Accountability

Neither I nor any other human being is the source of your liberty. I cannot extend liberty to you, and I cannot determine whether or not you have a clear conscience. We have liberty in Christ.

As a pastor who too often counsels people affected by the dark side of the Internet, I am very aware of the dangers posed online. Wandering hearts, inconsistent identities, even child predators—all of these find themselves very much at home online. (Of course, they find themselves at home offline too, but the internet does provide easy access for amplification of these sins.)

Every spiritual leader, including the pastor (actually, especially the pastor) needs personal and spiritual accountability. I have gathered a team of godly men with whom I meet (sometimes on the phone, but often in person) on a regular basis for accountability.

Often in our ministry, we help people who are a mess. Their lives have been totally ensnared and virtually destroyed by sin and Satan. Helping these people overcome lifelong struggles with drugs, alcohol, immorality, pornography, and other issues is challenging and filled with discouragement. It is also wonderfully exciting as we see God bring victory into these sin-scarred lives.

As we walk in humble sincerity before the Lord, we will insist on godly integrity. Our purpose in ministry is to exalt the name of Jesus Christ. He receives glory when people are saved and His Word is preached—unless we sabotage that glory with unethical or immoral ministry. The greatest motivator to serve with integrity is not protecting our “image,” but magnifying the testimony of Christ.

Do you take periodic inventory of areas in which you need to grow? This is an important practice for leaders. And equally as important as identifying areas of growth is taking steps to actually see growth take place. If you want to see change in your life, here are seven tips:

An 8:00 am flight out of Detroit, through Phoenix, to Los Angeles seemed simple enough. The airport was only fifteen minutes from the hotel, and after returning my rental car, I was two and half hours early—just like I had planned.

“Is that all?” newly elected Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou asked his budget committee in 2009 during a meeting to find out exactly how much the government was spending. A series of financial scandals led to the ousting of the incumbent party and ushered in a new Greek government—one which would count the money it spent instead of assuming they spent what they had budgeted.

We greatly value people who can do it all in a local church. These versatile members of the body seem to thrive no matter what responsibility they shoulder. They are precious gifts from God to the local church, but we would be unwise to let them do it all, especially when it comes to matters of church finances. In financial discipline in the local church, there are duties that are incompatible for the same person to do.

It is inherent in human nature to blame other people for our problems. All too often, we as pastors wish to blame the maintenance man, the staff member, the deacon, the Sunday school teachers, or others for the failures and difficulties in our church. This human tendency should be avoided.

I would normally never suggest that a preacher should quit. In fact, I’ve spent many years encouraging preachers. Through fellowship and friendship, books, conferences, and especially our Bible college, I’ve often tried to encourage preachers to be faithful in their service to the Lord—even during times of discouragement.

I explained to our teens that when we returned home each of them should give a testimony in a special testimony service as to what God had done in their heart and what decisions they had made.

The phrase I want to key in on here is, “in the way.” It says, “I am here.” Sometimes my dog is in the way. She is blocking the path on which I want to walk. In this post, “In the way,” doesn’t mean being an obstruction, but it means you can find me and I am approachable.