Hearing our weaknesses.

Parents have to do it. Teachers have to do it. Employers have to do it.

Any leader has to give critical comments and this for most people is the hardest part of being a leader. But there’s an art in giving constructive criticism.

We will all have vivid memories of when we were given criticism that was blunt and our self-esteem took a big hit or we were humiliated in front of others.

Some of the old-style footy coaches are remembered for their legendary sprays—their blistering attacks on their players which were intended to cause hurt and provide fuel for a better performance.

In our ‘Listening to the Spirit’ series on the Letters to the Seven Churches, we’ve reached the hard part—the bit in most of the letters where the Son of Man reveals the weaknesses and wrongdoing of the churches. They’re not necessarily models of how to say hard things and the weaknesses in those first century churches may not be the faults that we share.

In each letter the criticism is followed by a call to action which illustrates the principle that the purpose of criticism is not to make a person or a church feel bad about what they have done; it is to help them to become better at what they do.

Remember that we are writing an eighth letter—to the church at Box Hill. So think about our weaknesses, our wrongdoing and our neglect but speak the truth in love.