One of this week’s featured resources is Accountability for Church Leaders. The download includes an interview with pastors Scotty Smith and Scott Roley and musician Michael Card about their accountability friendship. Below is an excerpt:
What unique strengths and challenges does each of you bring to your relationship?
Scotty Smith: One thing Mike brings to our relationship is brutal honesty. He doesn’t fake things well. Scott brings the passion. He is a radical, passionate encourager, and God has given him a unique gift that translates not so much into answers, but into presence.
Scott Roley: Scotty brings devotional strength. In fact, one of the glues in our relationship is the gospel that Scotty introduced me to: that it’s in our brokenness, weakness, and repentance that we will grow.
Concerning challenges, Mike’s a doer, and he can be a loner. He is gifted in a lot of different things and can hide in them. As for Scotty, I’ve never met anyone who makes as quick a decision–and is right most of the time–as Scotty. The gift makes him a great pastor, teacher, and counselor, but it can also rob him of the need for others.
What do you consider the foundation of your accountability relationship?
Roley: We have mutual respect for one another. We have, I think, points of disappointment and frustration with each other. But we come to the table thinking, We’re here together for the rest of our lives. So that’s settled.
Michael Card: That respect is important. Often my motivation for not deceiving these guys is not personal righteousness; it’s because I don’t want to be caught by Scotty or Scott. They know me best, and they’ll catch me first. They’re the two guys I respect most in the world, the two people I don’t want to disappoint.
Smith: The pain of love is stronger than the pain of legalism. If this were just an accountability group that had a list of things to check off, we could say, “I blew it,” and move on. Accountability groups have to constantly monitor legalism and moralism, because if they’re not driven by the grace of the gospel, they become idol factories.
Download the full interview, with several related articles, here.
