Stop scolding people!

Oops.

You see how hard it is to avoid giving negative feedback? Still, it’s our job, isn’t it? Doesn’t effective ministry require that we correct our people when necessary? We call people to repentance, to holy living, to right doctrine.

Biblical correction

Didn’t Jesus challenge the Pharisees, his disciples and others to change their ways? Wasn’t Paul scolding his readers when he wrote, “You stupid Galatians! Who put a spell on you?” (Galatians 3:1). Isn’t Scripture itself “useful” for “rebuking error [and] correcting faults” (2 Timothy 3:16)?

Point taken. There is a place for—let’s call it correction—in our ministry. But let’s come at it from a different angle. As we lead people to engage with Scripture, what’s the best approach? Encouraging people in their efforts to read Scripture, or scolding them for doing it wrong?

This is a question we’re asking ourselves at American Bible Society. Even in this blog, we often find ourselves criticizing one method of Bible study to promote another. In our continuing journey to find “best practices,” we can sometimes sound pretty harsh about less-than-best practices.

Mixed messages

So, as we all try to deepen the Bible engagement among the people we lead, consider the messages we might be unwittingly delivering.

1. You are too stupid to read the Bible on your own. You need this program, this study guide, this book, or this leader. Without such expert guidance, you will descend into the chaos of false teaching.

2. The Bible is hard to get. It’s an ancient artifact, written in complicated language and you need academic experts to find its true meaning for you.

3. You need me. As your pastor, leader, Bible teacher, or professional Bible Society writer, I will have to explain things to you because I have a better connection with God than you do.

4. God does not speak to ordinary people like you.

At the risk of scolding you for allowing ideas like these to flourish (and we’re scolding ourselves too!), we suggest another way. The “Yes-And” method. Take every opportunity to affirm the opposite of these messages. Let people know they are capable of encountering God in the Bible, that translators have worked carefully to ensure God’s people understand God’s Word. Bible teachers and our church traditions play an important role in the process of learning and growing, but the Holy Spirit is the true teacher.

So our message is affirmative and additive. “Yes, it’s thrilling to see you reading the Bible and opening yourselves to it. And here are some more ideas you might want to think about.”

Six times stronger

Why is this better? Business pros have studied the effects of positive and negative feedback in the workplace. Correction, it turns out, is much needed and actually appreciated. But negative feedback is five or six times stronger than positive feedback. Criticize a person’s work once, and it takes a half-dozen compliments to balance it out—to make them feel they’re doing a fair job. Could that same dynamic be present among those we mentor in Bible study?

“Negative feedback is a key tool in the effective manager’s kit,” writes Robert Pozen of Harvard Business School. “But you must use it wisely and carefully, or else [it] will do more harm than good. Focus on potential future improvements, instead of dwelling on past errors. And think twice whether an error truly requires negative feedback: criticism can have an unexpectedly large impact on an employee’s happiness and productivity.”

It’s all too easy to crush the confidence of those we lead. And it’s common for leaders to foster dependence on themselves, whether or not they’re trying to. Can we be intentional about turning our corrections into affirmation and empowerment?

There is certainly an important place for correction in the development of disciples, but there’s an even greater place for building up. Paul scolded the Galatians, but he told the Philippians he was “sure that God, who began this good work in you, will carry it on” (Philippians 1:6). And while Scripture does some rebuking and correcting, it also gives “instruction for right living” so that we might be “thoroughly qualified and equipped” (2 Timothy 3:16–17).

This approach is not about building self-esteem. The end goal is not that people will feel good about themselves as they read Scripture. They need to feel good about Scripture—so that they keep coming back to it for an authentic encounter with God.

And thank you for considering this. Now I’ll be delighted to write six more posts saying what a great thing you’re doing in leading people to engage with the Bible.