a balance of whole wheat carbs with it + coffee and orange juice. Regular aerobic exercise helps, too. Also, fidgeting and shifting in my seat or with my feet, hands or lips helps me stay focused on what's being said. Gum can also help. My fidgeting usually irritates others, so I try to mute it & minimize it.












As a recent seminary graduate I can speak as an ADDer who both listens to who has preached sermons. There are times I find my
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It all depends on the preacher. If he/she is interesting and stays on track instead of wandering from here to there, I can focus. If they are just preaching because they like the sound of their own voice, it turns me off completely.

Frankly, a sermon should last no longer than 20-25 minutes. The preacher has lost the interest of even non-ADD people after that!

At church, I need to take notes with a paper and pen. I don't know if it's typical ADHD, but I am HYPER-aware of everything. I have to catch myself; it doesn't appear as if I'm listening, but I am(!).

Anyone have this problem? I can't seem to tell someone what the message is about even right after service. Right now I am working on being able to re-cant the gist of the message to whomever asks without looking at my notes. Any ideas?

Just putting feelers out there for a Christian ADHD forum. Is there a thread at this site? Please advise. Need prayer. Thanks

Love this forum!

I don't think Jesus cares how we pray, as long as we're talking to him.

I talk to Jesus like I do every one else I pray as I go, so to speak. I mean God made me wiggly figured He doesn’t mind that I wiggle and pray.



Wow I didn’t know there was Christian talk going on down here. Every time I come down here most of the topics are about meditation and Buddhism; which is okay I do not mind. I read and even particiapte becuase Christians are encouraged to meditate but I haven’t heard the topic of preaching. Excellent thread by the way! :D


I do a couple of things that help me maintain attention to the message being presented. . . praying is the main one, the second thing I do is take notes and the third is attending lively services . . .I don’t care to much for when they get suck on some things like “speaking tongues” then again a hyper active wiggly ADHDer isn’t nearly as noticeable bouncing around during these types of services as compared to the distraction I would be in a catholic or Lutheran style service. They call it being filled with the spirit (he he he the spirit of ADHD with capitol “H” but perhaps they have a point going on by a different name) I said that to say this:

Those Charismatic, Assembly, ect . . . preachers sure make them selves hard to ignore. :p Guess that is why we have all the different ways of worshiping God; because we are all different. :soapbox:



I have my caffeine before church and then i concentrate.

The caffeine doesn’t keep me awake but the frequent bathroom trips sure helps! I like it when they have the speakers in the bathroom because I could focus better on what was being said when I had the freedom to move about. Wish it were socially acceptable to listen to the entire sermon from the restroom or better yet the play ground!


if I'm going to go to Hell if I don't come here, then why does God create people that are so easily bored with this?"

As a child one is often stuck with the preference of the parents or other adults which can be unfortunate as many of us have had bad experiences due to being expected to be in an environment we were not designed to endure I can well relate to you here HF, as you may remember by some of my previous post.

The frequent punishments as unpleasant as they were then has sure been a source of knowledge for me in my older years and has given me incite I would not have had other wise . . .like the notion that hyper ADDers lack inhabitation or the wiggles are because we lack some sort of ability to make rational decisions because we don’t have internal thoughts (yea what ever) . . . it took 20 years but the Sunday swats for wiggling in church are finally paying off! I would sure like to find the man who paddled me those two years; I would like to return some of the wisdom (this would be a duel sort of statement) :eek:

Acts 20 (7-12)



Then I fell asleep in the small pastor led class I attended afterwards.

Oy vey.

Acts 20 (7-12)

Moral of the story or morals should I say

#1 Don't fall asleep in front of open windows especially those on the third story :eek:

#2 If you do number one and fall to your death it is best to do so in a body of believers who's faith includes healing via "the laying on of hands" :rolleyes:

#3 God renders mercy and life even for people who have a hard time staying awake during very, very very long sermons! ;)


:cool:

People like us are important enough to God to bring back to life after dying from the effects of our condition.

X-Man

I agree sermons shouldn’t be too long, but a good sermon can hold my attention as it did today. I am a lively person and enjoy lively services however I noticed some thing today I had not noticed before. I like lively sermons and many are sort of interactive although I am a solemn worshipper and do not necessarily vocalize I do enjoy others expressive passion.

I do seem to be able to stay focused better with these interactive types even though I do not really interact myself. Maybe that is why I prefer the more charismatic approach perhaps the stimulation of preaching along with audiences responses keeps me more focused even if my meds wear off.


Hyperactive services for the hyperactive ADDer!

Yup, I drift when praying too, course it doesn't help that I tend to pray laying down when I am first starting off too sleep....

I have found that, I start hyperfocusing on strange things during sermons.....like, how large some peoples' ears look from behind.....but, I haven't always found the most exciting pastors to listen too.

What is the hardest thing for me, is that, I tend to have about 1,000 questions per sermon, by the end, my brain feels like it might put me into human combustion.

Like bythesea said, taking notes works.

When I was a kid, we each had a "church notebook" just for sermon notes. Before church my father would sit us down and we'd make an outline for our notes, with a list of points to keep an eye out for during the sermon, and of questions we expected the sermon to address. Often the Bible passage wasn't given ahead of time, just the topic, so we'd also look up relevant verses.

After church, either over lunch or in the afternoon, we - well, generally just I - had to report.

Yes, I paid attention - it became a game to spot weaknesses in the pastor's arguments, places where he was drifting from the Bible and getting into fluff. I also memorized the hymn book and read the biographies of all the hymnists. At some point I figured out that I could cheat on the afternoon report a bit by looking up thes scriptures in commentaries before church, and just track a few points where the pastor saw things differently than say, Matthew Henry. Then I could cut the reporting short pretty quickly by asking what my father thought was the right interpretation (without mentioning my source).

Sermon or no sermon, if you're a Christian and you want your kids to remain Christians, definitely don't encourage them to read the Bible. The "worst" (most final) kind of deconversion is when the person isn't rebelling against anything, just holding the faith's central book to the standards s/he was taught that it met. It pretty much eliminates the option of warm-fuzzy comforting faith.

I always feel quilty when I drift off during sermons. I tend to go to church's with long sermons where I really learn something. But after 20 or 30 minutes I find I need to do something to keep from getting distracted, so note taking helps. I wonder how much of it though is growing up in a world of commercials and halftimes? I think people in general have shorter attention spans as a result of the fast pace of the world and tv. I know in times past sermons were usually over an hour :eek:.

I agree sermons shouldn’t be too long, but a good sermon can hold my attention as it did today. I am a lively person and enjoy lively services however I noticed some thing today I had not noticed before. I like lively sermons and many are sort of interactive although I am a solemn worshipper and do not necessarily vocalize I do enjoy others expressive passion.

I do seem to be able to stay focused better with these interactive types even though I do not really interact myself. Maybe that is why I prefer the more charismatic approach perhaps the stimulation of preaching along with audiences responses keeps me more focused even if my meds wear off.


Hyperactive services for the hyperactive ADDer!

I go to a non-denominational church north of Atlanta (North Point Community Church) that describes itself as "church for people who don't like church". It's one of the highlights of my week and I don't have any problems focusing as they are very multi-media savvy. What I like the most is the overt lack of structure and the trappings of "normal" churches (I grew up Lutheran). A few Christian Rock (or sometimes just plain rock n roll to start it off) songs to get the blood pumping, a prayer, the offering and the rest is all sermon/message. The pastor's father is a well known baptist minister and he wanted to start something different instead.

The sermons are usually part of a series that last anywhere from 2 - 6 weeks and are typically designed to relate scripture to real life and current events in the world. They are powerful, riveting and well-delivered by a down-to-earth yet charismatic preacher whose goal is to lead people into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

To me, it's like the church was designed for people with ADD. I love going there and worshipping - it almost like I can sense God's presence in the service. Growing up, my family did the "church thing" but I never really felt anything; it was almost like I was just going through the motions. Here, I really have developed a personal relationship with Jesus and just want to keep it growing.

One of the cool things is that if you miss the service, you can listen to it or watch it online. Not sure if this is within the forum rules, but here a link to the church's website (http://www.northpoint.org/).

Big time prayer drifter here too. Used to drive me bananas, but getting diagnosed 2 years ago at least I finally realized a big part of why I couldn't string together a full prayer in my head! Then again, when I think about it, what is prayer but people's own dialogue and communication with whatever their deity is. So for me I have accepted that a quick sentence is its own prayer, along with my own wish to see joy for other people. My own prayers are very brief and informal (and rather sporadic at times too), and I've come to accept that this is just fine.
For that matter, I too, don't do well with sermons that go past 20-25 minutes. I'm not currently attending a church-just have never found the right fit, but life is a journey, and an ADD journey at that!

Sermon or no sermon, if you're a Christian and you want your kids to remain Christians, definitely don't encourage them to read the Bible. The "worst" (most final) kind of deconversion is when the person isn't rebelling against anything, just holding the faith's central book to the standards s/he was taught that it met. It pretty much eliminates the option of warm-fuzzy comforting faith.

Because this is meditation and spirituality, and not debates I will refrain from saying and more than ?????????warm???????????fuzzy???????????Christiani ty??????????point?????????????

Moving to the next distraction . . . . . .(ADD can be a good thing)


Here, I really have developed a personal relationship with Jesus and just want to keep it growing.

Thanks for the church site, and the above “happy sentence” for the day. Because I have weird work hours, work week-ends often, there are times I struggle with regular church attendance.

They do the series thing here some times too the sad thing is I rarely get to hear all of them because health care is a 24/7 thing including Sundays. Posting the sermon on line what a good idea!

Thanks for the church site, and the above “happy sentence” for the day. Because I have weird work hours, work week-ends often, there are times I struggle with regular church attendance.

They do the series thing here some times too the sad thing is I rarely get to hear all of them because health care is a 24/7 thing including Sundays. Posting the sermon on line what a good idea!

The next series coming up is called something like "The Star, the Crescent and the Cross" and is supposed to compare and contrast Christianity, Islam and Judaism. I'm looking forward to that one - it's a 4 week series. One of the things I like the most is that they are very good at relating the Bible to current society and events. Without being disparaging, it's kinda like the "Bible for Dummies" which, well, has been known to fit me. ;)

I love the sermons on line. I go to one church, but listen to another on line, very lively service at home or when I have computer time. They have 5 total during the week, at least. I cant' sit still and do nothing or I'll fall asleep, so I do work around the room where my puter is. I also fall alseep while praying (shoot, and reading too). I hate that. I have to get to the bottom-line pretty quick. Who said it had to be a long drawn out ordeal? God's busy, don't beat around the bush, make it quick, I say!! Or, it's likely gonna be blankie time.....:faint:

Oh, and my on-line pastor, he really tries to make this easy, he has them on tapes and CDs so we can also listen in the car!