We feel a bit seen in Michael Brown’s July 10 WorldNetDaily column:
Constructive criticism is life-giving and life-saving, and all of us should have ears to hear truthful words of correction, exhortation, reproof, and rebuke. As the psalmist said, “Let a righteous man strike me – that is a kindness; let him rebuke me – that is oil on my head. My head will not refuse it. …” (Psalm 141:5)
But destructive criticism kills. It tears down without building up. It is loveless and unkind. It uses unequal weights and measures, straining out a gnat while swallowing a camel. It is self-righteous, mean-spirited and lacks a redemptive heart.
That being said, if a destructive critic has something truthful to say to me, even if it is said in a harmful or hateful way, I want to hear it. But I will not get into a mudslinging battle with destructive critics or spend my time refuting their claims or responding to their challenges. To do so would be to dishonor the Lord and do a disservice to the Body of Christ.
[…]Nehemiah had to lower himself – literally – to meet with his critics, since it required him to come down from the walls he was working on as well as leave Jerusalem, which in Israelite thought meant “going down,” both physically and spiritually. To what purpose?
The lesson here for us, especially those of us in positions of leadership is simple: we need to prioritize the work God has called us to do and not be distracted by our critics and opponents. As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., explained in his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” “Seldom do I pause to answer criticism of my work and ideas. If I sought to answer all the criticisms that cross my desk, my secretaries would have little time for anything other than such correspondence in the course of the day, and I would have no time for constructive work.”
In that same spirit, but with his typical verbal bombast, German evangelist Reinhard Bonnke, who preached the Gospel to tens of millions of Africans, explained why he did not take time to respond to his critics: “I’m not getting off a combine harvester to catch a mouse.” He also said, “My answer to the critics is my next Gospel crusade.” All clear!
Note also the persistence of Nehemiah’s opponents, which is so typical of dogged hyper-critics. They did not take “no” for an answer – not once and not even five times, finally sending a letter to him containing dangerously libelous accusations (Nehemiah 6:5-7).
We have been a critic of Brown for years — but we do not consider our criticism to be destructive. All we do is expose Brown for who he is: a religious leader who purports to have sympathy for LGBT people but displays nothing but disdain and even hatred for them in actual practice. We’ve also called out his hypocritical political activism, lecturing about getting too involved with Donald Trump even though he wrote books encouraging his fellow evangelicals to overlook Trump’s amorality and numerous moral failings because he delivered the right-wing goods.
It seems that Brown believes that any criticism of him is “destructive” — though he offers no examples of what such criticism would look like, nor does he provide examples of constructive criticism. Instead, he whined further:
Why, then, take precious time away from devotion to God and service to people to engage in fruitless arguing and debate? It is far better to keep your high moral ground, not getting dragged into a mudslinging battle and refusing to lower yourself to the mindset and methodology of the hostile critics. We must keep our higher moral ground lest we get dirtied and stained.
Destructive critics are often immature, engaging in name-calling and insults. When you start to play their game, you get soiled as well.
Destructive critics are also known to ride on the reputations of the people they attack, using those names as clickbait. When you engage them, you empower them, giving them a bigger platform and even a sense of validity.
It’s also good to ask yourself why you feel the need to respond to these critics. Is it for the good of the Body or because of pride? If the former, perhaps a constructive teaching on a relevant subject would be better. If the latter, crucify it! (When it comes to confronting heresy and heretics, by all means, let us do so with clarity and boldness, but even here, let us do this in a Christlike way.)
Thankfully, not all critics are destructive, and some, who have honest questions and concerns, are more than happy to hear the truth.
[…]So, as a leader with a mission and commission, give yourself to the work God has called you to, staying on that wall and refusing to be dragged down into needless controversy and strife. You are needed on your post, and the Lord expects you to be there.
And if you meet critics with genuine questions, civil people whose whole identity is not caught up in accusation and attack, do your best to give them solid answers.
They may just become some of your most faithful co-workers and friends.
We have been raising genuine questions about Brown for years — but he seems to think that any criticism of him is “destructive,” so he will never respond to us.