Great Ministry Volunteers in Celebrate Recovery

I wanted to remind everyone that we have a great group of ministry volunteers serving as Regional Directors and State Reps across the country, and international leaders serving other countries around the globe.

I was recently made aware of a situation in another state where a counselor offered to train the Celebrate Recovery leadership of a church for a set fee. Pastor or Ministry Leader - if you ever have someone approach you stating "for ___ amount, I can train your volunteers for Celebrate Recovery", they are not part of our leadership team!!!

While I am aware that churches have blessed our State Reps who travel or stay over to meet with, or assist local ministry teams, our leaders are volunteers who are here to serve you in starting and growing the ministry of Celebrate Recovery.

The very best CR ministries are ones started by faithful, regular members of the local church. Often the ministry leader is identified by the pastor or staff as being someone with recovery experience, able to train and lead others in this healing ministry. We believe that the Basic Leadership Kit, and the Advanced Leadership Training Kit provide everything necessary for a leader to train volunteers for the local ministry. If you have questions, a State Rep or Regional Director are just a phone call or e-mail away. We want to serve you and your ministry team.

Another cautionary tale is to be alert for individuals who hop from church to church, attempting to serve as Celebrate Recovery planters or starters. My personal belief is the best leaders are raised in the church, and some of the "CR Planters" I've heard about often draw leaders from one church to another start-up ministry, often to the detriment of the original church. This type of activity is not helping either church.

The very best in Celebrate Recovery training is found at the One Day Seminars held in locations across the country, and at the annual Celebrate Recovery Summit at Saddleback Church. You can locate the events by visiting CelebrateRecovery.Com for the latest schedule. The last two Seminars of 2009 will be in Ft. Wayne on November 7, and in Austin, TX on November 14.

There is still time to register for either online, and there is always room for walk-ins!

Celebrating Recovery - each day in Christ! - Jim

Celebrating Recovery - Keys to Ministry Without Burnout

Rick Warren: "To avoid burnout: Divert Daily (whatever relaxes), Withdraw Weekly (a sabbath), Abandon Annually (disconnect completely)." Ps.127:2

The above was a shortened version I edited to post on Twitter a couple weeks ago after receiving a Face Book note from Pastor Rick concerning the issue of stress and burn out that can work its way into all our lives, if we’re not careful. In this day and age, it is all too easy to be connected to the world through computers and phones. I’ve been guilty, and perhaps you have been too – of texting or e-mailing from dinner with friends, a business meeting, movie, or the middle of a church service.

My chief accountability partner, my wife Paula, had been pointing out to me that even at dinner with our moms, I was bad about abandoning talk at the table in favor of turning to the latest tweet, e-mail, or text. Recognizing that I was favoring a ring or vibration (when operating out of stealth mode) instead of face-to-face relationships – I made a point of excluding my phone from different times of the day, night, or weekend. In recent months I’ve gotten better about keeping the phone out of dinner, meetings, and other important events. The phone and its holster fit comfortably in the console of our car! A couple of big commitments I made were to not carry a phone into CR meetings, and into our small group from church. Talk about bumping up the accountability level!!! My friends are keeping me honest.

My big test came last week following several weeks of sharing Pastor Rick’s points concerning diverting, withdrawing, and abandoning with the Celebrate Recovery Regional Directors. Many had already been taking Pastor Rick’s advice, and took vacation before or after the Summit, but I had to practice these principles for myself.

I prepared my team by letting them know that Paula and I would be vacationing without phone or computer, and would be out-of-touch for a week. For any emergency, my fellow workers and family were given an alternate cell phone and other important contact numbers.

The week was truly a relaxing time away. I was reminded “we are better together”, as other members of my team were able to take care of items needing attention in my absence. I also learned that nothing in my phone or computer is so pressing that I needed to be in instant contact.

I am presently looking at a very full inbox and a log of missed calls – but I’ve already begun working my way into both, learning the team worked well in my absence.

Check out training and networking opportunities taking place near you. Celebrate Recovery . com has the connection for registration to the upcoming events happening in your state or region. All are great opportunities to take members of your team, who have not yet had the opportunity, to experience a One Day Seminar featuring the Seven Keys of Celebrate Recovery or Advanced Leadership Training.

Celebrating Recovery – each day in Christ! - Jim