Giving And Receiving Criticism - Part 1
"Certain personalities will find it a lot harder to receive criticism, and you'll need to be gentle with them. Other people have a stronger disposition and may need the criticism brought more firmly to get it to sink in."
How do we give criticism in a biblical way?
Over the next few weeks, we'll be covering the lovely subject of giving and receiving criticism, and how this relates to us as church piano players.
We all know there are 2 main types of criticism in church circles, don’t we? There is constructive criticism, and then there is destructive criticism.
But that aside, criticism does play a valuable part in our role as church musicians.
This is because it’s impossible to improve at anything or remedy a blind spot or deficiency without relevant feedback. And that feedback, whether it's spoken or written form, is essentially a type of criticism.
The Oxford English Dictionary defines criticism in 2 ways…
Firstly, it defines it as…
The expression of disapproval of someone or something on the basis of perceived faults or mistakes.
And the second definition is...
The analysis and judgement of the merits and faults of a literary or artistic work.
I think the second definition is more relevant to our context because it’s not so much about expressing disapproval, or at least it shouldn’t be. Rather, it’s giving feedback to address a fault, which can also include addressing the merits of 'something' as it says in that definition.
You're likely in a church context where you are playing with other musicians or as part of a team. That's why I titled this blog series “Giving And Receiving Criticism” because in this context, you will be more likely to be in a situation where you need to give criticism to others, rather than just receive it for yourself.
I hope that these posts are practical and to the point; so let's begin with a working definition of criticism...
Criticism is the giving of feedback to someone with the goal of helping them make necessary improvements, changes, or corrections that they seem to be unaware of, in a manner that is ultimately for their good, as well as for the good of others.
Let’s look next, then, at the practice of giving criticism.
As we do this, I will give you 4 pointers to help you be a person who gives more constructive criticism than you do destructive criticism.
Know the nature and disposition of the one you are critiquing, and proceed accordingly
This is really about being pastorally sensitive and knowing the people in your church.
Certain personalities will find it a lot harder to receive criticism, and you'll need to be gentle with them. Other people have a stronger disposition and may need the criticism brought more firmly to get it to sink in.Again, it's really just about knowing the people you are serving alongside.
Find something to commend before you bring a criticism
While I do think it’s possible to be a bit too touchy-feely and PC about this, there’s also some truth in it, too. A good example, and one you may have heard, would be the Pauline Sandwich format of Paul’s epistles - "I commend you for this, nevertheless I have this against you, but well done for what you’re doing in this other area."
It’s really just a way of being gracious without being fake or using flattery. And it reminds the person that your criticism is not an indictment against many things, but just this one thing you are addressing.
Next week, we'll look at the last two points on giving criticism, before we then take a look at how to receive criticism in a biblical way.
[Return to The Church Piano Player Website]
This blog post was written by pastor and pianist Kris Baines, from The Church Piano Player. Kris lives in the UK with his family, having recently moved back from New Zealand where he worked as a pastor for the past 26 years (also leading worship/worship teams). Kris has also spent over 35 years writing, recording, and performing music and is now bringing all that combined experience together to help equip church piano/keyboard players.
Check out the church piano player website for more information on online courses by Kris Baines.
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