Cultivating Friendship And Accountability In The Church

Today I was listening to the April 27 Albert Mohler talkshow on the topic of Cultivating Friendship And Accountability In The Church, with guest host Russell Moore. Moore said something that I think is crucial.

Some of the discussion was about so-called "accountability" groups in the church, which so often devolve into sessions where we all keep forgiving each other for doing the same things over again without any actual progress in the putting to death of these sins. Moore pointed out that these groups usually see accountability as a form of defense. He said, I believe, that we should rather think of accountability as playing offense together.

Of course, that means rebuking and being rebuked, but the trajectory is toward holiness, not simply avoiding some form of sin. When we realize that we have God-given goals (or purposes) in life, we can see that accountability is actually edification. We are not just to keep one another from falling, but to build one another up as we follow Christ.

Let's be men of God. Go, offense!