The Need for Accountability

Today I will be discussing the third of eight strategic principles I have observed in healthy disciple-making churches. In the past two weeks, I talked about the relational and transformational principles, and this article discusses the need for accountability. This principle has multiple aspects: we are accountable for ourselves, to one another, and to God.
     An excellent historical example of effective accountability would be the discipleship methods used by John Wesley. In fact, it was because of Wesley’s strict adherence to his methods, that they became known as Methodists. Wesley devised a “ticket” that was required for admission to a class meeting (a small discipleship group). Tickets were issued after John had a face-to-face meeting with each disciple. Here is how he described the process of getting a ticket:

At least once in three months, [I] talk with every member myself to inquire at their own mouths, as well as of their Leaders and neighbors, whether they grew in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. To each of those whose seriousness and good conversation I found no reason to doubt, I gave a testimony under my own hand, by writing their name on a ticket prepared for that purpose; every ticket implying as strong a recommendation of the person to whom it was given as if I had wrote at length, “I believe the bearer hereof to be one that fears God and works righteousness."

  In Matthew 25 Jesus gave us three parables in which personal responsibility, our responsibility before God, and our responsibility to one another are clearly taught. Each parable concludes with an unequivocal statement that we stand accountable for how we steward each of these areas.

• In the Parable of the 10 Virgins, we are told that WE have the primary responsibility to meet our own needs. Five of the virgins neglected that responsibility, and when they showed up late they heard, “Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.” (1-13)
• In the Parable of the Talents, we are told that we have the responsibility to steward well all that God has given us. The accountability process described in this parable brings increased responsibilities to wise stewards and a harsh reality for those of us who squander our God-given resources: ‘For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (14-30)
• In the third Parable, the Judgment of Nations, we are told that our culture has the responsibility to help those among us who have genuine needs—those who cannot care for themselves. I use the term “culture” instead of “nation” because the Greek phrase used in verse 32 is “panta ta ethne.” Our word “ethnic” comes directly from the Greek word “ethne” and is better translated today as “culture group.” I would suggest that any culture group that doesn’t teach the first two responsibilities to its people will not have the resources to fulfill the third. In this parable we again see an accountability process that provides blessings for the obedient and judgment for the disobedient: “Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.” (31-46)

     When Paul contrasts the fruit of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit, he concludes his description of the latter with the quality “self-discipline” (Galatians 5:16-26). In Henry Cloud’s book Boundaries for Leaders, he points to contemporary research that affirms the importance of self-accountability.

Social psychology research has shown that when people assign a specific time and place for completion of specific tasks and goals, their chances of success increase by up to 300 percent. Structure, stability, security, routine, and predictability—all are necessary for our brains to function at their highest levels. (page 145)

Leaders who don’t value discipline in their own lives will struggle to provide the spiritually healthy environment required for others to see and value it.
     God called and equipped leaders in disciple-making churches to use their God-given abilities to equip and release others for the work of the ministry (Ephesians 4:11-13). These leaders are willing to humbly submit themselves to God and to others, as they fulfill their calling. They also are willing to hold others accountable as they fulfill their responsibilities to God and to the church. They do so knowing that they stand accountable before God for how they steward their calling. James 3:1 states, “My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment.” They also know disciple-making is done in a relational environment (see previous article) and not simply by proclaiming, “Thus sayeth the Lord” from the pulpit. This mutual accountability is very counter-cultural in American life and in particular in Baptist life where we have created an accountability adverse culture. American individualism has been taken to the extreme. Many of us have heard a pastor say, “I am accountable to God alone,” and what’s even worse is that too often we said, “Amen.”
     In another Henry Cloud book, The Power of the Other, he addresses an issue I believe is at the core of why we are seeing the moral and ethical failure of what we thought were “effective leaders."

     There is no such thing as a self-made man or woman. Every great leader has opened up to someone who could meet a need, whatever that need might have been. The range of human needs is broad, but the way to meet those needs is very narrow: it involves humbly and honestly embracing the need and reaching out to the “power of the other.” There is no other way. In the more than twenty-five years I’ve been working with high-powered CEOs and other top performers, one characteristic stands out: the leaders who accomplish the most, thrive the most, overcome the most are not afraid to say they need help.
     Trying to think of ways to get someone to see their need for help is not something I want to do anymore. I want to spend my time with those who want it. Why? Because they are the only ones who will grow, who will get better. Be one of those! Humble yourself. (pages 66-68)

      Holding ourselves and others accountable before God is not an easy task. It will require us to invest significant time in developing our relational skills. It will mean we will have to step into messy relationships. We will encounter pushback and failure. But ultimately, we will begin to see that relationships really are a mess worth making. And they are made better when we are willing to be accountable for ourselves, to one another, and to God.
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Yours in Christ,
Mark R. Elliott, AMS