Friday, February 11, 2011

Westminster Celebrate Recovery Bulletin

An Overview:
The 3 Main Celebrate Recovery Groups

Large Group:
  • Worship
  • Read the steps and principles
  • Announcements
  • Teaching a lesson or share testimony
  • Serenity Prayer
  • No obligation to share
  • Mixed group
  • Dismiss to open share groups
  • Information table

Open Share Group:
  • Recovery issue specific
  • Follows large group
  • Gender specific
  • One-hour meeting
  • Share struggles and victories
  • Acknowledge sobriety
  • Open to newcomers
  • Find a sponsor or accountability partner
  • Follow the five small group guidelines

Step Study Group:
  • Use Celebrate Recovery participant's guides
  • Answer and discuss questions at the end of of each lesson of the guides
  • Two-hour meeting
  • Mixed issue recovery OR issue specific recovery
  • High level of accountability
  • Weekly attendance expected
  • Follow the five small group guidelines
  • Gender specific

Lesson 8 - Sponsor

Lesson 8: SPONSOR

Principle #4: Openly examine and confess my faults to myself, to God, and to someone I trust.
Happy are the pure in heart. (Matthew 5:8)

Step #4: We made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord. (Lamentations 3:40)

Why do I need a sponsor and/or accountability partner?
·         Having a sponsor or accountability partner is biblical.
                        Ecclesiastes 4:9-12
                        Proverbs 27:17
·         Having a sponsor or accountability partner is a key part of your recovery program.

Ø  The first step is maintaining an honest view of reality as you work each step.
Ø  The second key element is making your attendance at your recovery group meetings a priority in your schedule.
Ø  The third element is maintaining your spiritual program with Jesus Christ through prayer, meditation, and study of His Word.
Ø  The last element to a successful program is getting involved in service.

·         Having a sponsor and/or accountability partner is the best guard against relapse.

What are the qualities of a sponsor? (Proverbs 20:5)
·         Does his walk match his talk? Is he living the eight principles?
·         Does he/she have a growing relationship with Jesus Christ?
·         Does he/she express the desire to help others on the road to recovery?
·         Does he/she show compassion, care, and hope, but not pity?
·         Is he a good listener?
·         Is she strong enough to confront your denial or procrastination?
·         Does he offer suggestions?
·         Can she share her own current struggles with others?

What is the role of a sponsor?
·         She can be there to discuss issues in detail that are too personal or would take too much time in a meeting.
·         He is available in times of crisis or potential relapse.
·         She serves as a sounding board by providing an objective point of view.
·         He is there to encourage you to work the principles at your own speed.
·         Most important, she attempts to model the lifestyle that results from working the eight principles.
·         A sponsor can be resign or be fired.

How do I find a sponsor or accountability partner?
·         First and foremost, the person MUST be of the same sex as you. NO EXCEPTIONS.
·         Can you relate to this person’s story?
·         Come to the meetings regularly and/or other events that we might have.
·         If you ask someone to be your sponsor and/or accountability partner, and that person says no, do not take it as a personal rejection.
·         Most important, ask God to lead you to the sponsor and/or accountability partner of His choosing.

What is the difference between a sponsor and an accountability partner?
·         A sponsor is someone who has completed the four Celebrate Recovery participant’s guides and has worked through the eight principles and the 12 steps.
·         He/she meets the six requirements discussed earlier in the role of a sponsor.

·         An accountability partner is someone you ask to hold you accountable for certain areas of your recovery or issues, such as meeting attendance, journaling, etc.
·         The main goal of this relationship is encourage one another.
·         You can form an accountability team of three or four.