The Importance of Positive Feedback

Whether it’s good or bad, feedback is important.

It is encouraging to hear compliments and praise when you do something well – it builds you up. And when we screw something up, we need to hear about it so we can grow and learn from our mistakes.

Feedback is a Biblical principal.

Jesus was constantly giving feedback to his disciples while they were with him. Through both praise and correction, He was building their confidence for the day when he would no longer physically walk with them.

In Matthew 16, Jesus asks his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” and follows up with, “Who do you say that I am?”

Simon Peter nailed the answer. “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus’ feedback was immediate, “Blessed are you Simon son of Jonah! And I tell you, Peter, on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.”

Jesus saw something in Peter few others could see. And his feedback must have made Peter feel as though he could have almost walked on water!

Positive feedback motivates us and leaves us feeling confident and motivated. Vicar Rick McCafferty knows the feeling.

Recently, Rick, an Alaskan Native missionary of Lutheran Indian Ministries, gave a sermon at Anchorage Lutheran Church for which he received rave reviews. His sermon was on Romans 12:1-3 and spoke of giving your bodies as a living sacrifice in order to be transformed so we can embrace GOD, fix our attention on GOD, and recognize what GOD wants for us.

 A number of worshippers were so moved by Rick’s message that they took to Facebook to share their feedback. One wrote:

“Your sermon last Sunday was riveting and very meaningful. I wanted to applaud afterward. I don't even know how long it might have been. It did not matter because every word was interesting and touched my heart. Thank you.”

This outpouring of love, though not precisely words from Jesus’ mouth, had a similar effect. Rick knew the Holy Spirit had chosen and used him to speak God’s truth to those people. What an amazing honor!

And just like Peter, it is people like Rick who carry Jesus’ message of Salvation to those in need.

Clearly, God is doing amazing things in and through Rick McCafferty, and he takes that responsibility seriously, working tirelessly and passionately for his Native brothers and sisters.

Rick has been called by God to do this important work, and it is thanks to you and your generous gifts to Lutheran Indian Ministries that he is able to receive the seminary training that enables him to deliver strong messages like this one.

And when he’s not on the pulpit, it is through your gifts that Rick is able to work in the trenches with Native people ministering to their spiritual and emotional needs. Because of your generosity, Rick has the opportunity to share his faith and provides a pathway to healing through programs like Sacred Ground, a Christian counseling program which helps Native men, women, and children rise above the pain of historical trauma and abuses with the healing only the Gospel can bring.

Whether it is in an urban setting, on a Native reservation, or in a remote Alaskan village, God is working in and through Rick to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ, disciple his Native brothers and sisters, and address Native social sufferings.

Your donations to Lutheran Indian Ministries make that possible!

I know you feel the same excitement I do, knowing God is using Vicar Rick McCafferty in amazing ways. And I know you’re as thrilled as I am that he is using his God-given gifts and talents to touch and transform lives to the glory of God!

Rick is special, but he is not unique. His brothers and sisters in ministry are having the same impact in places like Fairbanks, Alaska, New Mexico, Arizona, Kansas, Hawaii, and on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington State.

Your donations make this ministry possible. Through your gifts, you provide Lutheran Indian Ministries, and all of us involved in the daily work, positive feedback, reminding and encouraging us that, together, we are growing God’s Kingdom and changing the lives of Native peoples.

I am grateful to you for your prayers and faithful support of Native ministry. But, our work is far from done. I am asking you to continue to give your positive encouragement and uplifting feedback for Lutheran Indian Ministries by making a gift today.

Isaiah 55:11 says: “My word goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me void, but it will accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing I sent it to do.” By the grace of God, and with your help, our ministry is prospering and doing that which pleases God.

Thank you for your generous gift!

In Him,

Tim Young Eagle (Pawnee)

Executive Director

Lutheran Indian Ministries

P.S. Rick recently wrote, “ It is this life of freedom (from sin) I am reminded of every morning and the life I want to help my Native brothers and sisters find.”  Thank you for your gift today to help our missionaries, like Rick, bring freedom through the Gospel’s healing message.

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