Our pastoral fellowship (Pastoral Fellowship for Practical Theology) met yesterday and discussed the topic of criticism that pastors regularly face. We discussed this topic through the illustration of “Mudslinging.”
Criticism is a lot like mudslinging.
Mud is slung, it usually goes “splat” on the pastor’s face, mud becomes messy to clean up, mud can spray others standing around once it is slung, and often that mud gets tracked home with us when we don’t realize it.
It was through this working illustration that we had a very fruitful discussion among the men present.
Here is the list of questions asked and the categories for them.
The Pastor’s Soul:
1. How does a pastor typically feel (emotion) after being slung with mud?
2. How is a pastor to deal with those feelings (emotions) or process them in light of the gospel?
The Pastor’s Ministry:
1. How does a pastor deal with the mudslinger?
2. How does a pastor deal with the mud now on his face?
3. How does a pastor care for those standing close who were also splattered with mud?
