Encourager Coaches, SHARE WITH CAUTION!

The Celebrate Recovery One Day Seminar in Rochester, Minnesota was awesome!  The Seven Keys Seminar was well attended, as was the Advanced Leadership tract. Several State Reps. from nearby States were in attendance, connecting with ministry leaders from their regions! Thanks to the Autumn Ridge team who helped make it so successful! 

Today, I want to revisit a familiar topic once again.  As mentioned before, Facebook is a great social tool for connecting with family and friends. Personally, I have recently located a high school buddy that I have not seen or heard from since graduation.  What fun! 

In regards to Celebrate Recovery, we must use caution in our sharing. Occasionally, I love to make a brief statement on my Facebook page about returning from a CR meeting and let everyone know it was a terrific meeting. I AM NOT FREE to say who I saw or what was shared in the meeting. That would be breaking confidentiality and anonymity. In addition, I would break copy right laws to share the lesson taught during the meeting on the web.  The CR material is copyrighted.  

What can I share?????? I can share about me.  I can share my growth, my story, my breakthroughs, my life.  Remember the first guideline?  I love the phrase  "What is shared in the group stays in the group". That includes the large group meeting too!

Jim mentioned in his blog last week that cameras do not belong in a CR meeting, even the Large Group Meeting.  To take photos is breaking confidentiality and anonymity. Remember I am not free to say or SHOW who I saw or or what was shared in the meeting. Let's guard the safety of our meetings!

As Encourager Coaches, we want to keep our leaders and attendees from any unnecessary harm.  Let's keep our meetings safe!  It is a number one priority!

Bless you,

Paula

FACEBOOK - The Place to Connect with the CR National Facebook Page

A few weeks ago, I posted a blog about Facebook and the possibilities for networking via this popular tool!  I also posted some warnings about security while using Facebook.  I continue to be amazed at the number of folks using this ever growing media to connect and network about Celebrate Recovery and share their lives, changed lives. 

Mac Owen, our National Assimulation Coach, wrote a blog about the networking successes he has personally witnessed via Facebook and the numbers of folks showing up at his local CR because of Facebook conversations or connections.  Wow, God can use anything in a big way, if we just invite Him to do something miraculous!  That is what we are seeing, God at work as we connect with friends and family. Go God!

I want to encourage you to connect with us on the National Celebrate Recovery Facebook page. The National Team is using it as another means to keep people informed about what is happening across the country.  It is so inspiring to read the reports of individual ministries and also uplifting to read the testimonies of individuals who have posted sobriety dates.  Others offer words of encouragement to the readers. 

There is also an increased  presence of state, regional and individual Celebrate Recovery pages. Pages have been started by various individuals wanting to connect with smaller and more specific audiences.  Some are using it to connect with just the leaders in their ministry and others to network ministries in larger cities or even states.  How exciting that we can encourage one another in so many ways.

Well, I hope you can tell that I am excited about the wave that Facebook is creating in and of itself.  Remember to keep the confidentiality when sharing information.  Facebook is not the place for deep sharing, but a place of social connection.  

God bless each of you as you begin your week!

Paula 

Facebook As A Means of Connecting

I am very excited today about the social connections being made because of Facebook. People of all ages are tapping into this social network to visit with family and friends, as well as friends and acquaintances made years ago! This network is also providing a means of connection for Celebrate Recovery and the many people involved all around the world. If you don't yet have a page, let me encourage you to start today!

Working with Facebook is not difficult. If you don't know how to get started, ask your teen or a friend or spouse to help you get going.

Before I share more about Facebook and its advantages, let me say that Facebook is a social network. It is not a place for deep sharing. In fact, I recommend that you place high security on all of your postings, even your pictures. There are several safety features available to the Facebook user. I don't connect with people I don't know. I simply ignore requests for friends from those I don't wish to connect with. I only let my connected friends see my comments, my photos and anything else I post. You are in control of your own page.

Now for the good stuff, the reason why I am so excited about Facebook. On your Facebook page, in the upper right corner, is a search box. As you enter Celebrate Recovery, you will find many Celebrate Recovery Facebook pages from all over the country.  Johnny Baker started a Celebrate Recovery National Facebook page for people in recovery to connect and share. Some have shared about their ministries and some have shared about their personal recoveries. Awesome! Several of the State Reps and Regional Directors have started pages for their area. Some pages are there for anyone to join and then some are closed, where you have to be approved to join, depending on the purpose of the page. It is exciting to see the connections that are being made around the country and even the globe!

People are hearing about Celebrate Recovery from Facebook and finding a meeting for the first time. I have heard accounts of people attending their first CR meeting because a friend or relative shared Celebrate Recovery via their Facebook page. I use my page to share when I have attended a great meeting or about a recent One Day Seminar I attended and how lives are being changed. I have been posting pictures and comments on the Celebrate Recovery One Day Conferences as I can. The possibilities are unlimited!

HOWEVER, I must also add that confidentiality and anonymity are just as important on Facebook as anywhere else. Please do not post private conversations or names and faces of those who have not given you permission to do so. Facebook needs to be kept social and safe for all concerned.

Have a blessed week!

Paula