SENSITIVE TO THE SENSES
Mark Brasler
April 1, 1986
The longer I sat in the worship service at my brother-in-law's church, the more I recognized how different it was from mine back home. This sanctuary was bathed in banners. The communion area was modern and beautifully sculpted. The pastor wore a colorful robe. The entire worship service, with the exception of the sermon, was printed in an attractive, type-set order of worship.
The church I serve as minister of education, on the other hand, has none of these features. The focus of the worship service rests, instead, on the prayers, the reading of Scripture, special music, and most of all, the sermon.
There may be several explanations why these two services differ so greatly. But a relatively new science known as "Neurolinguistic Programming" (NLP) can give us a major clue.
This science theorizes that individuals receive and interpret messages three ways: visually (through sight), audibly (through hearing), and kinesthetically (through feelings). Each person operates in all three modes at one time or another but usually has one dominant mode.
Researchers suggest that the dominant mode can be identified through an individual's speech pattern. Audio-oriented people will generally use phrases such as Now listen or I hear what you're saying or What's the gripe?-all featuring key words that relate to hearing.
Visual-oriented people will most often use phrases such as Now observe or I see what you mean or How do you view it? These are all words that relate to sight.
Kinesthetic-oriented people use language sprinkled with sentences like Try to sense this or I know how you feel or How did that move you? Such feeling-associated words like excite, thrill, and experience dominate.
If NLP is right, I am a visual person. I catch myself often ...
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