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Currently browsing thread: Praise and Pride in the Blog Petersen Aug 24, 2005 09:11:49
Praise and Pride in the Blog
Petersen
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Aug 24, 2005 09:11:49 		According to St. Chrysostom a faithful priest has two overarching qualities: indifference to the praise of the people and study. Regarding indifference to praise he writes:
Quote:
The Priest behave towards those in his charge, as a father would behave to his very young children; and as such are not disturbed either by their insults or their blows, or their lamentations, nor even if they laugh and rejoice with us, do we take much account of it; so should we neither be puffed up by the promises of these persons nor cast down at their censure, when it comes from the unseasonably. But this is hard, my good friend; and perhaps, methinks, even impossible. For I know not whether any man ever succeeded in the effort not to be pleased when he is praised, and the man who is pleased at this is likely also to desire to enjoy it, and the man who desires to enjoy it will, of necessity, be altogether vexed and beside himself whenever he misses it. On the Priesthood, Book V.4.
I find these words both troubling and comforting. They are troubling for I have known praise and enjoyed it and am aware of the danger that it brings. But they are also comforting. Like unto St. Paul's “nothing has befallen you that is not common to man� they show me that my weakness is no different than that of other men, nor even of Chrysostom. I was reminded of these things by two blogs this week: Greg Alms at Incarantus Est and George Borghardt at Bloghardt\'s Reflections. Alms writes about his temptation to numbers, and Borghardt about the ego of the blog. I am more familiar with both than I care to be.

My ego with the blog predates the blog. It goes back at least 8 years. For 8 years I have sent out my sermons by e-mail. Vanity has always been a motive. Part of that vanity was the sense that I worked too hard on sermons to simply preach them once and then throw them away. I wanted a greater audience, and Chrysostom's warning standing, I have always enjoyed the compliments. I have never been unaware of my own pride and arrogance. I have always been somewhat embarrassed by the whole venture; not that it stopped me.

I'm not denying the pride, but I've always comforted myself with the fact that I don't promote the e-mail sermons. You have to sign up for it yourself. I don't add people to the list without a direct request. Also with this blog, it is embarrassingly full of “Petersen.� That is inevitable and it does feel a bit awkward at times. Nonetheless, you have to come here yourself. I just throw it out there into cyberspace and if no one comes, no one comes. I have registered it with some blog search engines (including the Lutheran Blog Directory) and participated in the Carnival. But again I figure that is only to help those who are looking for us to find us. I resonate with Borghardt\'s gentle criticism to some degree. When I first read the Carnival\'s instructions I thought exactly what he did: that someone else should pick the entry. But I realized how difficult that would be logistically. At the same time, I also enjoy reading blogs, and I appreciate that the Carnival. has helped me find some new ones. This blog has only gotten a handful of hits from the (18 to date) so it hasn't been much of a promotional tool for us, but I still like what they are doing and am glad for the service they have been. Incidentally, the Lutheran Blog Directoryis our biggest referral, but most people seem to be coming to us directly from bookmarks or by typing the address into the address bar.

So what of ego and Chrysostom's warning? We have to search for a balance. Even Chrysostom recognizes that no man is capable of not being pleased by praise. An awareness helps, though it doesn't remove danger. What if the people were instructed not to praise? This would actually cause more damage. For if men are addicted to praise and desire it they are even more sensitive to insult. In fact praise creates humility more than insult; for the reception of praise is always awkward. And the one receiving it usually feels unworthy of it. But insult nearly always creates pride. Tell my sermon was good and I'll probably disagree with you. Tell my it stunk and I'll disagree as well and be angry to boot.

Praise is a dangerous drug. But the antidote is not the reverse. Nor is it simply ignoring good things or taking them for granted. Even as children and spouses need encouragement to learn and to continue in the right direction so too do the pastors. My suggestion is to place the praise in context. Instead of saying: “Great sermon, pastor,� try “I thank God for you� or “I thank God for the Word He brought through you today.� It also helps if the praise is specific. What exactly did you like and why? If what you liked was a new insight into the text or an application of a passage or simply that fact that he visited your mother in the hospital then say so. That not only helps the pastor improve, it also takes it out of the realm of his being great. Now you're talking about what he said or what he did instead of talking about him.

As to this blog and its promotion, I have learned that I am a writer. I need to write. And I write to be read. I don't keep a diary or a journal simply for myself. This is my “journal.â€? For me this blog has pretty much replaced e-mail. It is like my sermons and the sermon list. What I used to do with friends by e-mail in private, I now do here on this blog and in the nuggets. I wish I could say that I am totally selfless and that I only do what I do under compulsion, that I've been begged to do this, but I am not and I haven't. I do also see it as a certain promotion of Redeemer. I would like a greater audience not only in cyberspace but also at 202 W. Rudisill. To what degree this blog, the sermon list, or this site has helped Redeemer I don't know. But some people read it. They benefit it some way from it or they wouldn't, even if it is only to be slightly amused, encouraged, or to help them argue against me. I could stop but I doubt it would stop my ego trip so I won't. I'll simply take the risk and pray for humility while hoping it doesn't come by means of too great a fall.  

Comments...

  • Aug 24, 2005 11:58:42 Re: Praise and Pride in the Blog - Dan at Necessary Roughness
    Quote:
    Instead of saying: “Great sermon, pastor,� try “I thank God for you� or “I thank God for the Word He brought through you today.� It also helps if the praise is specific. What exactly did you like and why? If what you liked was a new insight into the text or an application of a passage or simply that fact that he visited your mother in the hospital then say so. That not only helps the pastor improve, it also takes it out of the realm of his being great. Now you're talking about what he said or what he did instead of talking about him.
    Much appreciated. I complimented a Pastor on his sermon because I did recognize Law and Gospel, with Gospel predominating. If he wanted to know why, he could have asked, but I thought since we were lined up shaking hands, it would have been wasting time for me to stand there and give the critique of a visitor. I'll reconsider and keep comments brief and more importantly, objective. Thanks :)
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