the barna group recently reported that, of the many exhortations in the Bible that are not popular in today’s world, the least favorite biblical principle might well be ”obey your spiritual leaders, and do what they say. their work is to watch over your souls, and they are accountable to God. give them reason to do this with joy and not with sorrow.”[1]
for westerners, this is counter-cultural. this jeopardizes our independence. in truth, we are all quick to respond with “you can’t tell me what to do!”
if you serve as a pastor or other spiritual leader in a church or church organization, i am certain you have struggled with this. we even choose to evade the topic because it can cause conflict. no wonder only 15% of evangelicals (7% of protestants) claimed to have any form of church-centered accountability.
however, the underlying theme of the christian life is one of being transformed[2] from a selfish and self-driven individual to one who lives for and surrenders control of one’s life to God.[3] this admonishment includes mutual submission to one another with humility[4] and in the fear of God.[5] as such, the practice of accountability for life choices and behavior is central to the process of spiritual transformation.