I’ve been a church elder for 13 years, a staff elder (assistant and then lead) for 12 years. In that time there have been all sorts of criticisms. Some very specific feedback on particular aspects of how things are done or what I have. Some generalised to “Christianity” or “Evangelicalism”? There have been lots of people in teaching seminars or online telling me that we are getting this or that wrong, and we need to change.
Some of that has been very much justified- I’ve got things wrong and benefited from others pointing that out. (Over certainty when preaching disputed points, trying to deal with difficult issues via email, and plenty more!) The evangelical movement in the UK does seem to have been (still be?) weak on governance, with insufficient attention paid to the possibility that leaders might be sinners covering up, and a mission at all costs mindset that failed to love everyone well.
But the criticisms from all angles, combined with online access to so many opinions and news stories can feel overwhelming. So here are three things I’ve learned to use as I process criticisms of me, the local church, or wider Christian organisations.
1) Justification by faith is a bullet proof vest. The phrase bullet proof vest comes from Duncan Forbes @UrbanMinistryUK. It’s a great way to think about how this doctrine works. Instead of accusations being something that will destroy us, so we must avoid them, justification by faith means we can stand there and take the accusation. I am already forgiven by Jesus. He already knows about all my sin. He’s already paid for it in full. Since I am loved and forgiven, I can dare to bring all my sins into the light. In fact the worst criticism someone makes of me is not worse than my sin, nor is it unforgiveable. So with the bullet proof vest of justification by faith on, I don’t need to dodge criticism but can welcome it, looking for what is true, confident that I am forgiven, loved, and that God is at work to make me more like Jesus.
2) The sailing boat not the train. The Christian life, and especially leadership, is more like sailing a small boat than driving a train. On a train, if you find yourself 10 metres left of the tracks, something has gone badly wrong. On a train, failing to move forward at the set speed is a failure of the driver, since the engine is there. But in a sailing boat, you are constantly adjusting the sail angle and the rudder. Being a few metres off course and adjusting is normal. You are dependent on tides and winds, and may take much longer in bad conditions. So the Christian life and Christian leadership involves constant adjustments that don’t mean we were sinful or failing up till now. It is just a more complicated journey than our mechanised world likes. We can receive criticism as a sign we need to adjust without beating ourselves up about the course we were taking.
3) Compared to what? What shall I drop? There are times when a criticism flows from expectations that are unrealistic. While the Bible holds out very high ideals, it is also gracious towards our failures and recognises our creaturely frailty. So when someone says “The church has failed to do x well enough”, I ask compared to what? What organisation has done this well enough? If none have, why should this particular local church gathering manage what no other organisation has done? If other organisations have, is it realistic to compare them (size, resources, purpose etc) with the church? If we are being criticised for failing to meet a person’s conception of perfection, then we have been set up for failure.
And when people say that some ministry focus (internationals, the poor, women, men, children, the elderly, justice, environment, reading, governance, apologetics etc) is being neglected or done badly, the curriculum question is useful- “If you want to add or do more of x, what will you take out?” It’s not enough to tell me to do more – because like most pastors, and in fact most committed Christians, I’m already doing as much as I can. So if you want to criticise me for failing x which you consider important, tell me which y or z to take out or do less. If you can’t tell me which to take out, perhaps I’m not failing after all. Perhaps we are called to do a bit of lots of things, rather than just do x a lot.
What do you think? Are these helpful to you? Have you found other ways to take on board criticism helpfully while filtering it?
Jots and Scribbles 
Really helpful stuff, thank you.
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