ECCU Blog

There’s no avoiding it. Sooner or later, we are all accountable. When it’s welcomed as an integral part of our lives, accountability is the very foundation of personal development and organizational health. When accountability is absent, delayed, or dysfunctional, our character, reputation, and effectiveness suffer. And when the inevitable consequences arise, weakly accountable people are surprised when their lives begin to fall apart.

Scripture is clear that there will come a day of ultimate accountability for every single person. “…for it is written, ‘As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me,
and every tongue shall confess to God.’ So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.” (Romans 14:11–13)

So what keeps us from welcoming or inviting personal accountability?

• Sometimes we are fearful of being told the truth, or fearful of the consequences of our vulnerability, so we close off ourselves from giving and receiving much-needed, refining, character-building truth about ourselves.
• Those close to us avoid offering feedback because it doesn’t seem safe for others to tell us the truth about ourselves. We get defensive, or even go on the attack, so people just avoid even gentle words of counsel.
• Some accountability suffers when churches and organizations lack the will or processes that enable consistent feedback. It’s not a priority, so most accountability is ad hoc and inconsistent.

As a result, most people and organizations—particularly Christians—aren’t very good at holding one another accountable. This tension at times leads to frustration, inconsistency, lack of fairness. The very thing that Jesus prayed for the church—unity—is weakened or destroyed.

Yet it is in God-honoring accountability that we break down barriers to unity and build up the body of Christ. A stronger, more God-glorifying church emerges from a healthy culture of accountability. “For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, encouraging, comforting, and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.” (1 Thessalonians 2:11–12 NIV, emphasis mine)

In my next few blog posts I will explore with you what the Bible says about God-honoring accountability. We’ll answer the question: What should accountability look like and how can we do it well?

This Thanksgiving, 21 out of my 27 family members who came together to “celebrate” ended up with the stomach flu. My house turned into an infirmary and Thanksgiving weekend looked slightly different than we all anticipated. As I did my best to help out with the grandkids (while trying to avoid catching this nasty bug), I reflected on a few reasons for thankfulness we don’t often think about—perhaps the ultimate reason for thankfulness.

It comes down to this: We are included in God’s unshakable kingdom. If we can act on this truth, we can find thanksgiving in any circumstance. And Jesus gives us some specific commands to help us set our minds on the kingdom.

1. Ask for the kingdom. When Jesus gave his disciples the model for prayer, the first thing he instructed them to ask for was God’s will to be done, God’s kingdom to come, on earth as it is in heaven. That’s an amazing request. Before any other request—before food, forgiveness, or protection from evil and temptation—we are to ask for God’s kingdom to be firmly established on earth, exactly like it is in heaven now.

There is a present sense to that prayer—that God would work through his church to proclaim the gospel and serve others in the name of Christ. There is also a future sense of God’s kingdom. Someday Jesus will return to restore and recreate the earth and make it perfect. He will completely reverse the effects of sin. Believers are to long for the kingdom now…to make it so important in our lives that it’s the first thing we ask for. Because we know, according to Romans 8, that the sufferings of this present time are not even comparable to the glory that is to be revealed to us.

2.  Be thankful for God’s kingdom. There are infinitely good reasons to long for God’s kingdom, but perhaps the greatest is that it can’t be shaken. These are difficult times. Many are out of work; many are concerned about their jobs. God knows we have needs on this earth and can’t wait for heaven. That’s why Jesus’ model prayer starts with a call for God’s kingdom but moves immediately to our immediate need, daily bread.  That’s also why Jesus was so careful to emphasize that God knows our every need. He knows the needs of the sparrows and counts the very hairs of our heads. But our cry for daily care must be grounded in our hope and anticipation of the kingdom to come. And in our commitment to live out God’s kingdom now on this earth, as the church, lives in the likeness of Christ in all that we do as we await his coming. So choose to live there—now. Hebrews 12 tells us that someday God will remove the “things that have been made.” Everything material will be removed, the earth will burn, but God’s kingdom is eternal and perfect and indestructible. Nothing can even shake it: “Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken” (Hebrews 12:28).

3.  Worship God for including us in his kingdom.  God bought us and brought us into his kingdom through the sacrifice of his Son. Thankfully, living in God’s kingdom results in deep, often spontaneous, worship. “Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.” (Hebrews 12: 28 -29)  

Acceptable worship is thankful worship. 

Jesus reminds us that while the world around us may be shaken, he has brought us into his unshakable kingdom. Because of this profound truth, we have every reason to rejoice and be glad even in the midst of our deepest valleys—and Thanksgiving-day flu bugs.

We don’t know how to pray. The Bible is clear about that (Romans 8:26). But God, in his goodness, not only gives his Spirit to intercede for us, but also provides us with precepts on prayer in his Word.

Ecclesiastes 5: 1–2 tells us:

Guard your steps as you go to the house of God and draw near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools; for they do not know they are doing evil. Do not be hasty in word or impulsive in thought to bring up a matter in the presence of God. For God is in heaven and you are on the earth; therefore let your words be few.

In just two verses, God reveals several disciplines of prayer:

Prayer is purposeful. If you were invited to give a sermon or devotional at your church, and you felt qualified to do it, how much time would you spend preparing? An hour? A day? You would likely spend as much time as necessary to appropriately prepare your heart and mind.

In the same way, we are to prepare our hearts for prayer. Ecclesiastes 5:1 in The Message reads, “Watch your step when you enter God’s house.” We are to enter into prayer with purpose and care.  

Prayer is prioritized.  “…draw near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools; for they do not know they are doing evil.” We all know it—the uncomfortable silence that can follow after someone is asked to pray. Heads bow, yet no words are spoken. A pause likely used to prepare a heart, incline an ear to listen. Remember young Samuel in 1 Samuel 3? Eli trained him to say, “Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.” Listen first, then speak.

Prayer is premeditated. Verse 2 in The Message says, “Don’t shoot off your mouth, or speak before you think. Don’t be too quick to tell God what you think he wants to hear. God’s in charge, not you—the less you speak, the better.”

Sort of puts us in our place, doesn’t it? Writing out your prayers is a great way to discourage hasty and impulsive conversations with God. Many of Paul’s prayers were written out… that’s why we have record of them.

Prayer is patient, persistent, and simple.  “…therefore let your words be few.”   

This verse reminds me of the prayers I heard visiting Templo Biblico in Monte Plata, Dominican Republic, like, “Lord, thank you for healing Maria,” and, “Lord, thank you for bringing a husband to Rebekah.”

Or my granddaughter’s simple yet faith-filled prayer for her soon-to-be-born baby sister, “Thank you that the baby is safe when it comes out of Mommy’s tummy.” She thanks God in advance, fully trusting that he has things under control.

Even our Lord Jesus kept his prayer simple–what we call The Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6 is just 59 words.

Yet even with direction on how to pray, we struggle. Our propensity is to be impulsive and hasty; we tend to babble and over-complicate and carry on. So God does not leave us to our own devices as we pray. He gives us his Spirit, who prays on our behalf and turns our utterances into a sweet sound to our Lord. Isn’t God gracious to give us all we need to communicate intimately with him?

What does it mean to “hurt” another believer? I’m not talking about hurting someone’s feelings, or even causing physical pain. 

If you look at Romans 14, specifically verse 15 (“For if because of food your brother is hurt, you are no longer walking according to love.”), you see a definition for “hurt” that means causing people to be spiritually weakened by your example. Tempting them to violate their conscience. Causing them to stumble. 

Even among Bible-believing Jesus-followers, there are distinctions in personal convictions. And, clearly, not all convictions are absolute. Some seemingly important issues are “non-essential.” In fact, it is possible that we might actually be wrong on some things that seem really important to us. This passage is not talking about vital non-negotiables of the faith (such as the virgin birth, salvation by grace through faith, or clear commands of Scripture). 

While Romans 14 speaks of close personal relationships, especially in the family and in the church, the passage also applies in a Christian workplace. So, how can we protect the convictions of fellow believers in our work environment? 

• Recognize that sincere, faithful Christians will differ on some important issues. No matter how strongly you may feel, be careful not to judge. Be as fully convinced as you can based on clear scriptural principles and wise counsel. Don’t let your emotions run away, and allow room for differing opinions. (Again, this is in regard to non-essential issues.)
• Seek to be sensitive to the convictions and feelings of one another. Even be willing to give up your right to engage in some activities that you are fully convinced are acceptable before the Lord for the sake of fellow believers. Do not let Satan use such an issue as a wedge.
• Be especially careful to set aside your Christian liberty when there is a possibility that others may choose to engage in the behavior you model, and in the process violate their own conscience. In the Bible, this applied to eating meat offered to idols. Today, we could liken this to abstaining from alcohol around those whose convictions keep them from drinking.
• Avoid asking anyone to violate his conscience. Do not ask any employee to engage in a business activity that violates a sincerely held, biblically based conviction. If a faithful volunteer believes Christian rock isn’t, well, Christian, maybe you don’t ask him to help out with your next concert. 
• Finally, recognize that there is a limit to this responsibility. We cannot modify our behavior for every conceivable situation, nor can we please everyone or avoid every potential offense.  

Have you ever laid aside your Christian liberties to protect the conscience and convictions of a fellow believer? We’d love to hear about it.

Did you know that for 2012 or 2013, depending on staff size, employers will be required to report the value of their health insurance on each employee’s annual form W-2? This is just one of many provisions of the Affordable Care Act passed in March 2010. Mark Jones, money management expert at ECCU, has blogged about the Affordable Care Act in his posts titled How much will your ministry get back for the health care tax credit? and Ministry Implications – The Affordable Care Act.

Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA) is hosting a webinar titled Update on Health Reform Issues for Churches on Wednesday, May 4, 2011. Sign up today to join the conversation as attorney and CPA Richard Hammar and ECFA President Dan Busby present more information relating to health reform.

What resources have you used to familiarize yourself with the latest updates to health care?