RECOVERY MODEL OF OVERCOMERS OUTREACH

Turnbull 1 RECOVERY MODEL OF OVERCOMERS OUTREACH FOR THE BILLY GRAHAM CENTER EVANGELISM ROUNDTABLE ISSUES OF TRUTH AND POWER: THE GOSPEL IN A POST-CHRISTIAN CULTURE April 22-24, 2004 BY JUDY TURNBULL, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, OVERCOMER S OUTREACH INTRODUCTION Welcome to Overcomers Outreach! Overcomers Outreach is a bridge between the traditional twelve step programs and the church. Our belief is that people who are searching for their Higher Power need Jesus Christ; and Christians who suffer with addictions, compulsions, and codependency need twelve step recovery programs. God promises to help us with our problems, John 16:33 In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have OVERCOME the world! Overcomers Outreach is a unique Christian ministry that grew from one home bible study in 1977 to an international network of more than 1,000 support groups. The vision that God put in the hearts of Bob and Pauline Bartosch, OO founders, has grown into an effective Christcentered ministry resource that spans America coast to coast and reaches around the world. Overcomers Outreach uses the biblically based twelve steps from Alcoholics Anonymous in our Christ Centered recovery groups. The twelve steps are spiritual disciplines that have been helpful to millions of people recovering from addictions. Whether the addiction is to alcohol, drugs, food, gambling, sex, people, places or things, or anything else, the twelve steps offer a way to a freer, saner, grace filled way of life. 1

Turnbull 2 A survey taken in 2001 reports that 15 million Americans, twelve years of age and older have a problem with alcohol; 16 million Americans have a problem with illegal drugs; 43% of all families have a family member with a drug or alcohol problem. One out of four people admitted to general hospitals are admitted for alcohol related problems. Only 5% of alcoholics are skid-row victims. Twenty percent of people in church have a problem with alcohol or drugs and 50% of all church families have a family member or friend with a problem with alcohol or drugs. 80% of all crimes are committed under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Pornography is a 13 billion-dollar business in the U.S. alone. There are 100,000 porn sites on the Internet with 200 new sites every day. 50% of all search engine requests are for pornography. In the U.S. 14 million people attend 12-step programs. Addiction is a huge problem and with the internet, problems with pornography, gambling and spending increase every year at a phenomenal rate. Anyone can benefit from the twelve steps, we all have experienced fear, loneliness, hurt, loss and disappointment in our life. The twelve steps are God given tools, they help make it possible for us to receive God s healing, saving grace that we are all seeking. These steps and the recovery process itself began with alcoholics helping each other stay sober with the use of biblically based principles like acceptance, confession, honesty, accountability and service. According to Dr. Bob and Bill W., founders of Alcoholics Anonymous, the twelve steps are principally from the Sermon on the Mount, 2

Turnbull 3 1 Corinthians 13, and the book of James, along with other passages. Steve Auterburn, founder of New Life Clinics, Women of Faith Conferences, and author of over 30 books including Every Man s Battle wrote the following in the preface of A Bridge to Recovery. Unfortunately, lots of churches don t understand addiction and look at alcohol as sin and do not understand the condition of alcoholism. They do not realize that not only is there a spiritual battle for the soul of the alcoholic, but also a physical one that leads to addiction. An addiction that is so powerful that all the power, prestige and money in the world cannot counter it s grip. What is needed is God Himself, revealed in flesh and blood through caring arms wrapped around those in despair, helping them break free from the addiction trap. Alcoholics didn t need more guilt; they didn t need more sermons. What they needed were people who cared enough to spend time with them, and cared enough to hold them accountable, and cared enough to be there when the individual finally decided it was time to get well. As the church s lack of concern and understanding alienated alcoholics, thankfully A.A. groups were there for them literally saving their lives in many cases. Millions found the answer outside the church while the church refused to look at their attitudes and actions towards addicts. Others who were not alcoholics, but struggled with codependency, sexual abuse, depression and eating disorders, came to discover the hope found in working the twelve steps. As more people were finding hope from secular recovery groups outside the church, there were Christians in recovery inside the Church who were starting to be heard. Their voices were crying out for a new understanding of the twelve steps and of those who could benefit from them. Finally, in the late 70 s and early 80 s, churches began to open 3

Turnbull 4 new doors to hurting people. These doors opened to the basements and annexes of churches where people could find support and hope from recovery groups with Christ at the center. Some church leaders came to see twelve step groups as a way to attract people to the church, rather than as a force eradicating the need for salvation through Jesus Christ. Overcomers Outreach has done more than any other group to assist with the construction of this bridge (and in it s subsequent maintenance and repair). It s groups have been established in communities around the world, bringing recovery from past hurts to people, and also discovery of a loving God so full of grace that He sent His Son to save each person, no matter how difficult or horrible their past. While encouraging ongoing attendance at meetings outside the church where honesty continues to be of great value, Overcomers Outreach groups offer the greatest hope for Christ-centered recovery that is healthy and balanced! Biblical description of an alcoholic: Whose heart is filled with anguish and sorrow? Who is always fighting and quarreling? Who is the man with bloodshot eyes and many wounds? It is the one who spends long hours in the taverns, trying out new mixtures. Don t let the sparkle and the smooth taste of strong wine deceive you. For in the end it bites like a poisonous serpent; it stings like an adder. You will see hallucinations and have delirium tremens, and you will say 4

Turnbull 5 foolish, silly things that would embarrass you no end when sober. You will stagger like a sailor tossed at sea, clinging to a swaying mast. And afterwards you will say, I didn t even know it when they beat me up Let s go and have another drink! Proverbs 23: 29-35 BIRTH OF THE MINISTRY Overcomers Outreach was built on the foundation of Alcoholics Anonymous. For nearly seventy years God has used the healing power of the Twelve Steps to restore the lives of countless individuals. He has conveyed this healing message through people who know what it is to be broken and transformed by God. Bob and Pauline Bartosch, the founders of Overcomers Outreach found the help they needed for alcoholism and codependency through the traditional twelve step programs of AA and Alanon. After years in recovery they wanted to share the healing and hope they found in their twelve step groups with the church. They also wanted to have a meeting where people in AA and Alanon who were searching for a Higher Power would be introduced to the Savior Jesus Christ. The Bartosch s met other Christians in their twelve step meetings and started a home bible study. In 1977 they met with their pastor and started the first OO meeting in their local church, Whittier Area Baptist Fellowship in Southern California. Soon the group was growing, more than 50 people attended the meeting in the first year. The meetings were run like an AA meeting adding 5

Turnbull 6 biblical principles and the members could say their higher power was Jesus Christ. Also, leadership was rotated each meeting like AA. Soon, people wanted to start meetings in their own churches. Bob prayed for more opportunities to reach new people with God s life saving message of hope for the broken. They received a phone call from Focus on the Family, and were asked to do a radio interview with Dr. James Dobson about alcoholism and the family. Then they were asked to do an interview with Trinity Broadcasting Network. At that time the only literature that had been developed was the twelve steps with corresponding scriptures. The host of the program told the listeners to call the studio for a copy. More than 300 requests came into the TV station from 15 states. In Bob and Pauline s book A Bridge to Recovery, they said, As we responded to the numerous letters pouring in from all over the country, people wanted to know how to start a group in their church. We realized that this wild phenomenon certainly hadn t been in our plans! We hadn t dreamt of it, even in our wildest imaginations. Our vision had been limited to one group in one local church. You would think that with such blatant signs we would have been able to hear God s voice beginning to call us to start a ministry. Yet, we needed more to read the handwriting on the wall. The founders were encouraged by their friends and the members of their local OO group to leave their jobs and work full time for the ministry. Their Christian doctor and Christian Psychologist told them there was a great need for recovery groups within the church. In May of 1985 with the assistance of the founding board of directors, the ministry of Overcomers Outreach was officially started. 6

Turnbull 7 THEOLOGY AND RECOVERY Recovery is fundamentally a spiritual journey. Every step of the journey raises new spiritual questions. For Christians, theology can be very helpful, but it can also be part of the problem. This can make the journey confusing. Theology can get in the way of our recovery by supporting our denial, by increasing our resistance to change, and by reinforcing our shame. Sometimes I think it is easier to help a person new to recovery who is not a Christian! They don t seem to have to deal with all the issues of guilt and shame. When non-christians have a spiritual awakening they are more than happy to share their experience with others. They know they are a miracle and are very grateful that they have found a loving God to replace the emptiness in their life. Many Christians new to recovery struggle with spiritual pride which can be a block to the humility they need to seek and find the power of Christ to overcome their addictions. We all know how easy it is to believe that God is love but to have no practical access to this love in our daily lives. It is as if God is, for some of us at least, only theoretically a loving God. I was raised in a legalistic church; I had many fears about God, I thought he loved everyone else except me. Even though we believe that love keeps no record of wrongs, we may serve a God who seems to spend his days keeping a list of our mistakes, impure thoughts and unkind deeds and even though we may believe that God is patient. We may feel that God has abandoned us because we continue to struggle with the same old problems. I have been a Christian all of my life, I accepted Christ when I was eight years old, I thought God and me were enough, all I ever needed. As I grew up and had to face more and more of 7

Turnbull 8 life s challenges, the more I felt alone and abandoned. I ve realized that we need each other, we need help from one another. In recovery we need a community of faith, hope and love. Some Christians feel they can t get help in their church because they are not sure the church is a safe place to be vulnerable. The churches that have the most successful recovery programs are the churches where the pastor will make announcements about the recovery meetings and allow recovery testimonies from the pulpit. When the pastor is supportive of the recovery program it gives the church members permission to attend, also gives the message that we don t have to be perfect, that we all struggle in this life. One pastor said, It is a challenge to us as a church to examine the atmosphere of grace that is sometimes found more easily in an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting than in the body of Christ. There are people who would find more safety in a secular group, and more grace there than they would in a church. And that s not what the body of Christ is meant to be. Dale Ryan, CEO of Christian Recovery International and a member of the faculty at Fuller Theological Seminary, talks about the theological emphasis that are most helpful for people in recovery: grace, process, and self-worth. The first and perhaps the most obvious emphasis is that people in recovery need a huge dose of grace-focused theology. Grace is, of course, not a minor theological theme. It is arguably the theme of the Bible. Part of the theological work of recovery is the struggle not to allow ourselves to be burdened again by a yoke of slavery Galatians 5:1. The slavery of shame is the root of performance-based spirituality, and it is a soul killer. Recovery is the struggle to let grace be at the heart of everything in our lives. May God grant us the grace we need today to let 8

Turnbull 9 go of the heavy burdens of performance-based spirituality and to receive the grace, the serenity, and rest that God longs to give us. The second theological emphasis that is critically important for people in recovery is an emphasis on process. Recovery takes time. I think it is helpful to remember that an emphasis on speed in theology is not really new. The mainstream of Christian theological reflection throughout American history has always been decisionist in its orientation. That s the belief that the most important aspect of our relationship with God is the human capacity to make decisions to choose. What is it about people in recovery that is most broken? It is our capacity to choose. Every addict I have ever known has chosen not to be an addict. Usually many times, always unsuccessfully, choosing the thing that is the most broken in us. The twelve steps is a perfect example of the kind of supportive and empowering process that can make choosing a meaningful experience. There is a place in the twelve steps for deciding: We made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God. This is not an isolated choice. It is part of a process a process that helps us to become the kind of people whose choices are meaningful and empowered. Most Christians understand that some things like discipleship and sanctification take a lifetime. Recovery is a word in the same category. It s about a life-long journey, a spiritual journey worthy of a lifetime s attention. A third common theological issue that is part of the struggle for Christians in recovery is how we think about ourselves. This is not an easy one. Not for addicts, not for survivors of abuse, not for any of us. Our thoughts and feelings about ourselves can get twisted. What tends to come naturally and instinctively to us are extremes. Either we are 9

Turnbull 10 completely worthless, or we are grandiose and narcissistic. Both extremes are born in shame. The root of the problem is the persistent sense that we are not good enough, not important enough, not valuable enough, just not enough no matter what we do. This results in distortions in how we think and feel about ourselves. In Overcomers Outreach support groups we do not discuss doctrinal issues because many times they are divisive. We have enough in common that we need to spend our meeting time concentrating upon our mutual needs. We stick to the basics of the Gospel and the love of our Savior, Jesus Christ, and leave doctrinal issues to theologians. Overcomers Outreach Today Overcomers Outreach is an international ministry. Our meeting guideline booklet has been translated into five languages. There are over 1,000 groups meeting in local churches, homes, prisons, and treatment centers. Missionaries take our literature into countries that have huge drug and alcohol problems. We have an office in Canada and England. Our national headquarters in California receives referrals from Focus on the Family, New Life Clinics, The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, The Salvation Army, Christian radio stations, counselors and pastors. We receive e-mails, letters, and phone calls from hurting people in need of a support group, a treatment center, or a counselor from around the world. We help churches start recovery programs in their church. Christian Recovery conferences are held annually. Recovery literature and books are available on our web site, www.overcomersoutreach.org. The Life Recovery 10

Turnbull 11 Bible has been the largest selling specialty Bible for the last two years. The recovery movement has grown since the 1970 s and 80 s. Many churches have their own recovery programs and recovery pastors. There are several recovery ministries and organizations. Overcomers Outreach is a journey of hope! Through applying the truth of scripture, working the twelve steps, and sharing in the fellowship with other Overcomers, OO participants let go of past hurts, triumph over current problems, and learn to depend on God. He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Phil. 1:6 11