Celebrate Recovery
Encyclopedia
Celebrate Recovery was founded in 1991 by Pastor John Baker of Saddleback Church
with the goal of overcoming life's issues with a twelve-step program
based on Christian
principles. This recovery program addresses all types of habits, hurts and hang-ups. Other churches and some prisons implemented the program, and as of March 2004 more than 150,000 people are said to have participated. At the Faith-Based and Community Initiative Conference
in 2004, U.S. President George W. Bush
praised Celebrate Recovery as being able to "change hearts" where government cannot.
The purpose is to focus on God’s healing power through fellowship with others and by working the 12 Steps and the 8 Beatitude Principles. Celebrate Recovery is conducted by Christians who have been through 12-step recovery.
except for Jesus, as opposed to groups like Alcoholics Anonymous
which encourage members to choose their own concept of a Higher Power. Another difference is that Celebrate Recovery does not require one to conform to a singleness of purpose declaration, a member does not have to qualify oneself as an alcoholic, addict, or gambler—there are no requirements for membership.
.
devised a set of Principles based on the Beatitudes
.
Saddleback Church
Saddleback Church is an evangelical Christian megachurch located in Lake Forest, California, situated in southern Orange County, affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. The church was founded in 1980 by pastor Rick Warren...
with the goal of overcoming life's issues with a twelve-step program
Twelve-step program
A Twelve-Step Program is a set of guiding principles outlining a course of action for recovery from addiction, compulsion, or other behavioral problems...
based on Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
principles. This recovery program addresses all types of habits, hurts and hang-ups. Other churches and some prisons implemented the program, and as of March 2004 more than 150,000 people are said to have participated. At the Faith-Based and Community Initiative Conference
Faith Based Initiative
"Faith Based Initiative" is the 120th episode of The West Wing.-Plot:A Senator attaches a rider to the federal budget bill that would ban gay marriage, almost daring the President to veto it...
in 2004, U.S. President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
praised Celebrate Recovery as being able to "change hearts" where government cannot.
The purpose is to focus on God’s healing power through fellowship with others and by working the 12 Steps and the 8 Beatitude Principles. Celebrate Recovery is conducted by Christians who have been through 12-step recovery.
Program
Although Celebrate Recovery meetings are similar to those of other twelve-step programs, one difference is in their focus on Christianity. The program stresses that there is no other Higher PowerHigher Power
Higher Power is a term coined in the 1930s in Alcoholics Anonymous and is used in other twelve-step programs. It is also sometimes referred to as a power greater than ourselves and is frequently abbreviated to HP.-History:...
except for Jesus, as opposed to groups like Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous is an international mutual aid movement which says its "primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics achieve sobriety." Now claiming more than 2 million members, AA was founded in 1935 by Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith in Akron, Ohio...
which encourage members to choose their own concept of a Higher Power. Another difference is that Celebrate Recovery does not require one to conform to a singleness of purpose declaration, a member does not have to qualify oneself as an alcoholic, addict, or gambler—there are no requirements for membership.
The Twelve Steps and their Biblical comparisons
Celebrate Recovery teaches the Twelve Steps by relating them to Biblical versesChapters and verses of the Bible
The Bible is a compilation of many shorter books written at different times and later assembled into the Biblical canon. All but the shortest of these books have been divided into chapters, generally a page or so in length, since the early 13th century. Since the mid-16th century, each chapter has...
.
- We admit that we are powerless over our addictions and compulsive behaviors. That our lives have become unmanageable. (Romans 7:18 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.)
- We believe that a power greater than ourselves can restore us to sanity. (Philippians 2:13 For it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.)
- We have made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God. (Romans 12:1 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.)
- We have made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves. (Lamentations 3:40 Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the LORD.)
- We have admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being, the exact nature of our wrongs. (James 5:16a Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.)
- We are entirely ready for God to remove all these defects of character. (James 4:10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.)
- We humbly asked Him to remove all our shortcomings. (1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.)
- We have made a list of all persons we have harmed and are willing to make amends to them all. (Luke 6:31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.)
- We made, or will make direct amends to such people whenever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others. (Matthew 5:23-24 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.)
- We have continued to take personal inventory and when we are wrong, promptly admit it. (1 Corinthians 10:12 So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall!)
- We have 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. (Colossians 3:16a Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly.)
- Having had a spiritual experience as the result of these steps, we seek to carry this message to others, and practice these principles in all our affairs. (Galatians 6:1 Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted.)
Eight Recovery Principles based on the Beatitudes
Saddleback Senior Pastor Rick WarrenRick Warren
Richard Duane "Rick" Warren is an American evangelical Christian minister and author. He is the founder and senior pastor of Saddleback Church, an evangelical megachurch located in Lake Forest, California, currently the eighth-largest church in the United States...
devised a set of Principles based on the Beatitudes
Beatitudes
In Christianity, the Beatitudes are a set of teachings by Jesus that appear in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. The term Beatitude comes from the Latin adjective beatus which means happy, fortunate, or blissful....
.
- Realize I'm not God; I admit that I am powerless to control my tendency to do the wrong thing and my life is unmanageable. "Happy are those who know they are spiritually poor"
- Earnestly believe that God exists, that I matter to him, and that he has the power to help me recover. "Happy are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted"
- Consciously choose to commit all my life and will to Christ's care and control. "Happy are the meek"
- Openly examine and confess my faults to God, to myself, and to someone I trust. "Happy are the pure in heart"
- Voluntarily submit to every change God wants to make in my life and humbly ask Him to remove my character defects. "Happy are those whose greatest desire is to do what God requires"
- Evaluate all my relationships; Offer forgiveness to those who have hurt me and make amends for harm I've done to others except when to do so would harm them or others. "Happy are the merciful" "Happy are the peacemakers"
- Reserve a daily time with God for self examination, Bible readings and prayer in order to know God and His will for my life and to gain the power to follow His will.
- Yield myself to God to be used to bring this Good News to others, both by my example and by my words. "Happy are those who are persecuted because they do what God requires"
Criticism
Some people believe that other twelve-step programs encouraging members to choose their own higher power are more effective in bringing about recovery. Celebrate Recovery also receives many of the same criticisms of other twelve-step programs.- For more details on this topic, see Twelve-step programs: Criticism