Many of the exhortations in the Bible are not popular in today's world. But a new study by the Barna Group indicates that one of the least favorite biblical principles might well be "Obey your spiritual leaders, and do what they say. Their work is to watch over your souls, and they are accountable to God. Give them reason to do this with joy and not with sorrow" (Hebrews 13:17, NLT) Dear Hevra We know that being accountable and supporting each other as members of the body, and as Jewish believers is critical. However, do we truly believe that accountability is important in our lives? Do we engage in some sort of accountability process? Do we as a community have an established vehicle for men to be accountable to men, for women to be accountable to each other? Do we even care? It could only help our community to engage in these questions with each other. The following article is recommended as a trigger for further discussion. Rabbi Gliebe recommended it to me. www.barna.org It is a research article on accountability within Christian religious communities that is certainly material that we can all relate to. Let's talk.
(below is an intro to the article--go to the Barna.org URL for the complete article-it's very interesting and thought provoking)
Ed.
National Study Describes Christian Accountability Provided by Churches
November 29, 2010
Because the underlying theme of the Christian life is one of being transformed from a selfish and self-driven individual to one who lives for and surrenders control of one's life to God, the practice of accountability for life choices and behavior is central to that process of transformation. Yet, a national survey by the Barna Group among people who describe themselves as Christian and involved in a church discovered that only 5% indicated that their church does anything to hold them accountable for integrating biblical beliefs and principles into their life.
