ACCOUNTABILITY — the Good, the Bad and the Eye-Rolling

Accountability refers to the fact or condition of being accountable. All believers are ultimately accountable to God and will thus stand before Christ at the Judgment Seat to give an account of what we did in the body, whether good or bad (2 Corinthians 5:10-11). Even unbelievers are accountable to their Creator and will thus undergo the Great White Throne Judgment (Revelation 20:11-15).

In the worldwide Church — regardless of sectarian label — all genuine believers are to be submitted to one another (Ephesians 5:21), which means we’re accountable to each other — young and old, male and female, spiritually mature and immature, minister and congregant. Holding each other accountable is relevant to (1) how we’re living and (2) the accuracy of the doctrines (teachings) we spread (James 3:1). The effectiveness of this corrective principle is explained in the book of Proverbs, “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another” (Proverbs 27:17).

All Christians — whatever sectarian tag they choose to go by (or not go by) — are to honestly meet at the blueprint for Christianity, God’s Word (2 Timothy 3:16-17 & 1 Corinthians 4:6), regarding all matters of doctrine, practice and morality. We all must be humbly willing to concede to the authority of the God-breathed Scriptures and what they clearly & consistently teach from a New Covenant perspective based on sound hermeneutics. We can all legitimately claim ignorance now and then, but once scriptural revelation is provided we are obligated to make corrections accordingly.

This is true biblical accountability. It’s simple as ABC (and we’ll look at some examples in a moment).

We could end this article here but, as with most topics, there are complexities and…

Some Deeper Questions

What do most Christians automatically think of when they hear the term “accountability”? Likely 1. being part of a local assembly (& the corresponding sect) and 2. submitting to the pastoral staff thereof. This is wonderful, but some questions are naturally raised…

What if you legitimately hold a believer from a different camp accountable for teaching false doctrine and prove your case, but they refuse to change their belief because their sect supports the erroneous teaching in question? Obviously the leaders of this sect will be held accountable by God first and foremost (James 3:1 & Matthew 15:14), but those followers who ignorantly spread the error will also be held responsible to some degree.

What if submitting to a pastor means not fulfilling God’s will or God’s call? For instance, a subordinate pastor in the Midwest was led to leave the assembly where he was serving in order to start a ministry in another city far away. The head pastor didn’t like this and arrogantly told him, “If you leave you’ll come back crawling on your hands and knees.” He actually said this. Should the associate pastor (1) obey this pompous minister who was technically over him or (2) obey the leading of the Spirit? I think the answer is obvious. Thankfully, he did the latter and went on to great fruitbearing service in the Lord.

What if the minister sins or teaches false doctrine and you can prove it? Is the subordinate believer allowed to correct the one in authority, the one “over” him/her? Both questions are also relevant to when one minister is compelled to correct another minister. What if a subordinate minister works for the minister who needs correction? In other words, his/her paycheck depends on good relations with that minister? Wouldn’t this hinder positive accountability? Wouldn’t this potentially compel the subordinate minister to be a weak “yes man” or “yes woman”?

If it turns out an allegation is true, what do you do if the minister stubbornly refuses to acknowledge it and make corrections after a reasonable period of reflection? What if s/he starts to unjustly persecute you? What if the overseer of the minister in question (assuming there is one) takes a hands-off approach, like Eli did with his two wicked sons who were “in the ministry” (1 Samuel 2:12-17, 27-36)? Do you leave the assembly? Do you leave the sect?

Speaking of overseers: Who oversees the pastor and other fivefold ministers? Who oversees the overseer? Who oversees the one who oversees the overseer; in other words, the one at the top of the spiritual pecking order? (Every sect, ministry or assembly has someone at the top). If the answer is God then this shows that official human oversight ends — as far as one person being over another — when an individual reaches the top of the hierarchy in question. A good example in the Bible is the king of a nation (Ecclesiastes 8:3-4).

Of course this wouldn’t discount the accountability detailed above — all believers are accountable to each other based on the truths of the rightly-divided Word of God. Even kings in Israel — who were in a supreme position — were accountable to the Word of God spoken through a Man of God or what have you (e.g. 2 Samuel 12:1-14). Unfortunately, but to be expected, ministers stained by arrogance don’t like to be corrected by those they consider below them (and no doubt those above them as well, just more so with the former), no matter how humbly and respectfully the correction is offered.

What if you’re a fivefold minister — a genuine pastor, teacher, apostle, prophet or evangelist (Ephesians 4:11-13) — and you’re led of the Spirit to start your own ministry? I’m talking about believers who’ve spent years — and, more likely, decades — learning/training in churches & seminaries and the LORD is calling them into a new position in the spirit after much proven service. In such cases, they would be the head of their ministry, much like a business owner is the head of his/her business. If such a minister operates within an official sect — like the Assemblies of God or the Southern Baptists — they would still technically have someone over them, like a regional leader.

However, if the individual in question is an independent minister and not part of a sect, there would be no official human oversight; in other words, no human would be above them in their ministry. But, again, biblical accountability would be applicable — (1) accountability to God and (2) to fellow believers based on the Holy Scriptures, which would include accountability to the minister’s board/inner circle. Nor would being an independent minister discount mentors in his/her life; such mentors simply wouldn’t be “official” overseers appointed by leaders of a particular sect.

Some people reading this might be somewhat sectarian-minded and understandably have difficulty fathoming ministers functioning outside of an official group of Christianity, but people operating independently can be observed even while Christ was ministering on Earth, as witnessed here:

⁴⁹“Master,” said John, “we saw someone driving out demons in your name and we tried to stop him, because he is not one of us.”

⁵⁰“Do not stop him,” Jesus said, “for whoever is not against you is for you.”

Luke 9:49-50

While Christ’s immature disciples had a problem with this man ministering independently of their group, the Lord did not. For details on the contrast between official ministers and independent ministers see this article.

Examples of Believers Holding Fellow Believers Accountable

Let’s consider a couple of examples of biblical accountability applicable to real life: Say you notice a fellow Christian who’s married flirting with a comely woman at work or wherever. This brother may not even go to your assembly, but you can hold him accountable to God’s Word by warning him about adultery and the importance of not doing anything that appears evil to others (1 Thessalonians 5:22).

Or, say someone is sharing false doctrine in your community, even on Facebook or Twitter, you can hold him/her accountable to the sound doctrine of the rightly-divided word of God. This will lead to a Scripture-based dialogue on the topic where correction takes place, even if it turns out to be you who is corrected.

Read that again because it’s important to be open to the possibility that you might be wrong if the person you correct turns out to have fuller knowledge on the topic. I should add that — since few Christians agree on every jot and tittle — it’s important to major in majors and not in minors. When it comes to God’s Word “The main things are the plain things.” It’s just not profitable to quibble over disputable matters (Romans 14:1), not to mention the Bible repeatedly denounces the folly of a quarrelsome spirit (Proverbs 17:14, Proverbs 20:3, 2 Timothy 2:14 & Titus 3:9-11).

Both of these examples are decidedly biblical, as shown in Matthew 18:15-17, Luke 17:3, Galatians 6:1, James 5:19-20 and Proverbs 9:8-9. Please look up these passages and notice that we’re instructed to go to the person and confront him/her in a wise, loving manner, NOT go to others and gossip about the person and their supposed offense, smearing the individual and poisoning people’s minds in the process. Gossiping about fellow Christians who have (supposedly) offended you poisons believers’ minds and separates brothers & sisters in the Lord; in short, it causes division in the Church. This is a great sin in God’s eyes. The first passage from Matthew 18 shows that the matter should only be taken to others — godly believers who aren’t prone to gossip — if it turns out the offender is actually guilty of a sin and s/he is stubbornly impenitent. You can read more about such a scenario here.

Recent Examples of Accountability From My Own Life

Speaking of going to the offender directly and not gossiping, I was fellowshipping with a brother not long ago wherein he adamantly preached about accountability, although his understanding of the topic was shallow and evidently ineffective; let me explain:

During our conversation he condemned a mutual friend & believer, but he was murky about his accusation. The brother he criticized is a musician who regularly releases albums and plays out at various establishments, Christian and secular. Apparently the brother I was speaking with — who plays guitar at a local fellowship — felt this other brother should only play praise & worship music in the context of a local assembly; so he smeared him as a “rebel.” Yet I know this other brother well and he’s no rebel; he’s a humble believer who uses his musical talents to serve the Lord, reach people and make a living. A true rebel would be guilty of practicing an actual sin without repentance.

I searched my heart as to how to properly respond by the Spirit. The man I was conversing with was ten years older than me and he & his wife were hosting my wife & me at their house. In short, it was a delicate situation. Instead of overtly rebuking his open slander and causing a scene I decided to simply speak the opposite of what he said, which was the truth (speaking the truth is always the best antidote to slander). I shared how Carol & I recently saw the man perform at a local restaurant wherein the place was packed and he played several songs with overt Christian lyrics, including one about the return of Christ. We also purchased his newest album. It goes without saying that sharing the truth negated the man’s false accusations and put the kibosh on his gossip/slander.

You might have noticed that the accuser in this scenario was a musician and so was the believer he was falsely accusing. This reveals the obvious motive behind the man’s faultfinding and smear campaign — he was envious of the brother’s success in playing regular paid-gigs and releasing albums. Needless to say, beware of the “little foxes” of envy, jealousy, rivalry and hatred (Song of Solomon 2:15). I include hatred in the list because, when a person actively lies about another and tries to poison people’s minds against him/her, hatred is at play (Proverbs 26:28), which just so happens to be the opposite of God’s character since “God is love” (1 John 4:16).

How does this tie into our topic? Simple: The man was preaching on the importance of accountability and I ironically held him accountable to God’s Word, which blatantly condemns gossip/slander as thoroughly ungodly. This is biblical accountability. We have to get away from this superficial idea that Christian accountability is limited to a pastor correcting a congregant. It can be this, of course, but it’s so much more universal. What if the pastor needs corrected and no official minister/elder in the camp will do it? God will have to raise someone else up who’s willing.

Here’s another point: practically every time I see this man he slips-in some gossip/slander to which I correct in a low-key manner (I keep it subdued because I don’t want an ugly argument to break out for reasons I can’t go into, not to mention I have an aversion toward strife and hold peace dear). For instance, several years ago he adamantly said a minister we both know was gay on the grounds that he was seen in public with an obvious homosexual. I replied, “You mean his brother?” What he didn’t know was that the man’s brother was overtly gay, but lived out of state. Whenever he came to visit they’d go out to eat or to the movies or what have you, which would be a few times a year. It’s what siblings do when they haven’t seen each other for long periods of time. As with the previous example, simply speaking the truth put a quick, peaceful end to his slander.

Unfortunately, he hasn’t learned his lesson even though he plays guitar in a praise & worship band and considers himself a worship leader. No doubt part of the problem is that he’s not seriously in the Word and so the Spirit has little to work with to correct him (John 14:26 & Psalm 119:9). Meanwhile his wife curiously condones his gossip/slander, although she’s otherwise a godly woman. The reason I’m bringing this up is because his assembly obviously isn’t holding him accountable in this important area. Why not? Who knows? It’s likely the pastor has discerned this problem and is interceding in prayer or slipping truths into his sermons, not to mention setting a godly example.

Another thing to consider is that when congregants are generous givers it’s tempting for pastors to take a passive approach to correction for reasons of self-interest (I’m not saying this is right, just that it happens). In the meantime I’m praying that the Spirit would open this brother’s eyes — his wife too — and, if necessary, that the pastor & other spiritually mature believers would teach him or confront him on this issue when applicable. I’ve also decided that the next time I hear him badmouth someone I’m going to humbly advise him to talk to the person about it directly rather than me (and others).

Here’s an example of accountability regarding possible doctrinal error: A minister friend from another state wrote me and told me he disagreed with a point made in the footnotes of one of my books. I considered his erudite evidence and saw that he was correct and so immediately implemented changes in the corresponding articles. Unfortunately I couldn’t change what was printed in the book, but I corrected everything else.

On a more recent occasion, a minister from another continent wrote me to correct what he considered erroneous doctrine in one of our articles. I took the time to hear what he had to say, considered his respectable evidence, and we went back-and-forth for a few days. Finally, he modified his viewpoint based on the scriptural data, saying he agreed.

These are all good examples of accountability — brothers & sisters in the Lord prayerfully & carefully holding one another accountable to the blueprint for Christian doctrine, practice and morality, the Holy Scriptures.

On that note, I encourage believers worldwide from every sect to hold me & my wife and this teaching ministry accountable to God’s Word. If you think we’re in error on a particular topic or — God forbid — walking in sin, by all means, let’s hear it. Don’t be vague, but also don’t be a nosy ninny. If you’re in my local area — northeast Ohio/Western Pennsylvania — I’ll happily meet with you. This open invitation is based on Proverbs 9:8-9 and similar passages noted earlier. While Fountain of Life is an independent ministry we have a board and a circle of believers that we are in daily fellowship with, locally and more distant. We are accountable to one another but, like I said, we are also accountable to our dear brothers & sisters worldwide, whatever tag they choose to go by or not go by.

Accountability Gone Bad

Biblical accountability is a good thing, but Pharisaical religionists tend to morph it into a negative thing where they constantly concoct dubious accusations based on rash (arrogant) judgments and then poison people’s minds against the ones they’re supposedly holding accountable; that is, the ones they’re accusing. They did this with the sinless Messiah (Matthew 11:19), how much more will they do it with flawed people who genuinely follow the Christ?

The problem with constant questionable accusations is that it’s a trait of the Enemy. I’m talking about Satan — the “adversary” or “enemy” — who is also called the devil, which is translated from the Greek diabolos (dee-AB-ol-os), meaning “slanderer.” The term comes from the verb diaballó (dee-ab-AL-loh), meaning “to slander, accuse, defame, complain.” On top of this, the Bible plainly describes Satan as “the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night” (Revelation 12:10). Moreover, Christ called the devil a “murderer from the beginning” and “the father of lies” (John 8:44).

Do you know a (supposed) brother or sister in the Lord — including “ministers” — that continuously accuse believers (typically behind their backs)? They’re behaving like Satan, which isn’t a good thing. They’re wickedly using their tongue to murder others (Proverbs 25:18 & 12:18). Either they’re a child of the devil and therefore a counterfeit believer (Matthew 7:15-23 & John 8:42-47) or they’re grossly ignorant and misled of the Enemy (2 Timothy 2:24-26).

These are the bad fruits of the devil and the satanic nature, which is the flesh — accusing, slandering, defaming, complaining, lying and murdering. Needless to say, if you know people, groups or organizations that regularly operate in such tactics it tells you everything you need to know — they’re “of the devil” — regardless of what respectable position they might hold in the Church.

A good example in the Scriptures are the false apostles who infiltrated the Corinth church and smeared Paul in an attempt to turn the believers against the human founder of the assembly. Being a humble, godly man, Paul was uncomfortable defending himself against the false accusations, but — led of the Spirit — he had no other choice and so became a “fool” by “boasting” of his credentials and defending his ministry (2 Corinthians 11). Observe what Paul concluded about these slandering, accusatory “apostles”:

¹³For such people are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ. ¹⁴And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.

2 Corinthians 11:13-14

When you come across arrogant individuals who feign meekness and regularly accuse, discredit and slander meek, sincere believers it’s a big red flag. As with this case in Corinth, they’re false Christians masquerading in key positions in the church. Don’t buy their lies and don’t allow your mind to be poisoned against innocent brothers & sisters in the Lord. “By their fruit you will recognize them.”

Sectarian “Accountability” That Actually Hinders the Truth

Another kind of accountability gone bad is sectarian “accountability” that, in reality, can hamper the acquisition & spread of truth. Let me explain. Christianity consists of hundreds or thousands of sects/camps/groups/denominations, big and small. Each group has some kind of school of training and a means for ministry ordination & licensing. There’s nothing wrong with being part of such a camp as long as the group in question remains open to biblical correction and endeavors to fulfill the Great Commission, the problem only enters the picture when believers become sectarian-minded, which is factionism, a work of the flesh (Galatians 5:19-21).

Each of these camps have a “statement of faith,” a list of doctrines they consider essential in order to be a member. In other words, the people of every sect agree to agree that certain doctrines — teachings — are true to the Holy Scriptures and requisite to being a Christian. Some of the groups take a harder approach to their list of official doctrines than others, but they all insist that their ministers — their leaders — embrace their core doctrines, whatever these might be.

This is healthy as long as the doctrine in question is actually biblical, that is, true; however, it becomes unhealthy when it’s not. In the latter case, members of the sect agree to believe a doctrine that is false, a lie, and leaders hold their members accountable to the lie, especially those who are ministers or aspire to be ministers. So if you’re a member and discover from the Scriptures that an official doctrine of the sect is false, you’ll be expelled from the group or, at least, expelled from ministering the Word in it.

A good example is the false doctrine that human beings intrinsically possess immortality apart from Christ, otherwise known as the “immortal soul” (also dubbed the “eternal spirit”). Actually the Bible refutes this teaching point blank: 2 Timothy 1:10 plainly reveals that immortality and eternal life are only available through Christ. Immortality is something people are called to apprehend and not something we intrinsically possess apart from Christ, as shown in Romans 2:7. The Scriptures say “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them” (John 3:36). You can read details here.

How does this tie-in to accountability? Leaders of sects that embrace the immortal soul apart from Christ as an official doctrine hold their ministers accountable to supporting that doctrine. In short, ministers in such camps are forced to embrace error because they’ll be kicked out if they don’t. If they are full-time ministers this means that their “bread & butter” is dependent upon supporting a false doctrine. Thus they are pressured to advocate error. A believer from an Evangelical camp wrote me and said he was convinced that the immortal-soul-apart-from-Christ doctrine was erroneous and that the Bible plainly supported literal everlasting destruction for unrepentant people who suffer the “second death” (Revelation 20:11-15, Matthew 10:28, Hebrews 10:26-27 & Luke 19:27). When he informed the leaders of his assembly he was told that he could stay, but he wouldn’t be allowed to teach in any capacity.

Here’s a personal example regarding a different doctrine: In 2001 I was getting training and seeking credentials with a certain sect. Carol & I went out to lunch with the head elder when the topic of spiritual gifts came up and he said to me, “If you talk on speaking in tongues it’ll be your last sermon.” You see? If a sect adheres to false doctrine — in this case the doctrine of cessationism — the hierarchy will hold you accountable to supporting their official doctrines, even if they’re incorrect. Cessationism is the erroneous belief that speaking in tongues and gifts of the Spirit were done away with once the biblical canon was completed.

While you can certainly hold to cessationism and still be a Christian, it will limit your spiritual walk and service since it discourages believers from receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit & the benefits thereof, which you can read about here. The Bible teaches us to “eagerly desire” spiritual gifts, as shown in 1 Corinthians 12:1, 31, 14:1, 39, which would include the gift of personal tongues, otherwise known as glossolalia (gloss-ah-LAY-lee-ah). Cessationism encourages believers to do the precise opposite of what the Scriptures plainly instruct — it encourages us to eagerly deny spiritual gifts when God’s Word encourages us to eagerly desire them!

This is accountability gone wrong. It hinders the apprehension & spread of Scriptural truth and perpetuates false doctrine. We’ll look into this more as we progress.

I should add that if you’re a minister and you get a gig to preach at an assembly of a sect separate from your own you should, generally speaking, respect their official doctrines and wisely serve within the parameters thereof. After all, your goal is to minister to the people — feed them, build them up, heal — not cause undue strife (Ephesians 4:11-13). However, if you are led of the Spirit to say something that offers doctrinal correction then, by all means, do so (they might never welcome you back though, lol).

Ministers Being “Examples” to the Flock

This section ties-in to the topic of accountability so be patient and you’ll see why I include it.

A genuine minister I respect preferred small-group assemblies and so criticized pastors of large fellowships on the grounds that it’s impossible to be an example to people you can’t spend quality time with because the assembly is so big. It’s true that fivefold ministers and elders are called to be examples to younger believers, spiritually speaking (1 Peter 5:3, 1 Corinthians 11:1 & 1 Timothy 4:12), but does this mean that spending considerable time with them is the only way to be a good example? If so, how much time does this require? How much privacy is a fivefold minister or elder allowed? Didn’t Paul say strong believers need to keep some things private to prevent those with weak consciences from stumbling? (Romans 14:22). How far do we take this?

I’ve functioned in both small group settings and mega-churches and I’ve seen God work in both. There’s nothing wrong with preferring one over the other, but it’s wrong to condemn the one you don’t favor because (1) a solid scriptural argument can be made for both and (2) the LORD is big enough to minister in either setting, and everything in between. Remember, God is not one-dimensional.

Consider Yeshua, who was a daily example to the 12 disciples & friends who traveled with him for three years, and also to the other 72 disciples to a lesser degree (Luke 10:1,17). Yet how much of an example was he to the thousands who came to see him minister? There’s no way he could regularly spend time with all these people and maintain a tight relationship with the Father and minister effectively; that is, fulfill his calling.

What Christ did was spend quality time with those within his inner circle — particularly Peter, James and John — and they would, in turn, set a similar example with those within their sphere of influence. It’s the domino effect of positive social impact. This is precisely how legitimate pastors of big assemblies set the example for their hundreds or thousands of members, not by having bosom buddy relationships with every congregant which, needless to say, is impossible.

Getting back to the minister’s criticisms, he chastised pastors of huge churches by accusing them of having some sinful practice on the side that they were supposedly hiding. He claimed that this was the real reason they weren’t interested in being examples to the flock. Wow, what an accusation and what a blanket statement. Surely no pastor of a small fellowship would ever do this! (sarcasm). If this were true, then consider the pastor of an assembly I used to go to that had less than 20 attendees: he fell from the ministry after being caught with his hand in the money jar, amongst other fleshly activities. Simply put, to accuse all pastors of huge churches of not setting a proper example and enjoying some wicked sin on the side is ridiculous.

Eye-Rolling Legalistic “Accountability”

This kind of reasoning stems from a legalistic understanding of accountability. It assumes that believers are all a bunch of weak fools just waiting to rush into sin and hypocrisy, even seasoned fivefold ministers. As such, we need to protect our brothers & sisters by snooping around in their houses and nosing into their personal affairs. In fact, this is the main reason we need “accountability partners.” After all, without the watchful eye of some prying elder we’re all doomed to going astray. What a sick mentality.

Sure, there will always be immature believers we need to keep an eye on in a protective sense, particularly those in the fundamental stage of spiritual growth, i.e. STAGE TWO, but we have to be careful that this doesn’t become a form of bondage or authoritarianism. It’s better to give people the freedom to make a mistake and learn from it than to eye them overbearingly like some mother hen. The former fosters independence while the latter cultivates a dependent, immature spirit. We don’t need domineering authoritarians or moronic “accountability partners,” we need gatherings of warriors and warrioresses!

As for those “believers” in our midst who can’t seem to do anything remotely spiritual without someone hovering over them and twisting their arm, isn’t it possible that they’re not believers at all? Perhaps they’re goats in sheep’s clothing, so to speak. Let ’em go! The Church is better off without counterfeits. If they’re truly genuine they’ll come back at some point of their own accord.

This will come as a shock to those with a legalistic understanding of accountability, but there are numerous areas of believers’ lives — including fivefold ministers — that are no one’s business. One obvious example is what a person does in the bathroom. Unless a sin is involved, what I do when I go out with my wife or what I enjoy for recreation is no one’s business but mine, my wife’s and the Lord’s. It’s the same thing with how people choose to make a living, assuming it’s not criminal. Or what vehicle they choose to drive or what style of clothes they wear, assuming they’re not immodest.

We’ll address faultfinding & nosiness further in a moment, let’s first look at…

Submitting to Ministers / Submitting to Each Other

The Bible instructs believers to submit to their spiritual leaders, like pastors & teachers, so that their service will be a joy and not a burden (Hebrews 13:17). Diligent servant-leaders should be honored, especially those who preach & teach (1 Thessalonians 5:12 & 1 Timothy 5:17), but there’s a healthy way to submit to them and an unhealthy way. Furthermore, this doesn’t mean submit in the absolute sense. If your spiritual leader told you to jump off a cliff, should you do it? If he/she encouraged you to engage in sexual immorality, would you do it? If s/he taught blatant false doctrine and demanded you accept it, should you? Obviously not, so there are wise limits to this kind of submission. You can read details here.

Christ is the “Chief Shepherd” in the worldwide Church whereas fivefold ministers are under-shepherds (1 Peter 5:1-5). This shows that ministers are accountable to the Lord (Luke 12:42-48).

I encourage submitting to one another in Christ, as instructed in the New Testament (Ephesians 5:21 & 1 Corinthians 16:15-16). Obviously the most fruitbearing believers would rank at the top of the list, which presumably includes your spiritual leader(s), although not necessarily.

I should specify that by “fruitbearing” I’m talking about bearing fruit of the spirit as opposed to works of the flesh (Galatians 5:19-23 ). The Lord pointed out that you can distinguish a true minister from a false minister by their fruit (Matthew 7:15-23). Do you see a “minister” constantly faultfinding, accusing and slandering other believers? It tells you everything you need to know. I emphasize this so that submitting to ministers, like pastors, isn’t a one-way street, which can lead to abuse.

In short, the minister is accountable to subordinate believers as well as those over him/her in the spiritual pecking order. This is why Paul stressed this by the Spirit — so that pastors & other fivefold ministers don’t become arrogant and unaccountable in their top positions at ministries. Remember, God opposes the proud (James 4:6 & 1 Peter 5:5). This brings up…

Who Oversees the Minister?

While we considered this earlier, let’s go a little deeper. Who oversees the pastor? Usually someone higher up in the pastor’s organization that doesn’t regularly attend the assembly in question, like a regional leader. It may also be pastors from other fellowships in the area who may or may not be part of the minister’s sect. How closely do these people oversee the pastor? How often do they communicate? Not all that closely or often, right?

Furthermore, who oversees those who oversee the pastor? I’m talking about ministers higher up in the chain of authority of the sect in question. My point is that at some juncture in spiritual growth close human oversight becomes minuscule, even irrelevant. Why? Because the believers have matured. They’ve established a relationship with God; they walk in the spirit and not in the flesh; and they’re quick to humbly ‘fess up when they do miss it (1 John 1:8-9 & Matthew 3:8). This is in line with what a pastor friend told me:

My job is to become unnecessary in the life of the believer.

This should be the goal of all ministers — disciple people to the point where they walk with God of their own accord, guided by the Spirit, and have no need of close pastoral oversight. If some ministerial work needs done — like praying for a relative in the hospital or sharing the Word with someone — the disciple doesn’t call the pastor but rather does it himself/herself. Unfortunately, some ministers foster a dependent spirit with their congregants because — consciously or subconsciously — they don’t want to lose them and, in some cases, they enjoy having people dependent on them. This is an unhealthy and unscriptural attitude to say the least.

As noted earlier, not all fivefold ministers are “official” in the sense that they belong to an official sect, some are independent. Independent ministers are just as necessary as “official” ministers, but both can be corrupted. See this article for details.

Independent ministries are usually non-sectarian and don’t function within a specific sect and thus they don’t operate within a delineated authority structure as official ministers do. But this doesn’t negate that independent ministers are accountable since (1) they are accountable to the LORD & the God-breathed Scriptures first and foremost and (2) to the body of Christ at large, which includes their inner circle of believers and mentors. Keep in mind that most effective correction takes place through (1) having a humble, teachable heart that craves greater knowledge and (2) the process of learning. Direct face-to-face correction is secondary. You can read more about this here.

Consider Paul, who left the structure of the Jerusalem church and went off to minister to the Gentiles, as led of the Spirit (Acts 18:6, 26:15-23, Galatians 2:7 & Romans 15:15-16). His three long missionary journeys and the years he was a prisoner, including house arrest where he wrote the four prison epistles, comprised almost two decades of his life. Paul didn’t function within an official authority structure during this time. In fact, he was the top Christian authority in these travels as he preached the message of reconciliation, started assemblies across the landscape and wrote epistles by the Spirit, but this didn’t mean he wasn’t accountable. Again, he was accountable to the LORD and fellow believers in general (all of whom were technically “under” him, by the way).

It’s also important to point out that Paul didn’t view any leader in the Jerusalem church as “God Jr.” (Galatians 2:6 & 2:9). The Mighty Christ is the only head of the worldwide Church, i.e. the spiritually-regenerated “called-out ones” across the globe (Ephesians 1:22 & Colossians 1:18). Was Paul belittling these leaders in these verses of Galatians? No, he was providing balanced perspective by the Spirit so no person or persons in the body of Christ come to be considered infallible and untouchable; rather “Christ is all and in all” (Colossians 3:11 & Romans 10:12).

This diagram offers details on Paul’s missionary journeys and other travels (click to enlarge):

Actually, Jesus Christ was an independent minister. Yes, he was a Judaic believer who regularly attended synagogue, but he didn’t identify with and operate strictly within the parameters of the various Hebrew factions of the 1^st century: Pharisees, Sadducees, Herodians, Essenes, Zealots, etc. Being independent and devoted to God & the Scriptures first and foremost, Christ wasn’t biased based around sectarian allegiances; Christians today shouldn’t either.

John the Baptist was another independent minister. For those not in the know, the New Testament started with John (Luke 16:16). He hailed from the desert wilderness wherein his clothes were made of camel hair and he ate locusts & wild honey (Matthew 3:1-11). Contrary to the claims of some, John didn’t identify with the Essenes (e.g. those at Qumrân) since the differences between John’s message/activities, and those of this sect of Judaism, are as significant as any alleged similarities. Yet this doesn’t mean John didn’t fellowship with them on occasion wherein accountability worked both ways.

The obvious weakness of being an official minister is that you can become a pathetic “yes man” or “yes woman” who’s afraid to call out false doctrines/practices/corruptions within the sect or correct someone who’s over them in the authority chain for fear of losing favor and their position or even being defrocked altogether.

Martin Luther, for example, dared to speak out against a number of his denomination’s unbiblical doctrines & practices and so he lost his job and credentials, was branded a heretic and banished to live in hiding, his books were burned and Pope Adrian VI declared him to be the antichrist. Why did Luther do something so costly? Because he was accountable to the LORD and the Word of God first and foremost (James 3:1).

As he was believed to have said said, “Unless I am convinced by Scripture and plain reason – I do not accept the authority of popes and councils for they have contradicted each other – my conscience is captive to the Word of God… Here I stand, I cannot do otherwise.” Observe that he did not consider himself accountable to popes or councils, but rather to the authority of the LORD and the God-breathed Scriptures (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

Consider these contrasting examples of official leaders in Israel: After King David’s adultery with Bathsheba and his failed attempts to get valiant Uriah to sleep with Bathsheba to cover up his sin, David contacted Israel’s military commander, Joab, and instructed him to put Uriah in the front line where the fighting was fiercest and then have the other soldiers withdraw so Uriah would die in battle. This is murder in an indirect form, but murder nevertheless. Joab should have rejected this wicked order since Uriah was a noble, brave warrior, but he instead chose to be a pathetic “yes man” (2 Samuel 11:14-21). Shortly later, the prophet Nathan refused to be like this. He boldly confronted David’s corruption and spoke the truth, come what may (2 Samuel 12:1-14).

Joab failed to hold the King accountable whereas Nathan did. When you see corruption in the leadership of the body of Christ you can either weakly go along with it, like Joab, or hold the person accountable whatever the cost, like Nathan. If you choose the former you’ll have to answer for it at the Judgment Seat because the Lord will hold you accountable.

The obvious challenge for independent ministers is their lack of an official hierarchy and their potential for creative interpretations of the Scriptures (as if official sects don’t have their share of questionable positions, e.g. “once saved always saved” and the grossly erroneous amillennialism). However, humble submission to the LORD, the rightly-divided Word of God and the body of Christ at large alleviates this issue wherein needed corrections are regularly made.

Of course, being part of a reputable official sect and functioning under a designated chain of authority isn’t a guarantee of proper accountability and righteousness. The pastor I mentioned above who was ousted after he got caught with his hand in the proverbial cookie jar was from the Assemblies of God, which is the last thing from a loose sect. Several members of the congregation and inner circle were members of his extended family and yet he went a long time before being found out, confronted and disciplined (although it’s certainly commendable that this eventually happened). It goes without saying that, if someone wants to practice sin as a lifestyle, they’ll find a way to do it and hide it, whether they operate within an official sect/assembly and the power structure thereof or not.

Also, just because an official sect supports a doctrine, this doesn’t make the teaching true. Moreover, if it is a false doctrine it doesn’t make it okay for ministers in that sect to spread the erroneous teaching, even though it’s advocated by their sect. While their fellow ministers may applaud them, they will be held accountable for false doctrine when they stand before the Lord (James 3:1).

Legalists Are Unreasonably Judgmental FAULTFINDERS

Holding one another accountable is beneficial, but I think it’s necessary to include a warning about faultfinding.

Those who tend to excessively harp on accountability (always in the cliched, simplistic sense) also tend to be hell-bent on picking out people’s flaws and condemning them accordingly. They’re faultfinders, impure and simple, which is a severely fleshly characteristic according to the Scriptures (Jude 1:16 & Romans 15:7). Even worse, they’re often guilty of the very things they criticize in others. This isn’t righteous judging, like Paul’s judgment and public rebuke of Peter’s legalism in Galatians 2:11-14, but hypocritical judging. Notice what Jesus said about this type of judging:

Do not judge, or you too will be judged. ² For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. ³ Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? ⁴ How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? ⁵ You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”

Matthew 7:1-5

As you can see, Christ wasn’t denouncing righteous judging, like judging a fellow believer’s bad fruit and offering a corrective word, as when Paul reprimanded Peter, which — by the way — is an example of biblical accountability. Jesus was condemning hypocritical judging, which is criticizing others for things that the criticizer himself (or herself) practices.

It goes without saying that being a grumpy faultfinder is a big red flag. Those preoccupied with faultfinding are either immature believers stuck in STAGE TWO or they’re counterfeit believers actually lost in STAGE ONE. If you’re not familiar with the Four Stages of spiritual growth see this article.

Faultfinders Are at Odds With the True Ministerial Spirit — to Build Up and Give LIFE

The spirit of faultfinding & condemnation is in utter contrast to the true ministerial spirit, which Paul summed up nicely when he spoke of the authority ministers have for building believers up and not tearing them down (2 Corinthians 10:8 & 13:10). He also stressed this in Ephesians 4:11-13 where he detailed the purpose of all fivefold ministers: “to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up”. In other words, true believers and genuine ministers are to overflow with life, not death. Why? Because we’re children of God and the LORD is the Fountain of Life (Psalm 36:9). This explains Christ’s prime directive: to give people life and life to the full, not death (John 10:10).

You don’t have to be a spiritual Einstein to recognize a wicked spirit of condemnation. Years ago my sister, Jennifer, was looking for a church in Southern California and ended up visiting one for three Sundays in a row, but she decided not to stay. Why? Because after all three services she left feeling beat up and condemned rather than inspired and encouraged. She felt the life sucked out of her rather than put into her. Needless to say, only a glutton for punishment would stay in such an assembly. This isn’t to suggest that there’s no place for denouncing sins and encouraging repentance at services. Skilled ministers who are led of the Spirit will bring about a spirit of repentance through the ministry of the Word, but will also remove the burden of guilt, instill the Lord’s peace and motivate individuals onward. In other words, even though they denounce sin and spur repentance their ministry is encouraging and inspiring. This is the minister’s job.

A good example of such an inspiring spirit can be observed in Jesus after his resurrection. Christ appeared to two of the disciples who were understandably discouraged after his unjust crucifixion. The Messiah met up with them as they were walking along the road and they talked for a bit, but they were prevented from recognizing him. After the Lord departed, the two disciples reflected on the encounter:

“Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”

Luke 24:32

This is the effect Christ-like ministers should have on believers. You know you’re hanging with godly believers when you leave with your heart burning with inspiration and you see things in God’s Word you never saw before.

Luke 24 goes on to show us what Christ did on the day he ascended, which was weeks later: “he lifted up his hands and blessed them. While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven” (verses 50-51). The point? Even as Jesus was leaving this Earth he was blessing people — it was the last thing he did before going to the Father! This is how Christ-like ministers should be — constantly blessing people and building them up, not frothing at the mouth with constant vague accusations, condemning and tearing down.

So accountability is a positive thing when it is scriptural — very much so — but be on your guard against legalistic forms of “accountability.”

Closing Thoughts

“Iron sharpens iron” (Proverbs 27:17) and “many advisers bring success” (Proverbs 15:22) with the greatest advisor being the Holy Spirit (John 14:26-28, 16:13 & 1 John 2:27). Believers are to submit to the LORD & each other and therefore are accountable to one another based on the truths of the Word of God (Ephesians 5:21).

But, to be balanced, here’s an important axiom to consider: All people are flawed and have a downside, even the best of us — even the greatest minister or hero you can name (Psalm 130:3-4, Ecclesiastes 7:20, Proverbs 20:9 & 1 John 1:8). A big time minister said he has hanged with the top international ministers you can cite and he said, without exception, they were all flawed and had a downside, one way or another. As such, it makes best sense to have as few people over you as possible in your endeavors, particularly as you mature. This is the Conservative perspective wherein government should be small and limited whereas the LIEberal perspective is that government should be huge with endless (useless) bureaucrats.

In any ministry or business there’s a head with a vision, along with the corresponding inner circle/board. If you can’t agree with the head’s vision then you should leave, otherwise there will be di-vision. I’m not talking about condoning sin or gross error. If you see either you obviously should confront the individual as led of the Spirit, keeping in mind that there’s always a profitable and unprofitable way to do this.

The New Testament encourages believers to humbly submit to the heads of the ministry they’re involved with (Hebrews 13:17) and honor diligent servant-leaders (1 Thessalonians 5:12-13) “so that their work will be a joy, not a burden.” If you can’t do this, or can no longer do this, then please leave and go somewhere that you can agree with the vision or — if led of the Spirit — start your own work, like Paul was led to conduct his own ministry to the Gentiles, covered earlier. In the latter event you’ll be the head of your ministry, but you’ll still be accountable to (1) the LORD & the God-breathed Scriptures and (2) the worldwide body of Christ based on biblical truth.

Ultimately, every believer will give account at the Judgment Seat:

¹⁰For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.

¹¹Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade others. What we are is plain to God, and I hope it is also plain to your conscience.

2 Corinthians 5:10-11

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