The Pastor’s Attitude Toward Their Critics

The way in which we handle criticism says much about us. Few of us enjoy being criticized. Ministry would certainly be more enjoyable if there were no critics. But we are all imperfect and soon learn that critics are certain to point out our imperfections. Ministry is all about people. Not all of them will love us. When we consider that criticism may contain an element of truth, or could be completely inaccurate, we should realize that it is important to be prepared for criticism either way. The attitude that we have toward our critics may impact our reputation and our ability to lead.

Has there been a time in your ministry when you wish you could rewrite the script and alter the way you responded when someone unfairly criticized you? How about when an accurate criticism was actually aimed toward helping you make an improvement? Sometimes it is really hard to keep our attitude in check and respond in a manner that would be pleasing to God and keep things moving forward. Remember, people are always watching. In our present society, people don’t even have to criticize us to our face, or to anyone else’s face for that matter. Social media makes it easy for a critic to level criticism and then hide behind an ipad.

A proper attitude toward a critic has the power to deflect animosity and move each of you forward toward resolution. We may need to consider how to prepare our attitude when facing different types of criticism. Criticism may be irrelevant, completely destructive, or some criticism may be constructive as well.

In this video, we share nine impactful things to consider relative to your attitude toward your critics. We know it would be easier to just move on to the next session. But preparing your attitude for criticism is of utmost importance. Criticism can derail you or it make you a stronger and more respected leader.