Conquer distractions with 5 tips

Crying babies, hecklers, cell phone ringers, loud music coming in from outside the church, drunkards. We've all been in services where there have been distractions. How do we not let distractions ruin the praise and worship (P&W) experience?

Make sure you're squared away early - I have a 3 year old and sometimes (most of the time) she's the main distraction! (Sorry Zoe.) If I don't have her squared away prior to P&W, I can expect chaos. If you're a parent, make sure the child is with the designated caretaker early and let him/her know to keep a special eye out for the child. While we want folks to make a joyful noise, kids can sometimes take it to the next level and sometimes the caretaker is engaging in P&W without realizing the kid is banging the tambourine into a coma. 

Find the right outlet to inform congregants of proper protocol - If you're at a church like mine, there are many people who aren't used to general church protocol. We can't assume that people know how to act during P&W. Sunday morning might not be the best time to say it, but find a way to inform the congregation of your church protocol. Maybe a handout, addressing it in a business meeting, a sign on the bulletin board (if people read it), addressing it during church announcements or during new members class might be helpful.

Give people direction - My new thing to do is to tell people what I want them to do. "Hands in the air," "tell the Lord thank you," etc. This generally stops whatever people are doing because they're listening to you talk and will likely respond. Giving people directions helps them to stay focused.



Work with your ushers - If we had ushers I would totally collaborate with them so that they know to ask individuals to quiet down or excuse themselves from the sanctuary if they are distracting others. You could also ask the ushers to remind congregants to silence their cell phones as they greet them when they enter the sanctuary. "Good morning, glad to see you, come right this way and don't forget to turn down your cell phone please!"

Get gangster - While I don't encourage this tactic as a first resort, sometimes it needs to be employed. This should only be used if the distractions are really bad. In between songs or before you start, you could make a statement in a number of manners:

• "We're not going to stop singing until you bring in your wandering minds and usher in God's presence" (I find this one to be the most effective.)

• "Father God, our prayer today is that you help us not be so distracted while we sing your praises." (A tad passive aggressive, but whatevs)

• "How dare us come all the way to church and act like we're too busy to worship God?!" (Straight gully, but even Jesus turned over those tables in the temple.)

Would love to hear other strategies. Please feel free to share and let me know if you try any of these tips and how it went.

Blessings