Discipleship and Accountability

[MarkD]

How does everyone feel about these two items?

1. Discipleship: Should we have a "disciple leader" in our lives? If yes, why, and how "in your face" should they be? If no, why not?

2. Accountability: Should we have people that we are accountable to? Again, if yes, why and how "in your face" should they be? and if no, why not?

The reason I ask is this:

My church has a discipleship program. After you go through the "basic christianity 101" class (and believe me, it IS basic), you get assigned a disciple leader, and you need to pick an accountability team of three people.

The disciple leader is to be there for you if you have any scriptural questions, and to help you along in your walk. Your accountability team are people you can call (and they can call you) to hold you accountable.

My in-laws feel that we are accountable to ourselves and God, and no one else. I kind of feel that we do need to have some people in our lives to help hold us accountable.

How do you all feel about this?

[antsinmypants]

We are to have discipleship and accountability, but it's not to be taken to what are called "Cultic levels"... where you have to blab about what you're doing and they totally guilt trip you on things not even mentioned in the Bible.

They should be enough BY YOUR SIDE, that they don't have to be "in your face" about any of it unless you are that much out of control.

Where I attend, most of us have automatically paired off with someone as a "parent" or "accountability partner"..

We're usually "quiet spirited" enough that we get the other's attention by saying something along the lines "this reminds me of..." and "doesn't it say...?"


We are accountable to G-d, but sometimes it takes having someone else to struggle along side you to keep you in check.

I don't think we need to just assign someone to someone else.. it kinda falls into the "donkey/ox" situation. Each person should PRAYERFULLY consider seeking someone to be their helper, or an accountability partner.


Think of it this way, when you have a carriage being pulled by two horses, the two horses are tied together by a yoke. Their harnesses are even looped together, and they have to pull and struggle together. If one is pulled to the left-- the other is pulled with him.. Same goes for "pulled to the right".. Neither is left behind unless he falls beneath his load, and in that case, the other stumbles and falls as well.

It goes the same as with the verse where it says "never yoke an ox with a donkey".. why? because one will pull a little weight, and the poor little donkey will be forced along where he cannot keep up, nor pull his own weight.

It's along the same lines with an older believer with HUGE problems, and a new believer with a few. You need someone STRONG in the faith to help you out.. someone with alot of discernment, and compassion... someone who won't be too polite to call sin what it is when it occurs, but who won't go gossipping to the neighbors either.

;):

(Did i explain or complicate matters? :confused)