More Than Learning Styles
You’d think that with being a teacher’s child, I was always a goody two shoes. Throw in the things that bother me about editing, typefaces, and the oxford comma and it’s easy to categorize me as a nerd. As an adult, I now recognize that a desire to learn more and increase my knowledge and understanding (however slowly and poorly at times) is a good thing. Knowing how I learn helped me pinpoint why some things worked well for me while others were a struggle. Learning styles are also incredibly impactful on how we receive information. But at some point I also realized that I relished the humor and joy that comes with being a class clown at times. Some teachers and professors like to kid around while others are all business in academic spaces. This week that also got me thinking about how our behavior in a classroom might also reflect our behavior in a sanctuary. Going beyond learning styles, who are you in a sanctuary? Are you prepared to worship? Or do you always come empty?
Starting with learning styles, because they do matter, different people learn in different ways. Just like different people process information in different ways, different techniques help different people actually hear what is being said. Some people are auditory learners- hearing a sermon is a best way for them to receive information and process it. Others are visual learners. Having a graphic or art piece or something they can look at will help them learn and understand. While others, like me, are tactile-kinesthetic learners. The best way for us to learn is to do something. There are, of course, reasonable ways around these things when dealing with intangible ideas. For instance, many tactile-kinesthetic learners report that they absorb information well if they take notes while listening. It engages the parts of their brain used to do things, in this case writing, which also activates the learning centers. Knowing how you learn best (lots of free tests on the internet to confirm your suspicions on this) can help you better engage in worship.
What if I have a special need? What if I need a ramp to access things? Or a cushion? Or I’m hard of hearing? What about neurodivergence? I’m not qualified to speak to many of these; I’m just not. But, if you know what coping techniques help you focus or stay calm, you’re more likely to engage with what you’re hearing and seeing, right? If you can mitigate your discomfort, it will help you praise God without interruption. Need to wear your earbuds so that the music at church isn’t too much for you? Wear them. Need to bring fidgets? Bring them. Worried about being late? We’re just glad you’ve joined us when you could. Need more lumbar support than pews provide? Bring your cushion! Do what you need to do to participate. And what if you need help from your church? Learn the lesson that I didn’t when I was a student: you can always ask for help. There is no shame in doing so. It is on the other person to respond with grace to reasonable accommodation. A friend of mine is an ASL interpreter. Every single Sunday, she and her mom, who are both capable, volunteer at their church to do ASL interpretation. This self-less act has allowed many people to participate in worship fully.
Having set these basics down, that the worship space is truly meant to be for all, do what helps you, what about attitudes and behaviors in a worship space? Let me explain. If you are someone who has read the Scripture for the week in advance, you’re likely in a position to absorb fully what is being said. Maybe even looked up something or asked the pastor if there was something you didn’t understand. You’ve had the time and energy to engage with the material before worship. Ideally, we would all be in such a position. And here is where we run into a moral judgment issue. Good people, like Mrs. Robinson, pray and read Scripture every single day! That’s what good Christians do. If you do anything else, you’re not being a good Christian.
Hold up. That’s not right. Yes, ideally people have the time and energy to engage with Scripture and pray daily, but that’s just not reality. Some people won’t hear the Scripture until Sunday because if they try to read it, they will not absorb it in the same way as when it is being shared from the lectern. Some people are working multiple jobs to care for their families. Some people are going through medical struggles that make doing anything hard, much less engaging their brains on a set of Scripture that might include a lesson that is hard to hear, much less absorb and live out. That’s not fair. They’re still good Christian people, even if they didn’t do the homework. Did I say homework? Worship isn’t class. It’s not like there’s a grading system or you have to worry about your GPA or someone will call the state if you’re truant. But in a way, all of these things are indicators of how much time and energy you have to spend on being like Christ. It leads to one of those questions that only you can answer for yourself.
How important to you is your spiritual growth? What are you doing this year to engage with your faith? Acts of service are great and important, as faith without works is dead, but what are you going to do this next year to grow your faith? To struggle with it? To seek answers to moral dilemmas? To learn from the wisdom of other believers? Are you reading articles or books? Do you do a daily devo? How healthy is your prayer life? Yes, in many ways faith is a pass/fail class. There are many right ways to live out your faith and continue to strive towards Christian perfection. At the same time, if you just coast through and do enough to get by, is it truly enriching and nourishing and feeding your soul? God loves you just as you are. Come as you are to worship. And when you get the chance, come ready.
