Critics and criticism.
These days they are everywhere. Especially in the church community. Anyone in a leadership position of a church has been or will soon be exposed to criticism. First, let me say that not all criticism is bad. In fact I have learned that one should at least entertain and analyze criticism before tossing it in the purge file. I try not to be prideful and dismiss everything.
So, what I’ve come to expect in the form of criticism…
Of your church, you will recieve or have already received negative feedback about the music, the message, the people, the dress code (or lack of), the chairs, the carpet, the lighting, the coffee, the food, the cleanliness, the bathrooms, the parking, the location, each individual ministry, the order of service, the time of service, the signs, the advertising, the volunteers, the staff, and oh…don’t forget the pastor. I could go on and on. I’ve quickly learned that you don’t live up to the expectations of everyone nor should you strive to do so. If you are a church planter, each one of these and more will be expressed or at least conceived in thought about your church in the first year. You can count on that.
In the end you take criticism for what it’s worth, process it, sift it, and determine if what is suggested fits the mold for your church, ministry, etc. It’s a simple fact that not all churches are the same. Each should strive for the uniqueness that God has called it to be.
Now let’s put the shoe on the other foot.
Guess what? God did not call me to criticize and police other pastors or churches. The best two pieces of scriptures that have convicted me of this are Mark 9:38-40 and Phillipians 1:15-18. The first is where Jesus tells John basically ‘what are you thinking?’ John’s excuse for opposing a person driving out demons in the name of Jesus was simply because he wasn’t one of the twelve disciples. (Ohh whoopty doo!) The second example simply states that no matter what we perceive of a person, as long as Christ is preached, who are we to argue?
Let me dwell on the second part for a moment. Like I’ve already said, you won’t find me picking apart other churches. I really don’t think that God cares if we have a masters degree in ’Religious Criticisim’ listed on our resume. A good example is Joel Osteen. Joel was in the internet news on Yahoo again here recently. From what little I know of this guy and his church, they are successful and Kingdom minded and yet he constantly gets hammered by other Christians. Yes, he has made some mistakes, but what pastor out there hasn’t? I’ve heard and read some pretty harsh comments about this guy. Some that really make me wince. In fact, Christians are arguably the worst critics of the church. You know how the old saying goes, “everyone is an expert.”
So now (finally) I want to encourage people to not be less of a religious critic, just simply more of a Jesus fanatic. Don’t go way beyond overkill arguing doctrine, critiquing what someone else is blogging about, or running down another pastor or church to your friends and/or other Christians. Instead, I urge you to spend more time learning and trying to be like Jesus, reading the bible, and working with other pastors and churches to take Jesus into the community.
