On May 9, 2011 Dee's ministry at Berea First Baptist Church came to an end and our family began the "Unexpected Adventure" of building a bridge to a new future. Through this blog, we invite you to share this journey with us.

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Coping with Critics

A young friend of mine in ministry recently suffered a few cuts from critics.  I sent him this message and wonder if others might be blessed by "overhearing" it.

When I have heard the noise of criticism, I have found comfort and truth in these words of Theodore Roosevelt: 

"It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat."
"Citizenship in a Republic,"
Speech at the Sorbonne, Paris, April 23, 1910

If critics are needy noisy people, love them, but don't let them lead you. 
If critics harm God's family, confront them.
If critics are right, learn from them. 

And remember, you can visit every town square in the world and you won't find a single statue of a critic.  

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