As I was digging through the church archives for my doctoral research, I came across something that made me laugh out loud this week. I share it in hopes that you too will find it amusing. It relates to receiving unhelpful and unfair criticism, something we all face from time to time.
During the mid-1950s, our Senior Pastor was a British man by the name of Alan Redpath. He gave a talk at Moody Bible Institute’s Founders Week Conference on the importance of Christians coming together across denominational lines for the sake of Gospel ministry. A certain denominational leader took exception to what he said, and wrote a blistering fifteen page hand-typed letter berating Redpath for being overly friendly with Christians of different stripes.
Realizing there was no way to win an argument with this man, Redpath wrote a kind but firm letter in reply, basically saying they would need to agree to disagree on theses issues with Christian charity. But if it was his closing line that made me chuckle: “I appreciate your sincere desire to be of help to me, and if you would spend as much time on your knees on my behalf as you have done at your desk, I am quite sure that my ministry would be greatly enriched. With Christian greetings, yours in His service, Alan Redpath.”
It’s a good reminder that even when criticism turns us a bit snarky, Jesus loves us, and our critics, more than we know.
