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Who Needs Accountability?

2. Build in accountability for everyone, and especially those in power.

I said in my class on leadership at the Pepperdine Bible Lectures (affiliated with Churches of Christ) something that stung, but got a lot of nods. “Churches of Christ are built to protect against the autocratic minister. However, they have little or no immune system to protect them against autocratic or unhealthy elders.”

I’ve never seen a true autocratic minister in a Church of Christ. However, autocratic elderships are quite common.

One reason is there is no accountability mechanism for those who hold the most power. This is so dangerous.

In other tribes, it’s a deacon board or senior pastor for whom there is zero accountability. In every case, in every tribe, it’s a bad thing.

Whether it’s a rotating elder system, a differentiated ministry system, a by-law or policy governance accountability system—choose wisely and make sure there is some accountability for those with the most power. This is especially true for matters of character.