Taking Criticism
by Tom Ellsworth
Vietnam veteran Adrian Cronauer said, “The American flag represents all of us and all the values we hold sacred.” On June 14th, our country annually celebrates a little remembered moment called Flag Day.
On that date in 1777, the Second Continental Congress adopted the 13 stars and 13 alternating red and white stripes as our Nation’s official flag. However, when two more states were added, the flag swelled to 15 stars and 15 stripes. If a new stripe was added with each new state, that would eventually create an unusable flag. So, more than two hundred years ago Congress decided to limit the stripes to thirteen in honor of the original colonies with the addition of a white star for each new state. Any updated flag design would become official on the July 4th following a state’s admission to the Union. We are now in the 27th version of our national flag and our current 50-star flag has flown the longest of any design in our nation’s history – nearly 61 years.
You are undoubtedly aware of Betsy Ross’ connection with our colonial flag, but what about our current 50-star design? You might say that “Bob” was the Betsy Ross of the twentieth century; his is an interesting story.
As a 17-year-old in 1958, Robert Heft designed a 50-star American flag for a class project. Bob felt he had done a good job, but his teacher gave him a B- and said that it lacked originality. [1] However, Bob’s congressman liked it and submitted it to President Eisenhower, who also liked it and subsequently approved the design.[2] It has served as our nation’s flag to the present.[3]
It’s so easy to let the critics discourage us. Receiving a B- on such a creative project would cause many to give up on their idea. Not Bob. Consequently, when he retired from teaching, he traveled 125,000 miles annually to speak about our flag. Before he passed away in 2009, he’d been to 57 different countries in addition to all 50 states.
When you are in leadership, you will be criticized. The sports world has its Monday morning quarterbacks; the church has its Sunday afternoon experts. Being a leader – especially one who volunteers their time and energy – is not easy. So how do you, as an elder, handle criticism? It can be challenging but consider these few thoughts.
See if there is any truth in the critique. True, criticism is often delivered with a sharp tongue, but hidden among the barbs may be a few nuggets of truth. Dismiss the rhetoric and consider what can be learned or even changed based on the truth.
Take your disappointment to the Lord first. If you respond to the critic first, it is easy to react with a bitter spirit. Responding in like manner never works out. Give yourself time to pray and work through the hurt before providing a response.
Don’t save anonymous, critical notes. Unfortunately, folks who send anonymous notes cheat themselves out of a response that might answer their misunderstanding. Friends, please save the encouraging notes and ditch the negative ones.
Focus on the positive. Out of a dozen comments, why do we fixate on the single negative thought instead of all the positive remarks? Focus on the positive and be optimistic in your leadership response. Remember Paul’s words to the church in Philippi: “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things” (Phil. 4:8, NIV).
Remain faithful to the Lord even in the midst of your disappointing moments. Serve cheerfully and never let go of your creative leadership dreams – God has given you the capacity to change your world, impact the church and honor Him. Naysayers are a dime a dozen; so, rise above their discouraging words. Never give up. By the way, after Bob’s design rose to the top, he went back to his teacher – who raised his grade!
[1] https://www.wakemanfuneralhome.com/local-info-and-resources/bob-heft-and-the-50-star-flag accessed 2021-June-10
[2] https://www.archives.gov/federal-register/codification/executive-order/10834.html accessed 2021-June-10
[3] https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-1959-08-25/pdf/FR-1959-08-25.pdf accessed 2021-June-10
