ACCOUNTABILITY

IS IT IN THE BIBLE?

Yes.

WHAT DO WE BELIEVE IT MEANS?
"Accountability" means that all Christians need to attend church every week and be under the authority of the pastor.

WHAT DOES IT REALLY MEAN?

Accountability is not actually a term used directly in he Bible,yet it is implied. But once again the wrong authoritarian system of church operation makes us misdefine the intention of Biblical accountability.

Christians are actually accountable for their ministry

christians are meant to be accountable (to God!!) for what they did with the Gospel.

"Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me."
(Matthew 25: 34-40)

We will be accountable to God for our ministry. We will be accountable for what we did with he Gospel after we have heard it.

Accountability is so much deeper than "going to church " on Sundays!

Accountability is really about BEING the church.

Once again it is clear in he Bible that we are all meant to be accountable to God. Christ is the Head, and we are supposed to all be equals to gether in His sight. We certainly are not when we believe that every believer needs to be "under the authority" of a pastor, and so under the authority of a church service. the deeper fact is that we are meant ot be accountable to how we treat all other believers.

We are meant to work with other believers as brothers and sisters.

Do we do this in the concept of Sunday church service?

Do we do this in the concept of "pastoral authority?

Absolutely not!

Christians are in fact made disobedient to the true accountability they are meant to have, by believing that the they need to be "under" another person's authority. the vast majority of believers are "short-changed" by the authoritarian system of "church". It is in fact a way of hiding the true accountability that the Bible asks us for.

Old Covenant accountability

Our wrong ideas of accountability comes from the fact that the church operates from the old covenant in it's rituals (the "church service")

In the old covenant, Israel was accountable, Biblically, to meet on sabbath days, bring in tithes and offerings, have a format of praise and worship,and be under the authority of the" pastor", the Levitical priest.

Since we have these structures so firmly in place as our definition of church function, accountability "goes along for the ride" as a seeming part of these necessary functions.

but the simple fact is that Israel was accountable to carry on these functions, because it was the only way for them to have their sin forgiven.

the "church service" (and the supposed accountability toward it) are based on sacrificial laws of the old covenant. Laws which are clearly redefined by the new covenant. Christians certainly do not sacrifice animals to have their sin forgiven--yet all other parts of these sacrificial practices has been taken on as repetitive, ritualistic, Christian function.

IF, the church operated by new covenant principles (small group,non-authoritarian meetings) recognizing most importantly that all believers are ministers, and the operation of believers together IS to minister, then perhaps we would be in a better position to fulfill the true accountability the new covenant asks of us.