In my quiet time this morning, thinking Lenten type thoughts on confession and accountability, I remembered a quote made by Dr. Charles Munson in my first seminary preaching course. I was pastoring my first church and felt like such an absolute rookie, but I was also a sponge: absorbing everything thrown at me. Dr. Munson said this: “There are no secret disciples. Either the disciple will kill the secret, or the secret will kill the disciple.”
There are no secret disciples, because disciples can’t be secret—they’re accountable…to someone.
Not long ago, I was reading my “Writer’s Digest” magazine and I came upon information regarding their spring writing contests. I thought to myself: I could do that. The longer I thought, the clearer it became that I was probably was going to do it. Then I did a little more research, gave it a little more thought, and by evening I told my husband about my intention. Now I’m locked in. He won’t let me forget. And that’s exactly why I told him: he will hold my feet to the fire of accountability.
Back when I began my Christian journey, I was taught the ABC’s of faith: accept, believe, and confess. We can do the first two privately, but the third sends us straight into accountability. Do you see that as good or bad? When I was still working as a family counselor, I worked with an agency that had several therapists at varying levels of experience and licensure. One of the counselors who had achieved “Independent” licensure status chaffed at the thought of being supervised like a ‘rookie.’ She felt she was beyond that and resented someone looking over her shoulder. I was a rookie at the time, so I was used to having my work scrutinized. I learned as I moved up the ladder that not being supervised was not in my best interest.
I believe Jesus understood just how much his followers would need to be accountable to each other—then and now. After the Resurrection, just before he ascended, Jesus instructed his followers to stay in the Upper Room until Pentecost. Imagine the scene. These people had to learn how to be together. There were so many different kinds of folks. Trust was the furthest thing from their minds or experiences. Zealots, tax collectors, ex-prostitutes, and fishermen had to learn to get along. Miraculously, it worked. They were able to connect and when they did a power came on them like one this world had never seen.
What happened in that room? I think they learned to tell their story, the story of what Jesus had done for them, done in them. And they learned to listen. They talked about their dreams and what they hoped to accomplish with their lives for God and for the Kingdom. They told their secrets and became accountable to one another. And it changed the world.
What secret desires has God been wanting to unwrap and unleash in your life? Tell someone. Get accountable. Allow God to work. You may be surprised at what power you free up to blow through your life and the lives around you!
Pot of Manna 