There is something about vulnerability and accountability that makes Christians uncomfortable. Perhaps they fear that it puts them at risk for criticism, hurt, or embarrassment. Exposing sin and expressing it to others stretches believers out of their comfort zones. We have built walls around us and are afraid to show our true selves. We often project picture perfect images of our lives, through our ministry and through social media platforms, that aren’t a reflection of our reality. Somehow, we have often made it standard practice to force smiles and hide behind religious masks. These unhealthy practices are isolating us and leaving us starved for fellowship and community.<\/p>\n
I believe that the church, who should reflect Jesus, should be a place of much grace. I also believe the Word of God charges us to be authentic and accountable to one another. Merriam-Webster defines accountability as an obligation or willingness to accept responsibility or to account for one’s actions. Galatians 6:1-5 says, \u201cBrothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” We were designed to need fellowship with others on earth.\u00a0 It is advised that we foster environments where others are welcome to be honest in their transgressions and struggles and to bear the burdens with them. We are also told to encourage one another and build one another up (1 Thess 5:11). While confessing our sins to Jesus is of utmost importance, He knew we would need the tangible support of accountability in fellowship to help us in the journey to freedom. I would submit to you that establishing trusted relationships of accountability is a very responsible way of walking out your faith as a Christian. This kind of fellowship helps us in our struggles and allows us to celebrate with each other in our victories.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, being vulnerable has often been categorized as a sign of weakness. When studying the Apostle Paul, we find a very different view on vulnerability. In 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 we see these words, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” \u201cSo now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses so that the power of Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” Paul was very open about what he experienced\u2013his weaknesses, his thorn in the flesh and his enemies. Because he chose to boast in his weakness, God was able to pour in His grace, which then allowed Paul to find strength in his weakness. God’s power is made perfect in our weakness. I believe our vulnerability humbles us. \u00a0When we acknowledge our struggles, we acknowledge our dependence on a faithful God to sustain and save us. We live in a culture that is tired of seeing hypocritical Christians and prominent ministry leaders in moral failure. People want to know that others struggle with the same issues and share in the journey to victory with them.<\/p>\n
The statistics regarding women who suffer from depression, anxiety, abuse, discrimination, addiction, loneliness, and lack of self-worth are staggering. We must begin to create spaces where we extend grace to women, so they feel seen and valued in such a way that an environment for transparency and authenticity is promoted. As leaders, we must lead by example. It’s time we talk about the things we have struggled with and walked through. We must stop projecting our life through rose-colored glasses. Those who are hurting want to hear from real people, who go through real struggles. Let’s boast in our weaknesses that lead us to strength in Christ. Let us encourage each other, bear one another’s burdens, and build each other up. Allow iron to sharpen iron (Proverbs 27:17). May our lives always welcome others into the fellowship of Christ, by our willingness to be accountable and vulnerable.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"excerpt","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":4681,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","filesize_raw":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,37],"tags":[1066,1067,1065,1045,925,67],"class_list":{"0":"post-4680","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-general","8":"category-womens-ministries","9":"tag-anxiety","10":"tag-depression","11":"tag-removing-the-mask","12":"tag-strong-in-fellowship","13":"tag-whitney-davis","14":"tag-womens-ministries-2","15":"entry"},"title_es":"Quitando la mascara","content_es":"Hay algo sobre la vulnerabilidad y la responsabilidad que hace que los cristianos se sientan inc\u00f3modos. Tal vez temen que los ponga en riesgo de ser criticados, heridos o avergonzados. Exponer el pecado y expresarlo a otros extiende a los creyentes fuera de sus zonas de comodidad. Hemos construido muros a nuestro alrededor y tenemos miedo de mostrar nuestro verdadero ser. A menudo proyectamos im\u00e1genes perfectas de nuestras vidas, a trav\u00e9s de nuestro ministerio y a trav\u00e9s de plataformas de medios sociales, que no son un reflejo de nuestra realidad. De alguna manera, a menudo hemos hecho pr\u00e1ctica est\u00e1ndar forzar sonrisas y esconderse detr\u00e1s de m\u00e1scaras religiosas. Estas pr\u00e1cticas poco saludables nos est\u00e1n aislando y dej\u00e1ndonos hambrientos de comuni\u00f3n y comunidad. Creo que la iglesia, que debe reflejar a Jes\u00fas, debe ser un lugar de mucha gracia. Tambi\u00e9n creo que la Palabra de Dios nos obliga a ser aut\u00e9nticos y responsables unos con otros. Merriam-Webster define la responsabilidad como una obligaci\u00f3n o disposici\u00f3n para aceptar la responsabilidad o para dar cuenta de las acciones de uno. G\u00e1latas 6: 1-5 dice: \u201cHermanos, si alguien est\u00e1 atrapado en alguna transgresi\u00f3n, ustedes, que son espirituales, deben restaurarlo con un esp\u00edritu de gentileza. Mantente atento a ti mismo, para que no seas tentado tambi\u00e9n. Llevar las cargas de los dem\u00e1s, y as\u00ed cumplir la ley de Cristo. "Fuimos dise\u00f1ados para necesitar la comuni\u00f3n con los dem\u00e1s en la tierra. Se aconseja que fomentemos entornos donde otros sean bienvenidos a ser honestos en sus transgresiones y luchas y a soportar las cargas con Tambi\u00e9n se nos dice que nos animemos los unos a los otros y que nos construyamos unos a otros (1 Tes. 5:11). Si bien confesar nuestros pecados a Jes\u00fas es de suma importancia, \u00c9l sab\u00eda que necesitar\u00edamos el apoyo tangible de la responsabilidad en la comuni\u00f3n para ayudarnos a lograrlo. El viaje hacia la libertad. Les contestar\u00e9 que establecer relaciones confiables de responsabilidad es una manera muy responsable de dejar de lado su fe como cristiano. Este tipo de compa\u00f1erismo nos ayuda en nuestras luchas y nos permite celebrar juntos en nuestras victorias. Desafortunadamente, ser vulnerable a menudo se ha clasificado como un signo de debilidad. Al estudiar al ap\u00f3stol Pablo, encontramos una visi\u00f3n muy diferente de la vulnerabilidad. En 2 Corintios 12: 9-10 vemos estas palabras, "Mi la gracia es todo lo que necesitas Mi poder funciona mejor en la debilidad "." As\u00ed que ahora me alegro de jactarme de mis debilidades para que el poder de Cristo pueda funcionar a trav\u00e9s de m\u00ed. Por eso me complacen mis debilidades y los insultos, las dificultades, las persecuciones y los problemas. que sufro por Cristo. Porque cuando soy d\u00e9bil, entonces soy fuerte ". Pablo fue muy abierto con lo que experiment\u00f3: sus debilidades, su espina en la carne y sus enemigos. Debido a que eligi\u00f3 jactarse de su debilidad, Dios pudo derramar su gracia, lo que le permiti\u00f3 a Pablo encontrar fortaleza en su debilidad. El poder de Dios se hace perfecto en nuestra debilidad. Creo que nuestra vulnerabilidad nos humilla. Cuando reconocemos nuestras luchas, reconocemos nuestra dependencia de un Dios fiel para sostenernos y salvarnos. Vivimos en una cultura que est\u00e1 cansada de ver a los cristianos hip\u00f3critas y l\u00edderes prominentes del ministerio en el fracaso moral. La gente quiere saber que otros luchan con los mismos problemas y compartir con ellos el viaje hacia la victoria. Las estad\u00edsticas sobre mujeres que sufren depresi\u00f3n, ansiedad, abuso, discriminaci\u00f3n, adicci\u00f3n, soledad y falta de autoestima son asombrosas. Debemos comenzar a crear espacios donde extendamos la gracia a las mujeres, para que se sientan vistos y valorados de tal manera que se promueva un ambiente de transparencia y autenticidad. Como l\u00edderes, debemos liderar con el ejemplo. Es hora de que hablemos de las cosas con las que hemos luchado y hemos caminado. Debemos dejar de proyectar nuestra vida a trav\u00e9s de lentes de color rosa. Aquellos que est\u00e1n sufriendo quieren escuchar de personas reales, que pasan por luchas reales. Jact\u00e9monos de nuestras debilidades que nos llevan a la fortaleza en Cristo. Anim\u00e9monos unos a otros, soportemos las cargas de unos a otros y construyamos unos a otros. Permita que la plancha afile la plancha (Proverbios 27:17). Que nuestras vidas siempre den la bienvenida a otros a la comuni\u00f3n con Cristo, por nuestra voluntad de ser responsables y vulnerables.","author_name":"Whitney Davis","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/04\/Removing-the-Mask.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4T9u2-1du","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4680","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4680"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4680\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4681"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4680"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4680"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4680"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}