Accountability Team / Prayer Partner

Question: Do you have an accountability team/prayer partner in your present church?

Response: If by accountability partner you mean someone I meet with on a regular basis that I report to regarding my habits and thought life, then the answer is no. However, I do have several friends that know they are free to ask me about anything at any time. Usually they never have to ask. If I am struggling in an area I usually approach them. Most of these friends are pastors.

Within the local church, our Elders pray for and with both, Mendy and me regularly. Among my leaders here, there are some we are closer to than others. We share our more personal prayer items with them.

Outside of New Life Alamosa Mendy and I have two couples to whom we usually turn for prayer about major issues in our lives. These couples also pray for us regularly just as a matter of supporting us.

On a somewhat related matter, one of the things we are moving toward here in Alamosa is to put in place what are called “Overseers.” These Overseers would consist of three to five pastors of other churches that I would nominate to our elders for selection as overseers. Their role would be to pray for the church and for me, but should there be some question of inappropriate behavior on my part or a failure to perform my duties, our elders would contact the Overseers. The overseers would investigate the matter and depending upon their findings, they would either exonerate me or determine appropriate disciplinary measures. In a worst case scenario they could remove me as Senior Pastor. I like this approach for several reasons.

1. It’s high on accountability.
2. It protects the congregation from having to discipline their pastor. In those situations where congregations have had no other vehicle to rely on but their personal discernment, the church often suffers horribly and seldom recovers.
3. It also protects the church from a politicized process.

While it is certainly not a requirement, at some point I will visit with RCF’s MLT about putting a similar process in place, should I become your pastor.