Personal Accountability is Imperative in Ministry
“Where there is no accountability there will also be no responsibility.” Sunday Adelaja
One of the greatest perils of ministry lies in the occasion it presents for leaders to act independently of accountability. The nature of the pastoral role is overbalanced on the side of self-administration which is based on trust. As a leader, I have never been content with that. For my own safety and sanity, I have needed to be accountable to someone and have insisted on it.
Working outside of prescribed boundaries of accountability does not provide a formula for freedom in ministry. In fact, it can easily become the recipe for personal disaster:
Where there is no accountability there will be a deficit in the following areas:
Established, personal, measurable goals to be challenged to work towards,
Honest feedback that pushes a person hard in the direction of personal growth.
Guard rails that help keep a person morally and ethically pure.
Among all the amazing testimonies of leadership victory I have collected over the years are scattered stories of sad failure. All could have been altered had proper accountability been in place and practiced.
Here is just a sampling of real case studies that I have encountered during my time in ministry.
Fiscal Compromise
He was a pastor acquaintance of mine. His problem started small – just a dollar or two from petty cash with the full intention of paying it back. No one would know, no one would care. The practice digressed into the embezzlement of significant funds. It ended in a forced resignation after a very significant breach of financial trust was uncovered. No accountability!
Hidden Addictions
A pastor friend I knew well sat in front of a ‘one-armed bandit.’ He was in total despair. He was deeply in debt and completely unable to free himself from the vicious cycle of gambling addiction. His ministry came to a screeching halt. A few years later he died never having lived down the disgrace. No accountability!
Moral Failure
Another pastor friend, a brilliant man of God, one who occupied a very high position in ministry in his denomination, under the stress of his pastoral position began to medicate himself with wine. One night, deeply under the influence of alcohol, he fell morally. He went into a restoration program. A number of months later, in a drunken state, he transgressed those moral boundaries again. His opportunity for a return to pastoral ministry was gone. He had become a closet alcoholic. No accountability!
Marital Problems – Ashamed to admit to anyone that his marriage was in trouble and having no one close enough to hear him without judgment and to offer prayer and counsel, his marriage ties continued to erode. Finally, his wife left him, and the family was fractured. He left ministry broken and bitter. No accountability!
I could cite many more sad case studies but they would all represent one common denominator; the lack of accountability.
Ministry can be lonely, stressful, and fraught with multiple dangers. No pastor is exempt from these things. Public figures in the church world who have fallen all made a key and deadly mistake; they placed themselves above personal accountability.
Ask yourself the question: Do I have someone in my life with whom I can be completely honest about my life and ministry?
If not, here are a few suggestions:
Cohorts
The District Resource Centre is working hard to develop cohorts; relationships where mutual accountability can be practiced. Contact District Coach, Bob Jones and let him know that you would like to be in a cohort. We will do all we can to make that happen for you.
Accountability Partners
Find an accountability partner (same gender as you). This will not happen by accident. Be deliberate and intentional in your choice. Give that person permission to scrutinize your life. Determine to be completely honest. Every leader needs at least one such person who will listen, pray, ask the hard questions, and at times give advice. My life has been enriched and protected by the welcome intervention of my accountability partner.
Mentors
Build a relationship with someone who has been in ministry longer than you, someone who has faced and prevailed in some of the obstacles and challenges you are presently facing. Allow that person to speak truth into your life and life into your ministry.
We really do need each other! “Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” (Ecclesiastes 4:11-12)
Accountability Partners – Three circles of friendship C1, C2, C3 friends.
Al is an experienced pastor and counselor who works out of our ABNWT District Resource Centre in Edmonton as the Pastoral Care Coordinator. A pastor to the pastors, Al is a friend, mentor, and confidante to all.