Download or read book The Recovery Minded Church written by Jonathan Benz and published by InterVarsity Press. This book was released on 2015-12-03 with total page 191 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: You want to have vibrant relationships with those who struggle with addiction in your church and community. This practical resource for church leaders and congregations answers your pressing questions about addiction and recovery, through real-life stories, the latest insights from medical science and a biblical framework for how to love the addicts in your midst.

Download or read book The Twelve Steps and the Sacraments written by Scott Weeman and published by Ave Maria Press. This book was released on 2017-11-10 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Winner of a 2018 Catholic Press Association Award: Sacraments. (Second Place). In the first book to directly integrate the Twelve Steps with the practice of Catholicism, Scott Weeman, founder and director of Catholic in Recovery, pairs his personal story with compassionate straight talk to show Catholics how to bridge the commonly felt gap between the Higher Power of twelve-step programs and the merciful God that he rediscovered in the heart of the sacraments. Weeman entered sobriety from alcohol and drugs on October 10, 2011, and he's made it his full-time ministry to help others who struggle with various types of addiction to find spiritual wholeness through Catholic in Recovery, an organization he founded and directs. In The Twelve Steps and the Sacraments, Weeman candidly tackles the struggle he and other addicts have with getting to know intimately the unnamed Higher Power of recovery. He shares stories of his compulsion to find a personal relationship with God and how his tentative steps back to the Catholic Church opened new doors of healing and brought him surprising joy as he came to know Christ in the sacraments. Catholics in recovery and those moving toward it, as well as the people who love them will recognize Weeman's story and his spiritual struggle to personally encounter God. He tells us how: Baptism helps you admit powerlessness over an unmanageable problem, face your desperate need for God, and choose to believe in and submit to God’s mercy. Reconciliation affirms and strengthens the hard work of examining your life, admitting wrongs, and making amends. The Eucharist provides ongoing sustenance and draws you to the healing power of Christ. The graces of Confirmation strengthen each person to keep moving forward and to share the good news of recovery and new life in Christ. Weeman's words are boldly challenging and brimming with compassion and through them you will discover inspiration, hope, sage advice, and refreshingly practical help.

Download or read book Loving the Addict in Your Pew written by Charles Robinson and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2016-03-01 with total page 170 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It is assumed by many that addiction is not a major issue for those involved in a faith community. But that is a myth. There are many people in virtually every congregation that struggle with addictive behavior and most are too afraid to admit it. Yet, the church is the ideal place to get help. This book equips pastors, church leaders, lay counselors and volunteers to build an effective and life-changing recovery ministry in their local church.

Download or read book Addiction and Pastoral Care written by Sonia E. Waters and published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. This book was released on 2019-02-05 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A timely resource treating addiction holistically as both a spiritual and a pathological condition Substance addictions present a unique set of challenges for pastoral care. In this book Sonia Waters weaves together personal stories, research, and theological reflection to offer helpful tools for ministers, counselors, chaplains, and anyone else called to care pastorally for those struggling with addiction. Waters uses the story of the Gerasene demoniac in Mark’s Gospel to reframe addiction as a “soul-sickness” that arises from a legion of individual and social vulnerabilities. She includes pastoral reflections on oppression, the War on Drugs, trauma, guilt, discipleship, and identity. The final chapters focus on practical-care skills that address the challenges of recovery, especially ambivalence and resistance to change.

Download or read book The Recovery Minded Church written by Jonathan Benz and published by InterVarsity Press. This book was released on 2015-12-08 with total page 191 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: You want to have vibrant relationships with those who struggle with addiction in your church and community. This practical resource for church leaders and congregations answers your pressing questions about addiction and recovery, through real-life stories, the latest insights from medical science and a biblical framework for how to love the addicts in your midst.

Download or read book The Heart of Recovery written by Deborah Beddoe and published by Revell. This book was released on 2019-11-05 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The United States is the most medicated country in the world. More than 1.7 million Americans are struggling with addiction to prescription painkillers, fueling the opioid crisis that claims more than 140 lives every day. The trouble isn't just the drugs--it's that we don't know what to do with the people addicted to them. Not as a country, not as the church. Is tough love called for? Or would Christ have us take a different approach to addiction recovery? Drawn from the personal experience of the authors and current research, The Heart of Recovery calls us to set aside judgment and mend recovering addicts and their families with the stuff God uses to heal: compassion and community. It's a call to serve the ones who cannot repay, to forgive 70 times 7, to fling the door wide-open to the prodigal, and to remember the purpose of grace. A supportive community--family, friends, the church, and more--encourages and sustains long-term recovery. Through compassion, we bring hope for healing.

Download or read book God S Addiction Recovery Plan written by Michael Wrenn and published by WestBow Press. This book was released on 2015-09-30 with total page 170 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Michael Wrenn lost his military career, marriage, and other blessings because of his addiction to alcohol and drugs. When three rehabilitation facilities failed to provide him with the help he needed, he reached out to God for help and deliverance. God answered Wrenns call for help and freed him from bondage. He now enjoys a life free of addiction, and in this inspirational account he shares ten steps that helped him beat addiction. Learn how to find the plan that God has for you; recognize the people that God has sent to help you; overcome the guilt and shame that comes with addiction; make God your ally in your fight against addiction. Wrenn is familiar with the pain, misery, and loneliness of addiction, and he shares a message of hope for addicts, recovering addicts, and the family members and pastors who want to help them. By following Gods Addiction Recovery Plan, you can trade your addiction for a life of abundance, victory, purpose, peace, and joy.

Download or read book Gospel Principles written by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and published by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This book was released on 1997 with total page 298 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A Study Guide and a Teacher’s Manual Gospel Principles was written both as a personal study guide and as a teacher’s manual. As you study it, seeking the Spirit of the Lord, you can grow in your understanding and testimony of God the Father, Jesus Christand His Atonement, and the Restoration of the gospel. You can find answers to life’s questions, gain an assurance of your purpose and self-worth, and face personal and family challenges with faith.

Download or read book Recovery Church His Story written by Recovery Church Movement and published by . This book was released on 2022-11-12 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Holy Spirit wrote the vision of Recovery Church on the hearts of strangers from across the country and then formed this rag-tag group into a family. The story of Recovery Church is His Story. The story of how a Holy God went through extravagant measures to reach junkies, drunks, crackheads, outcasts, sinners, wayward children, the lepers of today, us. From physicians, ministers, teachers, veterans, fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, homeless, rich, poor, and every race, our growing fellowship is united in our shared solution through Jesus. We have grown from just an idea to an increasing network of Recovery Churches, and now to the groanings of a movement. We now hold to a God-sized vision. We are witnessing God raising up disciple-makers within the recovery community and starting, planting, and reproducing Recovery Churches. People who were lost in their addictions, who everyone thought the last chapter had been written, have seen God change the narrative. Stories of destruction have become His Stories of redemption. We now have the vision to see a Recovery Church in every city in this nation and beyond. We believe nothing will bring God more honor than for all the world to hear how a Holy God profoundly loved and pursued this group of addicts and alcoholics. We believe each story in this book is so miraculous that it is undeniably God at work. This is His Story of Recovery Church.

Download or read book Why Can t Church Be More Like an AA Meeting written by Stephen R. Haynes and published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. This book was released on 2021-10-26 with total page 294 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Do Christians need recovery? Or is recovery something needed by the church itself? Addiction—whether to a substance or to a behavior—is a problem within faith communities, just like it is everywhere else. But because churches are rarely experienced as safe places for dealing with addiction, co-addiction, or the legacy of family dysfunction, Christians tend to seek recovery from these conditions in Twelve-Step fellowships. Once they become accustomed to the ethos of vulnerability, acceptance, and healing that these fellowships provide, however, they are often left feeling that the church has failed them, with many asking: why can’t church be more like an AA meeting? Inspired by his own quest to find in church the sort of mutual support and healing he discovered in Twelve-Step fellowships, Stephen Haynes explores the history of Alcoholics Anonymous and its relationship to American Christianity. He shows that, while AA eventually separated from the Christian parachurch movement out of which it emerged, it retained aspects of Christian experience that the church itself has largely lost: comfort with brokenness and vulnerability, an emphasis on honesty and transparency, and suspicion toward claims to piety and respectability. Haynes encourages Christians to reclaim these distinctive elements of the Twelve-Step movement in the process of “recovering church.” He argues that this process must begin with he calls “Step 0,” which, as he knows from personal experience, can be the hardest step: the admission that, despite appearances, we are not fine.

Download or read book Downstairs Church written by Caroline Beidler, MSW and published by Morgan James Publishing. This book was released on 2023-03-28 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Are you feeling alone in your struggle of addiction or trauma—or a loved one’s struggle? There is hope in the grit! In Downstairs Church: Finding Faith in the Grit of Addiction and Trauma Recovery, Caroline Beidler, MSW explores the problem of addiction and trauma for women today and then highlights the freedom—and hope—that can be found in the downstairs church or recovery community. Beidler also highlights the radical vulnerability required of addiction and mental health recovery, something that all people can benefit from. When we share our stories of struggle in real ways, authentic transformation can happen. Downstairs Church: Encourages readers through personal testimony that they are not alone in their experience Teaches from a first-hand account about the realities of addiction and how trauma can impact a female family or church member Accesses current trends and statistics woven in with story-telling, recovery principles, and scripture to learn more and combat the stigma of addiction and trauma for their loved ones Addresses the stigma of addiction and trauma, promoting more love and tolerance by affected family and faith communities. Provides a call to action to get involved in addiction recovery efforts or access recovery support services With compassion because of her own personal experience of addiction and sexual violence, as well as insight because of her professional expertise, Beidler blends relevant statistics and practical information with real-life testimonies of redemption. Beidler also provides a practical list of ways that faith communities can become more trauma-informed spaces for those who may be seeking love and acceptance inside church buildings. Ultimately, Downstairs Church offers a portrait of radical grace and a God whose love persists even in church basements.

Download or read book Recovery Begins at the Cross written by Steven Recktenwald and published by CreateSpace. This book was released on 2012-05-19 with total page 122 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Addiction has taken its toll on the lives of millions, destroying families and, marriages. Many have found freedom from the destruction of addiction through various Twelve Step programs. This book uses the Bible as a foundation for recovery and looks at the Twelve Steps from a Christian perspective covering each of the Twelve Steps. Each chapter ends with discussion questions which may be used for individual study or group discussion. Included in this volume is an in-depth four step guide.

Download or read book Jesus and the Addict written by Pam Morrison and published by Eabooks Publishing. This book was released on 2019-11 with total page 237 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: We face a profound problem in this country and around the world, the plague of drug addiction. Lives are being lost and destroyed. Many people are affected by this issue in some way, via family members, friends, or co-workers. The question is, "How can people find true healing of the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs involved in their addiction?" The author proposes leading addicted people to faith in Jesus Christ. Jesus and the Addict: 12 Bible Studies for People Getting Free from Drugs is designed to help leaders in Christian faith-based recovery to guide those who come to their communities toward continuous freedom from drugs. The book contains twelve studies with biblical guidance on varying issues with which people in recovery struggle such as overcoming fear, learning to have hope, overcoming resentment, and dealing with forgiveness. Jesus Christ is the answer in all these things. Deepened relationship with Him and the transforming effect of His power and love bring redemption and new life. The book is intended for pastors, mentors, sponsors, and teachers - anyone working in jail, prison, transitional communities, or in churches to help recovering addicts. The studies are designed to be shared in large group settings, a speaker providing the teaching talk. Following that teaching time, the large group can then break out into small groups for discussion of the teaching. However, this material is workable within a single small group as well as a large one - the small group hearing the talk less formally and then discussing it. Each of the twelve lessons contains a verse or key verses from the Bible about a particular topic. Those Bible verses form the basis of the lesson. There is then a section with discussion about the background and state of mind of people seeking recovery for the speaker to consider about those who will be in the listening audience. The author's experience has largely been with people who are lower income or poor, but addiction affects all classes of society, and both urban and rural populations. The concepts discussed in the background and state of mind section are adaptable to varying recovery audiences. A prayer for the speaker is included next. Following the prayer, there is a sample talk section where some key points are given. This talk can be modified to fit the speaker's own experiences and their audience. And each chapter concludes with sample questions that can be used to stimulate conversation within your recovery group. The book also contains teaching and theology about the nature of God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. An explanation of the cross event, resurrection, and the meaning of the Holy Spirit in the life of believers is explained such that people in recovery can understand God as being full of grace and as a source of great empowerment. The presentation of the present-day healing ministry of Christ gives hope to the addict that they can permanently be freed from drugs and feel the lifting of guilt and shame. They can also take their place as a useful and contributing part of the kingdom of God and in society. Dr. Pam Morrison, the author, is an ordained pastor from the Free Methodist Church. She has led or helped to lead six churches. She has volunteered with Prison Fellowship and has ministered with addicts in several settings. Her belief is that medical and secular means have been and are used to help addicts, but the greatest help anyone can receive to achieve permanent freedom is to find faith in Jesus Christ. So much more help is needed for addicts and families of addicts. We are short on places and those who will walk steadfastly with people seeking recovery. This is a ministry urgently needed in this hour.

Download or read book The Beautiful Letdown written by David Tremaine and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2019-08-01 with total page 130 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One of the most widely accepted ways of describing an addiction is as a disease, but do we realize what we are saying when we describe it that way? Our current language and approach to addiction is not only lacking in depth but is keeping us blind to an amazing way that God is working in each and every one of us. What if our addictions are not broken parts of us that we have to get rid of, but invitations from God to new depth and transformation? When we are able to hold this experience gently and look at it anew, it reveals a new depth to how we can understand ourselves, our suffering, and God. For too long we have been trying to treat addiction like a disease, and tear it out by the root, but we are invited to something more in our humanity; something that we will never find if we continue to wish away our suffering. Author David Tremaine explores the possibilities of understanding addiction not as a diseased part of our humanity, but as a blessed part of our spiritual journey, and sheds new light on this deeply engrained experience of God.

Download or read book When Addiction Comes to Church written by Melinda Fish and published by Old Tappan, N.J. : Chosen Books. This book was released on 1990 with total page 292 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Bridges to Grace written by Elizabeth A Swanson and published by Zondervan. This book was released on 2011-07-05 with total page 253 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Discover the power of recovery ministry for your church. Churchgoers who experience painful family issues, addictions, abuse, loss, mental illnesses, and other secret sorrows begin to believe they live beyond the grip of God’s redemptive hand. Pastors often feel ill equipped to help with such problems and refer people to resources outside the church. People badly need Christ-centered counsel and encouragement, but few church leaders even know where to start. Bridges to Grace is an inspiring introduction highlighting the stories of churches across the country that are thinking systematically and organizationally about the ministry of recovery. The authors share how this ministry is bringing God’s grace to hurting individuals. They relate both success and failure, and best of all, they demonstrate how God uses recovery ministry powerfully for his kingdom purposes.

Download or read book Celebrate Recovery R written by Rick Warren and published by . This book was released on 2005-08 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A Program for Implementing a Christ-Centered Recovery Ministry in YourChurch Alcoholism - Divorce - Sexual Abuse - Codependency - Domestic Violence - Drug Addiction - Sexual Addiction - Food Addiction - Gambling Addiction and many more!There is a way the church can help the hurting move beyond their wounds to experience the healing and forgiveness of Christ. Since 1991, more than 200,000 people have participated in the Celebrate Recovery programs offered at more than 3,500 churches, prisons, and rescue missions. Drawn from the Beatitudes, Celebrate Recovery helps people resolve painful problems in the context of the church as a whole. Newly updated, the kit includes:*1 20-minute DVD introductory guide for leaders*1 leader's guide*1 of each participant's guide (4 total)*CD-ROM with 25 lessons*CD-ROM with sermon transcripts and reproducible promotional materials*4-volume audio CD sermon series"And then there's pastor John Baker, the founder of Celebrate Recovery... Big John and I shared something in common. We used to drink too much. And our hearts changed, and then we quit. That is a tried-and-true formula. The problem is government is not good at changing hearts. But people like John Baker have been good about it and successful doing that." ---President George W. Bush on Celebrate Recovery and its founder, John Baker, at the Faith-Based and Community Initiatives Conference, March 3, 2004.