Can True Accountability Exist for Leaders?

An Honest Conversation about Moral Failures

Wow!

What an interesting few months this has been. Like many of you, I’ve experienced the full range of emotions in response to the recent barrage of fallen leaders—anger, sadness, confusion, and loss, with more questions than answers. A few weeks ago, in a moment of frustration, I said to a friend, "Are there any leaders left who can keep their pants zipped and their hands out of the coffers?”

This of course is an absurd thing to say, Elijah said the same thing to God when he said, “I’m the only one left” (1 Kings 19). God swiftly answered by telling him there were thousands left. The truth is, the vast majority of pastors and leaders are amazing men and women, full of integrity and vision for the future of their organizations.

Yet, how do we keep leaders from these future pitfalls? Just yesterday, I had a conversation with some friends that sparked a few thought-provoking questions:

• How do we safeguard churches and organizations from moral failures?

• What does the ideal elder board look like?

• What accountability can we put in place?

I’m sure you could add even more questions to this list. During our discussion, someone asked me directly:

"Jon, what can be done to prevent pastors and leaders from making future mistakes and experiencing moral failures?"

Here’s how I responded:

How do you keep someone from cheating in golf? Golf is one of those sports where it’s incredibly easy to cheat. Every golfer knows to carry an extra ball in their pocket—just in case they need an extra mulligan (a do-over). Even the most honest golfers can be tempted not to count that duff shot where the ball barely moved a few feet. "What did you get on that hole?" they ask. "I had a bogey." You know it was a double bogey—stop lying!

The rules of golf are clear, and before every tournament, they’re reviewed over the loudspeaker. Plus, you’re paired with others who are supposed to keep you honest. But at the end of the day, it all comes down to the integrity of the player. If someone wants to cheat a few strokes here or there, they can always find a way, regardless of the rules, accountability, or oversight.

This same principle applies to leaders. Take Bernie Madoff, for example. I’ve been watching a fascinating documentary on Netflix about his massive Ponzi scheme. For 17 years, Madoff deceived his clients, pretending to invest their money while pocketing an estimated $65 billion—the largest Ponzi scheme in history. Despite the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) watching, and despite the presence of checks, balances, and compliance officers, he managed to cheat right under their noses. He didn’t just cheat, steal, and lie; the SEC admired him so much that they even had him represent them before Congress on occasion.

So, what about pastors and leaders? How do we keep them “in line”? The truth is, no number of elders, guidelines, accountability measures, or oversight can fully ensure a leader won’t cheat or fall into moral failure. Just like in golf, it ultimately comes down to the integrity of the individual. If someone is determined to go astray, they’ll find a way.

Please don’t misunderstand me—pastors and leaders absolutely need accountability, guidelines, oversight, structure, and clear boundaries. I’m not suggesting, "Well, if we can't stop them, we might as well just let them do whatever they want." That would be absurd.

So, what am I suggesting? Well, I do have a few thoughts... here they are.

Keep Striving for the Perfect System

Yes, it's true that while we can never completely safeguard against a leader’s downfall, that shouldn’t stop us from striving to build the best possible systems to protect against it. We must work diligently to create strong bylaws, establish effective elder boards, form oversight committees, conduct regular audits, and ensure accountability for our leaders.

There are hundreds of things you can put as guidelines and safeguards. I’m no expert at bylaws and organization government, but here are a few of my personal thoughts to every leader out there who longs for health and longevity in your leadership journey:

• If those tasked with holding you accountable are on your payroll, true accountability is impossible.

• Surround yourself with people who aren't impressed by you, intimidated by you, or reliant on you for their sense of worth. How can you tell if they fit this description? Pay attention to how often you hear the word "no." If you’re only hearing "yes" with no questions or challenges, then you’ve got a rubber stamp board.

• If you control your elders or board, you are already out of control.

Add a few of your thoughts in the comments below! I’d love to hear your additions to this list.

Search the Heart More Than the Hand

For some reason, we often measure a leader’s success more by what they accomplish with their hands than by the condition of their hearts. Why did the SEC admire Bernie Madoff and fail to uncover the criminal activity that was right under their noses? It was because of his apparent success. They were mesmerized by the size of his fund and the impressive returns they believed he was delivering to his clients. The perceived works of his hands overshadowed the corruption in his heart.

We do this too, don’t we? When leaders achieve “success,” we stop scrutinizing and start assuming.

Throughout Scripture, we see that God is far more concerned with the heart than with outward actions. While God isn’t impressed by achievements, we often are. He doesn’t measure success by the size of a bank account, but we tend to. He doesn’t count success by church attendance, though we frequently do.

Yes, systems are important, but the responsibility of elders and board members goes far beyond managing spreadsheets and statistics; it’s about discerning the heart of the leader. If the leader has the wrong heart, no amount of systems or guidelines can prevent their downfall. However, if the leader has the right heart, even a lack of systems or guidelines won’t cause them to fall.

In God’s eyes, the true measure of success isn’t in what we build with our hands, but in the integrity and purity of our hearts. As leaders and those who hold them accountable, we must remember that it’s not just about what is accomplished—it’s about the character behind those accomplishments.

Final Thoughts

Okay, this is getting long enough. I was going to do an entire section on pride. I truly believe the biggest threat to a leader is pride. The leader’s ultimate demise could be a multitude of things, but peel that onion back enough times, and 9 times out of 10, pride is the culprit. If you want to keep reading more on pride, I wrote an article on this in July of 2023 entitled “The Downfall of Leaders.”

Enough for now.

Love y’all. Give me your thoughts in comments below.