You’re right, criticism happens. It can drive you mad if you let it (unfortunately, i let it do so more than twice in ministry). But it is possible to teach a congregation to learn not to be critics. The current congregation i’m in has the least amount of criticism going around that i’ve ever experienced. There’s a genuine air from both leadership and members that, well, what would being a cynic accomplish? Nothing good.

i think we shouldn’t just resign to accept that people are critical (hyper-critical really) and that’s okay. no, it’s not. it’s not conducive to the Christian environment and community we should be creating and maintaining.

–Guy

I have recently come to the conclusion that we never begin to truly approach humility until we begin genuinely listening to others. What makes listening so difficult is that in the process of seeking to understand another, we are implicitly acknowledging that we might be deficient or wrong in our current understanding. Listening becomes even harder when we must listen to correction… especially if that correction is given in the form of harsh criticism.

Thanks for your thoughts as always, Matthew.