The General Meeting Night - Part 4 - Information Table

Come on, admit it, you thought I forgot about the General Meeting Night series didn't you? Maybe you hoped? 

Nope, I didn't forget. 

The next part of the General Meeting Night (GMN) I wanted to talk about is the Information Table. 

"WAIT! The information table is the responsibility of the Assimilation Coach. You aren't Mac!" 

You're right on both counts. But, I still want to talk about it. I'll try to talk about it from the Ministry Leader perspective, though. Cool, Mac? Thanks.

The information table is a very important component of the GMN. Having a table with all of group sheets available goes a long way in making the newcomer feel comfortable. And remember, the GMN is all about who?

That's right, the newcomer.

The thing is, not everyone is going to feel comfortable telling someone else why they're coming to Celebrate Recovery. They might be afraid of being judged or singled out. That's why having the group description sheets available can be such a help. I've actually seen people come to our information table and take one of each sheet, both for men and women, so that no one can guess why they're there. Eventually they'll come to understand how Celebrate Recovery works, but that first night, they may want to be as unnoticed as possible.

Next, it's also important to make sure there are people at the table who can answer questions. We like to make sure the people behind our info table here at Saddleback are friendly, experienced leaders. We want people, at least one man and one woman, that know the program, the campus and that are good with people. We want them to be able to answer questions and help connect people if they'd like us to. 

So, make sure you have an information table, that you have people behind it to answer questions and help the newcomer and that you have the right things on it.

As far as what goes on the table and what should be left of, I'll leave that for Mac.

Unplugged

I just got back from a great vacation with my family. Every year, after the Summit, we take a break and get away from the phones, all of the email and the computer. Well, we used to. Now, with smart phones and other gadgets it’s harder and harder to “get away from it all.” In fact, for the first two days of our vacation, I had a really hard time unplugging, both literally and figuratively.

In the literal sense, I brought my laptop, my phone and my iPad. Three things that all have internet connections. It was hard to put them down. I found myself checking email, looking at the Facebook page, and keeping posted on what was going on with Celebrate Recovery in my absence. About half way through the second day though, I looked at my kids and realized that I didn’t want to miss one more second of our time together. All of the other stuff could wait. I knew that would mean more work for me when I got back, but I didn’t care at that moment. All I cared about was that we were eating hotdogs and laughing, and talking and trying to not get stung by bees. It was great. But it was really, really hard. I’ve gotten into this habit of taking my phone out of my pocket and, “just checking” any time I get a chance. It’s almost a reflex now. Some of you know just what I’m talking about.

Figuratively, it was much harder to unplug. I love Celebrate Recovery. I think about it all the time. This program has changed my life. It’s given me the tools to connect with Christ in a deeper way than I ever thought possible. I also know how many lives have been changed through Celebrate Recovery. And after a great experience like the Summit, my mind has been on overdrive. I’ve written more about Celebrate Recovery in the last two weeks than I have in the last six months. Just check the date of my last post before this year’s Summit. I have been charged up! Turning that off for a few days was tough. Instead of writing down an idea for a blog post or an illustration for a lesson, I had to let it go and trust that either God would bring it back to mind at the appropriate time, or He would give me something better. 

I admit, I’m bad at this. Some of you are ok at unplugging and taking time away, but my gut feeling is most of us have a hard time with this. If so, can I just tell you how great it was for me? It was amazing. I finally feel rested. If you’re bad at this too, I want to encourage you to try it. Try to take some time and not think about CR. I know. I get it. But, for me at least, that time away has allowed me to come in today fresh and renewed. 

So let me ask you, when is the last time you unplugged? Literally? Figuratively? Are you good at it? Tell us what you do and how we can learn from you in the comments.

Johnny

New Content Coming to www.celebraterecovery.com

Hey everyone,

I wanted to let you know we're going to add some content to the homepage in the next few days. This blog has been dedicated to the Celebrate Recovery TEAM and Leaders, and I think it's going really strong. The homepage is going to have content geared more towards the participant. It will still have all of the dates of the Celebrate Recovery One Days, and news that you'll need too, but we're going to have features and stories that, we hope, will encourage newcomers and participants who are walking the road to recovery with us. 

If it's been a while since you've gone to the homepage, check it out.

Have ideas on what we should feature there? Let us know in the comments.

Johnny

Summit Update

I wanted to give you a quick update of what's happening at the Summit. Yesterday we heard from Pastor Rick Warren and his heart to bring National recovery through Celebrate Recovery and Life's Healing choices. Hopefully there will be an archive of that video on Pastors.com soon. I'll let you know if and when that happens.

We also spent time going over two of the 7 keys and we're doing more today. 

The best part as always is the connections that are being made between CR people from all over the globe. If you weren't able to attend this years Summit make sure to click here to see information about upcoming One Days.

I'll post again soon to keep you up to date. 

Also, if you're on Twitter look for the hashtag #CRSummit09. Lots of folks are tweeting about the Summit.

Johnny

Fall One Day Seminar Dates Announced

I wanted to let you all know we just posted all of the Fall One Day Seminar dates on our homepage.

We're coming to Little Rock, Albany, Denver, Fort Wayne, and Austin all before Thanksgiving!

Whew, I'm getting tired just thinking about it.

We'll have the Seven Keys to Celebrate Recovery as well as the Advanced Leadership Training Seminars at all of the events.

If your team wasn't able to make the trip out for the Summit, make sure you sign up for one of these events. If youhaven't been to a One Day Seminar or the Summit yet, sign up your team for the Seven Keys portion. If you've been to the Summit or a One Day, check out the Advanced Leadership portion.

Lots of good material in both sections.

Hope to see you "on the road."

Johnny