One of the blogs I follow is from a pastor of a large church in another state. Today’s post addresses an issue that ALL leaders will face sooner or later, and EVERY leader I know has had to deal with it on more than one occasion—Criticism.
Since we are all flawed, sinful people still in the process of being conformed to the image of Christ, you and I will make mistakes and bad choices and others will often hold you accountable for those decisions.
This is what my friend Craig writes…
In the early years, I reacted negatively to all criticism. I spent my energy defending rather than learning. Over time, rather than dismissing all critics, I opened my heart to learn from them. God has used several constructive and a few not-so-constructive critics to help me grow and improve as a spiritual shepherd and leader.
How Do You Handle Criticism? - LifeChurch.tv : swerve
This weekend I learned that somebody in our body is holding a grudge against me for something I said or did a long time ago. I don’t know who the person is or what I did but I know it is serious enough that this person told another person she would never participate in a class that I teach. The second person told the offended party to approach me and give me a chance to make it right, but this has not happened, YET.
Even though I don’t know the particulars of this offense, I am trying to learn from it. What have I communicated by word or deed that leaves this offended person with the impression that I am unapproachable or that confronting me would be a negative or futile experience.
So What have YOU learned from criticism?
Personally, I have learned that I am not perfect - even though I strive to be most of the time and once and a while even delude myself into thinking I might be close in having attained it :0)
ReplyDeleteI have learned that humility is something that God prizes - and maintaining it is essential if we want to be effective in God's eyes and man's as well.
I view criticism as a learning tool. If we think we are too good to be criticised, maybe we shouldn't be a Bible Study Leader/Teacher. I learn from my mistakes and Praise God that there are some bold enough to help me learn through them.
ReplyDeleteOut of 140+ posts that I've written on my blog, the most popular one by far was written in response to a similar situation (http://www.kenwords.com/2009/06/biblical-conflict-resolution.html). I served on staff of a large church and was becoming weary of those in my church who routinely went to the Senior Pastor when they had a complaint about something or someone without ever attempting to resolve the problem the way that scripture advises us in Matthew 18:15-17. This post receives more hits than any other because people are hungry to know to resolve conflict from a Biblical perspective. Maybe the person who has a beef with you will read what scriptures teaches us and give it a shot. I suspect that there's a good chance that you can resolve the issue if given the chance.
ReplyDelete