The Crossline Community Groups Podcast

The Power of Accountability In Action

• Jordan Gash • Season 1 • Episode 13

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Can the bonds formed within a church community dramatically enhance your spiritual journey? Join me as we explore the transformative power of community groups at Crossline Community Church. December not only marks my quirky tradition of growing a mustache but also serves as a timely reminder of the profound sense of belonging that small groups offer. I also discuss how active participation in small groups far surpasses traditional Sunday messages in fostering spiritual growth and learning. As iron sharpening iron—these close-knit circles encourage mutual growth, accountability, and a deeper connection with God's teachings.

As we journey further, we uncover the relationship between grace and accountability in a Christian community. Acknowledging our flaws, I emphasize the abundant grace offered through Jesus Christ, which opens the door to forgiveness and collective growth. It's about forming a support system where love encourages change, urging us to strive towards Christ-likeness together. I reflect on the idea that grace is not contrary to effort but challenges the notion of earning it, urging us to actively pursue Christ as a community. With a heartfelt blessing from Philippians 1:9-11, my hope is to inspire knowledge, discernment, and righteousness within your own group, guiding you towards a more enriched spiritual path.

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Speaker 1:

Well, hello everyone, welcome to December. I know that it is now December, not because I am seeing the Christmas drinks at Starbucks or the ugly sweaters or the Christmas lights, but I know that it's December because I look in the mirror and I see that I have a mustache on my face. Yes, december is the month of the mustache for Mr Jordan Gash, which that is who I am. My name is Jordan Gash. I'm the community life pastor at Crossline Community Church down in Laguna Hills, california, and you are listening to the Crossline Community Groups podcast. This is a podcast that has been designed particularly for the leaders that are small group leaders here at our church, but we wanted to extend it out to anybody and everybody that may find this valuable. So that may be you. You could be a somebody who's leading a small group. You could be somebody who's leading small groups in your church. You could just be interested in small groups and want to know a little bit more about that, or you just somehow ended up on my podcast and here you are and you're listening, and I'm glad you're here. But whatever the case, uh, thanks so much for joining in. Um, we do hope that the information that you get today is helpful. And I do want to say that, if you are a leader or a small group leader, a small group pastor, in that capacity, thank you so much for what you do. I just say it every time we do these podcasts, but you are doing a kingdom work and this is so important. So thank you for what you do. Well, let's get into it. We have an exciting episode today because we're going to talk a little bit about really the power of accountability and action, what makes community groups such a great thing to have at your church and such a great thing to participate in.

Speaker 1:

And so I would say that most of you that are out there listening, I would assume, you attend a church of some sort. You know lots of different denominations, lots of different ways that people experience church, but I imagine that you like to go to the church, and one of the reasons you like to go to that church is you connect with the teaching that happens at your church, the teaching that you receive from the pulpit, and you connect with what. Maybe it's the one teacher, maybe you have a team of teachers that rotate, but there's, there's some sort of vibe that happens between you and the teaching that happens at that church and it's the case here at Crossline I. I'm biased, but I do think that our senior pastor, jp Jones, is one of the most gifted teachers around that's out there. I've learned a lot from him over the years and it is.

Speaker 1:

It is one of those key reasons that people quote unquote decide on a home church Is that the teaching. You know, do I connect with the teaching, the worship and the teaching. That's all important to them, but still the thing that takes the cake for carrying the most weight in a person's decision and choosing a church, especially today post-COVID, is the community. It's that feeling of belonging and connection, it's having friends, it's being a part of something. That really truly is still the number one reason why people decide a home church. They feel that belonging there, at that church.

Speaker 1:

And it's interesting because science actually shows that it's within community settings that people actually grow the most in their learning and understanding of discipleship and the Bible and Jesus. It's the difference between passive versus participatory teaching methods. Research done by the National Training Laboratory shows that whereas lecture and reading yield an average retention rate of that information of 5 to 10 percent, group discussion and practice actually yield an average retention rate of 50 to 75%. So when you're actually participating, when you're engaging in that community setting, the retention rates go up so substantially and get this if you actually get to the point where you are now teaching others. There's a retention rate of 90% if you're teaching others. And so, as we, you know, digest the Bible and as we explore the Bible, we want to understand more of Jesus. We definitely, you know, retain so much more within those community settings.

Speaker 1:

Not to say that you shouldn't go to church, you shouldn't listen to teaching, you shouldn't, you know, take in content in different ways of things. All those things are important. You can definitely grow and learn from that. You definitely should do it. But I'm just showing you that community has such a power in that and I think that's the reality, right, it's the reality that when you're in a, when you're in a close knit group, there's so much growth because there is that strong sense of accountability and and it's and that collective action for the goal of discipleship. As a mentor of mine used to say he always talked about this, this idea of iron sharpening iron that we pull from the bible. And and for iron to sharpen iron, there has to be a lot of close proximity. And when you have close proximity, when you're that close, when you're that engaged with each other, there sometimes can be friction and there sometimes can be sparks, but when that friction and that sparks is right, it's for the mutual edification, it's for the growth together, it's the expression of this cooperative pursuit of the same goal and that has this power of cohesion.

Speaker 1:

Community settings, of community groups, of small groups. And I will say I personally I've experienced this in both directions in different types of group settings, where I have been the one that was out of alignment or was maybe dull in an area, or I wasn't really receiving things and or I wasn't, you know, responding to a situation in the right way. And I've had, you know, dudes in my group that have come, or my whole group collectively come and share. Hey man, I don't know if that's the best way to be thinking that way, or I don't know if is this the, is this really the attitude of Jesus, through this whole situation, and I've had to think about that and talk through that and I felt edified, I felt like I was corrected for the right way. And I've also been on the other end, where I've had to come, you know and talk to guys that are my friends and I know, that are pursuing Jesus, and just straight call them out and say you know, you're not treating your wife the right way. That's that's wrong man. That's that shows right here in the scriptures. That's what we want to. You know, we have to lift up our wives and it's like, okay, we've had that situation. So I'm just showing you that these are some of the things that happen within these group settings that you don't get. You don't get when you're just listening to sermons or just slipping in on a Sunday morning and then slipping out. I mean you definitely need to have that close proximity in community and you definitely need to have that close proximity in community.

Speaker 1:

So the question is how do we, as shepherds of our small groups, lead the members of those small groups further into participation, further into proximity? And I got three adjustments that we can make as leaders and shepherds to really help boost this even more. The first adjustment that we can definitely make is that we have to prioritize application. James 1.22 says do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourselves, but do what it says. What a revelation. We actually have to do what it says, and so we want to find ways to prioritize that application.

Speaker 1:

And so, as you go through your group, make sure that there is a time that time is managed accordingly to really allow for the proper time to discuss the practical application of the content. Yes, you should go through scripture. Yes, you should dive into a discussion. Yes, you should exchange prayer requests, all those things. Those things are important. But make sure you do not neglect the portion of your group that specifically talks about of okay, now what are we going to do? You know how are we going to jump into applying what the what God's words is telling us right here. So make sure that you have that, that timekeeper that's in your group. We've talked about that at another um in other podcasts, that it's important to have a timekeeper in your group. Make sure that the timekeeper makes allows you to have that time at the end to talk about really application. And if the curriculum that you're using we try to do this with the curriculum that we create here at Crossline, but if the curriculum that you are using does not specifically have a section about application, be sure, as the facilitator, to lead your group in a discussion about application. Build it into the culture and values of your group, that you're a group that prioritizes the application of God's word. So that's the first adjustment that you can make in your group if you're not doing that already.

Speaker 1:

Number two is and I use this all the time I definitely use this a lot more in even community settings, as I'm engaging with those people that are even wanting to learn more about the Bible and learn more about Jesus and don't yet know him. You know, because this is actually a really powerful tool that I utilize and we'll talk a little bit more about it in a sec, but it's it's utilizing the I will statements. Um, second Corinthians, eight, verse 11, says but now finish doing it also so that just as there was a readiness to desire it, so there may also be the completion of it by your ability. So this is really where accountability kicks in. There is this great power in allowing everyone to make a simple, measurable and accomplishable I will statement as a response to your time of study. So examples of this might be. I will reach out to my neighbor to see how I can be praying for them. I will fast one day this week for your sister who is sick. I will read my Bible every day this week, I will share my testimony with my coworker this week. I will you know, and these are things that you can definitely look at and say the next week. Did you do it? Or did you not Try to avoid these more vague ones that are like I will be more loving this week? I mean, that's great, you should be more loving this week, but there's no real measurements there and it's hard to keep people accountable to that.

Speaker 1:

And so make a statement again that's accomplishable. Don't make it too lofty. Make it something simple that you drew from God's word. This is the statement that I'm going to do and I'm going to live and I'm going to be disciplined to do it this week. And this is really this intentional way to exercise the prioritization of application and statements. I will statements. They're more, uh, covenantal than than intentions. We we can make intentions, we can make ideas, but when you make a statement that you're, you're kind of stepping into a, a self promise that you're making and why I think this is such an amazing step.

Speaker 1:

When you do this and I've experienced this myself and I've seen this in others around me when you apply that and you do that, I will statement that week and you see powerful things that come from that I will statement, or you experience a greater sense of peace from whatever you're doing, or you fasted or you prayed for that person in that week and something happened. What it does is it takes the knowledge into the external sphere, right of your existence, it takes it out there and you begin to see wait a second, these are just more than words on a page Like these are. These are truly ways to live my life, and when I live this way and I obey God's word and I apply in practical ways, things happen. And then when you especially when you see this with unbelievers or people that are seeking like, when they make that connection, you see a shift in them because they're kind of, they're weirded out in a way. They're like, okay, wait a second, that just happened, I did that and something happened out of that. And they're like okay, wait, let's try another one. And it begins to actually see the supernatural power at work, the power of the Holy Spirit. You know, as we obey, as we live it out, and and I think the I will statements, more than anything, have led people that weren't believers to faith, more than the words I said or the words that they heard in a group, or even the things that they read in the scriptures. I think the I will statements have been some of the most powerful ways to see evangelism happen in the lives of these people that are trying to understand a little bit more of the Bible. So little anecdote there for you, just as I've experienced these I will statements. So that's the second adjustment. If you haven't done it already, it's easy. Everybody can kind of go around, make these I will statements and then you can kind of check up on everybody the next week and see how it goes. And full grace, no grace, or sorry, full grace, no shame if people don't live it out, but it does kind of keep that sense of accountability All right. The third and final adjustment that you can make is exactly what we're just saying Grace-filled but strong accountability. Hebrews 10, 24 says let us consider how we may spur one another on towards love and good deeds.

Speaker 1:

Accountability is key to maturation as a disciple. It's having people that will, um will check in on you and check in on your struggles, but also check in on on the ways that you're striving towards Christ. Um, it's this characteristic of a Christ centered community, this, this community that is cooperative and connected in their pursuit of Christ. Um, and when you have accountability, it communicates a desire to collectively grow and to produce fruit together. When you have the boldness to go and tell somebody that you love and that you care for that's a brother or sister in Christ, hey, how's it going with your struggle here? Or hey, hey, you said that you wanted to do this, did, did you actually step into that? When you have the boldness to go do that, um, people really get transformed if you're doing it filled with grace, um, and doing it filled with love, and you've communicated that love in a various different ways elsewhere, and, um, and it is, it's, it's this, it's this equal dose of of love, of grace and truth.

Speaker 1:

You got to have grace for people and knowing that listen, we're not perfect, we're going to make mistakes, we're not always going to be a hundred percent. You know, on track with the disciplines that we were trying to live our life by or or a hundred percent. You know, on track with the disciplines that we were trying to live our life by or or a hundred percent, successful in beating the struggles that we have, that's, that's not going to happen. So there there is grace, and that's the beauty of Jesus Christ, who who washes our sins away as far as the East is from the West. So he's removed our sin from us and if we're faithful, or if we're're faithful or if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us of all unrighteousness. That is the grace that we've received and we should again give that back out to others.

Speaker 1:

At the same time, we should challenge people towards living according to the truth of God's word that if we're claiming and professing to be followers of Jesus, let's live like followers of Jesus, and we need to do that within a community, a community truly champions that and grows that together. So you don't want to have that attitude of condemnation, but you also want to commit to loving each other enough to not allow each other to stay the same, and that that's a statement I want you to hear Love each other enough to not let them stay the same, but to continue to grow further and further into Christ likeness. So, um, I have a you know written here on my computer here in the corner, you know it's always sits there, right Is. Is that Dallas? Where it says grace is not opposed to effort but to earning right. So let's collectively have this effort towards seeking Christ.

Speaker 1:

Well, those are the adjustments, those are the things, that's the power of accountability and action within a setting. And so I want to bless you as you step into maybe adding these adjustments into your group, and I hope that it just really results in amazing kingdom things and that you see so much expansion and growth and your knowledge and understanding and of of Christ and his word in your group. So let me bless you, guys, as you step out into your day, and this blessing comes from Philippians, chapter one, verses nine through 11. And it says and this is my prayer that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. Amen.