Complaining Pastors

From Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Life Together:

A pastor should not complain about his congregation, certainly never to other people, but also not to God.

A congregation has not been entrusted to him in order that he should become its accuser before God and men. When a person becomes alienated from a Christian community in which he has been placed and begins to raise complaints about it, he had better examine himself first to see whether the trouble is not due to his own wish dream that should be shattered by God; and if this be the case, let him thank God for leading him into this predicament.

But if not, let him nevertheless guard against ever becoming an accuser of the congregation before God.

Let him rather accuse himself for his unbelief. Let him pray God for an understanding of his own failure and his particular sin, and pray that he may not wrong his brethren. Let him, in the consciousness of his own guilt, make intercession for his brethren. Let him to what he is committed to do, and thank God.

Great quote posted over at DashHouse.com (I found it today at Monday Morning Insight)