Your Growth Group #4, Discover Loving Accountability

Growth is difficult work! This is true if you are trying to learn a new skill, become an expert about some topic, or get in shape. It is very hard to overcome the status quo and rise to new levels. We face tremendous resistance to personal growth because of our comfort. For this reason, many of us fall short in our desires to grow.

We are more likely to grow in something if we have accountability built into the process. This is the reason why schools reward grades for performance on assignments. GPA is a great motivator and it helps students to learn. There is a reason why Weight Watchers works for so many people. Weekly weigh-ins are a part of the program and they compel participants to exchange their comfortable eating habits for ones which support health and wellness. Caring and non-judgmental accountability is an important ingredient for growth.

Accountability is also necessary if we want to grow spiritual as Christians. You could argue that this is one of the primary reasons why God made the church. It is a body of believers who spur one another on to love and good works in Christ Jesus (Hebrews 10:24-25). The idea is that church members support one another and challenge each other to repent of sin and to reach greater faithfulness in Christ.  

Much of scripture speaks of Christians who provide loving accountability for one another. One of my favorite examples is when Jesus sent out the 72 in Luke chapter 10. After He sent them out, they came back together to report to Jesus what happened. They told Jesus that even demons submitted to His name. In response to their report, Jesus encouraged them and instructed them (Luke 10:17-20). Through the mechanism of accountability, Jesus added to their learning.

If we want to grow in Christ, it is exceedingly helpful to seek other believers out for accountability. When we can do this for one another in a loving, non-judgmental, yet truth-centered way, it spurs on growth for ourselves and for our brothers and sisters in Christ. We may say that we don't need it or want it, but without it we will probably succumb to the status quo and grow very little over the course of our lives. 

The reason I bring this up in this series on growth groups is that small groups are an excellent context for loving accountability. Questions like, "How have you followed Jesus this week?" or "How did you get to share your testimony this week?", should be a regular part of the group experience. When members really learn to trust each other, they can even challenge each other on a one-on-one level regarding repentance of sin. 

Spiritual growth will happen faster than we expect if we include loving accountability as an ingredient in our small groups.