Mark Altrogge

More Tips for Taking Criticism

/ Dennis Griffith / 1 Comment

In a post last week I shared 5 Suggestions for Receiving Criticism. The bulk of that piece was taken from a post by Mark Altrogge at The Blazing Center titled How to Receive Criticism Like a Champ.

Since criticism is inevitable for all of us, I felt Altrogge’s insights were helpful.  As he reminds us:

Like I said last week, I don’t love being corrected.  But Jesus can help us grow.

Now, in a second round, Altrogge expands his previous points. Here are a handful of additional helps:

  • Don’t be quick to defend yourself.

“Hey I thwacked Junior on the head with my iPad because he had a bad attitude!”  Don’t make excuses: “Well, I didn’t actually lie.  It was theater.  You know, drama.  I just exaggerated a little bit for effect.”  Sometimes it’s fine to offer reasons for our actions, but defensiveness usually comes from pride.

  • Don’t write someone off because they fail to deliver criticism perfectly.

“Hey!  You corrected me harshly!  Your stinking attitude invalidates all you said.”  Even if they sin, make your primary focus your failure, not theirs.  You can talk about their sin some other time.

  • Ask clarifying questions.

Don’t require them to produce video footage, finger prints, and DNA evidence before you accept what they say, but if they have some examples that could help you see more clearly, welcome them.

  • Watch your facial expression and body language.

I know, your face feels like it’s going to crack into a thousand pieces.  Don’t sit there with your arms crossed and an “I dare you to say something negative” scowl on your face.  Try not to start breathing heavily when someone is correcting you, like a snorting bull.  Remember, you’re trying to make it easy for them.

  • If you see what they’re saying, acknowledge it.

James says, “Confess your sins to one another.”  Say, “You’re right, honey.  I should not have thwacked Junior on the head with my iPad.  I was angry and that was sin.  Junior, would you please forgive Daddy for his anger and for thwacking you on the head?  I won’t thwack you any more.  And anyway, my iPad’s broken now.”

  • If you can’t see what someone is saying, don’t immediately write it off.

You could say, “I’m having a hard time seeing what you’re saying right now, but I certainly could be wrong.  I know I have blind spots.”  Another thing you can do is ask others if they have observed the same thing.  Good chance if one person has seen a weakness or fault of yours, others have too (thanks Julian Freeman for this addition!).

  • Ask them to please point it out again if you do it again.

…Because most likely you will.

Thanks, Mark. These are helpful.

While I can paste his points, I can’t do justice to the wisdom and humor found at The Blazing Center. I recommend clicking the link and checking out the original posts – and bookmarking the page.

Alrogge’s Bottom line:

We all need correction, input, reproof, adjustment, suggestions and help.  A wise man or woman grows wiser by receiving these from others.

OK, now go out there and get criticized!

5 Suggestion for Receiving Criticism

/ Dennis Griffith / 1 Comment

Benjamin Franklin once mused:

“Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain… and most fools do.”

I don’t like receiving criticism and, since I am being honest here, I don’t often appreciate it either. I understand that it comes with the territory. I understand that when processed correctly criticism can prove beneficial to my character, competence, and even toward Christ-likeness. But still, I don’t like it.  Everything within me wants to avoid it.  I find myself thinking: “There’s got to be some other way.”

But there is no other way.  There is no life immune from criticism. There is no growth without criticism.

So the question, then, is: How to process criticism well?  How do I learn to benefit from the criticism that I need, while at the same time learn to discard the criticism that comes from those Ben Franklin classifies as “fools”.

Mark Altrogge, at The Blazing Center, offers some helpful hints in a post he titles:  How to Receive Criticism Like a Champ.  Here is the gist of Altrogge’s  five suggestions:

1. If it comes from a believer, view it as a kindness – oil for your head – an act of love.

Ask God to help you receive it and not refuse it.  Or start openly crying, which is embarrassing.  Be a man – be like David – “Let a righteous man strike me; it is a kindness.”

2. Make it easy for people to bring stuff to you.

It’s not easy to talk to someone about their sin or weakness.  Thank them and assure them you’re glad they’d share with you.  (And pray that you really would be glad!)  Then you can hit the trapdoor button to drop them into the cellar.

3. Remember you ARE a sinner.

Hate to break it to you, but you will actually blow it from time to time.  Last I checked, none of us have been completely sanctified yet.  Except for my sister, who I think may have sinned once in her entire lifetime.  But the rest of us will sin.  We’ll blow it.  We don’t do everything perfect.  And even if I’m criticized unjustly for something, there’s plenty of other things I should be criticized and judged for, but won’t be, for Jesus paid for all my sins and failures.

4. There’s almost always some truth in every criticism, even if it’s inaccurate or given poorly.

There may still be something valuable for you to learn.  There’s some reason they are perceiving things this way.  Though Professor Grinchwold did humiliate me, my 3-d fly was kind of dumb.

5. Don’t be wise in your own eyes.

Assume people see things you can’t. We all have blind spots.  There could be something you’re missing.

My thanks to Mark Altrogge for his excellent post, and for reminding us that sometimes wisdom is found through criticism.

As Solomon told us:

Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy. ~ Proverbs 27.6

Mundane is Glorious

/ Dennis Griffith / Leave a comment

Mark Altrogge is a name some may recognize as the author of such worship songs as I Stand in Awe and I’m Forever Grateful.  Most probably won’t recognize the name or the songs.  Mark is also a pastor in Western Pennsylvania, affiliated with the Sovereign Grace Ministries network.

Mark has written a recent post, Mundane is Glorious, that touches on something the Lord is – and has been – teaching me.  I’m a slow learner. But Mark’s post is encouraging.  It helps me deal with my glaring lack of greatness.  He reminds me that it is not greatness that necessarily honors God, but faithfulness:

[God is] no more glorified by the pastor preaching to thousands than he is by the Mom trying to get her one-year-old to eat his Gerber peas for the hundredth time.

[God is] no more blessed by the man who leads thousands in worship than by the dad who runs a high lift all day, plays catch with his kids after dinner, and falls asleep reading a Bible story to his kids before bed.

If you ever wrestle with wonder about how God can, and does, view a life that is common, ordinary, and seemingly unremarkable, check out Mark’s post.  It is is a refreshing, and godly, perspective.