Celebrate Recovery in Nampa, Idaho

Many thanks to Pastor Kent Conrad and his Ministry Leaders Barry and Eunice Lucas. They had a great group of volunteers working to make sure the last Celebrate Recovery Seminar of the Spring / Summer season was a success.

Many new and potential new ministries were represented when Pastor John and Cheryl asked "how many are here for the first time?" Hands were raised all across the worship center, indicating potential growth across Idaho and the North West region of the United States.

The leadership of Celebrate Recovery is now preparing for the upcoming Summit at Saddleback Church, August 12 - 14, 2009. The registration for this event was over 2300 at the end of last week.

If you are planning to join us, make plans now to register at Celebrate Recovery. Hurry up - for the Saddleback worship center fills up fast!

Now is a great time to connect with your Celebrate Recovery State Representative to let them know you will be attending. Building relationships with other leaders from your area is a large part of what the Summit is about. Start making connections now. See you soon!

Celebrating Recovery - each day in Christ! - Jim

Celebrate Recovery State Reps Are Here to Serve

Many thanks to Pastor Gary and his ministry leader (and MN State Rep) Wade, for an outstanding job of hosting the One Day Seminar and Advanced Leadership Training at Autumn Ridge Church in Rochester, MN last weekend. Everyone had a great time, and the church and recovery community provided wonderful volunters to host the event.

One question surfaced in conversation that lead me to believe many local Ministry Leaders somehow missed the help and support available through the CR Regional Director and State Representative system that has long been part of our structure. On occasion in other parts of the country I've heard similar remarks, and thought I better address it here.

I talked with several folks attending their first training event who mentioned "I did not know I had a state rep!".

As a ministry leader in your local church and community, help get the word out to new and potential new ministries. Let them know Celebrate Recovery provides training through One Day Seminars and the Summit, and a support system through recognized leaders, to help start and grow a successful CR ministry. While it is great a nearby church may visit your group to understand the "how to, or why" of running a successful model of recovery, it is vitally important you help connect others to the system of support and connection that our representatives provide.

Our Regional Directors and State Reps are here to serve YOU. Don't hesitate to call or e-mail any of us with questions about growing this ministry in your church.

Speaking of networking - in 72 days, there will be awesome networking opportunities with people from across the country and around the world. Recovery leaders and potential recovery leaders will soon be gathering on the campus of Saddleback Church for the Eleventh Annual Celebrate Recovery Summit.

The Network Connection Tents will be set up and we will have representatives from the six regions of the United States, Celebrate Recovery Inside, and Celebrate Recovery International available to answer any questions you have concerning the growth of this Christ-centered ministry in your part of the world.

Come now and make plans now to join us for the WORLD -WIDE CELEBRATION of recovery that is found in Celebrate Recovery. Drop by and say "Hi!". Pastor John, Cheryl and the rest of the team are looking forward to seeing you there.

Celebrating Recovery - each day in Christ! - Jim

Making Your Group Safe for All - Celebrate Recovery Ministry Leader's Chief Commission

Last week we were in Pennsylvania for a One Day Seminar, including the Seven Keys of Recovery and the Advanced Leadership Training. Many thanks to Ron and his team of great volunteers. I also made a new friend on Face Book!

I enjoy Face Book and the opportunities it brings to "stay in touch" with family and friends on a social level. I also have fun with the creative use of YouTube for promotions about Celebrate Recovery world-wide. There are many other creative ways technology connects us and raises awareness of CR in the public eye - and techchnology is great - most of the time!

One area of concern regarding our advanced means of technology is that of anonymity and confidentiality. I've seen and heard examples of someone filming or photographing all or part of a Celebrate Recovery meeting, and then displaying it somewhere on the web.

As a Ministry Leader, your first obligation is to make Celebrate Recovery a safe place for all participants. Letting a camera, camera equipped cell phone , or other video recording device into your meeting can be a violation of the sacred trust of confidentiality or anonymity.

A leader may point out that "I got a signed waver from all concerned". My concern is for that individual who walks in without giving their consent, or the person who later changes their mind and later says, "I didn't really want to sign, but everyone else did".

Two points regarding technology use in a Celebrate Recovery meeting - then I'll let you evaluate where your group stands.

1.) Recording the lessons of Celebrate Recovery is something you should not be doing. The body of the lesson, including the acrostic, is copyrighted material and should not be duplicated for public consumption.

2.) Perhaps the best use of still or video photography is in the promotion of your CR ministry. Think of the "WORDS" video, or the DVD included in the Basic Leadership Kit. A local promotional video is usually shot once, then used for specific purposes in the local church.

In addition, regular or weekly photography or video taping should not be a part of your Celebrate Recovery ministry. The use of camera or cell phone photography should be STRONGLY discouraged in your Celebrate Recovery ministry. If you are recording Celebrate Recovery lessons for inclusion on the web - you're going to have to stop.

Serving as a Ministry Leader, you've likely thrown personal anonymity and confidentiality out the door a long time ago. I wish to encourage you to make CR a safe place for all - and keep the cameras out of the meeting unless there for specific purposes of promoting your ministry.

On another note - this Friday is the last day to take advantage of early registration for the 2009 Summit at Saddleback Church. You may register by visiting us online at Celebrate Recovery .

Celebrating Recovery - each day in Christ! - Jim

Celebrate Recovery Ministry Leader Connection to the Church

When the Ministry Leaders in my home town gather, they often bring up a point that is of concern in Celebrate Recovery ministries across the country. Senior Pastor Support!

As the Ministry Leader of the recovery ministry in your church, I challenge you to keep a regular on-going dialog with your Senior Pastor. In some churches this may include the Pastoral Care Director, or Staff Pastor given the opportunity oversee the ministry of Celebrate Recovery.
It is important to keep communication open for a many reasons, and here are just a few:

1.) Ongoing reports alert the Pastor and staff to the WAVE, the momentum, that is building in this recovery ministry. This includes the coming "recovery experience" that is going to be promoted in the Fall edition of the Purpose Driven Connection magazine. Pastor John has mentioned the excitement building for the fall edition of this new ministry magazine. If you haven't see this new publication, check it out now - get ready for the recovery focus this Fall!

2.) Share with the Pastor how Celebrate Recovery functions as another "door" into the church. You can do so by providing general information about participants now calling your church "home". I've always encouraged brothers and sisters in recovery to let the Pastor know that CR was the means by which they discovered Christ and the church. Many have been bold to say "Pastor, I am here because of Celebrate Recovery!".

3.) As Christ and recovery is first the avenue of change for people IN THE CHURCH, the focus then changes to OUTREACH in the community. Let the Pastor know of community impact or prison outreach that comes from the health and growth of Celebrate Recovery in your church.

At the One Day Seminar in South Carolina, Pastor Rick Warren recorded a message specifically for those attending the Seven Keys and Advanced Leadership Training. In the message, he noted national concerns about the economy and fears over job loss - concerns that are real and felt world-wide. One comment Pastor Rick shared, that really registered with the audience, is his belief that "national recovery begins with personal recovery".

As the Ministry Leader of Celebrate Recovery in your church, prepare your leadership to make a difference in the lives of men and women who are coming through the doors each week. As you help participants encounter personal recovery, their stories will encourage family and friends to find the hope that is available in Christ alone. We are making a difference!!!

Celebrating Recovery - each day in Christ! - Jim

Comfortable, Familiar, at Home in Celebrate Recovery

It has been a couple of weeks in a row since I've been able to fellowship at my home church in Austin, Texas. While traveling home from the recent CR seminars in Tulsa and Greenville, I've been on the road or in the air on Sunday, and have missed my church. This morning as Paula and I arrived to take our position as greeters during the first service, we were walking down a hall, I felt a sense of peace and satisfaction and commented "It sure feels good to be here today!".

The sense of "being at home" is something I so desire for your Celebrate Recovery participants when they happen to visit another group.

The Trademark and DNA of Celebrate Recovery are discussed in all of our training events for the purpose of making sure that visitors from other CR ministries from across the country or from the other side of the globe always feel "at home" when they walk through your door. It is always a concern to hear that someone visited another CR, and left confused because it did not match the structure and best practices adopted from the model we find at Saddleback Church.

Whether your ministry is hosting dozens or hundreds of individuals, you can and should follow the model that is taught in all of our training events. We expect that, as a church offers
Celebrate Recovery, it will be an authentic representation of the original - home to participants familiar with the training we provide.

If you need assistance in understanding any part of the Leader's Guide or Seminar workbooks, we have a great group of volunteers in the US, and a growing number of recognized ministry leaders internationally, who are more than willing to answer questions you have about starting and growing a healthy Celebrate Recovery ministry.

There are three more One Day Seminars featuring the Seven Keys and the Advanced Leadership Training between now and June. I'd also like to get in a reminder that we are ahead of registration numbers posted this time last year for the soon coming Celebrate Recovery Summit. You can find registration information for any of our events by visiting Celebrate Recovery . Bless you on this Road to Recovery!

Celebrating Recovery - each day in Christ! - Jim