Interpersonal criticism and the clergy.

Though well-crafted criticism can provide valuable information for the recipient, the abundance of literature finds that criticism is overwhelmingly viewed negatively. The consequences of adverse interpersonal criticism were assessed by a focus group of randomly selected clergy members from a large ministerial alliance. Collectively the focus group revealed that interpersonal criticism can have deleterious vocational, psychological, and health consequence for those in the ministry. Clergy reported that criticism from parishioners, the public, denominational officials, and others adversely affect interpersonal relationships and can lead to stress, burnout, and early departure from the ministry. The participants indicated that current training and resources were inadequate to deal with the issue and further denominational support and seminary education was necessary.