Don't Complain

"A pastor should not complain about his congregation, certainly never to other people, but also not to God. A congregation has not been entrusted to him in order that he should become its accuser before God and men...When a person becomes alienated from a Christian community in which he has been placed and begins to raise complaints about it, he had better examine himself first to see whether the trouble is not due to his own wish dream that should be shattered by God; and if this be the case, let him thank God for leading him into this predicament. But if not, let him nevertheless guard against ever becoming an accuser of the congregation before God. Let him rather accuse himself for his unbelief. Let him pray God for an understanding of his own failure and his particular sin, and pray that he may not wrong his brethren. Let him, in the consciousness of his own guilt, make intercession for his brethren. Let him to what he is committed to do, and thank God."

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, "Life Together"

That is a tall order from Dietrich Bonhoeffer. I believe a pastor can only do this if they are living in the gospel. To not be critical or complain is a Gospel issue.

One of the biggest temptations of pastoral ministry is falling prey to a critical spirit. If a person is called to be a minister they must be prepared for the slings and arrows from the sheep. As one pastor once remarked, sheep bite. Most pastor's are willing to put on a godly decorum when faced with criticism. That is what we are expected to do. But it is not the external behavior or our public conduct that we need to be careful about, it is our heart. Even in the best church, a pastor feels the sting of criticism. The criticism that I face is not the in your face criticism from a angry or gossipy church member. The criticism that I feel is when a family leaves the church. It is tempting to feel as if their leaving is a personal indictment on my ministry. As a pastor, I love, care and shepherd families. I invest my life in them. And yet those same families I pour my life into, leave. And sometimes the reasons they leave seem so trivial and capricious. No matter what the reasons people leave, it can hurt. But complaining and criticism is not the answer. In fact I think Mark Driscoll makes the point that the pastor's critical heart is more symptomatic of the pastor's own issues rather than the situation they are facing.

Ministry is filled with mountain top and glorious experiences as well as times of deep, dark nights of disappointment and challenge. No matter what the experience, as a pastor, I must cling tightly to the cross, knowing that my acceptance and worth is found in Him and Him alone. When I am doing this, my heart will resist the temptation of becoming critical and complaining.

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