About
Celebrate Recovery’s Eight Recovery Principles
Can I Use The Celebrate Recovery Name?
PASTOR JOHN’S TESTIMONY
I’m John Baker, I have the honor of serving at Saddleback Church as the Pastor of Celebrate Recovery. I would like to share with you a brief history of how Celebrate Recovery got started.
I joined Saddleback staff 16 years ago as the Director of Recovery and Small Groups. I have served as the Pastor of Membership and the Pastor of Ministry. Now, that’s what I do, and that’s good stuff, but, you know, God is really more concerned with who I am, rather than what I do.
He’s concerned about my character and my values; who I really am when there’s no one else around.
So, allow me to reintroduce myself as who I really am, instead of what I do. I should have started my introduction by saying, Hi! I’m John, I’m a believer who struggles with alcoholism.
Notice I introduced myself as a believer who struggles with alcoholism. You see, my identity is in my Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ - The One and Only true Higher Power. I’m not going to allow my sin-addiction to alcohol identify me.
I was raised in a Christian home in the small, midwestern town of Collinsville, Illinois, population of 10,000. I had a normal childhood, whatever that is. My parents were members of a small Baptist church, and I asked Christ into my heart at age 13.
In High School I was the Class President, I lettered in basketball, baseball and track. I felt compelled into ministry at age 16 so I applied to several Christian Universities. Up to this point, everything sounds fine. In fact, it almost sounds boring.
But you see, there was this problem. I had to be the best in everything I did.
Because deep down inside I never felt good enough for my parents, my teammates, my girlfriends or anyone. So if I wasn’t good enough for them, how could I ever be good enough to serve God? I must have missed the Sunday sermons on Jesus’ unconditional love and freely given grace. I was a walking and talking paradox: A combination of the lowest possible self-esteem, which I tried to cover up with the worlds largest ego.
Believe me, that’s not a very comfortable feeling inside. The best way I can describe the feeling is a pain, a burning emptiness, a hole, right in my soul. I wrestled with God’s call and judged myself “unworthy” to enter the ministry.
After High School I went to the University of Missouri. When I packed for my Freshman year I took my non-existent self-esteem with me. I joined a fraternity and soon discovered the solution, or at least, what I believed to be the solution for my life’s hurts – alcohol. From the first drink it worked. I fit in! For the first time in my life I felt like I belonged. It wasn’t long and I was majoring in Business Administration and minoring in Partying.
I met my wife Cheryl at a fraternity-sorority football game, and despite lots of warning signs she agreed to marry me in my Senior year. We didn’t want to wait because the Viet Nam war was in full swing and we new after college that I’d be called into the service. Little did Cheryl know what the next 19 years would have in store for her. After graduation I joined the Air Force and was chosen to be a pilot.
I attended Officers Training School and in 90 days I learned to act like an Officer and drink like a gentleman. I continued to abuse alcohol and considered it as a cure for my pain – certainly not a sin. In the service I quickly found the use for 100% oxygen – to cure my morning hangovers!
The war ended and I was assigned to a reserve unit. After the service I joined Scott Paper Company, got my MBA degree at night school and God gave us our first child, a daughter, Laura. Two years later we were blessed with our son, Johnny. I’m going to brag here, on June 18, 2004 our son Johnny and his wife Jeni had our granddaughter Maggie! It gets even better, on March 26, 2006 Chloe our second granddaughter was born.
I was promoted 8 times in the first 11 years of my business career. I was the Vice President of Sales and Marketing for two very large consumer food manufacturers. I had reached all my life’s career goals by the time I was 30! I remember here the words of a song, “Is that all there is?”
With all of the business success came several relocations. Attending church became less and less important to me as my drinking increased. I was also becoming uncomfortable with my lifestyle, business practices and priorities. I was making unhealthy choices that were hurting the people I loved.
I had to face a major decision, you know, conviction is really uncomfortable!
I had a choice here, do it my way – continue drinking and living by the world’s standards; or surrender and repent and do it God’s way. I wish I could say that I saw the light and chose God’s way, but the truth is, I chose my way. My drinking increased and I turned my back completely on God.
Proverbs 14:12 (TLB) says, “Before every man there lies a wide and pleasant road that seems right but ends in death.”
I was on that road. I was known as a functioning alcoholic. I knew I had a problem, but, I never lost a job, never got arrested for drunk driving. Up to this point, my secret was still safe. Cheryl was in denial, or so I thought. In fact, she later told me she just couldn’t think of me as an “alcoholic” until she noticed my new breakfast drink, beer. One evening, just because I refused to go out for pie with friends, in anger, Cheryl asked me to go to counseling with her or leave.
Much to her surprise, I left, and our 13 month separation began. What I had considered the solution for my life’s problems – alcohol, became the problem of my life! And finally my drinking cost me all purpose and reason for living. I was dying physically, emotionally, mentally, and most importantly, spiritually. My life was out of control. On my own I didn’t have the power to stop drinking.
It was an October morning, I was in Salt Lake City on a business trip. I woke up and I knew that I couldn’t take another drink, but I also knew that I couldn’t live without one! I had finally hit my bottom. I made it back to Orange County and went to my first AA meeting. I started going to AA meetings daily, I went to over 90 meetings in 90 days.
I didn’t know it at the time but I was at Principle One where I was able to:
Realize I’m not God. I admit that I am powerless to control my tendency to do the wrong thing and that my life is unmanageable.
Now, this is where it gets really interesting. Cheryl and the kids had begun attending a church that met in a gym, a church called Saddleback. One Saturday night I was visiting the kids and they asked me to go to church with them on Sunday morning. Much to their surprise I said yes. I hadn’t been to church in 5 years! That Sunday morning I heard the music and Pastor Rick Warren’s message and I knew I was home. That was when I knew I was ready for Principle Two.
Earnestly believe that God exists, that I matter to Him, and that He has the power to help me recover.
Cheryl and I began in earnest to work on our issues that had torn our marriage apart, and 5 months later God opened our hearts and we renewed our marriage vows. This past October we celebrated our 38th wedding anniversary. Praise God!! I was also able to complete the third Principle:
Consciously choose to commit all my life and will to Christ’s care and control.
You see, as a teenager I committed my life to Christ but I had never given all my will to Christ’s care and control. At church, I joined a men’s small group, but in my small group I really couldn’t find anyone there that I could openly share my recovery from my sin-addiction to alcohol. When I started to share about my struggle with alcohol they just didn’t want to go that deep. They would say, “How about those Dodgers?” When I went to AA meetings I was mocked when I shared about my Higher Power, the one and only true Higher Power, Jesus Christ.
I couldn’t find a safe place to share the victories and the freedom over my past sin that Christ was giving me. So in 1991, I wrote Pastor Rick Warren a short, concise 13 page single spaced letter outlining the vision God gave me. A vision for Celebrate Recovery. A recovery program that was Christ-centered and based on the Bible. I knew I couldn’t be the only one in our church, a church the size of Saddleback, that was dealing with a hurt, a hang-up or an addictive habit. I knew there had to be other people out there.
Well, Pastor Rick read the letter and called me into his office. His response was, “Great John, you do it.” I was amazed that God would use someone like me to start a ministry, and I am still amazed today.
Since Celebrate Recovery began at Saddleback 16 years ago:
- Over 10,000 people at Saddleback have completed the program and have found victory from their hurts, hang-ups and habits through Christ’s power.
- We have been able to start the program in over 10,000 churches and over 500,000 courageous individuals have completed the program.
The vision God gave me was to create a safe place that was not only alcoholics could go to for support. But a place for codependents, people with eating disorders, those struggling with sexual addictions, anger, those dealing with past or current physical or sexual abuse issues, those in need of financial recovery and many more groups. In short, anyone dealing with any kind of hurt, hang-up or habit.
It is my prayer that you’ll find freedom from any of your life’s hurts, hang-ups and habits. You don’t have to do it on your own. In fact, trying to do it alone may only make it harder. Check out Celebrate Recovery. This website is a great tool to help you get started. If you haven’t been to a Celebrate Recovery before, or, if you don’t know of one in your area, click on the “Find a Group” tab. You’ll be able to find all of the Celebrate Recovery groups that we know about, and that we know are safe places. If you can’t find a group near you, make sure to send an email to your State Representative. We have a great group of people who would love to help you start your journey on the Road to Recovery.
In His Steps,
Pastor John Baker
A MESSAGE FROM PASTOR RICK
The Bible clearly states "all have sinned." It is my nature to sin, and it is yours too. None of us is untainted. Because of sin, we’ve all hurt ourselves, we’ve all hurt other people, and others have hurt us. This means each of us need repentance and recovery in order to live our lives the way God intended.
You’ve undoubtedly heard the expression that "time heals all wounds." Unfortunately, it isn’t true. As a pastor I frequently talk with people who are still carrying hurts from 30 or 40 years ago. The truth is – time often makes things worse. Wounds that are left untended fester and spread infection throughout your entire body. Time only extends the pain if the problem isn’t dealt with.
What we need is a biblical and balanced program to help people overcome their hurts, habits and hang-ups. Celebrate Recovery is that program. Based on the actual words of Jesus rather than psychological theory, our recovery program is unique, and more effective in helping people change than anything else I’ve seen or heard of. Over the years I’ve witnessed how the Holy Spirit has used this program to transform literally thousands of lives at Saddleback Church and help people grow toward full Christlike maturity.
Most people are familiar with the classic 12 step program of A.A. and other groups. While undoubtedly many lives have been helped through the twelve steps, I’ve always been uncomfortable with that program’s vagueness about the nature of God, the saving power of Jesus Christ, and the ministry of the Holy Spirit. So I began an intense study of the Scriptures to discover what God had to say about "recovery." To my amazement, I found the principles of recovery, and even their logical order, given by Christ in his most famous message, the Sermon on the Mount.
My study resulted in a ten-week series of messages called "The Road to Recovery." During that series, my Associate Pastor John Baker developed the workbooks, which became the heart of our Celebrate Recovery program. I believe that this program is unlike any recovery program you may have seen. There are seven features that make it unique:
This recovery program is based on God’s Word, the Bible. When Jesus taught the Sermon on the Mount, he began by stating "Eight Ways to Be Happy." Today we call them the Beatitudes. From a conventional viewpoint, most of these statements didn’t make sense. They sounded like contradictions. But when you fully understand what Jesus is saying, you’ll realize that these eight principles are God’s road to recovery, wholeness, growth, and spiritual maturity.
This recovery program is forward-looking. Rather than wallowing in the past, or dredging up and rehearsing painful memories over and over, Celebrate Recovery focuses on the future. Regardless of what has already happened, the solution is to start making wise choices now and depend on Christ’s power to help me make those changes.
This recovery program emphasizes personal responsibility. Instead of playing the "accuse and excuse" game of victimization, this program helps people face up to their own poor choices and deal with what they can do something about. We cannot control all that happens to us. But we can control how we respond to everything. That is a secret of happiness. When we stop wasting time fixing the blame, we have more energy to fix the problem. When you stop hiding your own faults and stop hurling accusations at others, then the healing power of Christ can begin working in your mind, will, and emotions.
This recovery program emphasized spiritual commitment to Jesus Christ. The 3rd principle calls for people to make a total surrender of their lives to Christ. Lasting recovery cannot happen without this step. Everybody needs Jesus. Celebrate Recovery is thoroughly evangelistic in nature. In fact, the first time I took our entire church through this program over 500 people prayed to receiver Christ on a single weekend. It was an amazing spiritual harvest. And during the ten week series that I preached to kick-off this program, our attendance grew by over 1,500 people! Don’t be surprised if this program becomes the most effective outreach ministry in your church. Today, nearly 73% of the people who’ve been through Celebrate Recovery have come from outside our church. Changed lives always attract others who want to be changed.
This recovery program utilizes the biblical truth that we need each other in order to grow spiritually and emotionally. It is built around small group interaction and the fellowship of a caring community. There are many therapies, growth programs, and counselors today that are built around one-on-one interaction. But Celebrate Recovery is built on the New Testament principle that we don’t get well by ourselves. We need each other. Fellowship and accountability are two important components of spiritual growth. If your church is interested in starting small groups, this is a great way to get started.
This recovery program addresses all types of habits, hurts and hang-ups. Some recovery programs deal only with alcohol or drugs or another single problem. But Celebrate Recovery is a "large umbrella" program under which a limitless number of issues can be dealt with. At Saddleback Church, only one out of three who attend Celebrate Recovery are dealing with alcohol or drugs. We have dozens of other specialized groups too.
Finally, this recovery program produces lay ministers! Because Celebrate Recovery is biblical and church-based, it produces a continuous stream of people moving into ministry after they’ve found recovery in Christ. Eighty-five percent of the people who’ve gone through the program are now active members of Saddleback Church, and an amazing 42% are now using their gifts and talents serving the Lord in some capacity in our church.
In closing, let me say that the size of your church is no barrier to beginning a Celebrate Recovery ministry. You can start it with just a small group of people and watch it grow by word-of-mouth. Your won’t be able to keep it a secret for long!
You are going to see lives changed in dramatic ways. You are going to see hopeless marriages restored and people set free from all kinds of sinful habits, hang-ups, and hurts as they allow Jesus to be Lord in every area of their lives. To God be the glory! We’ll be praying for you.
CELEBRATE RECOVERY’S EIGHT RECOVERY PRINCIPLES
The Road to Recovery
Based on the Beatitudes
Realize I’m not God; I admit that I am powerless to control my tendency to do the wrong thing and that my life is unmanageable. (Step 1)
“Happy are those who know that they are spiritually poor.”
Earnestly believe that God exists, that I matter to Him and that He has the power to help me recover. (Step 2
“Happy are those how mourn, for they shall be comforted.”
Consciously choose to commit all my life and will to Christ’s care and control. (Step 3)
“Happy are the meek.”
Openly examine and confess my faults to myself, to God, and to someone I trust. (Steps 4 and 5)
“Happy are the pure in heart.”
Voluntarily submit to any and all changes God wants to make in my life and humbly ask Him to remove my character defects. (Steps 6 and 7)
“Happy are those whose greatest desire is to do what God requires”
Evaluate all my relationships. Offer forgiveness to those who have hurt me and make amends for harm I’ve done to others when possible, except when to do so would harm them or others. (Steps 8 and 9)
“Happy are the merciful.”
“Happy are the peacemakers”
Reserve a time with God for self-examination, Bible reading, and prayer in order to know God and His will for my life and to gain the power to follow His will. (Steps 10 and 11)
Yield myself to God to be used to bring this Good News to others, both by my example and my words. (Step 12)
“Happy are those who are persecuted because they do what God requires.”
CAN I USE THE CELEBRATE RECOVERY NAME?
Celebrate Recovery® desires to be a network of like-minded, Bible based Christ-centered recovery ministries. This growing network crosses denominational and cultural boundaries to help hurting people in our church and community.
There are many benefits of using the Celebrate Recovery® name. Here are just a few:
CONNECTION
Your ministry is part of an international movement to bring Christ-centered Bible based recovery to the world. As a genuine Celebrate Recovery ministry you join in a network of thousands of other local Celebrate Recovery ministries reaching people for Christ and helping them break free from their hurts, hang-ups, and habits.
SUPPORT
Your ministry has the support and partnership of the Celebrate Recovery National Team, as well as assistance from your state and regional representatives. These entities work to help your ministry succeed.
RESOURCES
Your ministry has access to the materials and resources from Saddleback Church that have proven to be invaluable tools in recovery.
VALIDATION
Your ministry is validated in your church and community by being associated with Celebrate Recovery.
PROMOTION
Your ministry is listed with the other Celebrate Recovery programs on the official Celebrate Recovery® websites.
It is our desire for each local Celebrate Recovery ministry to have a clear and consistent character that identifies it as a genuine part of the Celebrate Recovery movement, yet maintaining its own creative distinctions of the local ministry and church.
To illustrate, here’s an example of what it means to have consistency while allowing for creativity.
A McDonald’s restaurant in Boulder, Colorado may have a Western theme and a McDonald’s in Orlando, Florida may have a Mickey Mouse theme. Nevertheless, you can be sure when you order a "Big Mac" they are going to taste the same at both locations. Our desire is that no matter where a newcomer or visitor attends a Celebrate Recovery meeting they will experience the same quality content and program to find God’s healing from their hurts, hang-ups and habits.
The Celebrate Recovery® name is a registered trademark.
In a desire to protect the integrity of the broader ministry, Celebrate Recovery® requires that if you use the Celebrate Recovery® name that the following are an irreducible minimum of your program.
The DNA of an authentic Celebrate Recovery® Ministry.
1. Jesus Christ is the one and only Higher Power. The program is a Christ-centered ministry.
2. The Bible* and Celebrate Recovery curriculum consisting of the Leader’s Guide, four Participant’s Guides, and the Celebrate Recovery Journal are to be used exclusively. The Large Group lessons are taught from the Leader’s Guide, keeping at least the acrostic and the Scriptures as the key points in the lessons. This is to keep consistency within groups, allowing teachers to be creative with the introduction and conclusion of each lesson.
* Use of the Celebrate Recovery Bible is strongly encouraged due to the fact that it is the only Bible that directly corresponds to the Celebrate Recovery curriculum. The Celebrate Recovery Bible has been designed to work with the resources developed and tested in the national and international ministry of Celebrate Recovery.
3. The ministry is "group based." All groups are gender specific and use the Small Group Guidelines and format.
4. The Celebrate Recovery "Five Small Group Guidelines" are implemented and followed every time.
5. We expect each group to be accountable to Christ, the local church, and the model of Celebrate Recovery established at Saddleback Church.
A church or organization may decide to use the Celebrate Recovery® curriculum and mix it with other materials, or other programs, which is certainly up to their discretion. HOWEVER, they are prohibited from using the Celebrate Recovery® name.
Items produced for commercial sale using the Celebrate Recovery® name are strictly prohibited.
