Welcome to the Victory Blog

We have a lot of new people coming into our church all the time. Because of that, and the fact that we have about 98 different nations represented (and at least that many different opinions about every issue), I’ve been asking God what He would like to say to our church that would help bring us together. He answered by giving me a word about His calling on our church.

Every church has a unique calling; different churches are called to different things. I feel like God said there are five things that He’s specifically called this church to do. We are called to be:

1. A church of reconciliation. Reconciliation means to bring something that has been divided or separated back together again. We are called to first reconcile lost people to God; and second, to reconcile people to each other (the part that has been left out of most churches). We are called to a life that is no longer about living for ourselves, but for others instead. As new creations, we no longer regard anyone according to the flesh, including their color! Everything we do now has to do with reconciling people to Christ and to each other. Honestly, there’s a lot to overcome to live that way. Too often, we just don’t get it…until we get a heart for reconciliation–seeking to understand, to see others’ perspectives, to reach across the barriers of separation and begin treating others, not based on what they have or haven’t done for us, but based on Jesus and His love for us. The only way to bring this kind of true reconciliation is through the blood of Jesus at work in our lives.
2. A church that preaches and lives according to the uncompromised Word of God. Unfortunately, there is a great void in the area of preaching the Word of God in the churches of America today. We’ve gotten more concerned with pleasing and attracting people. People don’t want to be challenged. But God’s Word has tremendous power to transform. If we want to experience that power, sometimes we need to be pierced, to hear things that we don’t want to hear from His Word.
3. A church that transforms the world around us. We have a dilemma today. We’re finding that rather than the church changing the world, the world is changing the church. Throughout history, whenever this has happened, the church has lost its influence in society. We’re called to be the salt and light of God in this world, but when we’re bickering and fighting, just like people in the world, we have no flavor, no transforming power.
4. A church that releases God’s will through prayer. If you’re one who has criticized our current president or our new president, it’s time to stop speaking words of death and start praying and speaking words of life. Things are not going to get better by speaking negatively about them. The more you pray for people, the nation, etc., the less critical you will become about them.
5. A church that models love and forgiveness. The number one message of Jesus in his life was forgiveness. That should be the main thing people get out of us when the meet/interact with us — regardless of how they treat us. We’re called to be an expression of God’s love. That means setting aside bitterness, resentment, offense and unforgiveness.

The message of our church is to bring people together so we can do the will of God. But, our enemy wants to divide and conquer us. To keep this from happening, we have to put our thoughts, opinions and feelings on the altar and pursue a heart of reconciliation. I’m calling on every one of you to put out the fires of division, strife and discord and to walk in love. If we can be that kind of church, imagine what kind of power we’ll have to bring transformation to our community!

Last week, our country’s democratic process awarded us the opportunity to take part in a moment of great historical significance - the election of our nation’s first African American President.

As I watched the election coverage, I was deeply moved by the faces, streaming with tears, in celebratory scenes from across our great country. The enormity of this moment for all Americans was clear as even news anchors found themselves moved with tremendous emotion and unable to speak. For the first time in the more than two hundred years of our nation’s history, America came together to elect a person of color to the world’s highest office. I was especially excited because the vision of racial reconciliation has been so close to my own heart and so much a part of the vision of our church - I could see the endless possibilities sitting before us.

I truly believe that we have entered a new season of change, and we have both the privilege and responsibility to support President Elect Barack Obama in prayer. I am a very strong believer that Obama has the potential to do some very good things for our country. However, I also recognize that what God would use to bring our country together, the enemy would use to bring greater division. It is with this recognition that we must, as Christians, take our call to prayer with utmost seriousness and, as the church, get behind our President to support him in prayer. It is through prayer that we have the opportunity to turn our nation in a positive direction.

Scripture is clear regarding our responsibility to pray for all in authority. We cannot allow ourselves to get caught up in criticism rather than prayer. When we fail to pray, we become a part of the problem rather than the solution.

This past weekend, I spoke a message to challenge us all to prayer for our new President and our country. For those in our congregation who did not support Barack Obama, the challenge from the Lord was to view our President in a different light and to get behind him, even if they don’t agree with him on some issues. For those in our congregation who did support Barack Obama, the challenge from the Lord is to understand that there are some sobering issues that he supports which violate Scripture, and we should pray that God would move on his heart in these areas.

If you weren’t here this weekend, I urge you to visit our website to listen or watch the message. I also ask you to pray daily about five key areas that will impact President Elect Obama’s leadership and the course of our nation, which I discuss in greater detail in the online message.

1. Pray for protection for our President and his family.
2. Pray for his heart to be turned toward righteousness and justice.
3. Pray for the governing of our economic system to be fair and equitable.
4. Pray that God would surround him with wise and godly counsel.
5. Pray that the President would govern in such a way that brings our country back together.

In closing, I believe Barack Obama has the opportunity to be a great leader in a very critical time for our nation and the world. I will support President Obama with all of my heart and prayers; and my prayer is that he will become one of our greatest Presidents ever. I invite you to join me in that prayer.

What do you think about Heaven? What do you think it’s going to be like? Have you ever given any deep thought to that? Very few people know what heaven is really like. Most people think of people and angels just kind of floating around in space or in the clouds, not really having anything to do. It sounds pretty boring. The truth is that there’s quite a bit more to Heaven than that. Most people don’t have a clue just how good heaven will be.

When I started studying Heaven, it was probably the most difficult, but fascinating study I’ve ever done on the Bible. The topic is so vast, that it is impossible to answer every question in a short space, but I would like to answer a few of the key questions. Then, I want to leave it up to you to dive deeper into the subject. (To help you in your own study, let me highly recommend one of the most thorough books on the subject: Heaven by Randy Alcorn.)

The Bible has a lot to say on the subject and that’s where we need to go first to find answers about Heaven. First, take a look at Philippians 1:21-23. Among other things, Paul says that Heaven is “far better” than anything we’ll ever experience here on earth. Think about some of the best experiences you’ve ever had in the earth, or the most beautiful places you’ve ever seen. According to Paul, Heaven will far better.

God’s Word also talks about two heavens. First, there is the present heaven, where believers go when they die and which is described as paradise and a place of transition. (See Luke 16:9-26) When we die on the earth, our bodies return to the earth, and we pass into this temporary heaven in the form of soul and spirit.

Then there is the eternal Heaven, or second Heaven. The Apostle John describes this in the Book of Revelation (21:1-8). At the end of time, the old heaven and earth will be destroyed and there will be a new heaven and earth. Heaven will come down to the earth and we will live on the earth, but it will also be Heaven. It will be more beautiful than anything we can imagine. In fact, the earthly beauty that we see even now is only a vague, shadowy reflection of the splendor that will be. In this new Heaven, there will be no more death, sickness, suffering, sorrow, pain or any other evil thing brought about by sin and the curse. We’ll have new bodies in which we’ll be able to do things we can’t do now. Can you imagine that? It’s true! And, not only that, but we will be in God’s presence all the time, ruling with Him, learning, discovering and rejoicing! I want to go, don’t you?!

Here’s what we have to understand: after we die, we will all face two judgments. The first, which will determine whether we spend eternity in Heaven or Hell, is not based on works (what we have done) but on our faith. It is only if we believe in our hearts and confess with our mouths that Jesus Christ is Lord that we will gain entrance into Heaven.

The second judgment, concerning our works, determines how we will experience eternity - what rewards we are given. Again, we are not saved by our works. BUT, our works give evidence to our salvation. If we truly have faith, we will do good works. Like the Apostle James said, “Faith without works is dead.” All of us will stand before the judgment seat to have our works judged and be given rewards. Therefore, it matters what we do.

Heaven is going to be unimaginably awesome! Don’t you want to go there? Certainly you don’t want to trade that for a little earthly pleasure now and an eternity of torment. I urge you, if you haven’t already done so, turn to Christ right now. God loves us so much. He doesn’t want any of us to perish. So, turn away from doing life on your own. Stop living only for yourself and surrender to Jesus. Don’t get all religious; just start walking in relationship with Christ, and tell someone about it who can help you continue to grow. If you will do that, all the splendor of Heaven awaits you!

You know, I can’t remember the last time I heard a sermon on Hell. Can you? Few of us ever dive deep into the subject. It’s such a negative thing; most people just kind of ignore the concept. When asked, people have a huge variety of views about what Hell, whether or not it exists, who goes there and why. A recent survey showed that while 74% of Americans believe in a biblical Heaven, only 59% of Americans believe in a biblical Hell. For each person who believes they’re going to Hell, 120 believe they’re going to Heaven. 

But here’s the deal, Jesus said that the path to Hell is broad and easy. Many people tread that path. Conversely, the path to life is narrow, more difficult and relatively few people walk that way. While it’s become popular in our culture today to believe that there are many paths to Heaven, the Bible explicitly states that there is only one way: through Jesus. In fact, he said it himself, “I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6, NIV)

In truth, our souls go on living forever after our earthly bodies have passed away. And, after we die, we will live for eternity in one of two places: in Heaven with Jesus or in Hell with the devil. It will be the decisions we have made during our earthly lives which will determine which one. Therefore, anyone who has a belief in God and in the truth of his Word has to seriously consider where they will spend eternity and the reality of both Heaven and Hell.

Because we so rarely give any real thought to these things, I thought we should spend a couple of weeks delving into what the scriptures have to say on the matter. This week, as you may have noticed already (and despite how unpopular the subject may be), is about Hell.

First thought: “Why did God create Hell?” The answer is very simple - Hell was never created for people. God never wanted any of us to go to Hell. Rather, God created Hell as a place of punishment for the devil and his angels who rebelled against God, attempting to usurp God’s throne before the creation of the world.

Hell is indescribably awful. Imagine never being able to see anyone or anything, never resting or sleeping, being utterly alone, feeling forgotten, living without any hope, being consumed with fear, being tormented and completely separated from God…forever. This barely begins to describe existence in Hell.

So, what happened that caused mankind to have to go there? Answer: Adam and Eve, the first man and woman, listened to the devil, disobeyed God, opened the door for sin to enter the human race and died spiritually. Because of their choice, each of their descendants (that’s you, me, everyone) has a bent toward sin and we cannot enter Heaven in that state. We are born on the path to death and Hell. Therefore, unless something changes, that’s where we’d all end up.

And now for the good news! God has the answer for sin and Hell: Jesus! Through Jesus we can enter into life. He came to buy us back from our sin by becoming a sacrifice for us on the cross. He took all our sin upon himself, died and then rose again in triumph over sin and death. He opened the doors of Heaven and offers life to all who believe. All we have to do is turn away from our sin, receive God’s forgiveness and surrender our lives to Jesus.

So, let me ask you this: Where are you headed? Have you surrendered your life to Jesus? If the answer is no, then I want to encourage you to face the reality of eternity. You cannot count on even one more breath. Don’t wait. Surrender now. Don’t spend even on more moment on the road to Hell. Choose life.

Second, if you’re one who knows that you’re on our way to Heaven, what are you doing to help keep others from going there? Those of us who know the good news have to share it with those who don’t. Wouldn’t every one of us want someone to save us if we were drowning or on fire? Then, how much more must we seek to bring the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ to those all around us who are lost and going to Hell? We interact with people every day who are on the very threshold of Hell. Let that fact motivate you to share the Gospel with them. Be bold. Tell them about Christ. Bring them to Your Final Destination this week. Be intentional. God doesn’t want anyone to go to Hell, do you? Of course not! I urge you to live like it!

We had another rough week with more bad financial news than we’ve had in a while. With the largest drop in the market ever, a $700 billion bailout passed (adding to our already inconceivably immense national debt) and unemployment rising at a startling pace, so many people are living in fear and anxiety. Everyone is realizing just how uncertain the future can be, and many are terrified, acting irrationally and don’t know what to do.

These may be difficult times, but God has a way to take His people through without all the fear, anxiety, hopelessness and despair that are so prevalent. He has a better word for us. In order to get there, however, we have to go through a process. As I have studied this process of receiving God’s provision in difficult times, I have consistently found three principles at work:

First, we must put all our trust in God alone - not in man, self, finances or government - in God alone. Now, I have to admit that I don’t always do that. There are times, when I start trying to take back control, try to do things on my own or start trusting in others. But this is double-mindedness and instability and God doesn’t answer our prayers when we’re in this state. He knows that we cannot receive His provision. It is only when we are trusting God that we will know and walk in His revealed will, and do so with health (mental, emotional, physical and spiritual) and prosperity. These things depend on our trust relationship with the Father.

Second, having put our trust in God, we will then keep God first in everything we do - in our time, our talent and our treasure. We will freely give God our first and best in every area. Now, we have a tendency, when things are tight, to stop giving to God out of fear and anxiety. This is because we start focusing on our problems rather than God. But this goes back to the first principle. Trusting God will close the door to fear and open the door to giving of ourselves in faith.

When we don’t put God first, we bring a curse into our lives. I don’t want to live under a curse. Do you? Of course not! So, if you’re struggling financially, ask yourself if you’re giving God the first and best of your time, talent and treasure? If not, you can repent, turn back to God and start making Him first in every area. Test Him in this. He will open the windows of heaven and pour out blessings. And, He will rebuke the devourer.

Finally, to receive God’s provision in difficult times, we must be willing to receive what we have not earned. Recognize that there are times when God wants to bless us when we don’t deserve it, when we haven’t earned it. We have to be able to receive it. Some people are good at giving, but terrible at receiving. We need to call in the blessing and be willing to receive it whenever and however it comes. Also, we need to go out and harvest what we have planted. Don’t leave the harvest in the field. Don’t be passive; aggressively go after what God has promised. Receive it by faith. Call in the resources. Don’t be one of those people who are just sitting back “waiting for God” passively all the while struggling financially because they won’t diligently go after God, His promises and their harvest.

No matter how difficult the times or our circumstances may appear, God will take care of us and we can go through them with peace and confidence. We only need to trust in Him completely in everything - rather than in ourselves or our understanding; put Him first in our time, talent and treasure; and then humbly and actively receive His provision.

This has been quite a week. In fact, the media is saying that we’re in the greatest financial crisis since the Great Depression. There is so much fear, panic and turmoil - more so than I’ve ever seen in my life. It’s way too much. And God is looking for His people to respond in a different way - not by fear, but in faith.

In order to do so, we need to get back into God’s Word to remind us that God is the answer for all of our troubles. When we start looking at the Word, God encourages us and builds our faith. He reminds us that no matter what happens, He is still on the throne…He hasn’t fallen off. He’s not worried in the least. We are going to make it.

In Psalm 23 (which is such a good passage of Scripture to meditate on every day) David wrote, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” In other words, when we are under the lordship of Jesus, there is no wanting in us. We trust in the Lord, recognizing that He is well able to take care of us regardless of our circumstances. And this brings us into a place of peace and rest - where God wants us to live. No stress or worry; only peace and trust in Him.

Worrying accomplishes nothing. It only shows that we’re trying to control things on our own because we don’t trust God. We have to remind ourselves constantly that we are not the ones in control; God is. He takes care of us. He provides for us. This is the path of righteousness in which He wants to guide us.

David also writes, “Yea, though I walk through the valley…, I will fear no evil.” Life is filled with valleys. They are inevitable, unpredictable and impartial. That is, we all go through them at different times in our lives and they usually come at the worst time. But, valleys are also temporary - we may have to walk through them, but we don’t stay in them. And, most importantly, valleys are purposeful: God uses them to teach us and show us things; it is only in valleys that we grow; we don’t build faith on the mountain tops, but in the valleys; and, valleys drive us closer to God.

In order to walk through life’s valleys and come out on the other side, we have to decide to walk by faith and not by fear. That means focusing on God’s promises (found in His Word) instead of our problems. We need to feed our faith not our fear. Put a higher priority on God’s Word than the fear-mongering news media. I’m not suggesting that we disconnect, but just to stay focused on God’s promises.

Also, know that our words have tremendous power over our lives. If we keep speaking our fearful thoughts, we’ll bring what we fear upon ourselves. To get out of the valley, we must speak God’s promises over our lives, for what we are today is a direct result of what we say and believe. We have to change the way we speak; to quit speaking doubt and unbelief and start agreeing with what God says.

We need to learn how to hear God’s voice, and to obey everything He tells us to do. Now, this can be a difficult thing because sometimes we don’t want to do what God tells us to do. At other times, it can be hard because we’ve let the voice of the world (TV, radio, internet, music, etc.) get too loud and we need to turn it down. Remember, God often speaks in a still small voice - give yourself a chance to hear it.

Finally, always remember that God is with us. Yes, I know that’s really simple, but it’s so true and so profound. David wrote, “I will fear no evil for You are with me.” In other places God says, “Fear not for I am with you,” and “I will never leave you or forsake you.” People, jobs and money may leave us, but God will never leave us. The world is full of fear because most people don’t have that revelation.

Consider where you are right now in your faith. Are you walking by faith or fear? Are you speaking your problems, fears and anxieties, or what God says? Are you listening to your thoughts and the world, or to God’s still small voice? I urge you: seek God. Spend time with Him. Help yourself remember that God is with us, that He will never leave us and that with Him as our Lord and Shepherd, we will lack nothing and He will bring us through the life’s valleys victoriously. In these tumultuous times, the peace you’ll have as a result will be a more powerful witness than anything you could ever say.

On September 5th and 6th a group of Victory men attended Men’s Advance themed, Band of Brothers: No Man Down. Hosted by Pastor Dennis and special guest speaker Chip Judd and held at the beautiful Simpsonwood Retreat Center, this Men’s Advance included four power-packed sessions and an Extreme Rescue Mission that gave us the tools we need to help keep ourselves and our brothers from becoming the “man down”.

All of us, from different walks of life, came together to be challenged and equipped spiritually, mentally and physically to effectively deal with those areas in which the enemy attacks hardest and has had the most success in taking men out. We had times of dynamic worship, challenging instruction and open, honest sharing. Of course, we also enjoyed fellowship, building relationships with other guys and good food.

The Extreme Rescue Mission consisted of a number of team-based physical challenges which forced team members to rely on one another and cooperate in order to succeed. It was a lot of fun and at the same time, provided an excellent interactive illustration of principles learned during the teaching sessions. One of the guys, Pete, had this to say: “The messages from Chip and Pastor Dennis were right on. The challenges were a lot of fun. Every man at Victory should take advantage of this great opportunity and attend Men’s Advance in the future. It’s truly life-changing! I can’t wait until the next one!” (If you attended this event and were impacted by it, we would love to hear your story. Please submit it here.)

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There were quite a few photos taken at the event. If you’d like to view the entire gallery, download photos or order prints, click here.

When we started Victory, one of our goals was “to turn people into believers and believers into disciples.” We have tried to set up in our church a means to help people move through this process. That means is found in small groups, or as we call them, V•Groups. In fact, it is only in the context of a small group that we can or will truly become disciples: moving from a basic acquaintance with the reality of Christ, to a growing trust in God, which will then lead us to serve others and, ultimately, to share our life with others in total abandonment to Christ - doing church daily - getting church outside the walls.

In Acts 2, we see that the lives of thousands of people were transformed into lives of simplicity, sincerity and sacrifice; a transformation which mightily impacted the community around them. Notice that the transformation didn’t happen in the large, formal gathering at the temple, but as they met day to day in small groups in their homes.

Although we like to believe transformation takes place in our church services, the reality is that only limited transformation takes place in large meetings. Our weekend services are NOT what community looks like. Rather, doing life together outside the four walls of the church building is what community looks like. How do we do that? We have to get into small groups. And, in case you’re still not convinced, here are more reasons why it’s important to be in a small group:

1. Pastoral Care - One person can only care effectively for so many people. In any church with more than about 50 people, the only way anyone can have adequate pastoral care is if the church is broken down into small groups.
2. Learning to Love - God wants to put us into environments where we will learn how to love. Small groups are the perfect environment to learn how to work through the difficulties of relationship - to exercise our love.
3. Discipleship - Jesus commanded us to make disciples - not just believers. In order to become disciples, people need a safe, small group environment where they can talk through life’s issues and how God’s Word applies to them.
4. Sharing our Gifts Together - God has given all of us gifts with which we are to minister to others. Small groups are a safe place to learn how to operate in our gifts and minister to others. Large corporate gatherings just can’t offer this opportunity.
5. Accountability - The small group is where God starts the accountability process. It is a safe place to bring everything to the light, to confess sins and to receive ministry.
6. Sharing Life Together - We weren’t meant to do life independently. If we are not sharing our lives with others we cannot be healthy, let alone become all God created us to be. We need to share our lives with others.
7. Effective Community Outreach - We’ve got to take the church outside the walls. There are so many needs in our community; we have to break them down into bite-sized pieces. We can most effectively do this through small groups. (As with UNITE! Compassion in Action Weekend.)

As you can see, being in a small group is not only valuable, it is an essential part of the Christian life. You simply will not experience the life God intends for you to have without the authentic relationships found in a small group. So, if you haven’t joined a V•Group yet, I encourage you to do so this week. Don’t wait any longer. You already know what community looks like and why it’s so important. Now it’s time to act on that knowledge and become a church without walls.

Way too many people in the Christian world are trying to do life alone. A study conducted by the Department of Mental Health showed that if you isolate yourself from other people, you are three times more likely to die an early death, four times more likely to suffer emotional burnout, five times more likely to be clinically depressed and ten times more likely to be hospitalized for an emotional or mental disorder. The fact that so many people in our culture do isolate themselves is a little bit scary, don’t you think?

When we live in isolation, without any true friendships, we start to develop blind spots as we get older. Our personalities begin to get quirky, and we start to lose our ability to relate well with others. For some, this comes about because they isolate themselves, whether out of fear or independence. But, there are others who, despite trying to have friendships, are rarely successful. Often, these people simply don’t know how to make or keep friends.

Honestly, not a lot of us have really deep friendships. Think about it. Who are your two or three deepest friends? Do you share you life with them? Are you able to really open up and be honest about your deepest issues? Do you even have friends like that? Sometimes we struggle to find people who can get into our life, hold us accountable and spur us on to God’s best for our lives. Many of us simply aren’t aware of the things that can hinder us or what it takes to have true friendships. So, I’d like to talk a little bit about those things.

First, I encourage you to take an honest look at your own life and the ways you relate to others. There are a number of things that might be keeping you from developing close friends. These things include:

• Not being friendly. There are a lot of people who live in their neighborhoods, work in their jobs and even go to church without ever opening up or being friendly to the people all around them every day.
• Being narcissistic. This means “having an exaggerated sense of self importance coupled with a remarkable absence of interest or empathy for others.” A lot of people don’t really care about others. They think the universe revolves around them.
• Having a rejection complex. Many people have grown up in environments where others have rejected them and, as a result, they now feel they can’t let themselves get too close to others for fear of rejection. Their tendency is to reject others before others reject them.
• Being insecure. On one hand, the world is constantly reminding us of how we don’t measure up. On the other hand, many people are shy or have never been confident enough in their ability to build relationships.

Thankfully, one of the things Jesus came to do is to set us free from all these areas. Jesus cared about people. He was secure and confident in who he was. His personality was very attractive to others. Now, when He comes to live inside of you, He will change those things about you that keep you from having true friends. You see, it is those things that are not like Jesus that drive people away from us. In fact, the more you let Him take over your personality, the more friends you will have.

If we want to promote true friendships in our lives, we must first be forgiving. Way too many friendships go by the wayside because we’re unwilling to forgive or understand where they’re at. Then, we must be confidential - that is, don’t gossip. We lose friends quicker by gossiping than any other way. Also, remember that a true friend speaks the truth in love. We’re going to have times, if we’re really being true friends, that we’re going to have to confront a friend about an uncomfortable issue in them. We all have blinds spots. Sometimes we say or do things that we have no idea are offensive or hurtful. Because of that, we need to have people in our lives that we can ask to hold us accountable when they see these things in us. And, we need to be able to receive their correction. When we are being a true friend, we will listen to and encourage others. And, we will be consistent and committed.

These are the characteristics of true friendship. How do we remember them? Well we can start by following the words of Jesus. He said, “Here is a simple, rule-of-thumb guide for behavior: Ask yourself what you want people to do for you, then grab the initiative and do it for them. Add up God’s Law and Prophets and this is what you get.” (Matthew 7:12, The Message) While most of us have heard of this - the “Golden Rule” - many people don’t realize that really, this is the secret to having true friendships. In other words, rather than waiting for others to befriend you, you start talking to them, encouraging them and serving them. You start exhibiting the characteristics I mentioned above. As you do, people will want to be your friends - probably more than you’ll know what to do with. And, as that happens, you will begin to experience the fullness of life in community - the life that God is inviting us to - a life that is full of True Friendships. That is what community looks like!

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I recently watched a phenomenal video in which a Cape buffalo calf was attacked by a pride of lions and then also by a crocodile, but was rescued from them by its herd. Amazingly, the calf got up and walked away, virtually unharmed. (If you haven’t seen it, you can watch it here.)

This clip perfectly illustrates the safety of being in community. It was only because they were in a group (a community), that the herd felt confident enough to attempt this rescue. If that calf had been alone, or if the herd had not come to its rescue, it would have been doomed.

This is true for us as well. The Bible says that Satan “roams about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” We all need people around us. We all need community. Yet, so many people have isolated themselves today, even in the church, so that when something bad happens, they have no one to help them. They don’t realize that their isolation leads to suffering, bondage and, quite often, destruction.

In my first year as a Christian, I learned the value of being with people. While I started my journey alone, someone came alongside of me and began helping me grow as a Christian. He mentored and discipled me, keeping me on track and holding me accountable. Today, there are way too few people in the church who have this process at work in their lives. Without real personal relationships, they’ve never learned how to grow in Christ. The missing element is accountability.

Accountability means to be regularly answerable for each of the key areas of our lives to qualified people. There are areas in all of our lives in which we tend to struggle and for which we need to be answerable. The major ones are our spiritual life, work life, home life and moral life. Accountability provides the motivation and safety we need to grow in these areas. I’ve discovered in my life that wherever I’m struggling (especially if it’s for a long time), that’s where I’m not being accountable; I’m not letting people into my life.

Now, if we want to become accountable, we need to be aware of a few challenges that need to be overcome:

1. The Challenge of Independence. Everybody has a little independence in them. We don’t want anyone to tell us what to do. But we need to learn how to honor and submit to some level of accountability. If we don’t do this, we will start to make bad choices; choices that lead to destruction.
2. The Challenge of Structure. Everyone is challenged at times in the area of structure. For instance, those who are failing in their finances are usually doing so because they have no structure in their finances. Without the structure of a budget, money will be wasted. In fact, in every area of our lives where we don’t have structure, we open the door to chaos. We have to overcome the unwillingness to build structure into our lives.
3. The Challenge of Success. While all of us want to be successful, many of us don’t know how to handle success. The highest risk for failure is usually during times of success. The more successful you are, the more accountability structure you have to build around you because while you may make fewer mistakes, they will cost you much more.
4. The Challenge of Personal Vulnerability. We need a willingness to let people in - to let people see our failures and our faults. Very few people do this. It is very hard, requiring a vulnerable attitude towards ourselves. But we have to realize that we’re probably not all we think we are, and that we’re very likely to make mistakes.
5. The Challenge of Trust. We’ve all had people in our life that we’ve looked up to who have violated our trust. Unfortunately, because of this violation, many people have decided to not trust others or let anyone close ever again. They’ve built a barrier around themselves to seal people out. What they don’t realize is that when we do this, we actually seal in our issues and problems and they become strongholds which keep God out and the devil in. In order to break those strongholds, we have to learn to trust again.

Being in community and having accountability are essential to our lives. We cannot be all that God created us to be without them. Living without accountability is just like being that buffalo calf - only without the herd and the happy ending. So, I urge you, if you don’t have accountability in your life, ask God, right now, to direct you to one or more people who will hold you accountable - people who are wise and have had success in the areas you need to grow in - people you can build a trusting relationship with. Then, talk with them regularly. Get counsel often - before there’s a crisis - so that when a crisis comes, you’ll already have the tools and relationships you need to handle it. If you will do that, I promise you will see tremendous growth and change in your life. You will move from just being a believer to being a true disciple of Jesus Christ.

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