Prayerfully, the New Year will bring a new little bundle of joy to the LRM family! After considerable time and effort, Interactive Master Planning will now have a companion book! Since many people move through the Christmas season and then begin to think about accountability in the New Year, how about a snippet from the section on Implementation?
*************************************
Is Accountability a Biblical Phenomenon?
The church is unusual.
The “priesthood of believers” or the “saints called by God to accomplish His ministry” do much of the work. Serving in the church is a very lofty calling. However, (using secular terms) if we consider the bulk of our workforce, that workforce translates into volunteers. Volunteers may have great hearts but sometimes lack full commitment.
Most people want to do their assigned tasks well. They want to serve the Lord. However, given the opportunity to postpone or avoid the accomplishment of their ministry tasks, they typically will. This is the unfortunate result of the sinful nature.
Leaders MUST set up systems to check that God’s goals are being accomplished. In the early implementation stages of the plan, the establishment of precedence is very important. Most workers will take their lead as to whether the process is serious or not based on early reactions to work completed or not completed.
Leaders must lovingly exhort those who are falling behind and enthusiastically applaud those who are working according to the plan. All must understand that the work that is being done is important, significant and essential to the accomplishment of the
master plan.
Accountability is a natural step of the process of implementation.
Peter was called by Jesus Christ to serve as a leader in the Church. However, even Peter was not free to act without accountability. Let’s go back to Acts and spend a moment looking at an example of Peter being brought before other church leaders with some strong criticism.
In Acts chapter 10, we read of a man named Cornelius. He was a Roman centurion – a very powerful man who was “devout and God-fearing.” (In other words, he wasn’t Jewish but he was a follower of the teachings of Judaism.) Cornelius had a vision to send for Peter.
Peter likewise had a vision. However, this vision involved the eating of animals that Jewish dietary law considered unclean. Peter would not violate that law but he was commanded in the dream to not call anything impure that God considered clean. Peter was trying to figure out this vision when he was commanded by the Spirit to go with men to the house of Cornelius.
Then God moved…
Peter shared and the Holy Spirit filled the household of Cornelius. They were all baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ. It was an incredible time of praise and joy!
Then people reacted…
Peter went back to Jerusalem and had to “answer” for what he had done (Acts 11). “Circumcised” believers (meaning they were in outward agreement with the Law) did not agree with Peter going into the house of Cornelius. Although they had heard that the Gentiles had received the Word of God, they were upset that the Law had been “violated.”
In response, Peter related his vision, the vision of Cornelius and the moving of the Holy Spirit when the Gospel was shared. What happened next?
When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, “So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life.” Acts 11:18
Although we might question the underlying motivation of the circumcised believers, there is truly nothing wrong with what they did. It was important for people to understand what God was doing in and through the early church. We can look back and celebrate this incredible gift of a living and active Word that still speaks.
God gave His Word so that His people may know of His love and His will. It is the story of His historical dealings with His people. The main premise of the Bible is to reveal to us our need for God and His unconditional willingness to meet that need. We are a sinful people, incapable of accomplishing our own salvation. Jesus Christ was the means through which our salvation was granted. The Bible itself is a tool of accountability, exhorting us to press on.
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Hebrews 12: 1
In the Old Testament, the priests and prophets were God’s accountability agents. In the New Testament, the disciples were accountable to Jesus and to one another. Leaders today are accountable to Jesus and should be accountable to one another.
Implementation will require accountability. On the front end of the planning process, establish time line of accountability. Determine who is accountable to whom and an accepted mechanism for activating that accountability. In most cases, building a system of mutually agreed upon checks and balances initially will keep them from ever having to be used!
