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In the beginning God created the universe.

In the beginning was the Word.

For God loved the world so much that he gave.

Love the Lord your God… and… your neighbour as you love yourself.

Shameless nation, come to your senses… Turn to the Lord, all you humble people of the land, who obey his commands. Do what is right, and humble yourselves before the Lord.

At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like this. Once there were ten girls who took their oil lamps and went off to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five of them were wise.

Once there was a man who had to go on a journey; he called his servants and put them in charge of his property. He gave to each one according to his ability: to one he gave five thousand silver coins, to another he gave two thousand, and to another he gave one thousand. Then he left on his journey. After a long time the master of the servants came back.

Peter spoke up and said to Jesus, ‘I will never leave you, even though all the rest do!’

‘When, Lord, did we ever see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and welcome you in our homes, or naked and clothe you? When did we ever see you sick or in prison, and visit you?’

(Genesis 1: 1, GNB; John 1: 1, NIV; John 3: 16, GNB; Matthew 22:37 and 39, GNB; Zephaniah 2:1 and 3, GNB; Matthew 25: 1-2, 14, 15 and 19, GNB; Matthew 26: 33, GNB; Matthew 25: 37-39, GNB)

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Christianity is not a private religion, but the religion of Jesus and those who profess it are accountable to him. No more or less.

Some who want to avoid accountability often say, ‘My faith is my own — a very private matter. I don’t have to associate with other Christians or share my faith or go to church because you can be nearer God’s heart in a garden than anywhere else on earth.’ It’s not as easy or as nice as that. To be part of the Body of Christ is to be responsible to him and responsible for each other.

Those who have a ‘private faith’ wouldn’t dream of claiming a ‘private science’, or ‘private economic system’ or ‘private rules of the road’. Jesus enunciated principles by which to confess and practise faith in him. One cannot claim to be Christian if they are not respected and acted out.

Love one another, as I have loved you. Go and make disciples, baptise them and teach them to obey. When you have a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind. You cannot serve both God and money. Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will not enter it.

The basic unit of the Methodist revival was the Class Meeting. Once a week, converts met in a small group of about twelve. In true Wesleyan style, they followed an agenda in the form of questions. An early one was, ‘Does anyone overtake another in a fault?’ If any had observed ‘unchristian’ behaviour in another class member during the week, he or she was accountable to report it and each accountable to have it reported and correct it. Such admonition was not destructive, but referred to by Charles Wesley in one of his hymns as ‘building each other up’.

He bids us build each other up

and gathered into one

to our high calling’s glorious hope

We hand in hand go on.

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Dorothy Day (long time editor of the US Catholic Worker and a social activist) always recognised the authority of her church although she took God as her ultimate authority and acted according to that conscience.

She and her bishop, Cardinal Spellman, often differed on the nation’s role in peace and war. She wrote, acted and preached the pacifism she believed in. Yet she never doubted that the cardinal was her superior, the representative of the unity of her local faith community. She always asked for her bishop’s blessing even when she went a different way.

Quentin Questnell, The Authority for Authority

My work has life and death implications. Efficiency is paramount.

I recently visited the USA to observe and update my professional status. One of the new trends I discovered and implemented on my return was a system of higher accountability. All work done was immediately identifiable by the laboratory scientist responsible for it.

I came back with lots of strategies to upgrade efficiency, but discovered that after introducing the accountability procedures, the efficiency of our lab increased dramatically. It was not necessary to introduce any other efficiency techniques.

Neville Farmer

I believe the church can be renewed because it provides us with the greatest reservoir of people committed to God anywhere. Granted there are many unregenerate with apathy, neglect and indifference, and the introverted. There are irrelevant things and people. It is within the church, however, that one finds the most people who are sensitive and can be led to be sensitive to the radical call of God and to what God is doing in the world today.

Findley B. Edge, The Greening of the Church

Can church members be more than strangers? Yes, the church is primarily God’s people. We don’t just go to church, we are the church. When the Bible speaks of Christian’s being brothers and sisters, it isn’t be poetical. The essence of being the church is that it is God’s literal family, God’s tribe, God’s clan.

The church is community… the possibilities of community are immense. The energy for faithful living generated when brothers and sisters support each other, share one another’s burdens, weep with those who weep, laugh with those who laugh, is a strong tool for the kingdom.

Community makes it possible to take risks that right action demands. To share resources and loosen the hold of affluence on our lives. To be persons and not just roles to each other. To admonish and encourage each other. To develop openness and caring. To seek God’s wisdom together is to be accountable to one another, to co-operate in the mutual love of servanthood. Each of these is a process and not a finished state.

Owen Salter, ‘Can Church Members be More Than Strangers?’

Being an individual isn’t wrong. But individualism is that way of seeing things in which we put the highest value on ourselves and our best interests — and that is idolatry.

To become a Christian is to admit rebellion; in other words, to admit that we have made ourselves the most important thing in our lives. Conversion is turning away from this behaviour, surrendering control and submitting our wills in obedience to God.

This new harmony with God must then spill over into all relationships.

Brad Lovegrove, The Cult of the Individual

It is comparatively easy to put on the shoe of community. But when the shoe starts pinching it gets a little harder.

Accountability is one of the spots where community fits a bit uncomfortably. It means we strive to be answerable to our brothers and sisters for the way we live our lives; for the way we spend our money; for the quality of our commitment to Christ; for the balance between our callings and our activities (family, work, church, sport); for our struggle to overcome sin.

The other side of accountability is liability. We not only ask our brothers and sisters to share in our decisions, we agree to share in theirs; to hold them to what they decide; to support them when they fail, forgiving and strengthening as the Father does.

On Being

You don’t have to live in a community to live in community. I do not know what your destiny will be, but one thing I do know — the only ones among you who will be really happy are those who have sought and found how to serve.

Albert Schweitzer

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Lord,

I just read that thirty-nine thousand children in your global family die every day. Every day, Lord! That’s hard to believe. Thirty-nine thousand! We are horrified if one jet crashes and kills three hundred people. If five people are shot by a crazed gunman in the street, it makes headlines for days.

Why don’t we feel more accountable for these unknown children? I want to make a difference, but it is so frustrating to know what and how to do it.

Keep me trying, Lord. Keep a healthy tension between my frustration and the magnitude of the task. Help me to influence my family, my people, my local community and political decision-makers in conversation, letter writing and, if I have the opportunity, my own public statements.

Don’t let me give up. I want to be accountable. Amen.

Lord Jesus,

This day I seek the tranquillity of your special presence. How did you do it Lord? You kept peace when all around was at war. You were able to love those who hated you. You were able to forgive those who maliciously used you. You trusted those you knew would let you down.

How did you do it, Lord? And yet I’m glad you did. It

gives me hope that today even I can:

pray for those I’m angry with

forgive those who cannot forgive me

love the unlovely

pastor those who have criticised me

speak the truth in love to those who have told half-truths about me.

Thank you, Lord, for modelling ministry. Help me to hold my own accountable to yours. Amen.

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A Benediction

Now go to meet the day. It is the one the Lord has made. It is his gift to you. Walk in it as his servant and may his peace and tranquillity attend all your ways.

High Mountains, Deep Valleys ed. By Rowland Croucher pp. 65-70