10 Tips for Handling Criticism in Ministry
By Margaret J. Marcuson

Dealing with criticism and complaints is an issue in almost every area of ministry. Church leaders have had to deal with complaints from the beginning. (See II Corinthians for Paul’s experience. It is nothing new!) Here are a number of tips for dealing with complaints in ministry:

1. Do not take things too personally. The less personally you take complaints and criticism, the better off you will be emotionally and the more effective you will be in ministry. Sometimes, however, you cannot avoid getting hooked. Remember that your mother was right: take a deep breath and count to ten before responding. Whether the criticism comes after the service, in a meeting or via e-mail, try to stay thoughtful and not reactive.

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BOOK NOTES - Three Concise Reviews of New Resources

Marketing Your Church to the Community
By Peter Metz, Abingdon, 2007, $8

Part of the Ministry Guides Series from the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection, this book makes the case for why churches need to reach out to the unchurched in their community and then offers practical information and ideas on how to do it. Peter Metz, director of communications at Resurrection, provides strategies for reaching people and convincing them to visit, even when churches have a limited budget. This 63-page guide begins with advice on getting your message straight, identifying the audiences you want to reach, and selecting the right marketing options. One important tip: Marketing tools should be designed to reinforce the all-important personal invitations that come from existing church members.

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Leaders do not need answers.
Leaders must have the right questions.

Most of us attend meetings and have conversations on a regular basis. Sometimes it helps to take a moment before these sessions to ask:

“What do I most need or want to result from this meeting?”

Editors:  .Lovett H. Weems, Jr. and Ann A. Michel
Production and distribution:  Joe Arnold

Copyright © 2007 by the G. Douglass Lewis Center for Church Leadership. Leading Ideas material may be freely distributed with attribution (exclusive of material protected by separate copyright).