Athlete says accountability needed

JACKSONVILLE (FBC)–Living life as a professional athlete presents a wide range of temptations and struggles–from money, to substance abuse to illicit sexual encounters.

But maintaining purity is a challenge in all walks of life–including the Christian ministry.

Photo by Ken Touchton

Grounding in the Word and accountability to others help former professional athlete Rich Griffith remain pure in his faith.

Ex-Jaguar Rich Griffith has found the secret to staying pure is being grounded in the Word and accountable to others when enticed by the thrills of the world.

As a football player, Griffith discovered that failing to train, eat right or study films produced a tangible difference in his performance during a game.

The same is true for a minister, said Griffith, youth pastor at Hillcrest Baptist Church in Jacksonville. "If a minister does the bare minimum of studying the Word, his ministry will be affected."

It may not be a coincidence that Griffith calls his youth ministry building, "The Filling Station," based on Ephesians 5:18. He knows youth, too, are especially vulnerable to the temptations and challenges of life.

In his book, Taming Your Private Thoughts, Lakeland pastor Jay Dennis encourages Christians to retreat from temptation by returning to "God’s filling station."

He writes, "Some are filling up with the cheap substitutes of the latest spiritual fad or newest program, yet they miss the fuel that God promises will allow them to run the race of life with the maximum effectiveness ...

"We need to pull up to God’s filling station every day and say through our obedience to his Word, ‘Fill ’er up.’"

As a Jaguar, Griffith found himself speaking to numerous groups. He knew that people were watching to see him deal with adversity and relationships. He also knew the core group of Christian believers on the Jaguar team also was watching.

"I often asked myself ‘what type of image am I portraying?’ I could fool the fans, but I couldn’t fool my teammates. Each day of life is a test and you will either handle it positively or negatively."

Just as Griffith discovered, pastor Dennis believes that an accountability partner or group will provide the Christian believer with one of the best deterrents to falling into sin.

Not every believer can have an accountability group the size of the first string of the Jacksonville Jaguars. However, Dennis suggests that every Christian find at least one person or a small group of persons of the same sex who will commit to meeting together on a regular basis as an accountability partner. The purpose is to share life’s struggles, temptations and moral and spiritual setbacks. Together the group should help apply biblical principles to help each other "become more like Christ."

Having an accountability partner will "cause you to examine your life in ways that you have never previously done and to think twice about some of the things you do or say," Dennis writes.