In
what specific ways do you wish to be held accountable [by an
accountability group]? (Serendipity Bible 10th
Anniversary Edition, page 1393 – a paraphrase of question 10).
Being
“held accountable” is quite different and is in many ways the
opposite of being “micro managed.” The latter assumes you are
not trustworthy, the former assumes that you are.
So
at the outset, being held accountable pleases me for I am being
trusted to fulfill my obligations as defined by faith, job, social
compact, and citizenship. An accountability group would help define
and clarify my obligations and help determine if I am meeting them.
Some
specific ways I wish to be held accountable are through the judgment
of others exercised thusly: an exploration of the motives and
consequences of my actions or inaction; called to account in a manner
in which judgment is closely accompanied by inspiration for and
encouragement of future corrective action; counsel underwritten by
assurance of executional capacity; mindful of human and divine
forgiveness and the necessity for it due to common human limitations
and frailties and the unavoidable complexities and hindrances of the
environment; an appreciation for integrity and truth as key virtues
more greatly to be desired than comfort or acclaim; faithful and
steady support defined by helpfulness and humility; reference to
Jesus as pattern maker for ethics and values subjecting one's action
or inaction to the application of the Golden Rule; an insistence that
pragmatism be a balance of long-term and immediate effectiveness; an
insistence of institutional integrity that respects distinct
responsibilities and limitations; finally I would desire an
accountability group that understands that hindsight is always 20-20
whereas the present and future are frequently obscured from human
view.
In
sum, I would remember that being held accountable is the highest of
all human compliments. It should be prized and valued highly above
shallow social approval or contrived presentations covered thinly in a veneer of perfection.
