With the introduction of The Landing-God's vision for Celebrate Recovery is now complete!" -John Baker "The Landing provides a safe place for students to share about their hurts, hang-ups, and habits and learn to apply the Principles of Celebrate Recovery to help them break the cycle of dysfunction in their families." - Johnny Baker So, it is important to keep ourselves pure from false doctrines and teachers. Admission of powerlessness is the first step in liberation. You may want to celebrate any, or all, of the following milestones in recovery: (Don't celebrate too much here because you are VERY much at risk still for relapse in the early days of recovery. Initially when I went through rehab, now over 13 years ago, I went briefly through AA(Alcoholics Anonymous) as it was a requirement of the rehabilitation program I was part of. So, I hope that in sharing the truth with people within AA, you are not identifying with this. Elena, yes, thank you. It was still a deep tissue massage, which helped me to relax, and relive my sore muscles, however, I was engaging in a practice that is contrary to biblical practices. Thirty years ago John Baker turned the ruins of his life over to Jesus Christ and God transformed him from a driven businessman with an addiction to alcohol, a failing marriage, and alienated children to a Christ-follower with a passion to help others with their hurts, habits, and hang-ups through the principles of recovery, wrote Kay Warren, cofounder of Saddleback Church and a mental health advocate. I know several people who were addicts and now can occasionally partake in rare occasions because they no longer want the life they had before . With maturity comes discernment, and with discernment comes an understanding that just because something may have been beneficial, or helpful, does not mean that it is sanctioned by God. Barb, thank you for commenting! It may use terms like god, creator, higher power, however, the god and creator that they speak is not that of Jesus/Yeshua. CR is for anyone with a hurt, habit or a hang up. At Southside Baptist Church, the purpose of our Celebrate Recovery program is to both fellowship and celebrate God's healing power in our lives through 12 Steps and 8 Recovery Principles. According to Step 3, it is like opening a door, however is going in another way other than Yeshua (Joh 10:7), as a person submits to a higher power. (Acts 17:30) At such time we can no longer claim ignorance and will be held accountable to such. We become free from our addictive, compulsive, and dysfunctional behaviors. Celebrate Recovery is a biblical and balanced program that helps us overcome our hurts, hang-ups, and habits. This is why we are told to come out, Be ye separate, Be holy, as He is Holy. I did not understand that this was a New Age practice, which was to focus on specific auras coming from different points of my body. Celebrate Recovery meetings rarely focus on the fact that continuing to drink can result in death. I did not continue on with AA, and I am thankful for that. About Of Dangers Recovery Celebrate Spirit Word Church (8.9 mi) 4849 South Lindbergh, St. Louis, Missouri 63126 United States. It is mixing the Holy, and the profane. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. The magnificent reality. 1 Timothy 1:3 As I urged you on my departure to Macedonia, you should stay on at Ephesus to instruct certain men not to teach false doctrines. Bauxite mining would threaten birds, plants, and clean water. Too many pastors use an academic model in which they simply lecture their congregations. AA/NA holds people in bondage, making them think they are free. Once you know better, you do better. 1 Peter 1:13Therefore prepare your minds for action. A.A. teaches that alcoholism is a disease for which there is no ultimate cure. uses the 12 Steps and its 8 Principles (supposedly based upon the Beatitudes - acronym spells "recovery") 1. Misuse of willpower. 4. Subscribers receive full access to the archives. Start your new life now! Wow. What followed was the fairly usual experienceit was a strange mlange of Aristotle, St. Francis, diverse archangels with odd names, deceased friendssome in purgatory and others doing nicely, thank you! Whether you choose a Christian rehab center that uses the Celebrate Recovery program or follow a different approach, you can find the help you need to live a sober life. Two members of that group William(Bill) Wilson, and Dr. Bob Smith came together in 1935 to officially start what is known as AA. I also know many who have never even tempted themselves ever again. 36If thy whole body therefore be full of light, having no part dark, the whole shall be full of light, as when the bright shining of a candle doth give thee light. Also on the part of forgiveness, we ar encouraged to also forgive God. Every week we state that we make decisions based on the truth. The Scriptures and the true gospel of salvation are very different then an all inclusive faith, of which all ways are acceptable. Willingness is the key. So if I forgive God, then that makes Him limited and also makes mistakes? I would like to serve Him some other way, in another ministry. I began slowly and shared about the woman Yah first had me sponsor, and I recited Acts 2:38, and I went through the 10 Commandments, and what sin is, and what repentance is. Once a person has repented, turning from sin, they are no longer defined by that sin, but rather are set free, and become a new creation: 1 Cor 6:9Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Your email address will not be published. (KJV), John 10:7Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. I hope you consider and pray on the things I have brought up, and really examine this program to see if it truly aligns with the word of God. I was immediately confronted after the meeting, and then again when I arrived the following week, as I was pulled aside by the lead woman of the group. Many of C.R.'s teachings are constructed from eisegesis rather than exegesis - misusing Scripture with an erroneous hermeneutic. So, below I have steps 1-3, and 12, all of which were quoted directly from 12-Steps and 12-Traditions. (Luke 9:23) In such, our reward, or our treasures will be laid up greater in heaven. At Landmark Recovery, we are happy to help you find a support system that meshes with your belief system. For example, as I mentioned in my post, I would not partake in the worship: I attended CR for a year, and during that time I was instructed by the Spirit to not partake in the worship, as the music and worship came from Saddleback. It is a welcoming community and provided a perfect place for our retreat. (Pg 5), Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God, as we understood Him.Step Three is like opening of a locked door. Your daily news briefing from the editors of CT. Free Speech and Abortion Collide: Supreme Court Hears One of Its Biggest Cases of 2018, I Was the Proverbial, Drug-Fueled Rock and Roller, Christian Conservationists Sue to Protect Ghana Forest. A spiritual awakening or new state of consciousness are specific terms that are used within the New Age or occult. The Birthright: Salvation and the Role of the Firstborn, Christmas Unwrapped: Why I No Longer Celebrate Christmas, The Deception of the New Age Awakening through DNA, Why I No longer Vaccinate: A Veterans Story. If you have a drinking problem in 2014, or a drug problem, or a gambling problem, your medically, socially, culturally, and politically mandated solution is a set of 12 . We have also been to Indonesia twice . For some, this repentance is quickly and some it is slowly as God meets us with our willingness at whatever point we are in life. Thanks for your post. Also, during this time, I was able to minister to quite a few women, and also became a sponsor.. The magnificent reality. This is the very definition of deception, to appear one way, but with the intention to do another. A perpetual drunkard, is being in perpetual sin, and those who do so, do not inherit the Kingdom. The ouija board got moving in earnest. So before I continue on with my story, I would like to go through some areas of AA. I previously completed step studies and attended CR as a participant. 9I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. Did Jesus change the water into wine or grape juice? His moral teaching-most excellent. Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever? We believe that this program targets the one thing that we all have in commonwe're all messed up in one way or another. And I believe that somewhere in their journey and even the ones affected from their addiction that they hit a rock bottom. Yes, you are correct in that we should never simply believe anyones word at something, and I am not offended if you do not believe my testimony. Your email address will not be published. Recovery signals a dramatic shift in the expectation for positive outcomes for individuals who experience mental and substance use conditions or the co-occurring of the two. Leviticus 19:31Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD(YHWH) your God. This is why I had thrown away the Blue Book, as well as an Alateen book I had aquired when I was younger. If there is darkness in the AA program leading people astray, what better place to set up a lamp stand? Thank you, Patty for sharing your thoughts and comment on this matter. I was also told that alcoholism is a disease, and that once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic. To become truly sober, or sober-minded, is not just abstaining from toxic substances from the physical body, but also toxic doctrines from the mind/heart. Many seem to believe that as long as something appears good, and that someone is helped that it must be of God, when this is simply not true; while He can draw His own creation to Him, in whatever circumstance they are in, this does not mean that it is His perfect will for them to continue on in what they are doing or involved in. Is it a sin for a Christian to drink alcohol / wine? Do not take the writer of this piece or even my word. Thank you for your obedience. All things including our evil ways will work to the glory of God somehow, and that is something I do and must believe in my journey. No person has the same journey and everyone has something to recover from. Both founders, Bill Wilson, and Bob Smith were heavily involved in practicing necromancy, performing seances, using the Ouija board, seeking spirits, and allowing a practice in the occult called automatic writing. In other ways I know both programs have brought people into their recovery process and even drawn them to Jesus. 3. Mark 14:38 38 Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. (As well as: 1 Thes 5:6, 8, 2 Tim 4:5, 1 Peter 1:13, 1 Peter 4:7). Why do we need 12 steps when the only step our Saviour has told us to do is repent and turn away from sin/evil. It also anti-christ as it denies Yeshua/Jesus as the Only Way(1 Joh 2:22-23, Joh 14:6). Do not perceive yourself as lovable and worthwhile. I will say too, that these programs do sometimes act as a religion and Ive seen that for myself, but just as when I go to church or study my Bible, I have to let God guide me away from the false preachings and allow Him to give the message that is meant for me. My KJV Bible is all I need in this life plus my brothers and sisters in Christ. Would you disagree that we should take God/YHWH at His Word if we profess to walk in His truth? This is a process of maturity and growth in the Lord. Show me the Buddha worshiper or the person whos higher power is a rock, and I can pray that God will use me and give me the wisdom through His Spirit to share Gods Word and the Good News with that person. Having said that, this review (completed largely with the help of Matthew Mumma) will demonstrate that CR contains two major problems: (1) Though claiming to be biblically based, its teachings are often constructed from a misuse of Scripture and an erroneous hermeneutic. Problems of intellectuality and self-sufficiency. Hi Kellie, The Danger of Teaching Information Without Application By Rick Warren I believe the number one problem with preaching in America is its lack of application. John touched more people with the healing power and grace of Jesus Christ than anyone else that I have ever known personally and one of those lives was mine, wrote Celebrate Recoverys national director and national training coach Mac and Mary Owen. Celebrate Recovery is a biblical and balanced program that helps us overcome our hurts, hang-ups, and habits. The Participant Guides are designed to create movement through the steps as each person is on a healing journey that creates new understanding and hope through the work of the Holy Spirit, and not . While a lapse can be a single event such as a poor decision of going . Both alcohol and drugs impair judgment and control of the body. While I want everyone to come to know Jesus Christ our Lord, it is ultimately their decision. 1 Founded 25 years ago by pastor Rick Warren and the Saddleback Church in California, it started with just 43 people but now has groups in 29,000 churches all over the globe with more than 3.5 million . In Celebrate Recovery, the levels of recovery are far worse. This is why it is so important to know who we are listening to when it comes to worship music, and where that music is originating from. Isnt God sovereign? As they had all turned their backs on Yeshua/Jesus and His Word, they then had no problem turning their back on me. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more. The only way for that to happen is through repentance of these programs/doctrines. Gal 5:19The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery; 20idolatry and sorcery; hatred, discord, jealousy, and rage; rivalries, divisions, factions, 21and envy; drunkenness, carousing, and the like. for the living to the dead?(KJV). Variety of ways to faith. There are many who have either themselves or known someone to have gone through AA, NA, Alanon, etc. Browse 60+ years of magazine archives and web exclusives. 3 ; Recognize that Im not God. Call us today at 800-256-3490 to begin your journey. 1 Peter 1:13Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;14As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance:15But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;16Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy. 14And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. However, unlike negative energy that simply attaches itself and hovers over us like a dark cloud, energetic parasites feed on our energy. (1) The Bible declares that drunkenness is a sin but those in Recovery believe it to be a disease. Are these 12 steps in alignment with the Scriptures? Action its keyword. So much in Christianity today is not based on Christ's teachings as much as it's based upon the ideas and theories of mankind. John was a great leader, and he will be greatly missed, but the impact of his faithful obedience will go on for generations, Ackerman wrote in tribute. Ebony, thank you for taking the time to share that with me. When I was in CR (Celebrate Recovery) which I talk on within most of my post and testimony, is that God used me to bring His Light and truth to the darkness that both AA/CR have as a foundation. If you are a Christian in recovery and currently attending a twelve step program whether it be Alcoholics Anonymous, Celebrate Recovery, Hunger for Healing or any of the other assortment of spin off programs, please take the time to consider the following information. Over the years, many celebrities have chosen to use their voices and their platforms to speak openly . 20 years ago, Saddleback Church launched Celebrate Recovery with 43 people. 1 Peter 3:17For it is better, if it is Gods will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of Gods mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God this is your spiritual act of worship.