Somebody Is Always Looking

It’s great how God uses your own words to drive home a point to you that you’ve been trying to get across to others! Last week we talked about the impact that doing something as simple as wearing a CR shirt could be very effective in getting the word out.

Mary & I were on our way to the One Day seminar in Nashville. And without thinking that morning, it has just become a habit to slip on a shirt with our CR logo on it for traveling. Little did I realize that this shirt would come into play later on during the day.

We boarded the plane heading to Houston to go to Nashville (I know that doesn’t seem right) going southwest to end up northeast! But that’s where we were headed. Everything was normal as we took our seats and buckled up ready for a great CR adventure.

After we took off, the stewardess was coming down the aisle taking drink orders. She took ours and then as she passed on by I saw her do a double take and then she starting singing “I’m on the Road to Re—co—ve—ry”. All because she noticed the CR logo on my shirt!

We looked back at her in surprise and she said, “I’ll be back to talk to you later!”

There was a empty seat across from us, so after she served passengers, she came back and sat down next to us. She started telling us about her lifetime of hurts and how excited she was to find a ministry like Celebrate Recovery. She said, “I love CR but we have one problem. We just don’t know how to get the word out. How do we promote CR?” Mary said, “Well it just so happens that you are talking to just the right people! My husband is the National Assimilation Coach for CR!” The stewardess exclaimed, “No way, get outta here!”

She spent the rest of the flight leaving the rest of the passengers to fend for themselves so she could hear more about CR and how to get the word out! This happened all from wearing a CR shirt.

So the phrase that came back to me was, “You got to be ready to practice what you preach.” So, as leaders, making sure we’re doing what we ask our CR members to do is very important.

And by the way, when you create a new tshirt design…send it in so we can share it with others!

I sign off today with this verse:
"But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect." I Pet. 3:15

Mac
mowen@wfrchurch.org

#9 Fellowship/Outreach Events

Trunk Or Treak 2007

My Top Ten list is in no particular order and they’re kinda like the Fruit of the Spirit in Gal. 5 ---the fruit is not plural. It’s a packaged deal. God expects us to have all these in our lives to some degree. The same with this Top Ten list, you may be stronger in some areas than others. But all these ideas will be ways to help your Celebrate Recovery produce fruit.

We were part of two impacting events this past weekend. Our church hosts Trunk or Treat annually and invites the community to join us. Our CR really gets involved. Everyone parks their vehicles in the parking lot to form a huge circle. We bring our grills and of course bring candy for the kids. Last year CR members dressed up as The Recovery Tribe. We all made up names associated with recovery and wore our badges with our recovery tribe names. I was “Chief Intervention”and Mary was “Walk On Eggshells No More”. This year our CR family was a band of pirates with “Walk The Plank” aka dunkin booth as a highlight hosted by Celebrate Recovery. The goal is for visitors to come back on Fri. night which they do after seeing CR represented as a part of our church---not just something for “those people”.

The second event was in Harrisburg, Illinois. Williams Hill Pass OHV Park hosted a Christian ATV rally with the help of CR from First Baptist Church in Harrisburg to introduce CR to people who love 4 wheeling and the outdoors. Creative! They invited people from all over the state as well as the Christian Motorcycles Association. Harrisburg CR is a group of people who are really excited about sharing Jesus through CR.

Trail Ride

Jimi Williams, the “A” coach for Harrisonburg CR organized this event. Mary & I, as well as Scott Kemp, Illinois CR State Rep., who was there with his wife, Veronica, shared our testimonies overlooking majestic mountains with an array of Fall foliage. And yes, there are mountains in Illinois! It was a great blessing to be outside enjoying God’s creation while sharing how the Creator has made us anew. Scott made some good contacts with people who are interested in starting CR at their churches. All because Jimi had the vision, of not only helping their CR grow in Harrisburg, but expand all over Illinois.

Harrisburg, IL CR Leaders

So work on being creative in your fellowship/outreach events. You never know who may show up. It may be the next “Paul” who overcame many hurts, hang-ups, and habits. And in doing so he brought many to a relationship with Jesus Christ!

We would love to hear your ideas!

Top Ten Ways To Be The Best "A"

#10 Attend a CR One Day Seminar

Put On The Armor Of God

Orders from headquarters, or more to the point, it’s what our Father tells us to do to stay in the fight since He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness! We are in a battle for the souls of men and women, as we reach out to those with hurts, hang-ups, and habits. So how can we be better equipped and ready for what the enemy is going to throw at us? Be a part of growth opportunities like the Summit and One Day Celebrate Recovery seminars.

Both of these events are beneficial and every seminar we attend we see growth in our group. Our people come away more excited and ready to work, serve and share. One Days are also a great opportunity to expose a larger number of your Celebrate Recovery group to the national CR family that we are a part of. So what can we expect at a One Day?

The Seven Keys help people, new to Celebrate Recovery, catch the vision of how this ministry impacts lives for eternity. Also, it will give them a good foundation on the DNA of Celebrate Recovery. The Advanced Leadership Training will help your TEAM as well as other leaders to become more like Apollos who learned from Aquila and Priscilla the way of God more adequately. Acts 18:26 So what does that mean for us? We learn even better ways how to be effective as we reach out to those hurting. An added bonus, we meet extended Celebrate Recovery family to network with throughout the year.

Some of you may say, “We’ve been doing this for several years. What more could we possibly learn?” Well, this is our 5th year in Celebrate Recovery and our 21st year in recovery. So it’s easy for me to get into the mode of thinking that I already know all there is about recovery. Thanks to a great sponsor who reminds me this thinking is contempt prior to investigation.

Mary and I remain open continually looking for opportunities to grow. So on November 15th we will be at the One Day in Dallas with 22 of our church family. This will ensure that our own group remains healthy. We want to be outward focused instead of inward focused. We know that if we are a healthy safe place, we will reach out to even more people and have a greater impact to those God places in our path.

Make plans now to attend a One Day Seminar near you!