Accountability Works Both Ways

Where there is no counsel, the people fall; But in the multitude of counselors, there is safety. Proverbs 11:14 NKJV

As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend. Proverbs 27:17 NKJV

As we study this week’s Sabbath School lesson, about the apostasy of Israel, including Aaron, their priest, I am reminded of a vital lesson someone shared. We cannot assume a pastor or any church leader is doing a good job just because they are making everyone happy. After all, the greater majority of the people were delighted with Aaron while he was leading them into apostasy. The point was made that Aaron should not have allowed the people to worship an idol, much less help them make one. With the majority being in the wrong, Aaron should have stood for the right, even if all alone.

The greatest want of the world is the want of men—men who will not be bought or sold, men who in their inmost souls are true and honest, men who do not fear to call sin by its right name, men whose conscience is as true to duty as the needle to the pole, men who will stand for the right though the heavens fall. –Ellen White, Education, Page 57.

People in the hand of God

Being a pastor, I also see the problem from another angle. While the pastor may chair the church board, the pastor answers to the church board, and the church board answers ultimately to the church at large. In other words, while the pastor holds the church accountable, the church also holds the pastor accountable. Accountability works both ways.

So, as we study the apostasy of Israel when they made and worshiped the golden calf, we see a total breakdown of accountability. Not only was Aaron not holding the people accountable, but the people were not holding Aaron accountable. The problem was that no one was holding anyone accountable. Here we see how crucial accountability is to both laity and leaders.

The other day, I was having a conversation with a young couple, when the husband said something so profound that I had never heard a husband say before. He said one of the reasons he wanted to find someone to marry was that he needed someone to be accountable to. In a world where everyone is told to mind their own business, not to judge or criticize, and to let others do as they please, this young man realized he could not be all that God expects him to be without offering accountability. Having someone to be accountable to helps to keep us out of trouble and focused on our lofty goals.

For a church to stay out of trouble and focus on its lofty goals, it needs leaders who will hold it accountable. At the same time, for church leaders to stay out of trouble and concentrate on their lofty goals, they need a church body that will hold them accountable. While the pastor may advise the board, the pastor should also consider the board members as advisors. The pastor should not consider it a weakness or be embarrassed to seek counsel from his church family. On the contrary, the wisdom in Proverbs tells us we are all here to sharpen each other, and there is wisdom in having many counselors.

There was a time when I was embarrassed to ask the church for guidance, not because of my ego, but because I felt like I was being paid to know what was right, and if I was not right or did not know what was right, then I was not earning my paycheck. Later I realized my job is not so much always to be right or know on my own what is right, as much as it is to find what is right. We actually gain the confidence of our church family when we quickly discern our mistakes and make corrections. Meanwhile, I have watched other pastors shipwreck their own ministry by pretending to be infallible instead of accepting the counsel, mercy, and forgiveness their congregations so willingly offered. It broke my heart recently when some friends told me about a pastor in their church who made a mistake. Instead of accepting their forgiveness and invitation for reconciliation, he resigned, claiming that his position placed him above having to offer accountability.

For marriage to work, both the wife and the husband need to hold each other accountable. In the church, not only does the congregation need to provide accountability to the pastor, but the pastor also needs to offer accountability to his congregation. Aaron and Israel’s apostasy with the golden calf is an unfortunate example of what happens when neither congregation nor pastor holds the other accountable. While Aaron should have stopped the people from committing apostasy, the people should have stopped Aaron from committing apostasy. Accountability works both ways.