This morning I met with Ron (my accountability partner) who has grown over the past few years to become my best friend. We meet for a couple of hours almost every week for the sole purpose of keeping our lives on track. That may sound strange for some people, but it's true. The time we spend together has a very specific purpose. We hold one another accountable to a set of goals that we determined are essential in our lives.
A long time ago I made up my mind that I needed accountability in my life to grow to be like Jesus in my attitude and in my actions. You would think that a pastor could master that process on his own. Maybe some can, but I didn't want the chance of failing... again. I was tired of messing up on my own. I needed to face the reality that it was OK to ask for help. It's a hard lesson to learn and I had the bruises to prove I needed a new plan. Accountability was the answer.
Soon after moving to Washington, I began to pray for someone that would be an accountability partner in my life. I prayed for another guy that wanted to grow in the same areas of his life where I wanted to grow. I wanted to be a great husband and a great dad. I desired to be a better teacher an example to others. I wanted to grow in my capacity to love God and others. My goal was to be more like Jesus in every aspect of my life. It's not an easy list, right?
Over the years I discovered that if something was truly important to me, then inviting accountability in my life would stack the deck in my favor to succeed. Having an accountability partner would give me the edge I needed to meet my goals. My prayer was simple. "God, show me the right person." I wasn't sure how or when He would answer my request, but I knew He wouldn't let me down. I was often frustrated, because He wasn't answering right away. It took some time, but I kept praying and waiting.
It wasn't long until I met Ron for breakfast one morning. Our first few meetings had nothing to do with accountability. He simply wanted to get together (to eat of course) and ask about the church where I was working. Ron and his family had visited the church for several weeks and they had some questions about what we believed and why we did certain things. We took several opportunities to meet and it wasn't long until I began to see an individual that wanted the same things in life that I wanted. So... I made the ask.
Today, Ron is not just an accountability partner. He is a brother. When we meet we encourage one another in all areas of our lives. We have a lot of fun too. Our families have grown to be dear friends. Our wives have a great relationship. Our kids love to be together (when they are not picking on one another)! Our relationship has grown well beyond simply being accountability partners. But, when it's time to see how we are growing to become like Jesus... it's all business. It's one of the highlights of my week.
I have to let you in on something... Ron and several others have been challenging me to do something for a long time. The whole idea of accountability has become a deep passion of mine. I think everyone that is serious about their life being meaningful and significant must have a deep level of accountability. Without it, I think you are doomed to fail. Those that are closest to me believe I need to share my thoughts and ideas with others. This is my first "written" attempt to step up to the challenge. It is very scary to put your thoughts out here for the world to read and critique. I guess this is helping me to grow to be more like Jesus. He never seemed concerned about those that opposed what He knew was truth. I guess I need to grow in that area too.
OK Ron! Here we go...
0 comments:
Post a Comment