10 Reasons Every Church Leader Needs Accountability

As I began ministry decades ago, few people were talking about accountability. More are using that language today, but we still have much room for growth. Here’s why every church leader needs accountability:

1. It’s biblical. It is through iron sharpening iron that we grow (Prov. 27:17). We are to challenge each other to live in godliness (Heb. 3:12-13), confronting one another when necessary (Matt 18:15-17, Luke 17:3). We are to carry one another’s burdens, including provoking each other to good works (Heb 10:24) and picking each other up when we fall (Gal 6:1-2).
2. We are all prone to wander. As soon as we think that we’ve “arrived” in our faithfulness to God, we’ve just fallen far back. The problem is that we often don’t recognize this sin in ourselves. And, if we’re not open to accountability, we’ll often push back when someone does confront us. 
3. We’re in spiritual warfare. The principalities and powers of Ephesians 6:12 particularly aim their arrows at church leaders on the front lines. Satan and his forces find us most vulnerable when we minister alone, with no one genuinely walking beside us and provoking us to good works (Heb 10:24).
4. We need deeper relationships in the first place. When the majority of our relationships are surface-level–as too many of them are–we miss an opportunity to grow with others walking closely beside us. A good accountability partner should be first a good friend. 
5. Leaders often hide their sin. Because we’re leaders, we don’t typically want others to know what’s going on in the depth of our soul – but that’s where the demons lurk when no one has access to our heart. Hiddenness is fraught with danger. 
6. We commit flagrant sins of omission. Too many church leaders fight hard to live in victory over sins of commission while also teaching a Bible they seldom read, calling others to pray like they seldom do, and preaching evangelism they never exhibit. We need somebody who asks hard questions about these disciplines, too.
7. We need others praying for us with intentionality. It’s one thing to have prayer partners who pray for us generically; it’s another matter to have folks who pray for us with deep knowledge of our struggles. Knowing the latter are interceding for us matters when we’re in a spiritual battle. 
8. Our congregations need role models. We minister to people who are themselves struggling with sin, and we often challenge them to find an accountability partner to help them. To call them to take this step when we don’t have accountability lacks integrity.
9. It forces us to swallow our pride. Most of us church leaders could use a little more humility, and few things break us like looking a friend in the eye and admitting our sin issues. “Realness” that reduces us to confession can be a good thing for leaders. 
10. We’re more likely to end well with accountability in place. Having an accountability partner doesn’t guarantee lifelong faithfulness, but it at least makes falling more difficult. We need people who care enough about us to do their best to keep us on the straight and narrow road. 

What other reasons would you add to this list?