Handling Criticism

One of the costs of leadership is criticism. It is a price all leaders have to pay. Sometimes it is very helpful, but other times people are punitive and just reflecting the dysfunctional behavior they have never conquered. Most of the time the Lord has enabled me to handle criticism, but critical people who often lack spiritual depth are something I find hard to handle.

Here are some things that have helped me over the years:

1. Listen and delay your response.
2. Take the sting of criticism to the Lord in sincere prayer. The Apostle Paul prayed that he would be delivered from unreasonable men.
3. Never respond publicly. God has really helped me in this area. A few years ago, some folks became disgruntled and wrote very cruel emails and gossiped terribly--one lady even left notes in the leadership mailboxes of the church leadership team. It was so tempting to say something in a message, but God really helped me to bite my tongue. We have all learned to avoid using the pulpit as a bullying tool. This is great wisdom!
4. When people are cruel to you in emails, do not argue with them via the Internet. I tell my staff to write them back something like, "I received your email. Please call me at your convenience, and let's talk personally about this."
5. Collect articles on dealing with criticism, file them, and review them a couple times a year.
6. Preach/teach on this subject, as our preaching probably helps us the most!
7. The facts are, there are times when the devil uses criticism to overwhelm us--realize this is a spiritual attack--stand firm.

Rick Warren in his Ministry Tool Box Issue #343 has a great article entitled "How To Handle Opposition." It is from 1/9/08, and you can find it at Pastors.com/Ministry Toolbox.

Hope that helps you, my dear spiritual sons and daughters. I cherish our times together and hope as many of you as possible can be a part of Mardi Gras Outreach this year. It is always a great reunion! Love you tons, Papa G.