In the past, you’ve heard me mention accountability as being a necessary element in the whole SAD approach to accomplishing a goal—SAD, of course, being Standard, Accountability and Discipline.
The standard part is twofold: You need a standard to shoot for as well as a standard by which to abide. The discipline factor is obvious: You need to discipline yourself by tapping into the self-control mentioned in
Now, any time you’re considering a concept that is biblical, the fact that it’s practical and effective should come as no surprise. Still, accountability is just plain amazing. The difference it makes as far as ensuring the realization of your goal is just plain awesome.
This was reinforced recently thanks to a buddy of mine. We get together over a $5 cup of coffee (which is just wrong, by the way) on occasion and talk about all kinds of stuff. On this most recent occasion, for whatever reason, we started talking about a couple of things that we both agreed were important things that needed to get done, but because of the busy-ness of our respective schedules, they just weren’t getting done.
We decided right then and there that we would text each other our progress every day, knowing the other would be asking if we did what we actually said we were going to do.
I’m telling you, the fact that you know a text is coming that’s going to make you squirm if you don’t have the right answer compels a different kind of energy and resolve; and it doesn’t matter if the goal is spiritual in nature or something as trivial as cleaning up your garage.
To see a great article that reveals some compelling statistics when it comes to goal setting, writing it down and then complementing all of that with an accountability partner, visit the Muscular Christianity Accountability Machine and click on “Study Backs Up Strategies for Achieving Goals.” There’s a great article there written by Dr. Gail Matthews who, through her study, was able to conclude that writing things down and accountability make a big difference.
“OK!” you say. “So, I get the fact that accountability makes a big difference. What’s the action item here?”
Here you g Asking a student if he or she is reading the Bible doesn’t necessarily probe the extent to which the Word of God is being absorbed. To hold students accountable, you want to have some way to measure what they’re doing.
Use “Spotlights.” It’s 13 weeks of structured Scripture readings that have a series of questions that need to be answered every day. I put it together and you can have it. Just go to NewHopeForYou.com/downloads/book.pdf, and you’ll be up and running.
The other thing I would encourage you to take a look at is the “Accountability Machine.” Document what you’re going to eat and how you’re going to exercise before the beginning of the day. Throw in anything else you want to monitor. Establish your template, then log in throughout the day to document your progress. At the end of the day, click on the, “email my accountability partner,” and he or she will receive a link to the page you created which shows what you said you were going to do and whether you actually did it.
You can use the resources listed along the left side of the page to help you craft your regimen, but the main idea is that you’re coming up with your plan before you start the day. Now, you’ve got a plan and some boundaries in place that will be evaluated by your accountability partner after you finish writing down what you actually did (or did not) do.
Head out to MuscularChristianityOnline.com/accountability to get started. Go get ’em!
Bruce Gust is a Youth Pastor at New Hope Baptist Church in Hermitage, Tennessee. He spent nine years in the Marines, made his living playing drums for a while and now is a Web developer. He wrote the Bible study Muscular Christianity, which is in LifeWay stores or available at MuscularChristianityOnline.com. He teaches a fitness class at 5:30 a.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at the country rec center. He’s married to a gorgeous woman and has three phenomenal kids. Email him at Bruce@MuscularChristianityOnline.com.
