We Celebrate lost of things……we Celebrate our birthdays, some of us Celebrate Jesus’ birthday, we Celebrate the Stanly Cup, we Celebrate our graduations, we Celebrate first steps or words. Now I’m Celebrating my Recovery. As a ministry we have started the Celebrate Recovery leadership training, a 12 step, Christ centered recovery group that meets once a week.
Two years ago, when I started to manage the addiction side of our ministry, Ray D. (our director) passed me some papers to look into. It happened to be Celebrate Recovery. I did a little research and shrugged it off thinking we have all we need in the Alcoholics Anonymous fellowship. A year goes by and I’m asked if any of our discipleship guys would be interested in a leadership training in C.R. We nominated one of our guys to take the 14 week course in hopes we could start our own. He finished the course, everyone loved him and still talks about him, then he felt called to live out in
This summer, on holidays, out of the blue, I was asked to speak at a Celebrate Recovery meeting at my cousins church down in Strathroy. I felt right at home. I felt equally yoked. We all had the same Higher Power and they based their recovery on the 12 steps of A.A. After holiday’s I immediately looked for a group to join. I found one and had all our discipleship men committed to going. I will be honest this meeting was not the best fit for our group. Three months later Ray D. approached me stating that a couple of men would like to help us start a Jericho Road Celebrate Recovery. WOW. And we have, as of October 26, 2009. We have a beautiful location, great leaders and the Holy Spirit.
At our first group on Monday night I heard a man say that he didn’t agree with 12 step programs because it took away from what God had done and felt that this could be a waste of time, although he admitted that he struggled with self-centeredness and pride and that until a year ago he covered it up with alcohol, drugs and sex. I was amazed, this reluctant man is one of the few that get it. Substances aren’t the problem, we are. In the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous it says “our liquor was but a symptom”.
I cant wait to see what God is going to do in the hearts of addicts through this group. So lets Celebrate life, lets Celebrate Recovery and the power of God.
