Who knows me best?

Here is the hail lying as thick as snow on our lawn yesterday.

Meanwhile, I’m thinking about who to ask to give feedback on my ministry to the Bishop who will be conducting my Ministerial Development Review (MDR) in November, the first of a new style of MDR the Bishops in this diocese wants to adopt and the first which will include this feedback as recommended by the Archbishops’ Council six years ago.

Four people are to be approached each to fill in one side of paper asking about my main strengths (for which they should supply examples), areas I might need help developing (we all know that this is a kind way of saying my main weaknesses) and anything else they might want to draw to my attention (which I suppose could be anything from what everyone is saying to their personal pet wish).

The Bishop’s administrators have chosen two of these from among the people listed on the parish’s annual returns (it is one of the churchwardens and one of my clergy colleagues this time).  

The note I received yesterday telling me this fails to mention that the Archbishops’ Council guidance says I should be given an opportunity to object to these choices (presumably because such random choice might identify by accident the one person who is opposing all a clergyperson is trying to do in a particular parish), which I think is a pity in principle although I have no objection to the particular names myself.

That leaves me to pick two others.  

Do I fall into the trap of only asking two people who always say nice thankful things to me and seem to think I’m just the sort of Rector they want?  Do I fall into the trap of generously asking at least one person who has objected to my approach to something small or even a lot of things which are fundamental? 

And will each of the four people be tempted to pull their punches since they know I’ll be given a copy of what they write?