As promised on my last BLOG, here's Mikes article on accountability as posted in his most current Newsletter. If you'd like to read more from Mike visit: www.freshwindministries.org
LEADER'S CORNER
Accountability
Ted Haggard's fall from grace reminds us of the need for accountability relationships. Let me offer some quick, challenging thoughts on the subject.
Accountability suggests the lateral, horizontal aspect of life.
• We're accountable to other people.
we count to them (matter) and we count to them (itemize).
• These people need to have some authority in relation to us, which we give them.
• It involves trust of those to whom we're accountable.
• also respect
Accountability presupposes love and acceptance (if you don't love me, I won't level with you).
Accountability presupposes a desire to be well.
Accountability presupposes a determination to relate.
Accountability requires honesty, trust, courage in the one being held accountable.
Accountability requires trustworthiness, discretion, largeness of heart in those holding accountable.
Accountability promotes balance, health, teamness in the sense of not-being-alone.
Accountability is not an adversarial but a parakletial relationship.
Accountability's areas of concern are:
• sin
• responsibility--to agreed upon criteria
• growth
• health
i.e. the tough stuff.
Accountability allows us to be agents of each other's growth and freedom.
Accountability recognizes that none of us is a capable judge of ourselves.
Accountability provides an on-going opportunity to get real, to become truthful, to face our spiritual enemies, to lay hold of the grace to change what should be changed.
Accountability realizes that I can hold off God all day long, but I really start to deal when I tell you,
and that God is the author of this dynamic.
Accountability says "I give you permission to ask tough questions".
• "Have you done what you said you were going to do?" "Why?" "Why not?"
• and the toughest and last question is, "Have you just lied to me?"
Accountability in the church is an opportunity to grow through a relationship that no other relationship on earth provides. No other relationship provides the combination of grace, honesty, forgiveness, forbearance, hope, and power which this can provide.
The goal of Accountability is not success but growth, not perfection but improvement, not flying solo but as part of the flock.
May I suggest a New Year's resolution to get an accountability partner?
Monday, December 31, 2007
Saturday, December 29, 2007
The Safety Net of Accountability
Yesterday I was eating lunch with a friend. One thing led to another and the conversation got around to the topic of a well-known Christian who, for lack of a better term, fell from grace. Like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son for a cup of stew (Hebrews 12:16, 17) this well-known Christian lost his ministry, his reputation, his family, and his spiritual vitality – all in one short, self-gratifying decision.
Of course he didn’t loose his walk with Christ, his relational position of being a brother in the Lord, forgiveness of sins, the gifts of the Spirit, or eternal life – and that’s important to remember.
At a particularly emotional time in our conversation I found myself leaning over the table and saying to my friend, “All that could have been avoided if he had voluntarily allowed himself to be accountable to someone else.”
“'Accountable?'" My friend looked up. "What do you mean?”
“I wonder if he had ever verbally expressed his struggles to a confidant, someone who could call and encourage him in the weak times, someone who would meet with him and check in with how he was doing in his struggles.”
Accountability.... Say it with me... Accountabilty.
The word itself raises eyebrows. But it need not. Accountability isn’t like the old “Leave it to Beaver” show when you screwed up Ward invites you into the den for a lecture and you renter the world with the dirty tear-stain down your left cheek. Quite the contrary, Biblical accountability presupposes we have a common enemy and that we find ourselves on the front lines of those wars, fighting battles that are uniquely are own, and need back-up support from someone fresh in from leave.
The concept of accountability far exceeds the specifics of sin (though it includes them). It raises the bar to a much more global issue – the fact that we have a real enemy whose soul intent is to drag down the saints of God. (See 1 Peter 5:8.) It doesn’t matter if it’s habitual stealing, backbiting, spreading rumors about others, rage, seeking sexual fulfillment outside of marriage, or taking drugs. In the end Satan wins. He doesn’t care what sin will bring you down. The important thing is that he will use ANY sin to bring you down.
Your accountability person needs to be of the spiritual maturity NOT to get caught up in the specifics (the why’s and how’s) of your sinning but be more in sync with the forces BEHIND the specifics of your sinning. While the two or three of you will often get hit in particular ways (for whatever reason), no one way is worse than another. It’s far beyond all that. The focus needs to be on helping your brother out of the pit (through unconditional forgiveness) and guns need to be aimed at the one viciously assaulting the child of God.
With that level of maturity in mind it makes it easier to confess specific sins. They love you and have your “best” in mind. Sure, they may give you guidelines or advice on how to avoid future pitfalls – and well they should, as they may have attained real victory in your weakest areas and have something to say about that. But, in the big picture, you want them to see far beyond your bruises and casualties of war and assist you in the fight over your soul.
I have know idea if our well-known Christian person had an accountability partner. And it’s easy to say in hindsight this or that could have prevented what went down. But I can tell you that it is much easier to get up after a fall with the ongoing assistance of an accountability partner than trying to crawl out of the smudge on your own.
So, this morning I sit down to have my quiet time. I don’t know what to read (an ongoing struggle) so I decide to pull out a newsletter that my friend Mike Flynn sends out from time to time. I rarely read it (true confession) but this morning I did. And what do you think the subject of the “Leaders Corner” was? Accountability! Way too cool! So I emailed him and asked him to send me a copy of the article in a Word format so I can post it here – which I will do when I get it.
You can read it a forehand at http://www.freshwindministries.org/.
As Mike concluded his writing, so do I:
May I suggest a New Year’s Resolution to get an accountability partner?
Of course he didn’t loose his walk with Christ, his relational position of being a brother in the Lord, forgiveness of sins, the gifts of the Spirit, or eternal life – and that’s important to remember.
At a particularly emotional time in our conversation I found myself leaning over the table and saying to my friend, “All that could have been avoided if he had voluntarily allowed himself to be accountable to someone else.”
“'Accountable?'" My friend looked up. "What do you mean?”
“I wonder if he had ever verbally expressed his struggles to a confidant, someone who could call and encourage him in the weak times, someone who would meet with him and check in with how he was doing in his struggles.”
Accountability.... Say it with me... Accountabilty.
The word itself raises eyebrows. But it need not. Accountability isn’t like the old “Leave it to Beaver” show when you screwed up Ward invites you into the den for a lecture and you renter the world with the dirty tear-stain down your left cheek. Quite the contrary, Biblical accountability presupposes we have a common enemy and that we find ourselves on the front lines of those wars, fighting battles that are uniquely are own, and need back-up support from someone fresh in from leave.
The concept of accountability far exceeds the specifics of sin (though it includes them). It raises the bar to a much more global issue – the fact that we have a real enemy whose soul intent is to drag down the saints of God. (See 1 Peter 5:8.) It doesn’t matter if it’s habitual stealing, backbiting, spreading rumors about others, rage, seeking sexual fulfillment outside of marriage, or taking drugs. In the end Satan wins. He doesn’t care what sin will bring you down. The important thing is that he will use ANY sin to bring you down.
Your accountability person needs to be of the spiritual maturity NOT to get caught up in the specifics (the why’s and how’s) of your sinning but be more in sync with the forces BEHIND the specifics of your sinning. While the two or three of you will often get hit in particular ways (for whatever reason), no one way is worse than another. It’s far beyond all that. The focus needs to be on helping your brother out of the pit (through unconditional forgiveness) and guns need to be aimed at the one viciously assaulting the child of God.
With that level of maturity in mind it makes it easier to confess specific sins. They love you and have your “best” in mind. Sure, they may give you guidelines or advice on how to avoid future pitfalls – and well they should, as they may have attained real victory in your weakest areas and have something to say about that. But, in the big picture, you want them to see far beyond your bruises and casualties of war and assist you in the fight over your soul.
I have know idea if our well-known Christian person had an accountability partner. And it’s easy to say in hindsight this or that could have prevented what went down. But I can tell you that it is much easier to get up after a fall with the ongoing assistance of an accountability partner than trying to crawl out of the smudge on your own.
So, this morning I sit down to have my quiet time. I don’t know what to read (an ongoing struggle) so I decide to pull out a newsletter that my friend Mike Flynn sends out from time to time. I rarely read it (true confession) but this morning I did. And what do you think the subject of the “Leaders Corner” was? Accountability! Way too cool! So I emailed him and asked him to send me a copy of the article in a Word format so I can post it here – which I will do when I get it.
You can read it a forehand at http://www.freshwindministries.org/.
As Mike concluded his writing, so do I:
May I suggest a New Year’s Resolution to get an accountability partner?
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