Celebrate Recovery

CELEBRATE RECOVERY IS A CHRIST-CENTERED, 12 STEP RECOVERY PROGRAM FOR ANYONE STRUGGLING WITH HURT, HANG-UPS, AND HABITS OF ANY KIND. CELEBRATE RECOVERY IS A SAFE PLACE TO FIND COMMUNITY AND FREEDOM FROM THE ISSUES THAT ARE CONTROLLING OUR LIFE.

IS CELEBRATE RECOVERY FOR ME OR SOMEONE I KNOW?

Living in a broken world we all deal with life’s hurts, hang-ups, and habits. No one has the ability, nor should they attempt to face their hurts on their own. Celebrate Recovery is a beautiful community of strugglers that courageously enter this safe and beautiful space to get honest about our pain, and the negative ways we may see ourselves, God and others. In this process we come to accept that some of the habits we may have developed to escape our pain has caused destruction in our life and those close to us.

Celebrate recovery is a biblically balanced approach to help bring sustainable recovery and healing to our hurts. It guides us toward new healthy truths and life-giving habits as we repair our broken relationships. Join more than 7 million hurting people across the globe who now walk in freedom through the power of Jesus Christ as we walk through the 8 principles of celebrate recovery based on the Beatitudes in Matthew 5.

12 Steps and Biblical Comparisons

Saddleback Church

1. We admitted we were powerless over our addictions and compulsive behaviors, that our lives had become unmanageable.

I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. 
For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. Romans 7:18 NIV

2. We came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.

For it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose. Philippians 2:13 NIV

3. We made a decision to turn our lives and our wills over to the care of God.

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your  spiritual act of worship. Romans 12:1 NIV

4. We made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.

Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord. Lamentations 3:40 NIV

5. We admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.

Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. James 5:16a NIV

6. We were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.

Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. James 4:10 NIV

7. We humbly asked Him to remove all our shortcomings.

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9 NIV

8. We made a list of all persons we had harmed and became willing to make amends to them all.

Do to others as you would have them do to you. Luke 6:31 NIV

9. We made direct amends to such people whenever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.

Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift. Matthew 5:23-24 NIV

10. We continue to take personal inventory and when we were wrong, promptly admitted it.

So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall! 1 Corinthians 10:12

11. We sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, praying only for knowledge of His will for us, and power to carry that out.

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly. Colossians 3:16a NIV

12. Having had a spiritual experience as the result of these steps, we try to carry this message to others and practice these principles in all our affairs.

Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore them gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. Galatians 6:1 NIV

Throughout this material, you will notice several references to the Christ-centered 12 Steps. Our prayer is that Celebrate Recovery will create a bridge to the millions of people who are familiar with the secular 12 Steps (I acknowledge the use of some material from the 12 Suggested Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous) and in so doing, introduce them to the one and only true Higher Power, Jesus Christ. Once they begin that relationship, asking Christ into their hearts as Lord and Savior, true healing and recovery can begin!

THE TWELVE STEPS OF ALCOHOLICS/NARCOTICS ANONYMOUS

1. We admitted we were powerless over alcohol - that our lives had become unmanageable.

2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.

3. Made a decision to turn our will an our lives over to the care of GOD as we understood Him.

4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.

5. Admitted to GOD, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.

6. Were entirely ready to have GOD remove all these defects of character.

7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.

8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.

9. Made direct amends to such people where possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.

10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.

11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with GOD as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.

12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

 Celebrate Recovery's Eight Recovery Principles

The Road to Recovery Based on the Beatitudes

Realize I’m not God; I admit that I am powerless to control my tendency to do the wrong thing and that my life is unmanageable. (Step 1)
          “Happy are those who know that they are spiritually poor.” Matthew 5:3a TEV

Earnestly believe that God exists, that I matter to Him and that He has the power to help me recover. (Step 2)
          “Happy are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” Matthew 5:4 TEV, NIV

Consciously choose to commit all my life and will to Christ’s care and control. (Step 3)
          “Happy are the meek.” Matthew 5:5a TEV

Openly examine and confess my faults to myself, to God, and to someone I trust. (Steps 4 and 5)
          “Happy are the pure in heart.” Matthew 5:8a TEV

Voluntarily submit to any and all changes God wants to make in my life and humbly ask Him to remove my character defects. (Steps 6 and 7)
          “Happy are those whose greatest desire is to do what God requires” Matthew 5:6a TEV

Evaluate all my relationships. Offer forgiveness to those who have hurt me and make amends for harm I’ve done to others when possible, except when to do so would harm them or others. (Steps 8 and 9)
          “Happy are the merciful.” Matthew 5:7a TEV; “Happy are the peacemakers” Matthew 5:9 TEV

Reserve a daily time with God for self-examination, Bible reading, and prayer in order to know God and His will for my life and to gain the power to follow His will. (Steps 10 and 11)

Yield myself to God to be used to bring this Good News to others, both by my example and my words. (Step 12)
          “Happy are those who are persecuted because they do what God requires.” Matthew 5:10 TEV

The Bible - Step by Step

STEP ONE

Psalm 6:6-10; 34:17-18; 38:8; 42:7     Proverbs 28:26     Isaiah 38:12-13 Matthew 9:36     Romans 7:15-20     1 Corinthians 8:2     2 Corinthians 12:9-10

STEP TWO

Deuteronomy 33:27     Job 6:8     Psalms 63:1; 91:1     Isaiah 41:10; 61:10     Jeremiah 30:17 Ezekiel 18:31     Mark 5:15; 9:23-24; 10:51-52     Luke 5:31; 15:17     John 3:16     Romans 8:38-39 2 Corinthians 1:9; 3:5     Philippians 2:13; 4:19     Hebrews 11:6     1 Peter 5:7

STEP THREE

Deuteronomy 30:19-20     Psalms 40:1-2; 78:38-39; 118:8-9     Proverbs 3:5-6; 16:3; 18:10 Isaiah 40:31; 55:1     Jeremiah 17:14    Lamentations 3:26    Matthew 4:18-22; 7:7; 11:28-30 Mark 12:30     Galatians 2:20     Philippians 2:12-13

STEP FOUR

Psalm 4:4     Proverbs 27:1     Jeremiah 17:9-10     Lamentations 3:40     Joel 2:13 Micah 6:8     Matthew 26:41     John 14:1     2 Corinthians 13:5-6     Ephesians 4:31 Colossians 3:5-8     James 1:19-21; 3:14-16     2 Peter 1:5-7     1 John 1:8-9

STEP FIVE

Psalms 32:3-5; 51:17; 55:22     Proverbs 18:24; 27:17; 28:13     Isaiah 44:22     Jeremiah 14:20   Daniel 9:4    Luke 15:18-19     Romans 3:23; 14:12     Ephesians 1:7-8     James 4:7-8; 5:16     1 John 1:8-9; 2:1-2

STEP SIX

Psalm 119:10-12; 139:23-24     Proverbs 3:24     Lamentations 3:19-22     Ezekiel 36:25 John 15:7     Romans 6:11-12     Philippians 3:12-14     1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 Hebrews 9:14     James 4:10     1 Peter 1:13-14     1 John 5:14

STEP SEVEN

Psalm 25:8-11; 34:7; 51:1-2, 10-12     Isaiah 41:13     Ezekiel 36:25-26     Matthew 21:22; 23:12 Mark 11:24     Acts 3:19     Romans 4:20-21; 8:1-2, 31-32     James 4:6-8     1 John 1:9; 5:15

STEP EIGHT

Deuteronomy 31:6     Proverbs 25:9-10     Jeremiah 35:15     Matthew 6:14-15; 7:3-5     Mark 11:25 Luke 6:27-31, 37-38; 19:8     Romans 2:1; 15:1-3     Ephesians 4:32     1 John 4:11-12

STEP NINE

Leviticus 19:17-18     Proverbs 13:20; 18:24     Ezekiel 33:15-16     Matthew 5:23-26, 43-45 Luke 6:35-36     Romans 12:14-21; 13:8; 14:13     Ephesians 4:25-28     Philippians 2:3-4, 14-15 Colossians 3:12-13     1 John 2:9-10; 4:19-21

STEP TEN

Psalms 19:12; 34:12; 139:23-24     Proverbs 14:29-30; 21:2     Ezekiel 33:14-16     Mark 14:38 Luke 6:27-31, 41-42     Romans 12:3     1 Corinthians 10:12     2 Corinthians 3:5 Ephesians 4:22-24; 5:15-16     James 1:23-25     1 John 1:7     Jude 24-25

STEP ELEVEN

Psalm 1:1-3; 16:7-8; 25:4-5; 37:7,9; 88:9; 119:105-106     Proverbs 3:5-6; 16:20     Isaiah 26:3-4; 30:21 Lamentations 3:25-26     Hosea 6:3     Matthew 6:6, 9-13; 7:7; 21:22; 26:39     Mark 11:24 Luke 11:9-10     Romans 8:26     Philippians 4:6     Colossians 1:10; 3:16

STEP TWELVE

Psalm 71:15-18; 78:1-9; 96     Ecclesiastes 4:5-11     Isaiah 38:10-20     Matthew 25:40; 28:19-20 Mark 5:19     Luke 8:16-18; 14:12-14     Romans 8:1-2; 12:1-2     2 Corinthians 5:17-20     Galatians 6:1 Ephesians 5:1-2     Philippians 4:8-9     Colossians 4:5-6     2 Timothy 4:2     Hebrews 13:15-16    1 Peter 4:8-11

1)        Addicts have a hundred excuses why the drink, drug, etc, and a thousand resolutions to quit. Their first step toward recovery is realizing that their schemes for reform are hopeless, that they cannot just make up their minds to do better. They are caught in something more powerful than themselves.

           This is what AA/NA has usually meant by the disease concept of alcohol or drugs --- it is more of a metaphor than physiological explanation. To some, the metaphor suggests a claim that addicts are victims of circumstances and not responsible for their behavior. That apprehension is misplaced at least as far as the AA founders were concerned. They were saying, in fact, something very close to what theologians express in the language of sin.

           A person who sins does so because he is caught in a web of sin. How he got there he may not know, but he cannot escape on his own power, and his attempt to do so only catches him deeper in the web. So the conviction of sin --- not sins, but Sin, the underlying, inescapable power that leads to sins --- is necessary for anyone who would accept the grace of GOD.

           Similarly, an addict cannot escape their addiction. Until they recognize their helplessness, they will be unwilling or unable to turn outside themselves for the help they need. They may never know why they are an addict, but they remain responsible --- responsible to recognize their helplessness. This is a recognizably Christian idea.

2 & 3)  The spiritual roots of the Second and Third Steps are simply conversion. Sinners who have recognized their own hopelessness come to believe that GOD can rescue them and so turn their lives over to this GOD.  The prayer of surrender --- on your knees, inevitably --- was heavily stressed in the Oxford Group, and in the earliest AA meetings.

             The root is twisted a bit, however, with the introduction of "GOD as we understand Him." This language came from the Oxford Group. Shoemaker user it to indicate an openness to people in process. He encouraged honest seekers to "surrender as much of ourselves as we can to as much of Christ as we understand."

             For AA/NA, however, the term became more accurately a statement of religious pluralism.  As historian Ernest Kurtz writes, "The briefest statement of the fundamental, primitive Christian messages runs: 'Jesus saves.' The Higher Power is often, for the irreligious, simply the AA/NA group.

            "GOD as we understand Him" allows room for seekers --- but it also leaves room for those who prefer to define GOD, rather than to allow Him to define them. It is a profoundly ambivalent expression.

            According to Bill Wilson, addicts came from so many religious persuasions and were so cantankerous, they simply would not assent to any statement of orthodoxy. If you wanted to help them, you simply had to leave room for their independence. However, there is ample reason to think that Bill Wilson himself was the leading independent and cantankerous addict. Though he was close to Christians for the rest of his life, he never could reconcile himself to any orthodox expression of faith.

Why are we here?

Before coming to the Fellowship of NA, we could not manage our own lives. We could not live and enjoy life as other people do. We had to have something different and we thought we had found it in drugs. We placed their use ahead of the welfare of our families, our wives, husbands, and our children. We had to have drugs at all costs. We did many people great harm, but most of all we harmed ourselves. Through our inability to accept personal responsibilities we were actually creating our own problems. We seemed to be incapable of facing life on its own terms.

Most of us realized that in our addiction we were slowly committing suicide, but addiction is such a cunning enemy of life that we had lost the power to do anything about it. Many of us ended up in jail, or sought help through medicine, religion, and psychiatry. None of these methods was sufficient for us. Our disease always resurfaced or continued to progress until, in desperation, we sought help from each other in Narcotics Anonymous.

After coming to NA we realized we were sick people. We suffered from a disease from which there is no known cure. It can, however, be arrested at some point, and recovery is then possible. 

HOW IT WORKS

If you want what we have to offer, and are willing to make the effort to get it, then you are ready to take certain steps. These are the principles that made our recovery possible.

1. We admitted that we were powerless over our addiction, that our lives had become unmanageable.

2. We came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.

3. We made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.

4. We made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.

5. We admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.

6. We were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.

7. We humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.

8. We made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.

9. We made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.

10. We continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.

11. We sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.

12. Having had a spiritual awakening as a result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to addicts, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

Just for Today

Tell Yourself

This sounds like a big order, and we can’t do it all at once. We didn't become addicted in one day, so remember—easy does it.

There is one thing more than anything else that will defeat us in our recovery; this is an attitude of indifference or intolerance toward spiritual principles. Three of these that are indispensable are honesty, open-mindedness, and willingness. With these we are well on our way.

We feel that our approach to the disease of addiction is completely realistic, for the therapeutic value of one addict helping another is without parallel. We feel that our way is practical, for one addict can best understand and help another addict. We believe that the sooner we face our problems within our society, in everyday living, just that much faster do we become acceptable, responsible, and productive members of that society. 

The only way to keep from returning to active addiction is not to take that first drug. If you are like us you know that one is too many and a thousand never enough. We put great emphasis on this, for we know that when we use drugs in any form, or substitute one for another, we release our addiction all over again.

Thinking of alcohol as different from other drugs has caused a great many addicts to relapse. Before we came to NA, many of us viewed alcohol separately, but we cannot afford to be confused about this. Alcohol is a drug. We are people with the disease of addiction who must abstain from all drugs in order to recover.