Christian Recovery

by Dale Ryan

from: STEPS Volume 1, Issue 1, Summer 1990.
I have a friend who insists that “Christian Recovery” is oxymoronic. “It’s like ‘military intelligence’ or LA’s ‘rapid transit’ district”, he says, “the words are inherently contradictory”. Like a great many people, my friend has had so many Bible verses thrown with casual indifference at his pain, that he can’t imagine the Christian faith being helpful in his recovery. He has concluded that Jesus and his followers are part of the problem.
The fundamental conviction which led to the formation of the National Association for Christian Recovery is that ‘Christian’ and ‘recovery’ go together.
We are not blind to religious abuse and religious addiction in the Christian community. We know what it is like to have struggles ignored or minimized by people whose denial is religiously reinforced. And we do not pretend that integrating our Christian faith and recovery is obvious or easy to do. But we are convinced that recovery is an inherently spiritual journey. And we have found the God revealed in Jesus to be a loving, grace-full, and help-full God. We have found him to be a powerful resource in the most difficult struggles of our lives. We are also convinced that the Bible is a profoundly wise guide for the spiritual journey of recovery.
If putting ‘Christian’ and ‘recovery’ together is part of your personal journey, then STEPS is designed for you. Our prayer is that you will find each issue to be challenging and genuinely helpful. If you are feeling isolated in your struggle, we pray that STEPS will remind you that you are not alone. If you are in the process of intentionally developing a relationship with God, we pray that STEPS will be encourage you in that process.
I want to emphasize that STEPS is designed to serve you, the members of the National Association for Christian Recovery. We need to know what you would like to see in STEPS. If something doesn’t seem right, if something seems missing, please let us know. And, if we do something that really works for you, we need to know that as well.
STEPS is not being put together by people who have all the answers. We are not ‘fixed’ yet. We are not ‘all better’ yet. So we need the strength and wisdom that come from the extended community of Christians who are in the recovery process. We cannot do this without you. Please pray for us.

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