I just heard about yet another “controversy” with one Christian ministry with a national presence criticizing another, in public. Thankfully, I hadn’t seen anything on it and still have chosen to ignore this latest diatribe. (And I’m not going to post the specifics here!)

The friend who shared it with me made this observation:

Quite frankly I was pretty appalled.  And not just by the content of his remarks, but by his tone and the jovial response his comments received from his audience at that time.

I responded:

It’s the critical, unloving spirit that’s worse than any particular position [the criticizing teacher] might take. And what have I accomplished by putting down someone else’s ministry and making my members feel good about themselves because they don’t listen to the teacher he was criticizing? There are no “points” for NOT listening to a particular teacher for whatever reason. What are you doing? How are you into the Word for yourself? How are you putting it into practice?

Thankfully, the criticized teacher responded with something like, “I’m responsible and accountable to my call from Jesus Christ.  I don’t serve you, I serve Christ.  You do not have to receive my ministry if you choose not to.”

My friend concluded:

The church could stand to “err” a little more on the side of love and compassion instead of legalism and judgment.

Amen. As I’ve quoted here often:

So tend to your knitting. You’ve got your hands full just taking care of your own life before God. (Romans 14.12, MSG)