This weekend I was looking through some old CellChurch magazines I have. I was looking through an article about refreshing your church’s “atmosphere.” There was some great insight in that article. One quote really struck out to me:

Remember this important principle: You put people in touch with their faults when you assume a negative attitude toward them and reflect back to them only your perception of their weaknesses. Conversely, by assuming a positive attitude and concentrating on their strengths, you put them in contact with their good attributes. Their behavior inevitably improves. Proverbs 23:7 says, “For as a man thinks within himself, so he is.” – Ben Wong, 10 Ways to Refresh Your Church Atmosphere

Some pretty powerful thoughts there. We tend to refer to ourselves as “sinners saved by grace.” I remember a preacher a long time ago that preached an entire sermon on this subject. If we call ourselves sinners, then that’s what we are going to do. Isn’t it strange that scriptures call us saints, people that are clothed in righteousness, God’s chosen people, etc…. and yet we seem to focus on ourselves as sinners? Odd, huh?

So, now, if you see me at church and I start telling you that you are such a generous giver that has given me so much money, now you know why 🙂

I think, looking at my church experience in general, that the most common sermon topic has followed this line of thought: Here is what we do wrong. Everyone raise your hand if you have done it. Shouldn’t we all have our hands raised? (audience laughs in agreement) We’re all a mess. Then few or no practicals are given on how to do better. Well, at least as a former preacher and pastor myself, that’s how I remember most of my sermons. Yikes. What was I thinking? Well, according to Proverbs, I was focusing too much on what I did wrong, or on what others did wrong.

Now, I’m sure we can all think of people that think too highly of themselves, so I don’t think we need to turn this around and have a “flesh-appreciation party.” I think the important thing is to think of who you are in Christ, not just sit around with a Stuart Smalley self-encouragement session (“I’m Good Enough, I’m Smart Enough, and Doggone It, People Like Me!”). I think the key verse here is Hebrews 12:1-3.

By the way, the Ben Wong article can be found here: http://www.touchusa.org/web/Articles/CC_archives/volume8/issue3.htm

Scroll down until you find it. It’s a great article, and I think I want to blog more on the ten points listed there to “refresh your church atmosphere”:

1. Have a positive faith in God
2. Make Church fun
3. Bring out the best in people (today’s blog)
4. Accomplish the great commission
5. Be a people of destiny
6. Learn to work together as a team
7. Learn to fail well
8. Constantly change for the better
9. Include everyone in ministry
10. Depend on a supernatural God