When People Throw Stones A Leader's Guide To Fielding Personal Criticism

"Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me." But they do. They hurt us. They hurt our families. They hurt our ministries. And the hurt they cause can fester. Ministry is hard enough without the added difficulty of harsh criticism from those you serve. Criticism from the body of Christ is not always constructive, and when it's not, it can emotionally kill us, often making for another ministry casualty. When criticism becomes painful and you can't take any more, what do you do? Where do you turn when you've done your best and God doesn't seem to be defending you? Like most leaders, Blaine Allen is familiar with the underside of ministry, where critical words and negative attitudes thrive. He provides helpful advice for ministry leaders struggling with personal or public criticism to know when to blow it off, when to take a stand, what to do when the critic speaks the truth, how to make the situation easier, and what to do when we don't want to forgive. "Bruised and battered servants of God will benefit greatly from Blaine Allen's 'in the trenches' encouragement. His empathy is evident and his advice is invaluable-no Christian leader under assault should be without either." -Hans Finzel President, CBInternational "Dr. Allen presents a comprehensive analysis and practical guidance on an issue that every pastor faces regularly-personal criticism. As he says, the ultimate standard for processing criticism is faithfulness to a sovereign God and one's call from that God. This is a worthy addition to every pastor's library." -Rev. Dan Davidson Pastoral Ministries, Focus on the Family Blaine Allen(Th.M., Dallas Theological Seminary; D.Min., New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary) pastors in a university community and loves it. But having served three churches over the years, along with the good he has seen the ugly side of ministry. Blind-sided. Friends turned snipers. Power plays. Betrayed. He's been there and felt that and then some and he still loves to pastor! Blaine is the author of Before You Quit: When Ministry Is Not What You Thought.Allen, Blaine is the author of 'When People Throw Stones A Leader's Guide To Fielding Personal Criticism', published 2005 under ISBN 9780825420146 and ISBN 0825420148.