Do you know why churches struggle with accountability? How preachers can do all kinds of crazy stuff and go unchecked for years…it is because we took a page from worldly leadership. That’s why.
There is no accountability in Washington.
There seems to be little to no accountability in major corporations (could be wrong on that – that’s not my world).
Christianity is following the path of the world rather than being a shining light…a city on a hill…a leader in integrity and accountability.
If you call out your own you are called divisive. If you call out your own, you might lose your job (which for a minister, uproots everything in their lives). If you call out your own you can go into a very lonely place.
This is why churches can sit on $10 million property with 20 members. This is why preachers have affairs or are abusive or molest kids and no one wants to believe it or it gets covered up. This is why church treasurers can embezzle money for years and no one even notices.
How about instead of creating a system where you have to go rogue to call for accountability that it is just built into our systems and is expected and normal?
We were designed to live under accountability from the bottom to the top and the top to the bottom. Avoiding this is in churches is only doing us harm and it is failing the world when we refuse to do the hard work and lead the way on integrity issues.
PS – Accountability can be abused. It should always have some mutuality involved and be based on ultimate accountability to God and grounded in love.
