Over the past weeks, we’ve traveled and talked about MMM a good bit. Some of the more interesting conversations have come when we’ve talked about accountability as being an aspect of mobile ministry that has to be better understood, and then lived out. What follows is some discussion on the topic.
What is Accountability?
Depending on your experiences, the term accountability might conjure up several types of images. Some might see an overbearing parent, or others might see their vices skillfully hidden. Some might hear accountability and only think in terms of opening up about sexual sins, or maybe the term points to finances – the term checks and balances rings in one’s mind there.
In many respects, you can say that thinking about accountability with mobile includes these and other areas. But, let’s start with a definition of accountability, and then move towards mobile from there.
According to Merriam-Webster, accountability can be defined as:
an obligation or willingness to accept responsibility or to account for one’s actions
This seems very terse and simple. An obligation – meaning that it is not voluntary, requires obedience, and may contain consequences. A willingness – meaning that you have some positive yielding of your expectations and desires towards this – if you will, your behavior bends to this direction versus away from it. Responsibly – points to a boundary, a metric of judgement, and ownership. And the word account – which speaks to there being some kind of recording, which may or may not be written, but is noted somewhere.
What do we mean by mobile accountability?
So then there’s mobile. When we opened the discussion last fall about the definition of mobile ministry, we also defined mobile. Here’s what we gave then as a definition:
personal computing use that is defined by time, task, and spatial relationships, and is not limited to a device which maintains a wired connection; behavior of use is not limited to non-moving contexts; viewport of use is established by a 1:1 ratio of device/service and user.
Notice some of the similarities here with the definitions of mobile and accountability:
- Both are bound to an owner
- Both have an indicated user, tool, and behavior
- Mobile means that you are connected to a person and/or service – which is monitored for billing, analytics, and advertising
In effect, mobile then has this context of use where by its very nature, its personal and recorded. What happens though is that we can sometimes get so lost in the personal nature of mobile that we don’t realize that there’s an accounting of our use that is being logged. We know that these things happen because they are properties of using mobile. And (hopefully), we are using mobile within the constraints of what is good, holy, and acceptable.
Mobile accountability therefore means that we understand that there are technical, personal, and community layers that may call us into account of our use of mobile devices and services.
Acts 5 Demonstrating Accountability
Recall the story of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5. At this point in the early church, the practice (behavior) of sharing possessions. This was an action taken on by new believers of their own volition, and most willingly gave – not just an account of what they had, but relinquished the ownership of these possessions to the management of the Apostles for distributing to all.
Ananias and Sapphira gave, but held back. They weren’t transparent with their dealings with the Apostles, and when called into account for this, they did not own up to their responsibility, and therefore the obligation they placed themselves under was done under false pretenses. In their case, they lost their lives. Not because they weren’t being accountable, but the report that spoke of their actions didn’t match with what they were providing.
Why then is Accountability an Important Topic in Mobile?
So back to this term accountability and what it means in the context of mobile. First off, understand that you are under no obligation to share with anyone what you do on your mobile devices. It truly is a personal window and communications portal.
You do have a responsibility to understand also that all that you do on your mobile device is recorded. Your carriers keep a record of all of the voice, SMS, and data passed through your web browser and other applications which connect to the Internet. You might also have a record of your dealings kept by various service providers. For example, Google will show you on your account page the various IP addresses that have accessed your account.
You also have a responsibility (some would even argue that its an obligation due to the life that is redeemed that is no longer your own) to use mobile devices and services in such a way that your community (family, friends, employers, etc.) can call into account your use of mobile – and you can answer truthfully of the successes and/or struggles that you might be having. Whether you observe or not observe that responsibility will open you to consequences that you might not be ready for.
In Romans, Paul exhorts the believers listening to the reading of that letter to present their bodies as holy and acceptable to God (12:1). He regards it as a reasonable service – an obligation that we willingly take part in as part of our responsibilities gained as part of this new life in Christ Jesus (8:1).
If this is the case, then to be accountable – even on mobile – is an act of sanctification and worship.
What Next, or How Do I Be Accountable?
As we said at the outset, the term accountable may have several connotations. All of these can be addressed, and here are some examples to follow through:
- There are mobile applications which can filter content and send a report to a trusted friend. We’ve listed two on our Bible Apps page: Covenant Eyes for iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad and X3 Watch for Android and iPhone/iPod Touch devices*.
- Consider starting a prayer chain in your churches or small groups by using SMS (text messaging). Have one person in the group send a prayer request to 3-6 people, and those people commit to praying for, and then responding by text, call, or face-to-face visit to follow-up on the matter.
- Reduce or remove those features on your mobile device which might be straining your wallet or mental state. Most carriers allow for you to remove services such as Internet from your account after a certain amount of time within your contract.
- Consider getting rid of your smartphone and picking up a simpler feature phone that has fewer features and therefore increase the ability for you to use your mobile device for destructive behaviors. In this case, make this decision after speaking with a pastor or counselor, then be sure to follow-up with regular progress reports.
At the end of days, when we stand before the throne of God and Jesus sits with the Book of Life (Revelation 20:12), our life will read like a mobile phone bill, but with greater detail of the charges and a much higher final cost. Just because mobile makes you accessible, and your actions might be personally viewable, doesn’t mean that even there, its not being accounted to you.
*If you are a company that deals with accountability software for mobile devices, please get in contact with us so that we can add you to our listing.
Over at Mobile Advance, a weekly list of links to news and happenings in and around mobile is posted.Here’s a snippet of what’s in Weekly Web Watch #28:
Tomi Ahonen has been quoted 
Easter, Narrated Through a Mobile Lens
Sunday, April 24th, 2011Part one of this, the happenings for Good Friday, help set the context.
The rest of us managed to find a room in relative obscurity. Due to our proximity to one another, we decided to just share four SIM cards between us, and let the other SIMs be used only in extreme emergencies. This has caused a problem with some of us who need to contact families, but I think that we’ll be ok if we can hold on a few more days.
Some of the women went down to the sepulchre. It was a very nice gesture Joseph did in granting Jesus his tomb. Surely the Lord will look well upon his gift – it already seems that brothers and sisters from neighboring towns have – offers of sepulchre’s and burial items have been pouring in by SMS all weekend.
Another beep. This time its only one of our mobiles. This doesn’t feel right. It is too early for the women to be sending us a message, hopefully nothing has happened to them. So few others outside of this room have that number. It can’t be good. A brother – bless his aggressive heart – picks up the mobile and looks at the MMS. His face looks pale. Then he droops and begins to sob. None of us dare want to break the silence by asking what he’d seen. He just throws the mobile on the table – a video clip playing.
I can see it from where I’m standing. There a cave, no, a tomb. Looks like the one they described as being the one donated by Joseph. However, its open. That’s not right. We can’t make out much, but it looks like the stone is moved, and there are no guards. Could the body have been… no, they wouldn’t do that. Would they?
Then the conversations start. We’ve got to see what’s going on there. Peter stands before us all cautioning that we’d be better off just waiting until the women return and then see what their report is. The message had to have come from them. Maybe they were just as surprised and shocked as we were.
A few minutes later the mobile beeps. This time just an SMS, and from the mobile held by the women. It was a short message, but stirred all kinds of emotions in all of us when it was read, “He is risen!” First one, then a few more started wailing. The pain of Jesus leaving just a few days ago, and how this – “He is risen” – what does it mean? Was he telling us the truth after all? Is this what it all meant?
A few hours later the women return. They are tired, but seem happier than anything. We asked them to explain, and they responded, “didn’t you get the message. He’s risen.” They go on to explain what happened when they got to the tomb. Its an unbelievable story to say the least. Peter runs out, he needs to see for himself obviously. The rest of us are sure, whether Jesus is risen or not, we’ve got to move. As soon as that news gets out, there are going to be even louder calls for our heads.
It had been three days since seeing my wife and family. I was glad to see them, hug them. And get some freshened clothing. Having some time, I also picked up my solar charger, and swapped SIMs with my wife. She’s got clear instructions not to use it until tomorrow. We’ve got to make sure that it doesn’t look suspicious that she’d changed numbers right now. I show her the message (“He is risen”) and she just beams. She doesn’t understand it much more than I, but she finds some relief in the message. I let her know that I’ve got to go for a few more days, but that I’ll be back. That embrace was hard. I really wasn’t sure if I’d see them again.
The brothers planned to meet near the place were ate with Jesus last. The keeper of that room also received the message from the women and assured us that we would be taken care of and fine there. We had to think and act quickly. And somehow, if Jesus is risen, get in contact with him. I’m sure that he couldn’t get a mobile – but I’ve seen him produce all kinds of things out of thin air, anything is possible with him.
The plans came along quickly. This was much different than in times past. It seemed like this time that we just wanted to be on one accord. Some of us reclined in our seats to breathe, some had been on the run a lot longer than just the past three days. Then something strange happened. The mobiles in the center of the table turned on at the same time, then vibrated, then turned off. That was weird, and we all seemed to see it at the same time. It got quiet, really quiet. Then, near the doorway, there was this voice, “Peace be with you.” I couldn’t believe my eyes. The face was right, and the body didn’t look anything like that battered person we saw on the official clip before the crucifixion.
Oh boy, it was him alright. I didn’t even have words. I was sorry for running, sorry for staying. I believed. I didn’t believe. And yet, there he was.
“Peace be with you,” he repeated. We all ran to embrace him but he stopped us. We couldn’t touch him? Weird, but he was there. Literally, right in our face. It hurt a bit that our mobiles didn’t work while he was there. It would have been great to send the wife footage of him eating with us and joking just like he used to. Weird how they didn’t work until he was gone. There was also some teachings that he gave. Teachings about things he taught before, which were a lot clearer now. I think I get it. The family won’t believe it, but I’ve got the means to explain it now.
Just as quickly as he showed, Jesus left. He still knows how to make an exit. This time though we’ve got some hope. Some of the brothers sat in a corner talking about the plans that we made earlier. Some things would have to change. We were confident that those changes would be for the better. If we are going to continue on the course that Jesus stared, we’d have to live life the way he did.
The only thing that was perplexing to me about the way he lived was that “gift” he kept referring to. What was that gift? And why was he so adamant about us receiving it?
Tags: Easter, Jesus, MMS, resurrection, SMS
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