celebrate recovery exposed celebrate recovery exposed

Christians should have faith in the power of the gospel through God's word in scripture and should never rely on anything other than the gospel to reach those lost in the sin of addiction (which by the way you label as disease which is contrary to scripture - Galatians 5:19-21 clearly defines alcoholism and addiction as sin, not disease). Since CR claims to be Christian in nature, biblical (13), grounded in Gods word (12), and[b]ased on the actual words of Jesus rather than on psychological theory (12), it deserves to be evaluated as such. For this reason, Jesus brings clarity to the scene with these corrections. [17], How Celebrate Recovery Helped Evangelicals Open Up About Addiction, Offering Ministry, and Early Release, to Prisoners, U.S. trademark record for "Celebrate Recovery", "5 Guidelines for Celebrate Recovery Small Groups", "Celebrate Recovery: Five Small Group Guidelines", "Broadening the base of addiction mutual-help organizations", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Celebrate_Recovery&oldid=1131190093. Principle Y takes us back into false gospel territory: Yield myself to God to be used to bring this Good News to others,both by my example and my words. We are to stay on the narrow way which we cannot do without obeying God's Word. The program is just a tool and study book like any other study. Hi Ashley, House, 1998. Celebrate Recovery Celebrate Recovery is a Christ-centered, 12-step recovery program for anyone struggling with hurt, pain or addiction of any kind. Enslaving behaviors are as old, and common to humanity, as sin itself. He was instantly changed! Freedom From Sin Those who are saved know these things from day one of their regeneration. CR is a safe place to find community and freedom from the issues that may be controlling your life. Home. Baker, John, and Richard Warren. Pastor John - Cheryl Baker; Pastor Johnny Baker; Jeni Baker; Mac - Mary Owen; Rodney - Carol Holmstrom A final point to consider, and not a minor one, is the fact that Celebrate Recovery is embraced by the world. I believe these facts are important to disclose when you are making claims against something. But perhaps one should not be so quick to throw out the baby with the bath water. Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. Is His gospel in His Word not enough? How do you reconcile using the heretical Twelve Steps of AA instead of the gospel with this command? The son repented and the father ran to meet his son and helped him heal. Where is your external source that backs your beliefs that the 12 steps are demonically inspired. The Bible puts those two people in two different categories and addresses them discretely and justly. John Baker and Rick Warren of Saddleback Church created the program in 1991 to help people with various addictions. Free Will Rick Warren: Purpose Driven Deception. Celebrate Recovery (CR) was created by John Baker, a member of false teacher Rick Warrens Saddleback Church. Further, the purpose of this review is not to question whether the 2.5 million participants have felt that they were assisted with enslaving behaviors, nor to doubt the sincerity of individuals seeking to help, but, instead, to examine CRs claim to be biblically based. try to leave it and see what happens. Being morally filthy, the sinner depends entirely on Gods mercy if he is going to be acceptable to God. Further evidence of CRs false gospel can be found near the end of the video. Or what changes would need to be made for you to be a supporter of celebrate recovery? Fellowship One that walked the walk and one that fell to sin. They make merchandise of Gods Word. Sober Recovery Expert Author. The Oxford Group was a quasi Christian group that corrupted the gospel and Christian doctrine. Chad Prigmore is Pastor and President of The Way R122 Ministry USA & Kenya. And while confession is a good thing, its not the same thing as repentance. They have NEVER presented the Gospel, only their own convoluted fantasies of how things ought to be in their make believe world. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? I realize you wrote specifically about Celebrate Recovery, Michelle, but your cautions apply to so many ministries that follow the 12-step model. Participants are taken through the material in 25 lessons and testimonies, meeting once per week for 52 weeks. 7,416,908 journeys have been made to this site. [6][7] Leaders seek to normalize substance abuse as similar to other personal problems common to all people. CRs stated purpose is to encourage fellowship and to celebrate Gods healing power in our lives as we work our way along the road to recovery (21). Healing Nowhere does Scripture suggest that we need to heal and recover from sin. Sin is breaking Gods law and rebelling against the holy God of the universe. Those that are pretenders have no clue. The Worst Part about Our Sin. Hi Susan, 1 John 4:5, You adulterous people! I have a question for you. Luke 15:11-32 (NIV) , Jesus clearly said the father had two sons. Are we to avoid all womens bible studies and Christian book studies as well? If you are considering commenting or sending me an e-mail objecting to the fact that I warn against certain teachers or ministries, please click here and read this article first. Apostasy. Celebrate Recovery leads us through the 12 Steps and the 8 Recovery Principles that guide us along the biblical path of opening ourselves up to and trusting in God's grace, through Jesus Christ, for bringing change and healing in our lives, so that we can know a substantial measure of peace & joy and as it says in the Serenity Prayer to be "reasonably happy" in this life. Many AA or CR members dont realize this!) Gods Sovereignty He either never took the time to research the origins of the Twelve Steps and what they teach or he was intentionally making a false statement. Any CR program should teach that only Jesus can heal someone from addiction or any other sin. Instead, the Beatitudes are descriptions of kingdom citizens; of individuals having been saved by Gods grace. Inspiration The clearest instance of this occurs inthe principles upon which CR is founded. Galatians 1:6-10. Principle R2 is great if youre saved, since all Christians are supposed to be doing these things anyway. The common argument from proponents of Celebrate Recovery when presented with the truth of the twelve steps heretical origins is that because bible verses are used along with the Twelve Steps in Celebrate Recovery it is a Christian program - this defense is ridiculous. Hope November 2016 The one thing that Rick Warren, CR, and even Mr. Davis have left out is genuine repentance and an explanation of the effects it has on the one who was given the repentance as a gift from God in the first place. It was born out of the heart of Saddleback Church with Ricks approval and under his oversight, and, as you might expect, is fraught with unbiblical issues at nearly every turn. Ive been six months dry today. House, 1998. Sinful Desire Therapeutic Humanism Husband and I were drawn in by this CR group by someone in our old church both of us being recovered alcoholics, and saved, we went to one session. 5:6). Contrary to what the powers that be at CR think, that is not a good thing. That CR adapts worldly means and methods is abundantly evident below in the video introduction to CR (found on the CR websites What is Celebrate Recovery? ; The ability to have face-to-face conversations and . Discernment Recovery One such effort is a packaged addictions program called Celebrate Recovery (CR). Proper Perspective Print. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Pub. Prayer For example, Principle 5 (V in the acrostic) corresponds to steps 6 and 7 of the secular 12 steps. Celebrate Recovery is a safe place to find community and freedom from the issues that are controlling our life. Jesus commands us to repent. November 2014 1 Founded 25 years ago by pastor Rick Warren and the Saddleback Church in California, it started with just 43 people but now has groups in 29,000 churches all over the globe with more than 3.5 million . I have seen addictions brought under control, have seen fathers helped with addictions then start going to church and bring their whole families and the whole family get saved. CR is open to professing Christians as well as the lost (in the CR program at Saddleback, non-Christians make up over 70% of CR participants see below), and is modeled after secular 12 step programs (ex: Alcoholics Anonymous). Actually, we judge Celebrate Recovery by what it is based on and what it teaches - the teachings of Alcoholics Anonymous and the Twelve Steps which directly contradict the gospel of salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. 6;14, but RW and company would rather make merchandise of the masses and have them play the victim card and be FOREVER subservient to their programs and dictates*****************no thank you. Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. Click here for meetings today (Monday)! Alison Jones: Dear precious Christian. It cannot be done without repentance, faith, and regeneration in response to the biblical gospel. What an insult to Jesus Christ our Savior to label Him with a name from a program (Alcoholics Anonymous) which directly contradicts His gospel! Notice Johnny Baker (son of founder John Baker) and his wife Jeni start with the typical AA introduction: Johnny: Hi, Im Johnny and (rather than and Im an alcoholic) I struggle with Jeni: Hi Johnny!. Thus, CR claims that the Beatitudes are principles for addiction recovery. Eric Davis of The Cripplegate analyzes the popularpackaged addiction program, Celebrate Recovery (CR) that many churches have adopted. Finally, I will tell you this: I have never met a single CR leader or attendee who understood the Gospel, the New Covenant Gospel of Grace. Celebrate Recovery does not convey the gospel of Jesus Christ and is not needed. Below are the biblical criteria I use when deciding whether or not to recommend a teacher, ministry, etc. Purpose Driven Or am I trying to please man? December 2015 Sunday. We also know that God can and does work through others to help us. If anything is to be labeled as demonic it should be addiction itself. The ministry below is one Ive been asked about recently, so Ive done a quick check (this is brief research, not exhaustive) on it. Print. A typical Celebrate Recovery meeting includes: A large group meetingAn open share small groupNewcomers 101 (for your first week only). Dispensationalism Exposed as an Antichrist Cult [podcast] February 10, 2023. Alpha & Omega Home is dedicated to service, to God, our residents, and our community. How does adding to God's Word, blending the heretical teachings of AA with God's word, labeling the sin of addiction as disease, and focusing on supposed humanistic needs rather than the un-compromised gospel of Jesus Christ in any way bring glory and honor to Him? Also, look who comes first here in this line of confession not God, but self. The program, created by John Baker and Rick Warren, is supposedly based on biblical principles. March 2015 They may experience sobriety, but they will remain in bondage if they do not learn their identity in Christ and experience the power of Grace to overcome habitual sins. October 2014, All However, anytime there is Rick Warren and his Saddleback congregation involved, I balk at getting more into it due to the history of twisting scripture. Pastor Chad Prigmore, September 2020 We are told in Romans 12:2, "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect." Follow what hes saying: All have sinned >> sin = mistakes/hurting others/others hurting us >> weve all made mistakes/hurt others/others have hurt us >> that means all of us qualify for Celebrate Recovery, All have sinned >> sin = rebellion against God >> we all qualify for the gospel. 11. I would never recommend CR to a fellow believer, no matter how popular it is. Its obvious why the 12 steps are included, because the world is familiar with them. Jesus was clearly teaching that once saved always saved. And am a big believer in Cr and the fellowship that broke the chains that shackled me for so long. Some of the best known can be found in the blue menu bar at the top of this page at myPopular False Teacherstab. The global headquarters is in Lake Forest, California, United States. Johnny further describes sin as hurting other people and other people hurting us, and thats partially true, but thats where he stops. And they definitely mattered to God, just not in a good way. 5:3-12), which are said to be eight ways to be happy, contain the progressive path to addiction recovery. Yet, CR adds the Twelve Steps to God's Word - even going so far as creating their own Bible with the Twelve Steps included! Warren would have a man wallow in self pity (be a victim) and call it a boast to his self-esteem rather than point him to the only One who can not only forgive a mans sin, but DELIVER him from the power of those sins (Rom. No sound theologian would tell you that is proper. Celebrate Recovery: Growing in Christ While Helping Others: Participant Guide 4. I dont believe in being legalistic but perfection is seen by God as becoming mature and complete. Voluntarily submit to any and all changes God wants to make in my life and humbly ask Him to remove my character defects. Sermons Additionally, the Beatitudes were never intended to be a recovery program. Sobriety Do you have any idea how contrary that statement is to the Christian faith? Saturday. Celebrate Recovery is an American Christian twelve-step program designed to facilitate recovery from a wide variety of troubling behavior patterns. C-R also claims progress in place of Spiritual perfection as does A-A. Thats unbiblical. We are born with a sinful nature, but we also choose to sin. Print. The wife needs to heal from being hurt by someone else. Holy Spirit He said he spent eight days in Beaumont Hospital. Get help and get the past out of the dark and let Gods light shine. Currently you have JavaScript disabled. Biblically, theres no such animal. Mistakes are, by definition, unintentional and usually morally neutral. I now vow to never go back. Lanagan has done a massive amount of research on A.A., and what his research has turned up is that A.A. co-founders Bill Wilson andDr. Bob Smith were deeply involved in the occult aka spiritualism. If we believers are already dead to sin and freed from it (as Paul tells us in Romans 6), then how can you work a program to accomplish what Jesus already has?! Celebrate Recovery is a safe place to find community and freedom from issues that control us. Further, he understands that, having rebelliously and flagrantly violated Gods holy law, he deserves to endure the righteous wrath of God in hell for eternity. All of the sources you recommend are simply another writing of yours. If I want to hear horrid music, Ill search out Captain Beefheart on YouTube. Consciously choose to commit all my life and willto Christs care and control. Service It is common knowledge that the Alcoholics Anonymous program and the Twelve Steps that Celebrate Recovery adopted were demonically inspired and directly contradict the gospel of Jesus Christ - they are obviously the works of darkness. Because Celebrate Recovery is based on the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous and practiced in thousands of Christian churches without ever being questioned or held up to the light of scripture it is one of the most damaging forms of apostasy in the modern Christian church. Johnny goes on to say that that [the indwelling Holy Spirit] is what gives us the power to find healing from our hurts, hang-ups, and habits. c) The pastor, teacher, or ministry cannot currently and unrepentantly be teaching false doctrine. Alcoholics Anonymous promotes idolatry through urging its adherents to believe in a God of their own understanding - which can be pretty much anything or anyone. And the answer to that question is a resounding no. August 2020 Grace But the lost people hes talking to do not have the indwelling Holy Spirit to help them because theyre still lost, because CRs gospel doesnt call them to repent and believe. It was "born out of the heart of Saddleback Church" with Rick's approval and under his oversight, and, as you might expect, is fraught with unbiblical issues at nearly every turn. Life There is NO man made program that can free a sinner from his/her bondage to sin, theres only ONE who can set us free from the grasp of sin, for sin overpowers all sinners. Taking an Honest and Spiritual Inventory: Participant's Guide 2: A Recovery Program Based on Eight Principles from the Beatitudes. What changes would need to be made for me to be a supporter of Celebrate Recovery? in the 80s and 90s, I worked as a correspondence counselor for an ex-gay ministry. Law It guides us toward new healthy truths and life-giving habits as we repair our broken relationships. Repent and believe in the Gospel, cry out for mercy and forgiveness. Sin Youll probably also notice that even though Johnny uses the word sin a few times, he never speaks in biblical terms about everyones need to repent of their sin. Its an outreach to the community. Christian Recovery Programs Its not that God isnt powerful, its that as an unbeliever you dont have access to, or a right to that power. John Baker is the one who organized celebrate recovery with the overseer being Rick Warren. The second half isnt going to work for lost people because it doesnt biblically identify their problem, which is sin, not character defects. Because Celebrate Recovery is mix of heretical worldly teachings with scripture it is on the broad worldly way. Do not add to his words, lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar.". Hymns Proverbs 30:5,6 says, "Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. CR Official Podcast. CELEBRATE RECOVERY'S EIGHT RECOVERY PRINCIPLES. Thats not the same thing as a mistake or hurting/being hurt by others or hurts, hang-ups, and habits. There has never been an inward change that manifests itself by good fruit. July 2015 Popularity does not equal correct doctrine. But the Scriptures teach that all mans efforts will fail and the result of the failure will be worse for the man that depends upon his own efforts. Yoga. Ill just let Scripture speak to those points: If the world hates you, know that it has hated me [Jesus] before it hated you. I wont be publishing comments or answering emails that are answered by this article. Demonic Oppression CR Tools. The 8 Principles are CRs own so-called Christ centered version of the secular 12 steps, supposedly based on the Beatitudes, and following the acrostic R-E-C-O-V-E-R-Y. Only a omnipotent, omniscient God has the power to free the sinner. There is no way that the Twelve Steps were "based upon the scriptures" or that their "basis is God's word" as he claims. Living in a broken world we all deal with lifes hurts, hang-ups, and habits. All rights reserved. Matthew 7:13 says, "Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it." When Christ preached the Beatitudes, he did not intend for them to be a protocol for recovery. In order to post comments, please make sure JavaScript and Cookies are enabled, and reload the page. Celebrate recovery is a biblically balanced approach to help bring sustainable recovery and healing to our hurts. Another dangerous and unbiblical component of this concept of sin is hurting others is that the CR gospel conflates sinning against others with being sinned against under the banner of hurts. Change). Thus, he comes to God, as nothing more than a head down, hand out, moral beggar, with zero moral/spiritual contribution to God except sin. Faith Other Alcoholics Anonymous Writings and Publications. The only capital G, capital N Good News is the Good News of the biblical gospel, which CR has repeatedly failed to present and instead has substituted its own false gospel which is devoid of sin, faith, and repentance. Thursday. Spiritual Warfare Celebrate Recovery began 25 years ago with 43 people at California's Saddleback Church. Having said that, this review (completed largelywith the help of Matthew Mumma) will demonstrate that CR contains two major problems: (1) Though claiming to be biblically based, its teachings are often constructed from a misuse of Scripture and an erroneous hermeneutic. Treating the one who sinned and the one sinned against as though theyre the same by placing them in the same recovery program is damaging to both because it teaches the sinner hes not responsible for his actions and has no need to repent, and it teaches the one sinned against that shes no different from the one who sinned against her. I was a consistent attendee of Celebrate Recovery 18 years ago, and then in later years at different churches. Celebrate Recovery is a Christ-centered, 12 step recovery program for anyone struggling with hurt, pain or addiction of any kind. This is where RW, and his CR have failedmiserably. Seeing our church succumb to this "Jesus and ______"; or more specifically, "Christianized AA Lite 12 Step Program" false form of so called psychology laced body ministry, is very sad to say the least! (2) Though claiming to be Christian based, its theology often clashes with sound Christian theology. After listening to those in the group, I knew this was unbiblical. Words, "Any teaching that detracts in the slightest from the glory of God is not a biblical teaching.". Would you be ok with Celebrate Recovery if they stopped using the familiar 12 steps as a reference and only used the scripture verses? Im 54 years old . The scriptures have not been changed. The bottom line / Get help from other Christians / Jesus told us to help others find the narrow way. To attach 12 Bible verses taken out of context to a secular program is simply erroneous hermeneutics. I am sorry to be blunt, but your entire comment reeks of the secular humanism that is the foundation of the program of Celebrate Recovery. If someone is involved in Celebrate Recovery they cannot proclaim the authority and sufficiency of scripture without be hypocritical. The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned, 1 Corinthians 2:14 (emphasis, mine) tells us. [14] Celebrate Recovery has not been significantly studied, so there is no empirical evidence regarding the impacts or efficacy of the Celebrate Recovery program. This was a GREAT article! Sufficiency Of Scripture These kind of statements turn away so many non believers. Because He freed me of my sins, including drunkenness. God have mercy on America, a nation seeped in false religiosity where everybody is a Christian because they say they are! For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? None. Come join us in the home of Celebrate Recovery, and let's make this event a one-of-a-kind experience that you will never forget. John Baker and Rick Warren of Saddleback Church created the program in 1991 to help people with various addictions. Meditation More specifically, CR teaches that the Beatitudes (Matt. Being perfected is maturity in Progress sanctified through Christ. This interpretation, however, incorrectly understands the Beatitudes by removing them out of their context and interpreting them in an eisegetical manner. Confess your sins to one another, is what the Bible says. Locators. SHOP FOR RESOURCES AND GEAR. (Steps 6 and 7) Happy are those whose greatest desire is to do what God requires (Matt. I pray the Lord will open your eyes to the apostasy you seem to be trapped in and bring you back to the narrow path of His truth. Celebrate Recovery (CR) is a Christ-centered, 12 step recovery program for anyone struggling with hurt, pain, or addiction of any kind. So, on the macro-level, CR has taken a worldly philosophy and attempted to Christianize it slightly in order to appeal to the lost, which, again is typical of the way Saddleback the original seeker driven church tends to operate, and which, as I mentioned earlier, is unbiblical. The sinner simply asked Jesus to save him and Jesus said your faith has made you whole. I have had totally different results from Celebrate Recovery and would recommend it to any one. May 2017 Human Nature I desperately tried to find Jesus in the recovery steps but could not find him. Proverbs John 3 DNA OF CELEBRATE RECOVERY. (The most noticeable difference is that the phrase God, as we understand Him has been changed to simply, God.). First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift. Celebrate Recovery In the U.S. and abroad, over 35,000 churches and many secular organizations and businesses now offer Celebrate Recovery programs, and over 5 million people have completed CRs Step Study program. And a lost person cannot gain the power to follow His will without the indwelling Holy Spirit. - 2 Timothy 3:16-17. Eternity Plus, I have heard from many people who spent years in Celebrate Recovery and after being freed from it share the same story - that they never heard the true gospel in CR and they had been introduced to a different Jesus than the true Jesus we come to know through the Gospel from God's Word in scripture. June 2015 And we should learn and be taught how to forgive ourselves. If it involves anything Purpose-Driven, you should avoid it like a sexually transmitted disease. Faults are not equivalent to sins. Also on page 11 it is stated, "Accustomed to a traditional twelve-step program and hesitant to make a switch? Celebrate Recovery is not the gospel, nor a substitute for the gospel, for drunkards or drug addicts or anyone else. Most do not read their Bibles, and so these two programs become their false gospel. The best first step to start a CR at your church is to contact your State Rep. Another great step when starting a CR is to attend a Training Conference. The facts Johnny states about Jesus life and that He sent the Holy Spirit are technically correct, but whats missing? A local Celebrate Recovery ministry should follow the policies of their local church and continue to be grateful for their continued support. Marriage The pastor or teacher cannot currently and unrepentantly be living in any other sin (for example, cohabiting with her boyfriend or living as a homosexual). The word poor was used to describe abject poverty and a raggedly covered (if covered at all) beggar, cowered over with head down and hand out (TDNT, 6:886), while in spirit refers to our moral/spiritual state. Join more than 7 million hurting people across the globe who now walk in freedom through the power of Jesus Christ as we walk through the 8 principles of celebrate recovery based on the Beatitudes in Matthew 5. This is a violation of Scripture. Salvation If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. John 8:36, Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? Romans 6:16. Designed for those with "hurts, habits and hang-ups," as its slogan says, CR offers biblically-based encouragement and hope for change. Read the articles on this site entitled "Was Alcoholics Anonymous Started by Christians?"