Some criticism of our ministries will be valid. Others will come from partially informed people who might never understand or endorse our philosophy of ministry.
With the explosion of online critics, it is tempting to jump into a conversation to tell your side of the story. While there might be an appropriate time, defending your ministry only pours gas on the fire.
Some ministry leaders seem to lead and preach from a defensive stance. They’ll rally their crowd in support of what they are doing in the face of criticism. While this may occasionally be wise, if it becomes a habit, it will build a reactive ministry rather than a proactive one. If you’re confident in what God has called you to do, you won’t need to spend more time defending it rather than just doing it.
I am hopeful that the people in our ministry are confident and secure in what God is calling us to do. With training, they’ll acknowledge that many won’t understand our style or philosophy of ministry. We can be okay with that.
Rather than being distracted by other battles, we’ll try to keep focused on the most important one.
What we've learned:
Time spent arguing on the sideline is time spent away from winning on the front line. Do what God has called you to do, and lead your team by example. Don’t respond to criticism for the sake of asserting your opinion externally. Instead, use it internally as an opportunity to instruct your team in your ministry philosophy.
