Celebrate Recovery: A Critical Review

(Jump to the problems or Biblical alternatives.)

The Word of God is life-changing. It starts with hearing the Gospel (video): how we're saved through faith by grace by Jesus Christ. The Gospel is all about who Jesus is, what He did, and living in a relationship with Him. If we believe, God gives us the Holy Spirit to make all that happen. Each day, we read His Word, compare ourselves to what's in it, and pray He makes us more like Christ. We do that individually and together in Biblical churches. This is how Jesus Christ changed my life. He's been transforming others the same way for 2,000 years.

Then, a friend who wouldn't go to regular churches invited me to go to Celebrate Recovery (C.R.). She had emphasized it was like a Christian church mixed with a recovery program. She often went there. So, I joined her to check it out.

Celebrate Recovery

Celebrate Recovery claimed to be a Christ-centered, 12-step program. Some people there told me it was inspired by Alcoholics Anonymous but based on the Bible instead. The proponents said it's a life-changing program "with information every Christian needs to know." It has worship, Bible teachings, practical lessons on every area of life, and groups of people supporting each other through hard times. Even people who won't go to church sometimes will go there. The founding church says over 5 million people have "gone through the program." That all sounded really exciting!

That specific C.R. was a welcoming, worshipful community with many people who love Jesus. I stayed to review the program, encourage people, and learn from them. Some had a big impact on me both in advice and their character. My questions: How much of the good in C.R. came just from them following Christ vs C.R.'s materials? Could we just improve discipleship in churches or did they lack something C.R. had? I stayed to assess this.

It was hard to see the problems at first. I stayed doing the work of an evangelist while soaking it in. Over time, I noticed more and more stuff that bothered me:

• Many gaps or contradictions between Scripture and C.R.
• Misinterpretations of famous passages to support their goals
• Quoting a fake bible (The Message) as God's Word
• Promoting worldly, pagan, or false teachings over Biblical ones
• Some pushed prosperity gospel claims
• They treated non-believers like they were in Christ's Church
• Other visitors kept noticing such things and leaving
• Biggest: systematically avoiding the Gospel

A pastor once taught me that Christianity isn't about practices. It's about a person: Jesus Christ. Churches are to always point us back to Jesus' identity, holiness, love, struggles, atonement, authority, interceding for us in heaven now, and so on. We weren't doing something so much as imitating who He is. Whereas, you could listen to hours of C.R. services without getting to deeply know the man and God who died for our sins, was raised, and our whole church is built on. If not Christ, who or what was C.R. really centered on?

Then, one person said not to question C.R. because the originating church spent decades figuring out how to get its results. Just believe, follow, and it will work for you to. If you ever hear that, either test that thing thoroughly or run immediately.

Time for More Discernment

God's Word orders us to test the spirits, test every claim against His Word, and the Bereans exemplified that. Test the spirits means scrutinizing the people involved, esp their personalities and motivations. Jesus warned His disciples to beware of the leaven of false teachers. He, Paul, and Peter all called out false teaching with stern warnings. Hebrews says God also disciplines His children's sin. For those reasons, we're to avoid false teaching or call it out to obey God and keep others out of sin.

I decided to step way back to look at the whole program with fresh eyes. I looked into the originating church (Saddleback), the founders (Warren/Baker), the history, booklets, and so on. What I learned made me discourage people from even visiting C.R., much less being in it.

We'll look at its good points first. Then, everything else.

(Disclaimer: Before I go into it, I want to be clear that my statements about C.R. are about the program's development, materials, and operating philosophy. How a C.R. chapter actually runs is decided locally. The leaders may be much more focused on Christ and God's Word. Or much less. It's still important to review the program since it's the framework through which they operate. They also promote its materials, send money to Saddleback Church, etc. If there's sin in these, even the best-run C.R. would be leading others into sin while endorsing false teachers.)

Strengths of Celebrate Recovery

The strengths in the order that I ran into them:

• C.R. groups are highly-welcoming, non-judgemental, and loving communities. They treat everyone who comes through the door like they're sinners who know they need to change their lives. Their goal is to help them, not cut them down.
• Many people there are (or were) in churches. They say they feel safer sharing with C.R. groups. Some complained people in churches are less friendly, stick with their cliques, and gossip about people more than help them. Some said their churches were good but nobody could relate to their problems. They all agreed they got more help at C.R.. Some people said their time at C.R. was the only reason they didn't give into their old sin (eg drugs). Others were on and off but found support there.
• Food and fellowship. Teaming up with the hosting church, the local C.R. feeds people $2 meals before the service so they're focused on it, not their bellies. They'll let you eat free if you have no money. The volunteers from the church stay joking around with us. Everyone hangs out for around 30 minutes getting to know each other or catching up since last week. CR leaders get to know newcomers, talk about their lives, and invest much time into them personally. They are compassionate people who really listen. The local chapter also has the best, homemade cookies you'll ever eat. It's hard to stop coming because you're giving up C.R. and those cookies.
• The worship service of the local chapter is contemporary, energetic, and has prayer teams to support those going to the altar. Far from snoozing, many people there have hands raised high singing praise to Jesus Christ. Many of them are clearly grateful to Him. This is partly a worship style (i.e. personal preference). Of people who prefer it, some didn't have it at their church at all, some had less of it, and some just like an extra time and place to worship the Lord. They also offer counseling and prayer at the altar as part of the worship service before the sermon or group shares. Some people who were falling apart really needed it, too.
• Based on C.R.'s materials, the sermons offer practical lessons about many areas of life to help people overcome "hurts, habits, and hangups." They're like having a therapist show up to preach a sermon with some supporting Bible verses. They cover enough topics over time that everyone will learn something helpful. The presenter usually keeps it real about their own battles or how they used the lessons. You're often hearing the voice of experience.
• Effect of the lessons on people. People commonly said two things about C.R.'s lessons. First, they came in for one problem before noticing they had many more problems. Second, those who brought someone else with a problem to fix realized they needed to fix themselves, too. People say they discover a lot about themselves through the program. After discovering problems, C.R. might teach them how to deal with them, too.
• Nightly praises. The C.R. service takes time to ask the whole room what they're thankful for. Many answers are straight-forward, such as Christ's forgiveness and their church family. People also testify to specific struggles they had, ranging from sin to family illness to job situations, which God helped them face or totally solved. Quite a few people that came in from jails testified that, after coming to Christ, He changed them enough that their prison sentence was greatly reduced or cancelled entirely. Some finally got their kids back. Although most churches don't do this, weekly testimony at C.R. keeps everyone pumped up and lets members see the bigger picture of how God works in peoples' lives.
• Every other week, the local chapter trades a sermon for a stand-up testimony from people in the group. People who often don't like speaking in public will share their life story in front of a whole crowd. They'll talk about the gritty reality of life before Christ. People mention childhood abuse, sexual abuse, being on hard drugs, being violent, feeling worthless, being crushed by life's pressures, and so on. They eventually encounter Jesus Christ, a C.R. group, or both. Their life starts changing. They share the lessons God taught them over time. In some cases, the local C.R. saw that transformation happen. In the audience's eyes, those testifying become living proof to both the power of God and that C.R. itself changes lives.
• After service, they do "open, share groups." People take around 3-5 minutes each describing their sins and struggles that week. No interruptions, mockery, or offensive jokes are allowed. There's a confidentiality requirement. They share with a mix of friends and total strangers with brutal honesty. The group encourages and prays for each other. Only drawback was having no crosstalk or feedback from others. Unlike in 1 Cor. 14, that model reduces how much people can help each other in groups. People can talk one-on-one later for individual benefit.
• Many courts approve of the C.R. program as a way for people to improve themselves. They might get reduced or canceled punishments. The C.R. leader will sign some paperwork for them saying they attended. C.R. groups also might have members running "recovery houses" for people like this. Some would be in jail if not for the recovery houses. Quite a few people in them excitedly praise God for changing their lives through caring people, Bible teaching at that recovery house, and the C.R. program.

Many of those practices were in the New Testament. I expected to see them in churches. Yet, most of us attending C.R. didn't see that (or all of it) in our churches. The results people claimed that C.R. gave them made me keep coming to understand it better. Plus, it was just really awesome to see God move in many, visible ways every week. 

Both church-going and un-churched people kept asking for help like this. Even with that demand, most believers in church I talked to had no interest in doing a Biblical, support group. Some people told me to refer those in need to a therapist or something. Many people wouldn't even speak to them if they visited a church. If they did, it was a few minutes before leaving them alone again.

Yet, we're called to love and help others. I feel like there's instead a lot of apathy toward people in need in otherwise Biblical churches. I feel like this drives people to seek help outside of those churches in programs like these. More churches need groups helping people like they do. If they do that, then people might not seek un-Biblical programs.

Problems of Celebrate Recovery (esp false teaching)

The problems of Celebrate Recovery are severe. I'll split this into a few sections. We'll start with the source church, their philosophy, the roots of 12 step programs, and how they got mixed together. There's so much disobedience to God's Word in each step that big problems are inevitable. After that, we'll look at those problems while often testing them against the Word.

Rick Warren and Saddleback Church

• In the C.R. "step study," they told us not to question anything about it. Their reasoning was that Saddleback spent decades designing it, refining it, and proving it out with changed lives. They claimed over 5 million lives changed. We're not given any proof of that. They want us to act on faith in them. They know the Bible and recovery better than anyone. Although it's personal experience, any group that has ever told me to do this has always been fake or corrupted. Leaders with a big ego don't want you questioning them.
• Saddleback Church invented, promotes, and profits on Celebrate Recovery. Their pastor, Rick Warren, stays in disobedience to God's Word. One source God sent me by providence showed that Rick preaches a selfish gospel, uses a fake bible, and makes his church more worldly to appeal to non-believers (more examples). Here's a great article on such "seeker sensitive" churches for those who haven't heard of them. You want to avoid them or anything they create since they'll corrupt it all. But, in fairness to Rick and C.R. people, I decided to read his core work myself to compare to Jesus' and the Apostles' teachings and styles.

The Purpose-Driven Life (Warren's philosophy)

• The Purpose-Driven Life is Rick Warren's best-selling book. It has the philosophy behind everything he does at Saddleback. I found most problems in C.R. were right in that book. He was driving them. So, we'll start by reviewing the Purpose-Driven Life as a book and model for running churches.
• Most good churches pick a solid translation that's close to the original words God gave us ("formal equivalence"). They might cite extra translations where a word has complex meaning. We do this because we believe God's Word is living and active with power to get the results for which He sent it. In P.D.L., Warren uses dynamic translations, paraphrases, multiple translations per lesson, and constantly changes them. He says he does this because listeners will tune out if they don't hear fresh things. The direct implication is that Rick believes God needs him to cleverly change up God's Word or it has no power. I want to ask him how he thinks God got results in areas with one translation (eg KJV) or in the manuscript days. Warren showed elsewhere that he's even willing to pick the one translation that's furthest from the rest if it makes a passage sound like his own words. 
• Warren also quoted The Message: a paraphrase of the Bible. A paraphrase is like if a preacher retold the Bible in their own words instead of God's. The author of The Message has talent for vivid, attention-grabbing descriptions. Yet, they're man's words and interpretations instead of God's Word. No preacher should present one as the other. Even worse, the author of The Message claimed homosexuality isn't a sin. He also modified Bible verses in a way that obscures the issue. If homosexuality is your sin, you can take the Roman's Road to hell with his Bible! Many people have warned both of them about this. Although they may have changed, back when I looked at it Warren continued promoting paraphrases as if they're God's words while the author continued promoting unrepentant sin as a path to salvation. Do you need to know any more?
• In the same vein, Warren's materials use proof-texting. That is, he seems to start with his own opinions or talking points. Then, he looks for verses that look similar. Then, he slaps them on his own work to make the audience think what he said came out of the Bible. The verses may or may not support what he said. The right way to use God's Word is to understand a passage in its original context, derive what it's teaching, and build your work on that. You make your words match God's Word. Which of these you do also shows whether you believe more in the power of God's Word or your own words. Which does Rick believe in?
• In P.D.L., Warren is definitely a talented writer. He compellingly argues the many benefits of following God and his own philosophy. I was surprised that I even later made some of the same arguments as a new believer. I used to think people would see how great Jesus is if I just explained the benefits, said it in the right way, and was good enough to them. As I read Scripture, I noticed their approach contradicted mine: they simply shared the Gospel and the Word. God delivered the results. (Illustrated in Parable of Good Seed.) I really believed in my works, not God's. I changed my style to match what Jesus and the Apostles did. Like I once did, Warren tries to "sell" people on the Bible because he believes his own works drive the conversion process.
• Paul in 1 Cor. 1:17 said he didn't come with eloquent words of wisdom: he just preached the Gospel which has inherent power. Thousands of conversions happened that way in the N.T.. Millions over time happened the same way, often with one translation. Whereas, Rick is so far convinced people won't believe unless we give them fresh verses that aren't really the Word with 40+ pages of reasons that God is good for them. If he's right, we'll see it in the N.T. and church history. Rick is (a) provably wrong wrong in the Gospels and Acts, (b) provably wrong for most of history up to today, and (c) emptying the cross of Christ of its power. People show who and what they believe in the most by what they put their time and emphasis into. Rick shares his own messages more than the Gospel which only takes 1 to 5 minutes to explain. Let's dig into that. 
• Sharing the Gospel. Jesus and the Apostles focus on who Jesus is, our sin, that we deserve wrath, Christ's sacrifice and resurrection, faith in Him, repentance, and holy living. Jesus expects people to count the cost of being hated, maybe losing everything, and maybe dying. They must put heavenly hope over things of this world. Warren's writing for six days was mostly earthly benefits of the Bible with rare references to Jesus. That he alternates between submitting to God and what God does for you creates an impression on readers that's what it's all about. (Like prosperity gospels, but more subtle.) He briefly mentions harsh realities like persecution that negate that. He waits until "Day 7" to barely share the Gospel. In his main presentation, he doesn't mention or clearly explain: Jesus as man and God; what sin is with lists of specific ones to convict readers; the atonement; that Jesus was raised from the dead; what real repentance is. Without any of that, you just say a prayer so that the Jesus you don't know becomes your Lord and Savior. Here's how Warren describes the result: "...[the Spirit] will give you the power to fulfill your life purpose. The Bible says, 'Whoever accepts and trusts the Son gets in on everything, life complete and forever!' Wherever you are reading this, I invite you to bow your head and quietly whisper the prayer that will change your eternity: 'Jesus, I believe in you and receive you.' (Offers booklet on spiritual growth if you email him.)"
• Before I say anything else, I will counter Warren that his priority should be: "Jesus Christ is Day 1 and every day after that is centered on Christ." The Gospel comes first when Jesus, Peter, and Paul preach. It's priority in other letters, too. One parable emphasizes that our audience might not even live another day. Likewise, Warren contradicts God's Word by saying our biggest problems are a lack of purpose and our personal struggles. God's Word says we're wicked, sinned against Him, and deserve to die and burn in Hell. That's offensive to non-believers but Warren wants them to keep coming back. His focus on earthly things will draw them in, too.
• In P.D.L., Warren challenges his audience to take steps toward becoming more righteous. He wants them to get the benefits of the Bible by obeying it more. He does this in the sections before Day 7 where he shares the Gospel. As in, Warren treats non-believers like they're a part of Christ's church. These are people who, without the Gospel, will burn in hell no matter what steps they take in their lives. In other places, he talks about making his church experience (eg song lyrics) one that non-believing visitors enjoy and want to come back for. In assessments, he always says his "church" has a higher number of people in it than others. Taken together, Warren is treating non-believers like they're believers while also maybe counting them in his church numbers and program reports. That he treats non-believers like believers means you can't trust any of his numbers. Jesus and the Apostles share the Gospel, let non-believers walk if they don't like it, ask believers to follow them (aka the church), and pour most of their time into actual followers of Christ. 
• In his 40 Days program, Warren promises great results to any church that lets him run all core aspects of those churches for 40 days. Warren tells them to use his vision, his sermons, and devotional writings written by Warren. He says they'll get worse results if they leave out even one or two his works. He clearly believes that he and his works, not God and His, are critical to those churches' success. The alleged need for his own writing also implies Warren is more gifted than anyone those churches might listen to, such as Billy Graham or John Piper. I doubt Warren comes close to Billy Graham in how many people he's delivered the actual Gospel to. Especially since Rick doesn't usually share it. Rick Warren seeing himself as this critical to others churches' success means he is a megalomaniac.
• Likewise, when Warren ordained female pastors, he pointed to his numbers while others cited the Bible and 2,000 years of Spirit-led teaching. Warren usually pushes growth, not Scripture, as the proof that his methods are good. I'll note that growth is really popularity. Warren is saying, if it's popular, then it must be God's will. Whereas, God's Word says His will is a narrow gate, offensive, and leads to persecution. Jesus was abandoned by his own disciples, too. That what Warren does is popular with all kinds of people, even non-believers, is more evidence it's not what God wants.
• Jesus says what defiles a person comes from their hearts. The heart of the Purpose-Driven Life philosophy is self-centered, works-centered, people-pleasing, and (most importantly) doing the opposite of what Jesus and His Apostles say and do. Much like the critic I linked, I believe that Warren trades the person, words, and work of Christ for his own philosophy, words, and practices. Warren spends almost all his time focusing on everything but the Gospel and who Christ is. In practice, Warren must think our Lord Jesus Christ is his lowest priority.

So far, both "test the spirits" and "test everything" tell us to avoid Rick Warren and Saddleback at all costs. They're about themselves more than Jesus and His Word. Anything they produce will be corrupted by their P.D.L. philosophy. Such churches also usually get further away from Scripture over time. If C.R. builds on P.D.L., we'll be able to review it much more quickly by leveraging what we've already learned.

Alcoholics Anonymous and John Baker (briefly)

• The Oxford Group was an organization of Christians who wanted to overcome sins to live holy lives. Their solution was mostly accountability groups confessing sin, encouraging, and praying for each other. Their broader theology was a mix of good and bad. They also claimed their practices transformed many lives with impact on whole countries. I haven't tested their claims for lack of time. I should still have links to free copies of their old books if anyone wants to research them. I might later out of curiosity. An article I'll cite next says H.A. Ironside blasted them for preaching everything but Christ in practice. At least some of them had a familiar problem.
• Bill Wilson was an alcoholic who heard of the Oxford Group's teachings from a newly-sober friend. In his fourth stay at the hospital, Bill prayed to an unknown God to help him. He had a "spiritual experience" involving a white light, a feeling of ecstasy, and serenity. He quit drinking. He remained a "spiritualist" into all kinds of risky practices. Wilson tried to help people in the Oxford group quit drinking but failed. Bob Smith was an anti-religious alcoholic who tried Oxford Group for two years for sobriety. Several articles (example) cite their official biography saying they teamed up, connected with spirits (aka listened to demons), and wrote up their recovery concepts while doing that. (See 1 Tim. 4:1; 1 Cor. 10:20-22.) Wilson helped Smith quit drinking. They teamed up, made their own recovery program (Alcoholics Anonymous), claimed to help over 100 people get sober, and published their "Big Book" and 12-Step model to help others. Ch. 4 ("We Agnostics") looks universalist and deist, not Christian. They'd make other A.A. groups reflect their image by discipling them to teach and do the same things.
• Alcoholics Anonymous is a Christ-less program (1/2), focuses people on their works, replaces the Bible with their own book/practices, pushes worldly concepts over Biblical truths, and does have good advice embedded in it that helped many people. I'll quickly note that you can also get good advice on topics like addiction from Christian writers who specialize in it. Since interpretations vary, I'll say that joining A.A. is either disobedience to God's Word or very risky due to many teachings contradicting it.
• John Baker was A.A. guy who joined Saddleback Church. In his book, he was following A.A.'s steps as a Christian. The Bakers both thought many struggling people at Saddleback could be supporting each other. John envisioned a Christian version of A.A. at Saddleback. They pitched Rick Warren, thought he'd pick a qualified leader, and were surprised when Warren chose Baker. In the Bible, the requirements for leaders (ex: Titus 1:6-9) are they're strong in both Bible teaching and character. Warren ignored that to put an A.A. guy with little to no Bible training in charge of developing a Biblical recovery program.
• They merged A.A.'s practices, some Bible verses, and their own stuff into a new program: Celebrate Recovery. God banned Israel from adopting pagan traditions because they turned His people away from His Word and practices. If they believe God's Word, they should've known mixing pagan practices (A.A.) with the Bible would cause problems.

Celebrate Recovery's Problems (in order I encountered them)

• Like P.D.L., C.R. doesn't put the person of Christ front and center. It doesn't require sharing the Gospel first, often, or boldly. Like A.A., C.R. mostly preaches practices to make our lives better. Whereas, the Bible centers on a person (Christ) who saves our souls, practices to obey Him, maybe our lives get better, and our suffering will often increase (i.e. persecution).
• They always countered by telling me "we go into surrendering to Christ in Step 3." I don't know which is worse: that they said it, or thought anyone obeying the Word would nod at it. If I explained C.R.'s steps at Christ-centered churches, they always counter, "No, Christ is Step 1!" That Christ is Step 3 at C.R. tells you their priorities right off the bat. It's actually worse because we did four videos in the step study before getting to Step 1. So, they're actually saying they'll talk about our Lord and Savior in detail... in about 1-2 months... if God lets you live that long. Hearing lots of helpful information, except the real Gospel, is also common in seeker-sensitive churches. Their program designers do this to avoid offending visitors to keep them coming back. C.R.'s slogan is even, "Keep coming back!" Did Jesus and the Apostles tell people who rejected the Gospel to keep coming back to church?
• Worship is our offering to God praising who He is. In false-gospel churches, the songs will usually be more about what good things God does for us to appeal to our self interest. In the same vein, C.R. also uses songs from churches that preach the Prosperity Gospel: Bethel, Hillsong, and Elevation. Avoid these churches and their songs. Even if you re-interpret them, your money or Youtube views promote their churches (and fake gospels) to others who don't know better. People looking for the real Jesus see fake Jesus's on top of the search results and sales charts. The people in the crowd at C.R. that I talked to about this didn't know anything about it.
• In church, you need a Bible to follow sermons that teach God's Word. You will often read whole passages. Then, the leader will teach its meaning, how we see Christ in it, and how it teaches us to live. In C.R.'s services, they teach from C.R.'s materials instead of the Word. People rarely bring Bibles. They don't need them for C.R. services.
• Like P.D.L., C.R.'s material use proof texting with multiple translations to support their own talking points.
• The New Testament itself starts with the Gospels followed by what the believing church does (eg Acts). Within the NT, they give people the Gospel first. If they accept it, they're discipled further with Biblical teaching. That includes topical lessons on what that group needs the most at that time. Both expository and topical teaching increases the disciples' understanding of the Bible and how to interpret it. Celebrate Recovery ditches the Biblical model to use the 12-step model that Alcoholic's Anonymous popularized. C.R.'s 12 Steps are A.A.'s 12 steps verbatim with minimal changes. C.R. people read C.R.'s materials more than the Bible, read C.R.'s meanings into the mixed in verses, and Bible literacy might get worse. Few people there spotted misuse of Bible passages. When they did, it was a laughing, shrugging objection instead of taking it seriously like God does.
• C.R. takes Bible verses out of context to teach different points. The Beatitudes are a recurring example. The Beatitudes are a beautiful, combined picture of repentance (justification), God giving us new hearts (regeneration), outward behavior that flows from that (sanctification), the eternal consequences of choosing Christ, and inner contentment all of that brings. In Matt. 4:23, Jesus also preached the Gospel and Word of God to all of those people before following up with the Beatitudes. Jesus warned faith will make life harder with our minds and lives focused on heaven.
• Rick Warren read the Beatitudes, said they're about the "principles of recovery," and C.R. teaches them as if they're about how God will use works we do to give us a better life. They pick "happy" over "blessed" in their translation to support that impression. After sharing the Beatitudes, Jesus left that area to share the Gospel elsewhere. People kept their remaining hurts, habits, and hangups. Whereas, Warren thought the same passage supported a long-term recovery program, even for non-believers. Warren and Baker merged their Eight Principles with the pagan's 12 steps to create that program. Jesus was central and Step 1 in the Beatitudes. In C.R., he's peripheral and they move Him to Step 3. This is all so opposite of what we read in the Beatitudes that I was convicted to turn down the offer to publicly read them for the group. The crowd clapped for the abuse of the Word which grieved the Holy Spirit. I cringed every time.
• God's covenant with Israel says He'll bless or punish the nation based on their faith and obedience. Lev. 26 and Deut. 28 predict horrifying punishments. Lamentations describes God's wrath on Israel during the Babylonian invasion. In Ch. 2, it's about national sin and idolatry. In Ch.'s 2 and 4-5, the brutal punishments line up with what God promised. God is causing them to be enslaved, raped, murdered, and eat their own babies. The captivity lasted around 70 years. Believers had obey God and pray for mercy every day while His wrath on them stayed the same or got worse. No surprise that the author ends Ch 5 begging for God's mercy while talking like it may never come. In C.R., Baker cites Lam. 3:40 to support taking a personal inventory of our sins to kick our bad habits because God wants us to enjoy a better life. What Lamentations teaches its readers and how C.R. uses it are as different as night and day. A good lesson on it would teach us to face our most-hopeless moments with trust in God. C.R. folks would've liked that, too. Then, I found out it was Step 4 in A.A.. Baker wanted a matching verse to use it in C.R..
• Many teachings directly contradict God's Word, esp if based on A.A.. That includes un-Biblical diagnoses like codependency that even psychologists haven't accepted (or supporters argue over), that we are helpless needing faith in God to kick bad habits (atheists do self-improvement), trading Biblical terms for pagan terms that please non-believers ("a higher power" or "spiritual experience"), and non-Biblical goals like living in "recovery" instead of sanctification (a Christ-only, Spirit-driven process). Although non-believers can do recovery, nobody can do a second of sanctification without faith in Christ. Those without faith who "recovered" or "overcame their struggles" then burn in Hell.
• Codependency comes up so much I'll add something about it. In God's Word, we are to do everything to the glory of Christ. We evaluate every thought through that lens. From there, we stay humble loving others as ourselves. Humble means selfless. Paul adds that he was all things to all people to share the Gospel with them. While putting Christ and holiness first, Paul from there would endure burdens others imposed, esp cultural, to keep the peace. So, the Bible teaches us to live in a way some in the world diagnose as codependency. Why would we view ourselves their way instead of God's? If some behaviors are indeed sins, then just use verses describing them to counter them. Teaching codependency at C.R. led their people to constantly see and describe themselves that way instead of how God's Word described them. And that's just one subject among many in C.R.!
• Adding to that, C.R. often replaces the Bible's concepts and commanded practices with its own concepts and commanded practices. They say "everyone needs" C.R., learn/teach its materials more, "keep coming back" to C.R., do so even if C.R. isn't working for them (can't be C.R. itself), invite non-believers to C.R. vs sharing the Gospel, "we should go door to door" doing that, and go overseas on mission to plant... C.R.'s (not churches). Kind of like what 40 Days does. I'll credit the local chapter for their main leaders strongly encouraging people to regularly be in the Word, in prayer, and in Biblical churches. Sad irony.
• God's Word says only baptized believers can be members of local churches. You're not in God's family unless you surrender to Christ. At C.R., everyone that regularly attends is part of their "forever family." Christ brings His whole family to heaven but you can join C.R.'s and still go to Hell.
• God's Word says we take it a day at a time. We thank Him for every good thing, confess the bad things, forget the past, and press onward toward Jesus Christ. Our motivation is also Christ. C.R. uses chips and T-shirts like rewards to help people remember their successes. They cite the Ebenezers in the Old Testament to justify it. They actually got chips from the pagans at A.A., not the O.T.. A.A. needed achievement trophies (chips) to motivate their members since they're without Christ and works-focused. A.A.'s pyramid design on their chips even looks similar to a popular, pagan symbol ("Eye of Providence"). C.R. took a pagan practice, renamed it, slapped some verses on it, and kept doing the same thing. To be clear, I'm not against keeping mementos. I'm just showing this is another example of them pretending pagan practices are Christian. Many attendees might also want to know specific practices were rooted in paganism so they can avoid them.
• God's Word places higher requirements (ex: Titus 1:6-9) on leaders. James discourages most from being teachers because God will judge them more strictly. Many people believe the devil attacks leaders harder, too. Most churches only appoint as leaders baptized believers with proven character who are also trained in the Bible and theology. C.R. seems to encourage almost anyone to become leaders if they've done a step study. They push it more quickly than churches, too. One C.R. leader I met tried, but failed, to explain the Gospel to their audience. Another was actually from A.A. who refused to share the Gospel due to A.A.'s training. He did share prosperity theology bragging about the results of talking to God like his child demanding what he wanted. Another talked like he was Roman Catholic. Church's leaders must lead people to Christ and obedience to His Word. C.R.'s might lead you... anywhere. Even Hell.
• C.R. always says "we're not here to fix one another" because we're "not therapists." That sounds like it excuses the program's shortcomings. Yet, those same people give lessons on therapy topics, tell what's "right" behavior, what's "wrong" behavior, give out therapy questions, and discuss the problems. It's definitely a therapy program. It just delivers partial therapy using people untrained in therapy. If C.R. is therapy, then it's materials should be Biblical, accurate, and effective. Whoever wrote them should've likewise been trained in therapy (eg Biblical counseling).
• Many Biblical churches end services with readings from Scripture, either exhortations or prayers. C.R. ends every night with the Serenity Prayer. Reinhold Niebuhr might have authored it. Yet, C.R. got it from A.A.. You can bet A.A. picked it for wording that let their non-Christians pray it while staying committed to false gods or themselves. Why would a "Christ-centered program" imitate how people pray in a group that rejects Christ? If they need pre-made prayers, we have plenty of inspired prayers in the Bible from the Apostles on up to the Lord Jesus Himself. Imitate them.
• CR claims its methods impacted millions of people to imply it will have high impact for you, too. During my stay at C.R., it was mostly the same people coming every week. Of new people, most left after one night, some left shortly after, some had to be there for court, some visited from other C.R.'s, and some were new members. In the same area, Biblical activities had vastly more people with more conversions that I could tell. They had better evangelism, Biblical knowledge, and skill at spotting false teaching. Many lives were similarly changed through their discipleship and ministry. Sharing Jesus, modeling after His ministry, and teaching built on the Word gets way better results than C.R. does.
• Right as I was leaving C.R., God sent a revival up north that's transforming lives by teaching... you guessed it... Christ crucified and obedience to His Word. They're even confessing sins publicly like C.R. does. The difference is they describe themselves using terms from God's Word (eg liars, adulterers). Their solutions are prayer, worship, proclaiming Jesus' name to all around them, Bible study, and obedience. God gathered tens of thousands of people from all over the world to bear witness to this. He will send them back home to tell them to focus on the fundamentals to see God move there.
• If you warn them, most C.R. defenders will say the program works for people. Also, different C.R.'s have people who present more or less of the real Christ, the Word, etc. Therefore, they think we should keep promoting "what works" along with its problems since, like Machiavelli would say, the end (outcomes) justifies the means. Well, the results of Biblical churches and revivals suggest C.R. doesn't get better or Biblical results. Even if it did, people say the same thing about atheism, self-help programs, Alcoholics Anonymous, Scientology, and fake gospels. "It changed my whole life! It's great now!" Do we likewise mix their beliefs and practices with Bible verses to send more people their way? Because "it works?" Or do we avoid and warn people about them for rejecting Christ and/or being severely disobedient to His Word? If so, why wouldn't we also obey God's Word to avoid, warn about, and counter false teaching in Celebrate Recovery?

In summary, C.R. is thoroughly filled with false teaching and pagan practice. The "Christ-centered program" also minimizes the person of Christ and His Gospel. The founding church refuses to repent of that. It's been sinning like this for decades. That's enough to walk away from both immediately. At least, that's what most people would advise if just using verses on false teaching.

If your theology leans toward 1 Thes. 5:21, these are still enough problems to avoid promoting C.R. to reduce the spread of false teaching. Even buying C.R. materials for a non-C.R. group would fund Saddleback which spreads their false teaching. Others who didn't know better might read them thinking you believe in all of it. The devil aims for these ripple effects of false teaching.

When I delivered critiques, C.R. proponents kept countering that what I said was addressed in the "step studies" where they go deeper. After entering it, I found it had a Bible (that's good!), the same philosophy as the Purpose-Driven Life, and extra supplements in their materials whose accuracy and theology varies. Their lesson plan is mostly reading that stuff instead of God's Word. We did four videos by Andy Stanley (also seeker sensitive), two group meetings, and I still hadn't heard the Gospel. I left.

Can Churches Have the Same Benefits?

With their life-changing experiences, many Christians attending C.R. believe it makes sense to have a C.R.-like program. I tried to imagine one with all its benefits but none of its weaknesses. The alternative must be solidly ground in the Gospel, God's Word, have accountability for acting on both, and practical lessons that don't contradict either. Churches could implement it themselves. If they don't, other groups could do it.

Developing Biblical Alternatives

Biblical Framework

Many missionaries in South Asia build their churches using the Three Thirds model. It divides a meeting up into discussing the past week, a lesson, and goals for next week. If needed, that can be expanded into a full service with more information and activities. Three Thirds meetings already have group prayer, personal sharing, worship, lessons with group discussions, and goal setting. Just make sure the sharing time includes our actual sins, temptations, and worries.

For the lessons, the new program can ditch the pagan, 12-step model. Instead, they can use topical lessons grounded in God's Word. Any Bible passages should be used in their original context. The resulting lessons can cover issues such as suffering, forgiveness, marriage, addiction, mental health, and so on. The topics of the new program can be in any order.

If open-source and online, the leaders can give the lessons to group members ahead of time. They can jump right to what's most important to them. Any teaching groups usually limit shares in the lesson discussion to what's on-topic. Group members might share off-topic observations in their personal, share sessions.

My big questions: what topics to teach? How much is theology vs personal issues? How to embed the Gospel? What Bible passages teach on specific topics? How much should I use secular sources for therapy questions?

Therapy Questions and Counseling

People need training. I have many resources on Biblical counseling to help. Ideally, Biblical counselors would write topical lessons for us. They could also write questions for participants to answer about themselves ("therapy worksheets"). Ideally, we'd have open-source worksheets that can be used for any purpose. Do those exist anywhere? If not, what Biblical counselors would make them for us? If they don't, there's probably questions you can use and cite in Christian articles, podcasts, and YouTube videos.

I know the therapy worksheets are really important to many people in C.R.. If they're not available, you can also produce your own by working backwards from information in articles, books, etc. They'll describe specific problems. You rephrase those statements into questions that people can ask themselves. You can also make broader statements to cover more ground. For example, a question about sexual abuse might be broadened into "have you suffered abuse at different points in your life?"

Try to use sources who profess a solid, doctrine statement (simple / detailed). Whatever source you use, carefully vet their claims and therapy questions against God's Word, cite them as external sources, and mark any that are non-Christian in your references. We don't want to repeat C.R.'s mistake of presenting worldly teaching as if it's Biblical.

Proposed Models for Biblical, Support Groups

(aka brainstorming results)

Option 1

(Far as I know, this is how God has used His Word to transform most peoples' lives since the church was founded. John Wesley also made this a formal, group activity in his churches. Many others have, too.)

We'll look at passages with sins, good traits, and outright commands. Then, we'll ask if we've done or are doing any of those individually.

Next, we'll look at each institution in our lives: parents/children (family unit), jobs (business), neighborhood/schools (community), and government interactions. In each case, we'll ask what sins we've committed, been victim of, what good we've done, and so on. We'll assess our spiritual health in all areas of life.

Optionally, there might be a day-to-day portion. Participants will be given basic lists of sins and fruits of obedience. They're to journal day to day what God shows them in their interactions with other people, esp failures or improvements. They share those. People answer any questions they have about what God's Word says in such situations. So, they're are meditating on what God is showing them now in their own lives while also steadily learning from His Word.

Doing this is basically how God transformed the lives of many Christians for thousands of years. That includes mine which started with a long list of sins. We just read the Bible, explore all the ways it might apply, pray for answers, note what pops into our minds, research it, and apply it. We also discuss and pray together. We often learn from the example set by mature believers, too. God sanctifies us in these ways.

Option 2

(This is the most centered on the person of Christ.)

This is similar to Option 1. The difference is we focus on passages about Christ, who He is, who we are, and try to close the gap. I mention it second because it takes more interpretation than passages with clear commands. The benefit is you really get to know Jesus Christ as you try to imitate His character.

If being more specific, you might pick part of God's design which Christ exemplifies in His life and character. Examples might be being filled with God's Word, putting others' needs first, humility, purity, or even respect for authority. Teach and discuss verses that illustrate it. If you know any, include verses and real-world examples of any benefits that come from living that way to show God's goodness.

Then, start listing the ways we fall short of that, the problems that result, verses showing that, and real-world examples.

Give therapy questions that tie into those failures. Maybe ask follow-up questions about how God's principles might have prevented or helped each situation.

Give pragmatic advice on those topics ground in or at least compatible with God's Word.

Option 3

(This is the most like C.R..)

This option assumes two things: the real value of church is growing together in Christ and God's Word; the remaining value of C.R. is in its therapy workbooks that help us dig into our lives. We've already talked about finding and developing them. I'll just give a few more tips.

Start with Bible passages that teach the same points as the exemplary questions. If you don't know any, teach passages on the same topics with their applications. Then, say something like: "Let's look at this topic some more. We have some questions about it from (sources)." Then, go to the questions. Each topic might use one or several passages with amount of teaching tied to timing requirements.

People are also naturally attracted to both stories and mysteries that get us asking more questions. God hardwired us for it. Then, He wrote most of His Word that way. Follow His lead! Use Biblical narratives and loaded passages (eg Beatitudes). For confirmation, missionaries in many countries said narrative evangelism worked well even with non-believers. An evangelist also pointed out that loaded passages let you squeeze lots of God's truth into limited time. The follow-up questions people ask give you more time to discuss God's Word with them.

Option 4

(This is most like doing a "Foundations" program in BiblicalTraining or No Place Left.)

This one is more of a theological class. The idea is that a church wants theological lessons, counseling lessons, or a mix of both. Also, that this church sees more value in theology than in support groups. So, you mix in practical lessons from counseling materials. You tell people how the theology applies to their lives. Some call these courses "practical" or "everyday" theology.

Extra Considerations

The support group should have a list of Christian counselors people can see for one-on-one advice. The hosting church might consider having Biblical counselors or other professionals there. They might be volunteers or paid for blocks of time. There might also be people in the church who specialize in specific kinds of struggles. I've seen "grief" and "DivorceCare" ministries. Make sure people know who they can talk to.

In church, we should have brothers and sisters we regularly talk to about our issues. Preferably, people we can call at any time if something gets too much. That conversation might prevent the sin we were about to commit. In A.A. and C.R., they have "sponsors" and "accountability partners" for this. We should already just be doing this with Biblical terms like "brother," "sister," and "church family." Support it with passages that emphasize what loving each other means. Paul, James, and John all have good ones.

Celebrate Recovery opened with food and fellowship. The local church that hosts ours had volunteers who supplied a meal. The charge was $2 but free if you needed it. Some people there thought the fellowship time was too short at 30-minutes. Standing in line took quite a bit of it. Consider this if you implement it. Also, if your church already does fellowship, maybe do the support group that night to piggyback on it.

The "Celebration Station" is a table with their booklets, Recovery Bibles, daily devotionals, and prayer requests. Saddleback is good at marketing. Some churches likewise have helpful materials at their "welcome booths." I suggest having on-hand materials from solid, Bible-based sources. For study Bible, maybe the ESV Study Bible saying it will just teach you the Bible. Although, NIV Life Application Bibles are quite popular with this crowd. Maybe have a few devotionals to choose from. In the long run, someone should consider making an alternative to the Celebrate Recovery Bible with a solid translation, sound teaching, testimonials pointing to Biblical practices, and money going to a trustworthy organization.

Include training on how to lead small groups and do the services. My Serving page has small groups guides in it.

If there's music, I'd include a warning about how churches that push a false gospel use music as bait. C.R. had many songs with these problems. List the churches, their false teachings, and the band labels. Instead, use songs from safe sources that worship Christ using Biblical concepts.

Host church should have cards or web sites with their own service times. If church-neutral, maybe a list of good churches in nearby areas. Plus, online sources where they can get good articles, sermons, and Youtube content. Get people plugged into Biblical churches!

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