The following was a part of a threaded discussion I took part in this afternoon for an online class I am taking. The question is posted in red, my response is in blue, and another member's response to my response appears in green:

How important is accountability, anyway? Has this become a faddish idea that is overplayed and overvalued? As Christians, doesn’t accountability, in some ways, open the door to legalism and the performance trap?

It's interesting that I was just in a discussion last night that dealt with this very issue. We surmised that of course accountability is not a bad thing, however, it has become just as the question states, an "open door to legalism and the performance trap." The problems seems to be accountability groups, at least the ones I have been involved in, have become more about following the rules our Christian culture in America has set as proper instead of setting our hearts toward following the Lord. It has become about doing what is right for those in charge versus doing what is right in the eyes of the Lord. Jesus discussed this very thing in Matthew 15, which was the basis for our discussion last night. I won't go into it, but he rips on the Pharisees and teachers of the law for this very thing.

Examples abound, our culture in the church in America has said that alcohol is not proper, and maybe properly so, yet where is the biblical evidence of that. Of course drunkenness is wrong, and we have to be careful around former addicts, but otherwise we have liberty in this issue. In accountability groups, we judge those who may have a beer with dinner or head out with the guys after a basketball game. Again, the issue becomes external obedience to a set of commands versus our heart's attitude toward the Lord.

One more example is that we tend to set certain sins against others. We'll explain away hoarding as providing for the future of one's family, we'll excuse gluttony, which the Bible notes as sin, but chastise someone who smokes, which the Bible says nothing about. Mark Driscoll, pastor of Mars Hill Fellowship in Seattle, wrote about this in his book, as a new believer asked how the pastor, who was severely overweight, could judge him for smoking. This and others like it are great questions, questions that non-believers are asking, and we in the church need to get right with or suffer with the stigma that the world has placed on us.

Again, accountability can and is great when we enter into a relationship where we hold each other accountable to following the Lord with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength instead of simply following the rules our society has put forth.

Jason:What a powerful answer and perspective. I absolutely agree with you! When I returned to Christ three, nearly four years ago, I started to attended a non-denom. church that is part of a very large and popular movement in the country (and internationally really). While attending, my friend and I (mostly him, I think I was viewed as a sort of rogue) were contacted by the leadership and advised that we ought to join a discipleship group. The word accountability came up, of course. A popular series of books were used in this men's small-group (not the Bible). I appreciated the perpective of the church on what was needed to "firm up" my walk...I was all for anything that drew me closer to Jesus. As time went on, it was evident that the discipleship group was more interested in conforming people through something akin to behavior modification activities. In our walk with Christ, I would agree that there is a degree of conforming that the individual Jesus follower must do (after all we indeed serve the King of kings...it is a monarchy!). I found, however that the accountability groups were more of a way to stop certain activities and behaviors that, in some cases, were not intrinsically wrong (Scriptually speaking). Of course alcohol and finances often came up.

Accountability is an important thing in our walks with Jesus and in the team. What I think must be remembered at all times, is that a person is never ultimately accoutable to any teammate, pastor, CEO, or any other human. Each person is accountable to his or her Creator...God, Jesus, the Spirit.

I personally think that it is a sad, sad thing that the Christian church serves largely as an institution of behavior modification, and thusly santizes and make too civil a very exciting, raw, and in some respects a very primal faith that is ancient.