Accountability Partners…?
I had posted a blog entitled Accountability, Pornography and Sexual Detox. There were numerous responses, in fact it was the most read blog I have made to date. I received a few positive messages in agreement, but about 60% of the messages were negative. Thereforee I have removed the Blog. Let me give you a rundown of the responses against accountability partners and groups:
1. Man should not seek forgiveness from another man, but from God and the person he sinned against.
2. By fearing our accountability more than God and His word, were committ idolatry.
3. Married men should be accountable only to thier wives as they are one body.
4. Accountability Partners/groups could give bad advice to someone living in sin.
5. Being apart of an accountability group encourages a person to continue in sin, much like roman catholic confession, the person will feel “relief” and continue to sin knowing they can come back next week for more relief.
I can see how those issues have validity so I have removed my post and humbly admit that I am not a pastor or a theologian.
I will be checking with some pastor friends of mine to get a “learned” viewpoint on this issue for myself. Thanks for reading
Don’t delete your posts because you receive negative/disagreeing feedback. Just create a follow up post like you did but still leave the old one up. It promotes discussion and creates more site traffic- thus more people reached.
I do agree with your comment mr/mrs./ms anonymous. However I do not want to promote something that might be un-biblical. Therefore I took it down. After I speak with some people with more education/knowledge than I, I may put it back up. 1 Thessalonians tells us:
“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all; hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil. May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it. Brothers and sisters, pray for us. Greet all God’s people with a holy kiss. I charge you before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers and sisters. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.”
I am not a prophet per se, but if I am posting blogs that 100+ people are reading, i have to hold myself accountable to this passage of scripture. Test the spirits, hold on to what is good and reject evil. Until I am sure that I am scriptural on this subject i will take it down. Maybe I am maybe I am not, but I will find out.
These blogs are all aimed at myself, and if God chooses to use my posts to reach someone else that is His business. but I wont promote a heresy 🙂 God’s grace abounds in my life, my sins have been forgiven, and I do not want to keep this to myself! I want others to see that no matter how far you fall, no matter how grievous your sin, you are never beyond the grip of the grace of Jesus.
I was dismayed to read that you received negative feedback which led you to remove the post. In this digital age, pornography is such a huge issue that affects so many Christians, yet we seem to always turn a blind eye toward it and choose to not acknowledge it as something we all struggle with. It is the most difficult sin that male Christians deal with. When someone becomes addicted to Alcohol or Narcotics, they will attend regular meetings to discuss with others their experiences and difficulties in dealing with this ongoing struggle in their lives. How many of us would need to attend a Pornography Anonymous group if such a group existed in our circles? The purpose of an AA or NA group is not to seek forgiveness from the other members, but to build each other up, and encourage one another to stop giving in to a certain addiction, and also lift one another up if a member of the group falls. When used in conjunction with prayer and asking the LORD’s forgiveness, a group such as this can be a very powerful tool.
Now perhaps those same people that have a problem with Accountability groups, take issue with these anonymous groups as well, that I do not know. How does our Church view said groups?
Greg, I have been in contact with a number of ministers of the word from our churches, and outside our churches as well. The overwhelming response is that it is a very good thing. I am going to repost the blog with a few minor changes that these men have recommended. Here is one response for you to peruse: If a man is married, accountability first starts with his wife, because if a man can lie to his wife, then he can lie to his accountability partner. So, your accountability starts with having a proper relationship of trust and honesty with your wife.
Second, accountability is to your elders so that they know that you really do submit to their authority and that you are accountable to them.
Third, it is very important for men to cultivate special relationships, so called accountability partners, where they can talk about the deep heart issues that they are struggling with and their temptation issues they are wrestling with.
Men need to develop and maintain a network of accountability because very often, sins can slip through one layer of accountability and get caught by others, and we need that. We need to hem ourselves in so that we get caught quickly and easily, so I believe in a multi-faceted network of accountability, which includes your spouse, your overseers and special close relationships – accountability partners.