New Groups and CR Curriculum

I am always excited to hear when a CR is ready to start a new recovery specific open share group. It means, get ready to grow!

To start a new group all you need is a trained leader and co-leader. On the evening you start your new group plan on having the leader share their CR testimony. It is an exciting way to introduce your group and encourage participants to check it out.

Before starting a new open share group, every effort should be made to have your indentified leaders complete the 1st workbook and Open Share training. Then your indentified leaders need to continue working through all 4 workbooks. We also recommend that leaders have at least 1 year of recovery. It is important for the safety of the group. You don’t want to start groups with leaders who don’t get recovery; who are seeking to help “those” people.

The above process will change once you have a step study group up and running. At which time all future leaders should complete a CR Step Study group before starting a new open share group.

I am often asked if CR offers specific curriculum for a particular area of recovery. Celebrate Recovery utilizes the CR Bible, the 4 Participant’s Guides* and the CR Leader’s Guide (25 lessons) for all areas of recovery. In addition, CR runs all open share groups and step study groups the same way. This is a part of the DNA* of an authentic Celebrate Recovery.

I think we can all agree that every area of recovery; food addiction, eating disorders, chemical addiction, co-dependency, sexual abuse, physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual addiction, gambling addiction, etc., has their own unique hurts, habits and hang-ups. Our founder John Baker, created the CR curriculum based solely on God’s word, and God’s word applies to all areas of recovery. Each lesson and each question creates movement through the Steps and Principles. In addition, CR is for the entire family. Using the same curriculum provides harmony to families participating in the program together, and prevents any further confusion in an already dysfunctional and hurting home.

God Bless your week,

*Stepping Out of Denial into God’s grace; Taking an Honest and Spiritual Inventory; Getting Right with God, Yourself, and Others; Growing in Christ While Helping Others.

For a copy of *Celebrate Recovery Trademark Agreement; feel free to contact me at tinad@saddleback.com.

Celebrate Recovery and Life’s Healing Choices

Use Life’s Healing Choices as a compliment to the 25 Celebrate Recovery lessons. (For a copy of Life's Healing Choices, written by John Baker, Founder of Celebrate Recovery, go to www.celebraterecovery.com)

Tonight I will be teaching VICTORY Lesson 15, from the CR Leaders Guide. Teaching is actually a challenge for me; let me rephrase that: it's terrifying! I know my way around the ALT backwards and forward but for me, teaching stretches my faith. In spite of my fear I am trying something new tonight. I am incorporating Life’s Healing Choices in my lesson. Here’s how:

I read through Choice 5, Making Changes, (page 129.) For my introduction I summarize the main elements with my personal experience, which sets up the VICTORY acrostic beautifully! I continue through each acrostic fill-in and scriptures, from the CR Leaders Guide, editing a couple of the existing illustrations with a few of my own and adding additional fundamentals from LHC's. Then I wrap up the lesson with the 3-action steps as described on pages 144-148 of LHC's.

Incorporating Life’s Healing Choices into my CR Lesson does 3 things:

1. Teaches me more about my character defects
2. Brings a fresh perspective to Principle 5
3. And, keeps the acrostics and scriptures remained in tact!

The only thing I really understand about public speaking is this: Capture the attention of the participants with an introduction that keeps them listening, and end with “an task", a tool a participant is able to apply to their recovery.

To better equip your participants, I highly recommend making Life's Healing Choices available on your information table along side the CR Bible and 4 Participant's Guides.

I hope this helps!