Help Others Restore Integrity A young Christian man who isn't sure about accountability.
Help Others Restore Integrity 4 minute read

10 Reasons Why Accountability in the Church Is Unpopular

Last Updated: February 16, 2023

A Barna Group telephone survey of Christians across the United States reveals some interesting facts about the state of accountability in the church: Only 5% of people say their church does anything to hold them accountable for integrating biblical beliefs and principles into their lives.¹

For those who are held accountable by their church community in some way, the most common approach to accountability is through a small group. But even so, among those who attend a small group, only 7% say accountability is one of the functions of their group.

Is accountability in the church really that important?

If you do not see the importance of accountability in the church, you are among the majority of Christians in the United States. But I want to convince you that accountability is important for the church, and even necessary for us to carry out our God-given mission.

Accountability, correctly understand, connects directly to Jesus’s command to “go and make disciples” (Matthew 28:19). This is not some optional program or methodology for some believers. Properly understood, accountability is part of the blueprint of the church. The lack of accountability in the church signifies a problem that church leaders must address.

Why the distaste for accountability in the church?

There could be, of course, many reasons why formal accountability is lacking in today’s churches. But as I survey the landscape, these are the reasons I see.

1. People hate conflict.

The Barna Group states church leaders don’t often engage in accountability (either through following up on members’ tasks, home visits, or church discipline) because they don’t want to be confrontational. The same is true among church members. Few people want to call out others on their sin.

2. Christians do not understand that sanctification is a community project.

Many texts in the Bible assume or state outright that one of the ways we grow as Christians is through gospel-centered conversation with one another. The New Testament places great importance on motivating one another to love and do good deeds (Hebrews 10:24-25), bearing each other’s burdens (Galatians 6:1-2), and instructing one another (Romans 15:14). Many Christians are never taught that sanctification is a community project.

3. People like their privacy.

Accountability is about confessing sin to one another, but few today like the idea of divulging their temptations, sins, and the state of their heart. This is far too personal for some.

4. Christians are not taught (seriously) about biblical accountability. 

We need a proper understanding of what biblical accountability really is. James 5:16 is not a suggestion but a command. “Confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed.” Moreover, this is a command tied to our health as Christians. In this text James mentions cases where personal sin leads to a serious physical or emotional illness, calling for the elders of the church to administer healing. Before we get to that point, however, we should be in the practice of the regular “preventative medicine” of confessing our sins to each other and praying for each other.

5. Christians falsely believe accountability is only for behavior modification.

Some reject the idea of accountability because they believe it is all about fear or shame-based change. Accountability for them is about staying away from certain taboo sins so they can avoid an awkward conversation in the future. But the Bible says there’s a kind of conversation we can have that actually addresses the heart—not just outward behavior (Hebrews 3:13).

6. Some Christians have experienced unhelpful (or hurtful) accountability.

For some Christians, their accountability partners and groups simply did not “work” for them. They experienced no change. In some cases, overbearing leadership or spiritual abuse was disguised as “accountability.”

But what if we used this excuse for anything in which we engage: listening to sermons, praying together, taking communion, engaging in service projects? We don’t give up on any of these things because at times they don’t seem to “work,” or are done badly. Rather, each time we strive to do them better, with a true heart, and with careful thought.

7. Christians falsely believe accountability in the church is only a crutch for when things get really bad.

Often we seek out accountability when things have come to a head in our lives when we are facing a grave consequence. But the various “one anothers” of the New Testament are not just for those facing specific consequences for their sin, but for all Christians.

8. Christians are not discipled.

Accountability makes the most sense in the context of discipleship: being personally mentored, guided, and directed by spiritually mature individuals, and in the context of a community of disciples. In a church culture that makes true disciples, accountability is the most natural thing in the world.

9. Christians lack quality friendships.

Accountability is also most natural in a gospel-centered friendship. We need the kind of friends mentioned in the proverbs: men and women who stick with us through thick and thin, who aren’t afraid to confront us, and who compel us to do what is right. Accountability is not only giving an account of my sin to another but receiving an account of God’s grace in return from a Christian friend.

10. Christians have not tasted gospel-centered accountability in the church.

The gospel of Christ is what guides and protects good accountability. Informed by the gospel, a good accountability partner will not be condemning, but gracious. Informed by the gospel, a good accountability partner will treat sin seriously because Christ took sin seriously. A good accountability partner will use the eternal promises of the gospel to motivate us to a higher standard. As Christians, we need to be taught how to do accountability partnerships well.


¹ https://www.barna.org/congregations-articles/454-study-describes-christian-accountability-provided-by-churches

  1. Authentic Christians doesn’t need an accountability partner because we already have the best dwelling inside us. if you listen to Jesus, through your Holy Spirit, you will never choose the wrong path.

    You must learn to turn your life/possessions/concerns over to Jesus, and not worry about them anymore because they are in the most capable hands ever.

    Working on stopping bad behavior through self-effort is doomed to failure every time because you’ve taken Jesus out of the situation., Just like trying to obey the 10 commandments, its legalism and that has no place in a grace-filled life.

    Jesus Himself said He could do nothing on His own, John 5:19 says, “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.”
    Also in John 5:30, “By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me.”

    If Jesus could do nothing on His own how can we think we know how to do things better than Him ? This is why we turn control of our lives over to Him and that eliminates the ‘need’ for an accountability partner’.

    • Chris McKenna

      Hello Michael, we too agree that “behavior management” is a recipe for disaster. But, your assertion that “authentic christians don’t need an accountability partner” seems to depart from multiple encouragements from Scripture to the contrary. Galatians 6:1-2, “Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” (Emphasis mine). 1 Thessalonians 5:11, “Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.” James 5:16, “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” Can God work powerfully in our lives through other people? Absolutely. I don’t believe that dependence on other trusted “iron sharpens iron” believers does anything to diminish my dependence on God. A cord of 3 strands is not quickly broken (Ecclesiastes 4:12).

      -Peace, Chris
      Covenant Eyes

  2. Vera

    This whole new approach to accountability has troubled me for quite some time. My husband and I attended a church where small groups were a must and so called “accountability” was a huge deal. I left a women’s small group after one of the older ladies called us to confess in sexual sins if there were any. I was silently begging God to not let this happen as I did not need to know such details of these women’s lives. That is an extreme example. Other issues that bothered me that the “accountability” resembled control in some areas, when a woman was simply told what to do in her situation without actually looking deeply into it. One young lady said “my mother always told me that if whatever your husband wants you to do isn’t a sin, than submit and do it.” That was her response to what one of the small group members shared. And due to the lack of time we had to move on to the next subject because we still had to squeeze in prayer requests and the prayer where everyone has to pray individually.
    That’s NOT accountability. That’s not descipling. That’s not fellowship. If someone has an issue and is willing to share, they must share it with someone who is actually wiser, possibly older (older women must teach younger women.. etc) and someone who is spiritually mature. Every group meeting I’ve been to, had no Bible study whatsoever, and the accountability time had taken a big part in it. How are we supposed to know what’s up if we barely touch God’s word?
    And the last straw was the fact that the “accountability” turned into pretty much keeping a score card on how much we are serving our church and each other. That was the last group my husband and I attended and that’s when we gave up. Let me put it this way: a noble man leaves and before he goes he gives 10 minas to 10 servants. Each one gets a mina. They all get together, form an accountability group, share ideas of how they can multiply those minas and how they can make sure at the end everyone has equal profit. Is that how it all went down?
    I am convinced that the term accountability is misused in small group settings. Yes, we need guidance, yes we need to build up one enother, stir up one another, confess our sins? Yes. Whom to confess our sins to? That’s a good question.

    • I prefer accountability in either one-on-one settings, or in small groups of individuals who are voluntarily meeting for such an express purpose. And yes: accountability to a mentor is preferable overall. I agree. I think the kind of accountability you’re describing here is very uninformed.

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