Intentional Boredom
“Superficiality is the curse of our age.”[1]So begins Richard Foster’s classic text ‘Celebration of Discipline.’ It’s laughable when one considers that he wrote that text in the mid 1970s when
telephones were still attached to the wall, ‘The Waltons’ and ‘All in the Family’ were the most popular shows on television, baseball was the #1 sport in the US, people took the time to read the newspaper and endure commercials while watching the evening news……all signs that life actually was a little bit slower.
While it is not uncommon to look back at previous generations wistfully, imagining a simpler time and slower pace of life, it does appear that we are on the precipice of a disaster; a technological experiment leading to potential catastrophic social upheaval. The predictions of Neil Postman highlighted by Cal Newport have come to fruition. “Society [has slid] into a troubling relationship with technology.”[2]While Newport’s book ‘Deep Work’, suggests that the shallowness of our present age is an opportunity for those willing to disconnect and retrain their brain to focus intently, it also heralds the inevitability that “depth will become increasingly rare.”[3]
I was a late subscriber to the ‘smartphone’ pandemic. I have had a smart phone for less than 12 months and was ‘forced’ into it after a crisis where a parent was trying to reach me via text during an 
attempted suicide by her son. Since that time, I have noticed an incredible amount of addiction and distraction with this so-called tool on my person all day long. I would not say that it has brought me great benefit. In fact, even as I write this it continues to vibrate with the latest text message or Instagram update, begging for my attention, preventing the focus necessary to write eruditely. Yet, I find myself now unable to separate myself from it, captivated by the instant gratification it offers and the visual stimuli it pedals. Why is this a problem? Because as Newport suggests; If you “spend enough time in a state of frenetic shallowness you permanentlyreduce your capacity to perform deep work.”[4]While Newport’s main concern is productivity and the observable reduction in meaningful intellectual and economic output I believe he raises an important consideration for the Church.
The Church has little to offer those who are enamored with shallowness. To use Eugene Peterson’s words, spirituality requires a ‘Long obedience in the same direction’.[5]Quiet, solitude, stillness, meditation etc., these are the basis for spiritual maturity. We do a disservice to those desiring something meaningful when we tacitly endorse the culture by seeking to make Christianity more palatable to easily distracted constituents. This is akin to what Thomas Bergler has labelled the ‘Juvenilization of American Christianity’.[6]A dilution of traditional orthodoxy and orthopraxis in favor of entertainment and feel good quasi-theology. This is the antithesis of what Newport suggests is necessary for depth, developing a level of comfort with boredom.[7]What we can do is encourage depth with those who are prepared for it while praying for a crisis that will demonstrate the emptiness of the predominant shallow focus in the lives of those who are not yet ready to hear.
Further, I am convinced that even those of us in ministry are; “tending toward increasingly visible signs of busyness because [we] lack a better way to demonstrate [our] value.”[8]There is a tension for those in ministry; surrounded by people in the corporate scene who are stressed and hyper active, ministers feel the need to demonstrate that they too experience the stresses of our modern world in order to be approved by their congregants. Would it not be better to be an example of another way, an alternative to the hectic, consumeristic tendencies in our culture? Yet, there is a fear that ministers will be dismissed as lacking understanding of the ‘real world’ pressures, written off as one who has their head in the clouds. However, by adopting the main tenets of the surrounding shallow culture they fail to demonstrate an alternative to those that might desire something deeper.
Church Small Group
Maybe this is why I fell in love with fly-fishing and cycling and felt the need to instruct my children in these pursuits. The four-count rhythm of the rod and the line necessitates a patience and a calmness that can’t be rushed, the steady turning of the pedals requires a consistency and endurance much chagrined in the present age. Sometimes I even find myself getting bored in the midst of them and that is not a bad thing. I do not know if these will foster a stronger inclination to go deep in the faith of my children. I pray that they do. It does place them in a context where quiet, solitude, stillness, and meditation are in order and the still, small voice of God may at last be recognized. Perhaps we should have church by the river or on a bike where ‘technopoly’ has a weaker grip and intentional boredom has the opportunity to set in.
[1]Foster, Richard J. Celebration of Discipline: the Path to Spiritual Growth. HarperSanFrancisco, 1988. P. 1
[2]Newport, Cal. Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World. Grand Central Publishing, 2016. P. 67
[3]Ibid p. 71
[4]Ibid p. 7
[5]Peterson, Eugene H. A Long Obedience in the Same Direction: Discipleship in an Instant Society. IVP Books, 2000.
[6]Bergler, Thomas E. The Juvenilization of American Christianity. William B. Eerdmans Publishing Compay, 2012.
[7]Newport, Cal. Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World. Grand Central Publishing, 2016. P. 17
[8]Ibid p. 64
About the Author
Dan Kreiss
Former director of the Youth Ministry program at King University in Bristol, TN and Dean of the School of Missions. I have worked in youth ministry my entire life most of that time in New Zealand before becoming faculty at King. I love helping people recognize themselves as children of God and helping them engage with the world in all its diversity. I am particularly passionate about encouraging the church to reflect the diversity found in their surrounding community in regard to age, gender, ethnicity, education, economic status, etc. I am a husband, father of 4, graduate of Emmanuel Christian Seminary, an avid cyclist and fly-fisherman still trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up.4 responses to “Intentional Boredom”
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thought-provoking. First of all I fight inappropriate feelings of boredom all the time. Even now as I would say I have a job, tailor-made for me, I still can start gazing over the fence at the greener grass across the way. Maybe being bored is ok!?
Thats crazy you just got a smart phone. Let me count the ways my smart phone has ruined me… I cant navigate without gps. I feel my cellphone vibrating even when it isn’t. *** I literally stopped writing this paragaph because a texr message came in. A while back I sold my xbox because I was being irresponsible with it, time wise, but now my smart has just as addicting and wasteful games.
Totally agree. And while we are used to talking about orthodoxy and orthopraxy in the Church, I ‘m most worried about orthoPATHY–right feelings. As you read in my post, our in ability to attend to one subject or idea for an extended period of time will eventually render our brains incapable of accessing empathy or compassion. Scary stuff. But learning these things has helped me to curb my screen time. My phone is now always on silence, which frustrates some people when trying to contact me, but I never promised anyone I was available 24/7 (except God, and He knows how to reach me!)
Dan
I tend to live my times of boredom. It seems to be the only time I have to be alone with my own thoughts. I do find it hard to turn off the world but I agree it is absolutely necessary. I applaud your pouring into your kids the art of fly fishing and cycling they will be well served by these times of unplugging.
Jason
Dan,
I think you are absolutely right – fly fishing is a sacred activity/space which could be considered meditative. I feel the same about hiking or horseback riding deep within the mountains. So after a day of fishing, what kind of outcomes have you achieved? Recuperation? Inspiration?