According to a summary from ChatGPT, the average attention span of an American adult has decreased from about 20 minutes in 1950 to just 15-20 seconds in 2025. Attention span has seemingly increasingly and steadily decreased over the decades with the advent of each new technological innovation (i.e., TV, the computer, internet, smartphones, almost instantaneous communication, etc.). Because of these and other changes in our culture, it seems this has impacted sermons and Bible studies in church too.
On more than one occasion, I have had someone either insinuate or directly tell me: Your sermons are too long. As I sit pondering this thought, I wonder: How long is too long when it comes to preaching or teaching? There are countless resources that touch on this topic and many different schools of thought. Because we are so used to interacting with information in bite sized clips, I wonder how this is impacting us a disciples of Jesus.
Social media is replete with endless supplies of sermon clips that pack a punch in 90 seconds or less. I want to be careful in this blog post, I believe that videos and clips can be a very useful took for discipleship and evangelism. In fact, if you visit our YouTube channel you’ll see an entire playlist of “shorts” designed to unpack big sermon ideas in easy to digest videos. The question that I am considering is this: With the advent of apps like TikTok and endless scrolling on social media, has the depth of our intimacy in Christ been replaced with a shallow, quick, instant gratification that we see in so many other areas of our lives. If so, does it really matter?
Imagine for a moment with me… I come home each day from work and walk in to find my loving wife preparing dinner for our family. I ask her how her day has been, and after 90 seconds I lose interest and begin focusing my time and attention elsewhere. You don’t have to be a professional marriage counselor to figure out how this shallow attitude will eventually impact the intimacy and depth that should be present in every important relationship, especially my relationship with Jesus and my spouse.
In John 15:4, Jesus gives us a sobering reminder: Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. The Greek word menó translated abide means: abide, continue, dwell, endure, be present, remain, stand, tarry. The idea behind abide is an intentional, regular, consistent lifestyle of spending time with Jesus. When we abide, it isn’t about spending 90 seconds or less in His presence but about intentional, focused, quality time. This abiding isn’t necessarily about quantity but is absolutely about quality and consistency.
Jesus goes on in John 15:5 to give us the reality plainly: “Apart from me you can do nothing.” The simple truth is that as I live a lifestyle of abiding in Christ, I experience the fruit of His presence in my life. It is here in the presence of Christ that I begin to experience the life changing power of Christ. With this thought in mind, I wonder: Are you abiding? If you are anything like me, you won’t have to tell others you are spending time with Jesus, it will show.
It has been said that you make time for something or someone if it or they are important. I have no problem watching a long movie or a two-hour football game, but I find it more difficult to spend consistent, quality time with Jesus. I want to challenge you to regularly, daily schedule time to abide in Christ. Have a quiet time where you pray, study the Scripture, and privately worship the Lord daily. As you abide, block out other distractions and demands and simply and worshipfully dwell in His presence.
