• Our hope-filled future is bound up in sharing the story of Jesus, in discipling others, in bringing those disciples together into communities of believers, and in developing and releasing those believers to create other communities... till Jesus the King comes again!

A community of shared hearts

Posted on April 22, 2016 by wtdavid

A colleague of mine sent this quote to me yesterday. It’s taken from the book, Connecting:

“The crisis of care in modern culture, especially in the Western church, will not be resolved by training more therapists….It will be worsened by moralists who never reach deeply into the hearts of people in their efforts to impose their standards of behavior on others, even when those standards are biblical.   The greatest need in modern civilization is the development of communities – true communities where the heart of God is home, where the humble and wise learn to shepherd those on the path behind them, where trusting strugglers lock arms with others as together they journey on.”

The daily care we need for our souls, for our hearts will be found in community. However, servletthat is where the rub comes in.

Most of us assume that community will be found in our ministry team, and it just may be. However, teams are built to accomplish ministry tasks and are not by nature communities; that is, places where we can share our hearts with others and be shaped by the engagement of others with us.

Most of us assume that community is easily established, and it just could be the case. However, community often requires time spent together, trust, and an atmosphere that is framed by God’s Word. It doesn’t have to be a Bible study, but what happens in our community time together must flow out of God’s principles and God’s ‘one another’ commands.

Most of assume, in our hearts, that we really don’t need community. Warning signs should immediately come up on our life’s dashboard.  Community is essential to growth in the Christian life. As ‘iron sharpens iron’, so we participate in the long-term spiritual growth of one another when we enter into community with a small group of other believers.

Community is about shared hearts; opening up to others so that they may walk with us in our journey; a journey where “trusting strugglers lock arms with others as together they journey on.”

Filed under: Accountability, Community, Lifelong learning | 5 Comments »

Is accountability biblical?

Posted on March 31, 2016 by wtdavid

I remember Ray (WT Africa) asking that question during a gathering of workers. The ‘right’ answer was probably on everyone’s lips.  However, it is a whole lot harder to own that answer than to just answer ‘yes’ to such a question

What can we learn about accountability from several biblical texts?accountable

For one, we learn that it involves an act of the will: “Confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed” (James 5:16). Accountability flows out of a commitment to open one’s life to another; to give another the right to ask one hard questions.

For another, we learn that it involves the giving of an account, the giving of a progress status on our inner life and work: “Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them” (Matthew 25:19) As in the parable, we know that one day God will ask for an accounting of our lives (Matthew 12:36-37) and that He encourages us to practice that accountability with one another in our lives now (Galatians 6:1-2).

Finally, we learn that it is for our good: “Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another” (Proverbs27:17) Accountability is not a ‘bad’ word.  Accountability causes us to grow in our Christian walk as others come alongside us and speak into our lives.

So where is the problem? Where is the blockage that keeps many of us from owning accountability as well as believing that it is essential to our Christian walk?

It could be that some of us feel we are above accountability.  In other words, we believe that accountability is important, but it is something to which we need only to call others.  We believe, somehow, we no longer need accountability, because of our years of ministry experience.

It could be that covenant accountability is just plain hard. Being accountable to someone in a work (business) context appears easier as our very job and salary depend on it. However, covenant accountability requires an act of the will to open ourselves to others; something many of us don’t like to do.

It could be that many of us don’t realize the benefits that come from being accountable to another. For most of our life, accountability has been the major element towards growth. As we recognize that truth, we will develop a healthier attitude and respect for accountability.

Accountability is biblical … and really is for our good.

Filed under: Accountability, Lifelong learning | 4 Comments »

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