There has not been one dream, not one new effort, not a single new venture of serving the Lord that I personally have been a part of doing in my entire adult Christian life but that it has also brought criticism with it.

It comes with the territory, criticism does. And that's good. While the criticism often comes from, I'm afraid to say, wrong attitudes, I have found that the analysis itself usually has many good qualities. For one thing, I have found it helps him who is the booster of the new idea to check reign on whether or not his idea is scripturally sound. It helps him with the perimeters, with the direction, with the biblical validity of his idea. Even in the midst of his having to often face caustic disputants, that is, while he has to spend time and energy trying to reason with even the sour and hypercritical censors, the criticism itself is still the quality control check he needs to make sure if the venture should succeed at all, or fail. In fact, it's the distasteful pressure itself sometimes coming from snarling lips or pen that has redeeming qualities, for it is that pressure that forces the promoter to double check the rightness, or even discover the wrongness, of his ideas. And it gives strength to the act for if it's right and if the conceiver can endure the flack, then the idea is more likely to fly.

The point of these words, however, is to encourage you, my adventurous brethren, to continue, oh yes, please continue to dream! For nothing is ever accomplished without first dreaming. Don't let the critics kill your spirit. Keep it up. And realize that with new ideas, criticism will always come. Always. Like love and marriage, they go together like a horse and carriage. You see, new ideas that threaten to change people's habits, tampering with their traditions, carry with them both the critics and the criticisms. Like hair on a bear, you can't get rid of the faultfinders. And don't try! Dreamers often need a countermeasure, someone of opposite demeanor, to check reign on them. Just don't let the one voice, the one negative individual, unnecessarily defeat the venture. In your originality, don't let the threats kill your vivacity your energy your pursuit. Expect it. It will come. Just be ready for it. And, at the same time, don't assume that the critic is automatically a prejudiced and empty headed faultfinder. He may be saying something you truly need to hear. And if what someone says against it has merit, if it is true, be big enough to admit it and make the necessary changes; but if it's not, then love the critic, control your own urge to criticize him in return, forget it, and go on and serve the Lord.

Remember, even Jesus was looked upon as a rebel, and with the changes He slated, He undoubtedly invited criticism. His associations with known radicals, subversives, prostitutes and street people, His action in the temple, His claim to deity being no less disturbing in His day than Jim Jones's in ours, all His changes certainly brought out the critics. And remember... and here's the stinger... most of those censors were from among His own brethren. Yes, the sad thing was, it wasn't just the concerned analyzers, which, by the way, he welcomed, but it was also the most hateful that came from his own brotherhood. So, if Jesus could not escape them, certainly neither can you.

It's amazing, the two things that Jesus and the first century church fought like nothing else were Gentile impropriety and religious legalism. And they fought one seemingly with the same degree of fervor that they fought the other. Moral sin and religious sectarianism, that's what they battled. So, if those from the beginning couldn't avoid comrades who wanted to bind their opinions, neither can you.

Think about this play on words: alterations of traditions bring with it altercations with traditionalists. So, anticipate it. Love the brethren, even the unpleasant ones. (1 Peter 2:17), give all of them every benefit of doubt, be gentle (Titus 3:2) and overlook as best you can any unchristian attitude when it's there (Ephesians 4:2). Genuinely thank them for their input (for the fact is, their analysis is good for you and your endeavor), and be both humble on the one hand and thick skinned on the other. For if you are not big enough to stand the criticism, you're not big enough to lead the change. After all, didn't someone else once say something about, if you can't stand the heat, then the kitchen can't be your bailiwick?

Remember, if no one is complaining, it's a sign you're not doing anything. Think about it.

For ... "dogs don't bark at parked cars."