Remember heading to study hall during high school or college?
My favorite one was on the top floor of the Law Library at my undergraduate school.
It was just across the street from where I lived, so it was convenient, quiet, and was comfortable without putting me to sleep.
Distractions were limited (as I had no interest in perusing the stacks of law books), and my work was narrowed because I could only work on what I brought with me.
Those hours were nearly always more productive than what I could get done if I stayed in my own room. Why?
the environment supported it: quiet, comfortable, coffee was allowed, and the energy of other students fed my own
it was time-limited: the intense concentration work would come to an end!
there were no distractions
it was scheduled between classes when I needed to get things done anyway
it was self-reinforcing because it worked!
One of the most common complaints I hear from preachers is that they’re pulled in so many directions, it’s almost impossible to get anything done.
We may not be students at the moment, but we still face deadlines, major projects, and of course, preaching happens at a certain time every week
What I’ve learned since I was an undergrad is that study halls don’t have to be inside a library, and they become more meaningful when we design them to be not only productive, but sacred.
Four Steps to Design a Sacred Study Hall
1) Make it half Library, Half Chapel
A sacred study hall can be anywhere: your local coffee shop, park bench, public library, home office, kitchen table, or a single chair.
It’s the intention that transforms a simple lap desk into a combination of library and chapel.
For instance, one of my favorite “study halls” is on an airplane because I’m out of communication for the duration of the flight.
While I’m in the air, no demands can be placed on me. I pop my noise-cancelling headphones on and for a blissful few hours, it’s me, God, and whatever work I bring along. It’s true respite.
Any physical space can become a study hall that provides the same “get away from it all” feeling.
The difference is made in the intention: setting the purpose that we enter the space with God as a temporary cocoon that shields us from anything that might disturb our focus.
When choosing your space, consider these factors. Your study hall:
needs to be comfortable but not sleepy
should be lovely but not showcase something so beautiful it lures you away
may include others to receive their energy while they’re engaged in their own work
should have the background noise or silence that helps you quiet your mind
needs to be convenient. It’s helpful to go away to study hall, but that doesn’t necessarily mean a different physical location. It might just be a sign on your office door that says “In session,” or is a whiteboard you write on to say the time you’ll be available again
provides a sanctuary, a place where you get to “step off the planet” for a bit.
Then, to make an ordinary space a sacred study hall, adapt and enact this ritual.
First, as you prepare the space or enter it, ask God to give you the gifts of wisdom, patience, and focus during your time. If you prefer, light a candle.
Second, connect the task to your “why:” how is this task related to your mission and ministry? Drawing the line between task and mission can help remind us that there is meaning behind even the most disliked chores. (See the next step.)
2) Make God the cornerstone
We can look at study hall as a way to knock a lot of things off our plates, but there can be much more to it than that.
When we build study hall with God as the cornerstone, the purpose and meaning of our work is clarified.
We’re not doing these tasks just to knock them off our plates, but as an act of service.
Plenty of times there isn’t a direct connection between the task and what we understand our ministry to be about, but that doesn’t mean the connection isn’t there or isn’t important.
For me, dealing with taxes, insurance, and creating detailed instructions for delegation is energy-draining. I’d much rather be putting my time into more creative ministry pursuits!
When I breathe into the tasks I don’t care for and don’t resist them I remember that these create the necessary infrastructure that allow me to serve you.
When we surrender to our mundane, routine tasks we are led to the burning bush and notice God in unexpected places.
Study halls can be holy ground when we surrender ourselves to the tasks they hold for us.
3) Fill it with Concentration
Create a ritual to leave the last task behind and turn your face to the new one.
Breathe. Say a prayer. Let a rosary or prayer beads slip through your fingers. Light a candle.
Turn off notifications, close out your computer’s browser tabs, and surrender.
It’s a spiritual act of surrender to be single-heartedly focused on one task.
For longer work sessions, anticipate the need for a mental rest break.
When you’re tempted to procrastinate on the work at hand and open your email, have open instead a live cam of nature, like explore.org, or the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
When you need to pause for a moment let your mind drift with elephants in Africa, eagles on the Mississippi River, or birds, seals, and sea lions in the Monterey Bay.
Or get physical for a few minutes. Have a jump rope at hand, do a few jumping jacks, or hold a plank position.
Perhaps most importantly, only bring your backpack.
That is, only have available the one thing you plan to work on during study hall.
Bring only the required books, and open only the apps and one browser window you’ll need. No more than that.
When tempted to switch and procrastinate, ask God’s help.
Notice the anxiety, when the desire to do something else creeps in. Get curious about what you really need. If it’s a break, take one. If it’s different information, go look.
But if it’s only resistance over continuing to do something you don’t enjoy, ask God to help you visualize the big picture: how does this task serve others with love?
Even if we don’t enjoy it, connecting it to its purpose and knowing that it’s literally time-limited to this study hall session, we can surrender to it—and serve.
4) Steward your Calendar
A part of my morning ritual is to look at the big picture of my quarter, month, and week, then my scheduled events for the day, and then how I’m going to block my time for projects that day.
Sometimes those blocks of time are a few hours, and sometimes I see a spot for fifteen minutes that’s ideal for responding to an email or two.
It’s a myth that we need large blocks of time to get anything done. We can get a lot done in ten minutes here, or seven there—when we have the structure of a study hall ready to support us.
When we go, we can set a timer, use an app, or an old-fashioned hour glass to know how long you we to go.
Experiment with the length of a session and time of day that works best for you.
For some, a 25-minute block followed by a five-minute break is best, with their best work done in the morning.
For others, an afternoon with a ninety-minute block followed by a longer break to recharge is optimal.
Steward your use of energy and apply it at the time of day and length of time that suits you and project best.
When preachers combine the idea of library with a chapel, they get a sacred study hall.
Tasks we enjoy and those we don’t receive more of our best efforts and attention because they are seen in context of our wider ministries.
We can look forward to uninterrupted time devoted to a single project, knowing that at least for a little while, no one can pull us in different directions.
Join Us for Study Hall!
The members of The Backstory Preaching Collective/+ have access to Study Halls already built just for them!
Become a member and join us for our online study halls, offered several times per week.
Whether you want to talk preaching, get stuff done, read, or pray, we have a study hall for you.
Enrollment in The Collective/+ is open February 1-4, 2022, then closed again until summer—when the price is going up!
Don’t miss out on study halls, continuing education, spiritual formation, and year-round, weekly sermon prep, and much more: everything preachers need collected into one place!
Learn more and join us at www.backstorypreaching.com/collective!