Getting used to criticisim...

here is an intersting piece by Frank Viola author of Pagan Christianity and Reimaging the Church

If you are the author of books or articles that are “edgy” or that challenge mainstream/traditional thinking … or you’re aspiring to be such … you must get used to a few things. In fact, you must learn to live with them.

Here are eight that come to mind. They are in no particular order:

1. expect some reviewers of your work to completely misrepresent what you believe and have said and engage in masterful straw-man argumentation.

2. expect some of the people who read their reviews to believe the misrepresentations and to begin the bashing machine without ever reading the work themselves to find out if the review was accurate or not.

3. don’t expect those who have read your work and understand it to know about these reviews. In other words, don’t expect them to respond to the misrepresentations.

4. don’t expect any of your critics to challenge you in a public debate or discussion on your work. (Whenever this does happen, you will be pleasantly shocked.)

5. always remember that all things come from God’s hand — both negative and positive — so never defend yourself, but learn to trust the Lord with all of it. If what you have written carries His anointing, it will stand, and He will use it to change lives, despite any opposition.

6. remember that if you have something worthwhile to say, it will attract disagreement, hostility, and opposition. The servant is not greater than his or her Master.

7. how you respond to your critics speaks volumes about you and the message you carry.

8. always be open for correction, adjustment, and more light. Never entertain the delusion that you have “arrived.”