Accountability
David
Mays In the West the world has the church by the throat in
three areas: busyness, materialism, and sex. The many multiplied opportunities for involvement leave us breathless. We want to maximize our potential and there are countless possibilities. The fast pace is exhilarating. However, we lose the time we need for relaxing, for enjoying our spouse, for playing with our children, for visiting with God, for meditating, and for loving our neighbors. In other words, we lose out on life. Our exorbitant standard of living has increased so gradually and become so pervasive that we are blind to it until we get acquainted with a refugee family or are shocked into awareness by a trip to a third world country. The impact is often so great that travelers must be ‘debriefed’ so they don’t offend their friends upon return. But the result is that most of us are unable to give generously to God’s work because of our high level of personal consumption. Our high standards for quality also affect our
churches. Budgets for ministering to
the needs of our community and our world are squeezed by the need for bigger
and better facilities, more staff, and measuring up to model churches. Our world is saturated with images of sex and attitudes
toward sex. We live in increasing
cultural pollution, but we little notice the change. The ubiquitous images, the fashionable
dress habits, the constant innuendos, and the ever-present opportunities for
indiscretions are leading more Christian workers into dangerous
situations. Just this year a mission
leader I highly respected resigned from his organization, divorced his wife
and married his office partner. We must guard ourselves against these areas of
temptation. I strongly urge every
individual, and especially every Christian worker, to enter into a solemn
accountability relationship with three or four individuals, or at least one
individual, to sit down face-to-face, at least every two weeks, look one
another directly in the eye, and ask and answer the hard questions. Below I list a number of accountability questions I have
collected from various sources, primarily oriented for men. Be sure to include the questions you need! May God mold us into people who seek first the Kingdom of
God and His righteousness (Mt. 6:33). Lists of Personal
Accountability Questions The Questions President
Bill Waldrop gave ACMC field staff: ·
Have you inappropriately touched a woman since we
last met? ·
Have you viewed pornography in any form since we
last met? ·
Have you had a regular time of personal worship in
so far as your travel schedule and need for rest has allowed? ·
Have you had a regular intercession time in so far
as your travel schedule and need for rest has allowed? ·
Have you lied to me? David Mays’
accountability group: Since we last met, ·
Have you had a consistent time of Bible reading and
prayer? ·
Have you viewed pornography in any form? ·
Have you touched or looked at a woman
inappropriately? ·
Have you taken two full evenings off work? ·
Is there anyone to whom you have been
disrespectful? ·
How has your countenance been? ·
Did you invest the proper quality/quantity of time
in your most important relationships? ·
Did your life reflect verbal integrity? ·
Have you been knowingly disobedient to the Lord in
any way? ·
Have you lied to me just now? A colleague, ‘02
1.
Am I investing time alone with God? 2.
Is my thought life pure? 3.
Am I always honest? 4.
Am I giving more than I am receiving? 5.
Am I quick to forgive and committed to love in all
my relationships? 6.
Am I using my “power’ for the glory of God alone? 7.
Am I maintaining a healthy, balanced schedule? Another colleague, Sept. ‘01
·
Have you been
with a woman since we last talked, in a way that might be seen as
compromising? ·
Have any of
your financial dealings lacked integrity? ·
Have you
exposed yourself to any sexually explicit material? ·
Have you spent
adequate time in prayer and Bible Study?
What is God teaching you? ·
Have you given
priority time to your family? ·
Have you
fulfilled the mandates of your calling? ·
Have you made
any progress dealing with the strongholds in your life? ·
What have you
done to reach out to the unsaved? ·
Are you
guarding your heart and mind in Christ Jesus? ·
Have you just lied
to me? From Cultivating a Life for God,
by Neil Cole
·
How have you experienced God in your life this
week? ·
What is He teaching you? ·
How are you responding to His prompting? ·
Do you have a need to confess any sin? ·
How did you do with your reading this week? ·
Did you invest the proper quality/quantity of time
in your most important relationships?
Did your life reflect verbal integrity? ·
Did you express a forgiving attitude toward
others? ·
Did you practice any undisciplined behavior? ·
Were you honorable in your financial dealings? ·
Were you sexually pure? ·
Did you pray for your pre-Christian friends? From The Purity Principle, Randy
Alcorn, p. 87
·
How are you doing with God? ·
With your mate? ·
Children? ·
What temptations are you facing, and how are you
dealing with them? ·
How has your thought life been this week? ·
Have you been spending regular time in the Word and
prayer? ·
Who have you been sharing the gospel with? ·
Have you lied in any of your answers? ·
How can we pray for you and help you? From “Accountability: Pursuing
Vital Relationships, Part Two - Play Ball!” by Jim Clayton, http://www.menofintegrity.org
Suggestions for
Initial Areas of Accountability: ·
Prayer life ·
Bible reading/study time ·
Integrity issues ·
Spending time with the family ·
Laziness ·
Work issues ·
Harboring anger or resentment ·
Exercise, dieting ·
Things shared previously From www.menofintegrity.org
www.menofintegrity.org/articles/accountabilityquestions.html
Sample Accountability Questions
Regardless of the accountability
questions you choose, the last question should be "Have you been
truthful about everything we have discussed?" There will be times when
that question is necessary, and true accountability demands it. ·
Have you spent time with God on a regular basis? ·
Have you compromised your integrity in any way? ·
Has your thought life been pure? ·
Have you committed any sexual sin? ·
How much time did you spend in prayer this week? ·
Did you pray for the others in this group? ·
Did you put yourself in an awkward situation with a woman? ·
What one sin plagued your walk with God this week? ·
Did you accomplish your spiritual goals this week? ·
Are you giving to the Lord's work financially? ·
How have you demonstrated a servant's heart? ·
Do you treat your peers and coworkers as people loved by God? ·
What significant thing did you do for your wife and/or family? ·
What was your biggest disappointment? How did you decide to handle
it? ·
What was your biggest joy? Did you thank God? ·
What do you see as your number one need for next week? ·
Are you satisfied with the time you spent with the Lord this week? ·
Did you take time to show compassion for others in need? ·
Did you control your tongue? ·
What did you do this week to enhance your relationship with your
spouse and/or child(ren)? ·
Did you pray and read God's Word this week? What did you derive from
this time? ·
In what ways have you stepped out in faith since we last met? ·
I what ways has God blessed you this week? And what disappointments
consumed your thoughts this week? ·
Did you look at a woman in the wrong way? ·
How have you been tempted this week? How did you respond? ·
How has your relationship with Christ been changing? ·
Did you worship in church this week? ·
Have you shared your faith this week? How? ·
What are you wrestling with in your thought life? ·
What have you done for someone else this week? ·
Are the "visible" you and the "real" you
consistent? From Dave Mathes, November ‘04
When I
see accountability teams, often a) They don't go far enough and b) They address symptoms not the source. I would add
a few other things:
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