This is part two of this article. Please click here to read part one.

Last time, we began a discussion on the topic of consistency in the office. James 3:17 gives us the phrase, “Easy to be entreated.” In our offices, in our daily lives, we need attitudes that consistently say, “Ask me…it’s ok.”

Here, we are going to discuss a different area in which I believe we need to be consistent – in our accountability. In Genesis 24:27 we find this said of Abraham’s servant, “And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of my master Abraham, who hath not left destitute my master of his mercy and his truth: I being in the way, the LORD led me to the house of my master's brethren.”

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.

It also says, “I am here, use me—to do whatever.”

It says, “I am where I am supposed to be, when I am supposed to be there, doing what I am supposed to be doing.”

Unfortunately, I have noticed that many people in ministry are hard to locate. They don’t answer the phone or return email. I wonder sometimes if they are even in the office. Often when you do find them, they are very vague about what they have been doing. Let’s not be like that!

Accountability is not, “someone checking up on you.” It should be you wanting others to know what you have done today, what you’ve contributed. We should not shirk away from filling out forms, or reporting, or giving account of our work and ministry.

In our offices, in our everyday living, if we are going to be “in the way” we need to be consistently accountable in these areas:

Time

• Be on time—not just to work, but to church, ministry, choir practice, soulwinning, events, and activities.
• Be honest with the time clock or in reporting your hours.
• Spend your time wisely. Be a good steward. Be mindful of the fact the God’s people pay your salary.
• Challenge yourself to be more efficient, to make better use of your time, to improve in your management skills.
• Honestly evaluate your day and how you spend your time. Look for areas where you are losing time—chatting with your neighbor, stopping to visit at someone else’s desk.

Tasks

• Do what is asked of you.
• Do what is asked of you every time.
• Do what is asked for on time.
• Do what is asked for every time, on time and completely—follow through on every task. See it through to completion. Even if you have to wait, don’t drop it or let it fall through the cracks.
• Do what is asked for every time, on time, completely and more than is asked for.
• Don’t do what is easy, but what is right.
• Learn to use the tools provided to you by your employer. Do you know how to use the programs on your computer?
• By the way, don’t get so busy doing stuff, that you don’t take time to think. A minute of thinking is often more valuable than an hour of talk or unplanned work. Do not be a robot.

Teamwork

• Consistently fulfill your role on the team to the best of your ability and be constantly striving to do more, to be more efficient, and to contribute.
• Embrace your role – no matter what it is. Don’t allow yourself to think, “I am just _______,” or “I don’t do what so and so does.” When we think this way, we are focused on self and have lost our gratitude and have forgotten the privilege it is to work at the church – doing anything.
• Teamwork has a multiplying effect – working together we can accomplish more than working as individuals.
• Look for ways to help each other, to improve the outcome.
• Communicate constantly with your team.
• Make it easy for others to communicate with you (be in your place, answer your phone, be responsive every time), put things in writing (follow up on a conversation in the hallway with an email, just to clarify it). Be clear and quick with your communication.
• Be a memo writer. You should update your team leader every day – here is what I did, what is undone, what questions I have, what I am stuck on. 

Testimony

• "No one's behavior is entirely his or her own business."—Lloyd H. Ahlem
• Know the rules and standards and follow them.
• Read the policies and obey them – don’t complain against the policies. Accept them, embrace them. They are for your protection.
• Be in your place; be in church, on time, with your Bible and your heart open – not in the lobby or at your desk.
• Keep a stellar testimony in the community and in your neighborhood – mow your yard, keep your car clean, be kind to your neighbors, don’t visit questionable establishments.
• Soulwinning—have a partner, sign in, report your doors and visits. Be on time to the challenge.
• Serving others—you don’t have to be “assigned” a visit or notes of encouragement. Do it on your own!

Let’s be consistently in the way with our time, tasks, teamwork, and testimony as we serve Him!

This is part two of this article. Please click here to read part three.