On Sunday mornings I worship with a local fellowship of believers: Grace Church. Worshipping with Grace has been a bit different than what I was used to in the U.S. One obvious difference is the language. Straining to understand sermons or trying to piece together a word here or there takes a lot of energy, and for a service that usually lasts more than two hours, sometimes it’s just hard to concentrate.

But it’s exciting to worship with the believers at Grace.

For the past month the head pastor has taken time out of the beginning of each service to ask accountability questions of the church. The questions aren’t a surprise; they refer to a challenge or teaching from the previous week. Have you intentionally spent more time reading the Bible? What did that look like? How has God spoken to you? Do you have a list of unbelievers for whom you pray each day? Are you praying that God will arrange meeting s for you with the unbelievers in your life?

Wow. The pastor is asking the believers to be accountable to God’s word. It’s not a time to shame or condemn, but a time to share testimonies of how God works in the lives of those who obey his word. It’s exciting to listen to local believers share how God is speaking to them or using them to be a witness. How would your life as a follower of Christ change if your brothers and sisters asked you, “What has God commanded you to do?” and, “Did you do it?”

God has given believers a great gift: accountability in the fellowship of the body of Christ. How much truer will worship be among those who know their God is alive because they work with him in obedience to his word?

Shawn B.