Christ, Paul, and the other apostles were all subjected to withering criticism. If you’re a pastor and find yourself under the fire of criticism, then you’re in good company. Don’t look for a way out—after prayerful consideration of whether the criticism is valid—press on and follow in the footsteps of Christ. Press forward in the way of the cross.

Criticism and the pastorate go hand in hand—it’s simply a fact of life. Spend any amount of time in the pastorate and people will express criticism about your ministry. The plain and simple fact is, you can’t please everyone all the time. The problem, however, is that far too many in the pastorate have very thin skin. It bothers them that there are people in the congregation that don’t like them, their preaching, or their personality. Hence, whenever they hear criticism of any sort they are quick to respond with a defense.

On one occasion of which I am personally aware, a colleague was going through a season of criticism. The pastor was very frustrated and annoyed, and so he sought counsel from one of his colleagues. His colleague advised him to have his wife write a letter to the congregation defending his ministry. The wife was all too happy to oblige, wrote the letter, and the pastor then distributed it to the congregation. As you can imagine, the letter was not well received.

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