THE SENSUAL NEUROLOGY OF A POSITIVE CHRISTMAS WELCOME Youve got a marvelous opportunity to reach some folks who normally dont walk through you church door in the next 72 hours. From a neurological perspective, have you considered using every sense in your arsenal to help welcome the crowd? Theres an ancient Chinese proverb that says, When the student is ready, the teacher will appear. I like to put it this way: You gotta open the kid before you open the book. A genuine smile does opens the kid. A little humor at the start of your talk does that. A body posture that says welcome! does that. And, surprisingly, every sense a person has in their body has an effect on whether they feel drawn into your space and open, or whether they feel unwelcome and shut down their brain to to possibilities. Tilling the soil before planting the seed is, simply put, good neurology and good stewardship of the seed. By harnessing the powers of all the senses, youre really tilling the soil the moment they walk through the door. TAKE AN INVENTORY AND TAKE A WALK FIRST take an inventory. What are the first-impressions you want people to have the moment they walk through your this Christmas? Now, take a walk into your main door. Do it with a fresh set of eyes. Pretend you are a first time visitor. Do this today while you still have time to adjust the ambiance. Better yet, grab a teen, an elder, a child and take the walk together. Share out loud, What do we... SEE HEAR SMELL TASTE FEEL SEE: The amount of space dedicated to sight in the brain far surpasses the rest of the senses. What do you see when you walk into your space? I visit 75-100 churches a year, and the main thing I see is .... CLUTTER. Clutter is the enemy of the distracted mind. Your guests should only see what you WANT them to see this Christmas. Go through your hallways today and get ride of EVERYTHING in the halls and on the walls. EVERYTHING. They only place back what you WANT them to focus upon. HEAR: What do you want them to hear? The traditional Christmas hymns need to be playing if you want to draw them back to the familiar. SMELL: The sense of smell is actually closest to long-term memory centers in the brain. The sense of small is also the ONLY sense without gatekeepers in the brain. Have you thought about what you want your place to smell like? Mint? Fresh-baked cookies? Pine? I dare you to give this essential sense its due. Fresh baked cookies is always a winner. Hand them to the guests as they enter the space. Or, if theres not time for that right now, pick the scent you want to feature and buy a dozen Airsick Solids. Do it! Smells prepare your guests the moment people walk through the door to feel like theyre happy to be there. TASTE: Yup. Another key sense we often forget. But whether its that fresh cookie, a home-made Wassail Tea with Cinnamon, or hot pumpkin squash soup, if they are given a taste when they walk through the door, youll have them! FEEL: Theres nothing like a warm embrace to welcome you into a space. Do this Cross+Generationally, and it will be even more appreciated. Lead with the children asking, May I give you a Christmas hug? Then, with an elder, May I give you a Christmas hug? Then add all six living generations. What would it be like for every visitor to enter and exit with six welcome hugs? NEURO-NOTE There are basically five neurotransmitters that kick into gear the moment you walk into a new space that trigger the fight/flight/freeze mechanisms in the brain. Adrenaline, Nor-adrenaline, Epinephrine, Vasopressin and ACTH fix in the brain and say either Im safe here. I like it. I can learn here. or I dont like it here. Get me out! These chemicals fix in the brain within the first 5-8 seconds, and the first impression is hard to dislodge. Yes, you never get a second chance to make a first impressions. Harness all of the senses to have their brain say, I really like it here and theyll be open to everything that happens after that. It may be these five senses (and a little sense of humor at the beginning of your sermon) would be just enough for that wandering soul to say, I think its time to get back to church this year... at the New Years party. And then, of course, youve got to make sure NEXT Sunday hits all the senses anew again.
Posted on: Mon, 22 Dec 2014 17:30:38 +0000