Brought to you by the letter “E”

I had a nice, neat little post I told Paula I was getting ready to publish yesterday… but then IT arrived.  A package containing 221 cards filled with some very exciting information-

Coach Role:  “E”

How long?  “8 years”

How long?  “2 months”

How long?   “9 hours”

What is your single most important question?  “How will God use me?”

What is your single most important question?  “What are the best ideas for fellowship events?”

What is your single most important question? “How many hours can I be on the phone before it becomes permanently attached to my ear?”

I love it!

221 notecards were turned in during the Summit’s Encourager Coach Connection last month representing an amazing network of hundreds of seasoned Encourager Coach veterans, and other “E’s” just getting started.  Once again, looking over your names and your questions has reminded me of the important momentum built in that meeting, and of the tremendous ministry of encouragement each card represents.

Paul writes these inspiring words to the saints in Philippi  “…being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

God has begun a good work in all of us, and He WILL be faithful to complete this work in us as we persevere in our vital supportive roles in our respective TEAM’s.   

I SO look forward to further connecting and interacting with all of you in the months to come, and using this forum to answer some of the questions we weren’t able to get to at our meeting. 

God bless!

-john

On The Road to Recovery - Heading to the CR Summit

Hi All!

Paula and I were enroute to Orange County and the Summit yesterday. As we landed in Dallas and walked to the next gate, we were surprised and delighted to see a CR State Rep and wife from the North East Region of the US. They were about to board the plane we were heading out of DFW on!

On your way to California, remain alert for the prospect of connecting with others who are headed to Lake Forest and Saddleback Church. I know it will be easy to spot fellow conference participants on the way home as many are sporting new CR hats or shirts, but how about making it easy on the way over??? Wear your church's CR shirt or a shirt you picked at an earlier CR conference so you stand out on the way.

Better yet - how about being prepared to answer the question "what is Celebrate Recovery, and why am I seeing all these shirts?".

Ministry Leader - you and your team are on the way to the world-wide celebration of God at work in our lives. This is the eleventh year for the Summit, and it is exciting to watch it grow year-by-year. 

We are making a difference in the lives of individuals, marriages, families and communities around the globe.

Looking forward to seeing you here on Wednesday morning! Drop by and say "hi!". Pastor John and the team are eagerly awaiting your arrival.

Celebrating Recovery - each day in Christ! - Jim

Summit Surrender!

That’s right, surrender! The only war ever won by first surrendering is the battle we’re in allowing Jesus to lead the way. Paul said in 2 Corinthians 12: 8-10, when he finally admitted that he had weakness, that he could not overcome by himself, that’s when Christ’s power came to rest on him.

So I have to ask myself. “Am I going to let my preconceived ideas get in the way of my surrender and thus affect my Summit experience?” Remember my thinking is what got me in trouble in the first place pre-recovery. Or do I want to open myself up to a new way of doing things being teachable instead of having all the answers?

A good friend of mine who has been in recovery for 17 years came to this realization shortly after he began his recovery process. It was one of his first days in rehab after really being a grump. That’s putting it mildly according to him. A young lady who was fed up with his self-righteous complaining attitude said to him, “Why don’t you, for the first time in your life, be open minded?” Ever since that day he decided to surrender to what became the best way, instead of his way. He became teachable.

I surrender my way of thinking as the best way, because I have not arrived either. I will open myself up to surrendering to be teachable and leave the Summit with new ideas, an invigorated spirit, a fresh desire to reach out to the hurting, a renewed commitment, a longing for a deeper relationship with Christ, and of course, friends that I have yet to meet I will spend eternity with!

Please join with Mary and I, as well as the rest of the National TEAM, as we commit to reaching new heights in our surrender.

Oh, and by the way, I read the end of THE BOOK…WE WIN!! Abundant life is now! See you at the Summit!

Mac

An Offering of Prayer

So, wow, everyone’s talking about this year’s Summit.   I guess I should probably blog about something else…  

nah!

We are just two weeks away, my friends- two weeks away from the Annual Celebrate Recovery Summit!   This amazing event at THE Saddleback Church is every Encourager Coach’s dream.  What could be more uplifting, more inspiring, more energizing than witnessing thousands of grateful believers in Jesus Christ gathering together to glorify the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords?

As usual, there is a lot to look forward to- great worship, powerful speakers, wonderful new tools, and an offering of dozens of helpful seminars. 

However, as appealing as these Summit offerings are, what I want to focus on today is what YOU have to offer the Summit in preparing for your visit to the Saddleback campus.

“I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone.”    (1 Timothy 2:1)

In the next couple weeks would you please pray for Celebrate Recovery, for its leaders, for those attending the Summit; and will you pray that God would do a miraculous work of growth in this global ministry as a result of these crucial 3 days?

Oswald Chambers wrote, “Prayer does not fit us for the greater work, prayer is the greater work.” 

I am convinced that the ultimate victory will be won in the weeks leading up to the Summit.  August twelfth through the fourteenth will simply be a celebration of our Savior’s triumphant and redeeming work acted out in the praises of His people.

God bless you and we look forward to seeing you very soon!

-john e

Bring your Group's T-Shirt

So, I talked about this on Twitter and Facebook already, but I thought I'd mention it here too.

If you're coming to the Summit and you've got a t-shirt for your Celebrate Recovery group, bring me a large or an extra large and I'll wear some of the best ones during the week.

I can't wait to see what you guys have come up with.

See you in a couple weeks!

Johnny