The importance of accountability [Part 1]

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What's the point of accountability? I don't want someone else all in my business, judging me, claiming to pray for me, and not sharing information with me that isn't as personal as the info I share.  Maybe I can just get by in my relationship with God by just having Him hold my deep, dark secrets and hoping that during my times of fasting and prayer, He will just make me better.  I don't really need community anyway since this walk with God is a "personal relationship"? Right...?

Umm...nah boo...that's err...WRONG.
A couple of years ago, one of my female friends asked if I had an accountability partner.  At the time, I did not.  I'd had an accountability partner before but life had gotten in the way and we gradually stopped holding each other accountable to things.  I admit that during that first accountability relationship, I didn't share very personal things with her.  I had her hold me responsible for completing "simple" tasks like calling my grandparents each week since that was a habit I'd hoped to develop (it worked).  She was going through a lot at the time with her health, and I admit (again) that I wasn't very supportive.  I didn't know how to be.  She didn't seem to really know how to support me either.  When we'd meet up to discuss our lives and how we could be praying for each other, they weren't really times of "accountability" or "vulnerability."  They were times of encouragement and sharing of each other's lives. 

So it wasn't completely worthless.

Back to the original story line..."A couple of years ago, one of my female friends asked if I had an accountability partner.  At the time, I did not."  She (Sasha) and I served together in a ministry to college students.  Since we'd worked together for a while, I was familiar with her, but we weren't what I'd call good friends. I was kind of hoping she wasn't suggesting that we should be accountable partners because I'd been down that road and it led me nowhere.  The opening thoughts (What's the point of accountability?...) expressed how I really felt at that time.

Sasha and I had the following conversation (loosely):
Sasha: Do you have an accountability partner?
Me: *thinking: uh-oh*.  No.
S: Maybe we should hold each other accountable.  I don't have one right now either.
M: Oh. *making myself muster up the courage to concede to my need for accountability*
S: Yeah, since she moved, I don't have one anymore.
M: *finally acknowledging that we should hold each other accountable* I guess.  Me and my accountability partner kinda fell off [the bandwagon].

And so it began.

To find out how our accountability relationship went...stay tuned for Part 2...