I had the privilege last week of attending the annual New
Wine conference in Himos. This is my third visit and each time there has been
good teaching and worship, the fun of meeting people and good weather despite
the weather forecasts.
One of the speakers was Mark Aldridge, an Anglican priest
from England. He has been pioneering new forms of church, meeting people where
they are in an environment they feel comfortable with. The situation is so
desperate in England these days that his bishop gave him permission to try out
whatever he wanted. Buildings and liturgy are no longer required, just reach
the people with the gospel.
One thing Mark told that stuck in my head was the power of
negative words. He said that research had shown that seven positive statements
are needed to compensate for one negative one. Maybe we should start a 7 to 1
campaign in our church this autumn?
When I came home I listened to Sirkka’s sermon on the
internet and, surprise, surprise, she was speaking about the same idea though
the ratio she quoted was 5 to 1 or even 2 to 1. The same evening we watched one
of Joyce Meyer’s programs and once again heard the same message about the
importance of speaking words that build up. She said that not only do we need
to speak positive words to others but we need to speak positive words to
ourselves. The internal dialogue in our heads is where we can do a lot to
either strengthen our faith or drag it down.
So whether it is 7 to 1, 5 to 1 or 2 to 1, the message is
clear: we must speak a lot more encouraging words than critical ones. So let’s
do it. Here’s my contribution:
Our church has good worship meetings, we have many committed
people who are giving generously, we have the biggest youth work of any Free
Church in Finland, we have an excellent small group work, a growing outreach to
people in need, we have a teaching program that is the envy of many, and we
have gifted, committed leaders. What a privilege to be part of such a church.
Now its your turn. Next time you meet someone from the
church, tell them something positive.
Graham Turner
