Church Search Chronicles: Accountable Churches vs. Autonomous Churches

When I slide into the driver’s seat of my car, the first thing I always do is fasten my seatbelt. By now, it’s an involuntary action—it’s so automatic that I don’t really even think about it. 

The irony is that after all these years, I haven’t needed it. But it only takes one moment for that seatbelt to make all the difference in how I fare in a car accident. In a split second, it could save my life.

It takes advanced planning to build safeguards into our lives. They don’t happen instantaneously. They take intention, realism and forethought to implement. We may go decades without needing them. But a day will come when their years of dormancy will prove to have not been in vain.

Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about safeguards in the context of church. For example, what safeguards should churches build into their by-laws to inform how they settle disputes and disagreements that emerge between pastors and parishioners, or even among pastoral teams? Can a church organize itself as a completely autonomous entity under God’s Word, under the assumption that no issue is too great to solve within their own four walls?

I have come to the conviction that such an assumption may be harmless in the short-term, but perilous, even fatal, in the long-term. It’s like driving without a seatbelt.

Yesterday, we re-visited a church we had visited earlier in the summer, which had remained at the top of our list. There are so many things we love about it. But perhaps the one aspect that most attracted us to this church is the structure of accountability they’ve been very intentional about putting in place.

Typically, when we hear the word “accountability” in church circles, we think internally—small groups and 1:1 relationships between people who sharpen each other as iron sharpens iron. This is important. But I’ve learned that there’s another kind of accountability that needs to be present as well for the long-term health of a local church. I’m talking about its external accountability.

This church is part of a regional network of churches that provides external accountability and support, while still giving it a healthy measure of autonomy as a local church. Like a seatbelt, it doesn’t pinch or chafe. But in the event of an issue or disagreement that can’t be settled, the elders have a higher human institution than themselves to whom they must answer, or who can also go to bat for them if needed.

World history is our best witness to the phrase "absolute power corrupts absolutely.” And personal experience tells us that this phrase doesn’t just apply to secular and civil institutions. In any completely autonomous entity with no higher-level human accountability, it is far too easy for the leader(s) to fall into a sinful pattern (sometimes subconsciously) of manipulating and lording over those in their charge.

Sadly, even a group of well-intentioned leaders can fall into this trap together, leaving the congregation with no formal process in place by which they can bring a legitimate charge against them. With by-laws that are carefully crafted to protect the leadership from any recourse, the congregation is left without a voice. Anyone who musters up the courage to make an attempt to lovingly come alongside the leadership is deemed insubordinate at best, and apostate at worst.

On our first visit to this church, the preaching pastor made it clear in a newcomer’s class that the buck did not stop with him, or anyone else in leadership. Although they believe deeply in the biblical model of authority and submission in the local church, they humbly hold themselves accountable—to each other, to the congregation, and to the outside network of like-minded churches. This was truly refreshing.

We're in a place now where we feel it's critical for the next church we join to have an outside, objective structure of accountability in place. No human system is perfect. Even higher levels of accountability can be corrupt. But we feel that this is a safer structure all around for pastor and parishioner alike.

Like a seatbelt, you may never need it. But then again, you may. It only takes one time to make all the difference.

What do you think? Is it wise for a church to insist on isolating itself from outside accountability and say they need only answer to God? Have you seen autonomous churches work out issues in isolation, with favorable results? How about churches that had good accountability in place?