Music is pretty core to worship and lets face it, music can be pretty divisive. So for a worship leader criticism is just part of the job. How you deal with that criticism can have a big impact on your personal job satisfaction. Here are four tips for managing criticism in your worship ministry.
-
Listen to all criticisms
It’s very easy to take positive feedback. It’s equally easy to dismis negative feedback. But just because feedback is negative dosen’t necessarily mean it’s invalid. Be willing to listen. Don’t write people off just because they don’t agree with you. Evaluate everything.
-
Don’t take it personal
Chances are you probably take some pride in what you do. You probably work hard to hone your skills. And you probably put a lot of time and effort into planning your services. So it can be really disheartening when someone comes at you with negative criticism. I find that most people are well intentioned so don’t take it personal. Even when they are not all that well intentioned, don’t take it personal. I’m speaking from experience here… It’s just not worth stewing over. Let’s face it, we take negative criticism personally because it hurts our pride. Let it go… You’re not all that great anyway… That’s why you need Jesus! Extend the same compassion, grace, and mercy to others that He has extended to you.
-
Know why you do what you do
Do you use contemporary music in your ministry? Okay. Why? Do you use fog machines in your ministry (I’m being facetious). Again. Why? Worship is a serious subject so it stands to reason that we give it some serious thought. Furthermore, having a reason for everything you do will help you field negative criticism. I find that most tension resulting from negative criticism can be settled by simply explaining why it is you are doing what you are doing. Give people the benefit of the doubt… They may be more willing to listen to you then you think.
-
Cultivate Support
A massive deterrent to negative criticism is cultivating support for your ministry from within your congregation. Recruit a group of people in your church to share your thoughts and ideas about worship with. Having a group of people who can speak intelligently about your ministry is the best defense you could every have. I have spent a great deal of effort to cultivate such a group in my church. You can review my efforts by visting the Worship Initiative. Additionally, The Art of Worship by Greg Scheer deals extensivly with this subject. I highly commend his book to you.
