I'm not talking about Celebrate Recovery....
Or an Overcomers meeting....
Or any other meeting that was being held at a church. Such meetings as those are secondary to the church itself.
What would a church that was founded on the idea of ministering to those who were breaking free of their addiction?
A church where you could belong and be a part. Where the language and mannerisms of the leadership and the people would be free of religious jargon.
Please don't take me wrong in what I'm writing this morning.
Most churches, especially here in the South, have a unique way or model of presenting the gospel of Christ. Sometimes the vehicle in which the message is delivered is so foreign to the one listening, that they close down mentally, spiritually because they cannot relate.
I want to have a church where the gospel can be heard, life can be found, and the power of sin/addiction can be broken through Jesus Christ.
Thoughts on a Recovery Church:
(Taken From John Wimber's "Doing Church")
An emphasis would have to be on teaching God's word/ applying God's word to life. The Bible has the best information on living life, as God wants us to live it. But we will only experience what it teaches when we apply or practise it in our daily lives.
How do we encounter God through the Bible? By meditation and study, but also through encountering God in the experiences of Scripture when we practise it and apply it to our daily lives.
People use to approach John Wimber after he had taught, and say, "That was a great meal John, you fed us on the meat of the Word today." John would reply, "No, I just described the menu, you have to go out now and do it---the meat is in the street."
My view of what it means to be a "Biblical Christian" is not to quote the right verses or to necessarily believe the right doctrine (we all have warped views of truth) but rather to handle the Word of God responsibly and correctly, and become and do what the Bible really says.
The Twelve Steps are taught in most recovery meetings, and for that I am grateful. But unless we introduce people to the POWER that is greater than ourselves.......a POWER that can restore us to sanity, those steps will just a be a set of rules to follow. Being powerless, I don't follow or keep rules too well.
The emphasis has to be on seeing Jesus in this Recovery Church.
Not just seeing him, but seeing him as the central figure in our lives. He is the reason we can live clean and sober. He alone is the door through which we must walk in order to find the life that has eluded our every step.
What Trinity are we worshipping?
In a Recovery Church, we need to fall in love with the Father and seek His face by honoring Jesus, as our Lord and Savior, and by being fully dependent on the Holy Spirit. That isn't always the case with some.
Some worship in the following way:
1.) God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Church:
An over emphasis on "Church" ...the only real frame of reference in which to understand God. This results in traditionalism.
2.) God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Bible:
Using the Bible as the third Person of the Trinity. This results in legalism.
3.) God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Experience:
Seeking the supernatural gifts and not the Giver of all good gifts. This results in sensationalism.
4.) God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ministry:
The ministry and mission of the Church becomes the only and all-consuming reason for existence, resulting in performance and manipulation.
5.) God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Man:
Perceiving the "man of God" (and woman) as the holy anointed one. The be-all and end all of everything. This results in idolatry.
6.) God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit:
Receiving and honouring the Holy Spirit by giving Him His correct place in the Church. resulting in the presence, the power and the freedom of the Father and the Son. Jesus, in John 14:23, said,"I and my Father will come and dwell in you."
In writing this list, I am not saying that churches make willful and intentional decisions to minister in this fashion. Such belief's come through bad experiences had in other churches. Wrong teachings that give a wrong view of God.
I believe that God is in the process of raising up a RECOVERY CHURCH. One where those who are hungry for God's presence can come and be in His presence. One where they can be taught and trained to go back out into the world and be effective in bringing others to be healed.
I would want a church where the complete God is honored and worshipped, and given His rightful place. After all, it is His church. Isn't it?
I believe............
God on you....
mb
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