{"id":31019,"date":"2022-09-10T15:13:39","date_gmt":"2022-09-10T20:13:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/accountability-from-buzzword-to-bad-word-and-back-again\/"},"modified":"2022-09-10T15:13:39","modified_gmt":"2022-09-10T20:13:39","slug":"accountability-from-buzzword-to-bad-word-and-back-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/accountability-from-buzzword-to-bad-word-and-back-again\/","title":{"rendered":"Accountability: From Buzzword to Bad Word and Back Again"},"content":{"rendered":"
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HRAUN photo – Getty<\/div>\n

By Y Bonesteele<\/em><\/p>\n

In college, I had an accountability partner. Our college ministry encouraged us to help each other grow in our faith, \u201cspurring one another on towards love and good deeds\u201d (Hebrews 10:24). Whether we knew how to do that or not, and whether we did it the right way or not, we weren\u2019t quite sure.<\/p>\n

A few decades ago, accountability groups and partners were a common part of ministry, but as time passed, they seemed to have slowly died out. What happened?<\/p>\n

A Lifeway Research survey discovered that only 15% of Protestant churchgoers strongly assert that matters of faith are a part of their regular conversations with fellow believers. Also, 35% agree that when they talk with other Christians, religious issues don\u2019t usually come up.<\/p>\n

Recognizing the wane in formal groups but the need for Christians to encourage each other in our walks with Christ, we asked four discipleship leaders their thoughts on \u201caccountability.\u201d<\/p>\n

What Went Wrong?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\u201cIf I\u2019m honest, the word \u2018accountability\u2019 is uncomfortable for me, not because I bristle at authority or responsibility, but because I\u2019ve experienced an unhealthy version of accountability that wounded me deeply,\u201d says Tara-Leigh Cobble, founder of D-Group<\/em>, an international network of weekly discipleship and Bible study groups. \u201cEven still, I can\u2019t deny our call to it within the body of Christ.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe might not use the word \u2018accountability\u2019 as much today because it has bad connotations, or we may not know what it truly means,\u201d adds Ashley Chesnut, associate young adult minister at The Church at Brook Hills in Birmingham, Alabama. \u201cAlso, if I understand accountability only as about sin or a check-in, then I\u2019m becoming more legalistic with it than grace-based.\u201d<\/p>\n

Greg Jao, director of external affairs for InterVarsity, says the concept can go wrong in two areas. One, when someone fails, \u201cwe don\u2019t know what to do, other than urge that person to try harder next time. There\u2019s a gap in our discipleship that doesn\u2019t teach us how to help people with spiritual failures, large and small.\u201d<\/p>\n

"If all you\u2019re trying to do is manage the sin behavior, then ultimately accountability becomes exhausting, draining, and people drop it.\u201d \u2014 @GregJao Click To Tweet <\/p>\n

Secondly, Jao says modern accountability overly focuses on sin to avoid. \u201cThat\u2019s important, but rarely do I see us encouraging accountability for people wanting to pursue things that they desire: intimacy with God, prayer, journaling, etc. If all you\u2019re trying to do is manage the sin behavior, then ultimately accountability becomes exhausting, draining, and people drop it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bill Noe, associate state director for Texas Baptists Collegiate Ministry, adds that without intentionality from a leader, accountability groups can become a time of commiserating in the sin rather than creating a path forward. \u201cFor example, a group of college guys can get together, struggling with the same sin, feeling like it\u2019s okay because they\u2019re all in the same boat. No one then makes any progress because all are being affirmed that everyone else has the same issues. It then lowers the bar for living a godly life, versus encouraging people forward in following Christ.\u201d<\/p>\n

Additionally, accountability is difficult because Christians aren\u2019t talking deeply with each other. In another Lifeway Research survey, 75% of Protestant churchgoers say they need other believers to help them to grow in their walk with God, but \u201c65% of Protestant churchgoers say they can walk with God without other believers, with 36% agreeing strongly.\u201d<\/p>\n

65% of Protestant churchgoers say they can walk with God without other believers, with 36% agreeing strongly. Click To Tweet <\/p>\n

Jao mentions, \u201cAs adults out of college, we talk about accountability less also because many of us lack close-knit relationships and the freedom to meet on a regular-enough basis, making accountability difficult.\u201d<\/p>\n

Noe also notes the cultural obstacles inherent in telling someone they are wrong. \u201cStudents and adults don\u2019t always know how to challenge their own beliefs and thoughts, let alone challenge someone else\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n

With all these issues, how can churches lead their people to do accountability well?<\/p>\n

The Way Forward<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\u201cI would define \u2018accountability\u2019 as the \u2018one another\u2019s\u2019 in Scripture,\u201d Chesnut says. \u201cIf I\u2019m going to do accountability well, it\u2019s not just rebuking one another or confessing to one another or praying for one another. It\u2019s also encouraging one another, showing hospitality to one another, forbearing with one another. It\u2019s the full picture of what we\u2019re supposed to be as the body of Christ.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI would define \u2018accountability\u2019 as the \u2018one another\u2019s\u2019 in Scripture. \u2026 It\u2019s the full picture of what we\u2019re supposed to be as the body of Christ.\u201d \u2014 @ashleychesnut Click To Tweet <\/p>\n

\u201cAcross the span of my life, \u2018accountability\u2019 has produced far more growth than damage, which is a testament to its power, as well as a reminder of the importance of doing it in a healthy way,\u201d says Cobble. \u201cThe healthiest accountability relationships I\u2019ve entered into are ones that grow out of personal relationships. They\u2019re formed via expressed mutuality, where we both willingly lay our lives open to the other for open dialogue, honest questioning, humble challenges, and regular encouragement.\u201d<\/p>\n

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See also  Is It \u2018Ministry Failure\u2019 To See a Counselor?<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cA lot of churches say, \u2018This is a safe place, and we can be vulnerable with each other.\u2019 But the reality is our prayer requests are more about our grandmother\u2019s surgery or our kid\u2019s test than they are about the deeper internal struggles that we\u2019re going through,\u201d says Noe.<\/p>\n

Changing that often comes from leadership modeling something different, according to Noe. \u201cPastors have this pressure to have it all together, but faithful gospel preaching should create a culture where it\u2019s OK to not be OK. In faithful gospel preaching, it\u2019s not pushing toward earning God\u2019s favor; it\u2019s pushing toward understanding that we\u2019re all broken and in need of a Savior.\u201d<\/p>\n

"In faithful gospel preaching, it\u2019s not pushing toward earning God\u2019s favor; it\u2019s pushing toward understanding that we\u2019re all broken and in need of a Savior.\u201d \u2014 @Bill_Noe Click To Tweet <\/p>\n

For Noe, the baked-in humility makes accountability important. \u201cThere\u2019s real power in being able to say, \u2018I\u2019m not OK. I have something that I need help with,\u2019\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, pastors struggle to practice this in their own lives, which leads many of them out of the ministry. Lifeway Research found 85% of former pastors say they worked hard to protect their image. And 1 in 5 (19%) say during their last pastorate they weren\u2019t meeting at least monthly to openly share their struggles with either their spouse, another pastor, close friend, mentor, lay leaders in the church, another staff member, counselor, or Bible study group in their church.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we expect Christians to be accountable to each other, that accountability should begin with the lead pastor, the elders, the worship team, the staff, etc.\u201d remarks Cobble. \u201cNot only does this give the church an example to follow, but it also helps ensure that accountability is life giving and community nurturing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we expect Christians to be accountable to each other, that accountability should begin with the lead pastor, the elders, the worship team, the staff, etc.\u201d \u2014 @TaraLeighCobble Click To Tweet <\/p>\n

Chesnut adds, \u201cIt\u2019s a discipleship issue. Are we teaching our people to talk about faith matters with the lost and<\/em> with the saved? And are we teaching them this isn\u2019t just something you do at church, but in every area of your life?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFor churches, do we train our small group leaders in how to facilitate these kinds of spiritual conversations in a group?\u201d Jao asks. \u201cI suspect most small group leader training is focused on how to welcome people, how to keep in touch with them, and keep them engaged, as opposed to how to ask the deep questions of discipleship.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jao suggests a simple worksheet with questions to help train leaders. Use questions such as:<\/p>\n