CR Sunday June 11 (400 More Words about Celebrate Recovery)
After almost 13 years serving in this ministry, it’s still a big challenge to say everything that could be said in a 25-minute sermon. So, here is more information about this God-blessed ministry.
RECOVERY is word that often leads to a misunderstanding of our work, or even to whom this ministry should apply. We started our ministry in November 2011, and our earliest workers had a common motivation – we wanted to help other folks as they worked through the problems in their lives. But today, we cringe at those words! There was an arrogance to our presumption that “we could help those people with their problems” before we do our best to get closer to God. Jesus spoke about this in Matthew 7.3-5. (Remember the plank and the speck? Ouch…)
What do we mean by recovery? The primary use of this word is salvation, bridging the chasm between man and God that is caused by sin. Only the gospel of Jesus Christ can save mankind, and Celebrate Recovery reinforces this Bible truth. There is another use of the word recovery – we call it healing. James 5.16 is a cornerstone of CR. “Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” For every saved man and woman who is not joyful in their daily walk, Celebrate Recovery is a proven road to recovery, a more abundant life.
But … you guys meet EVERY Thursday night! Celebrate Recovery is a long-term ministry; there aren’t any “quick fixes” at CR. When we consider how long it took for us to get ourselves in this mess, it’s going to take some time to make things better.
One more CR cornerstone: each week we repeat our small group guidelines, including, “We are here to support one another, not “fix” one another.” We don’t have any professional counselors in our ministry. With that in mind, we don’t push anyone to recovery, and we don’t pull anyone along with us. Our ministry is simple but profound: In Christian fellowship, we walk alongside. As we walk together, we’re all working on our hurts, habits and hang-ups. Recovery is a wonderful thing to be celebrated!