Friday, February 23, 2007

Celebrate Recovery Among Pastors

TULSA, Okla. (PD) — Hess Hester, senior pastor of Southern Hills Baptist Church in Tulsa, Okla., wholeheartedly supported the ministry of Celebrate Recovery in his church from the time it started almost five years ago.

From time to time, he would even drop in to teach, attend a dinner, or visit one of their worship services, but he always felt like he was "on the outside looking in."

"When I spoke or taught at Celebrate Recovery and introduced myself, I always went generic or tried to make a joke out of it, saying, ‘Hi, my name is Hess. I'm a grateful believer in Jesus Christ who struggles with a variety of hurts, habits, and hang-ups,' or, ‘who struggles with being a pastor,'" he said. "But I knew I needed to wade in deeper."

Celebrate Recovery is a biblically based recovery program that started at Saddleback Church 15 years ago. It is now being used in more than 4,500 churches worldwide to help people overcome a variety of habits, including substance abuse, overeating, overspending, and sexual addiction.

Having seen the deep, life-changing impact Celebrate Recovery groups had on those involved with them, Hester began to wonder what concepts were transferable for other discipleship-type programs so he could implement them elsewhere.

He also knew the ministry was not just for other people: "I began to see I needed recovery too."

Although Hester said he doesn't have any "major" addictions, he said there were areas in his life he needed to deal with himself, ones he knew other pastors could identify with as well.

"We all need recovery," he said. "The theological word for ‘recovery' is ‘sanctification.' As believers, we are seeking to recover the image of Christ in our lives.

"I wanted that same experience of recovery in my life. But yet, even though we have a very safe, grace-oriented congregation, as a pastor I still did not feel comfortable going through the 12 steps with members of my congregation unless I could hand pick them."

Celebrate Recovery
For more information about starting a Celebrate Recovery in your congregation including all the resources you'll need, click here.
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That's when the idea for a Celebrate Pastors Recovery group surfaced.

So with the help of his area's Celebrate Recovery representative, Norma Murphy, Hester made a presentation of the idea for the pastors recovery group at an appreciation luncheon for area pastors who had Celebrate Recovery groups in their churches.

Those who signed up were invited to an informational breakfast where materials were distributed and a start date announced for the first group.

As a result, two pastors, who had already been through the 12-step process, volunteered to lead the pastors' group. The group started with 10 pastors – five Methodist, four Southern Baptist, and one non-denominational pastor. Fifteen months later, eight pastors finished the process and received their "gold coins."

Hester describes the experience as one of "serendipity."

"There were times that we didn't even open up the lesson by the time everybody had shared what their week was like," he said. "Often it was more for prayer and encouragement as much as the lessons."

He said the time spent together met a critical need for almost every member of the group.

"Virtually every pastor in our group encountered one or more major unexpected life challenges during the 15 months we met together," he said. "Through each of those times, the Holy Spirit ministered through the group to that pastor in ways that left us all very grateful for what we shared together."

Hester noted there is a lack of options available for pastors seeking help in times of crisis.

"One of the great dangers for pastors is that there are few places to turn to," he said. "What will sneak up and eat our lunches are the things that seem like little things we think we've got under control or resentments that build up that we keep burying. You have nowhere to dump some of the junk we have to deal with in working with people."

He added: "The danger is that all those hurts, habits, and hang-ups start building up and start killing you before you start to finally realize, ‘I need to deal with this.'"

The key though, he said, is a safe environment "where you feel like you can build that level of trust in your group. Then it's a place where you can experience encouragement and healing."

That's what his Celebrate Pastors Recovery group did for him.

"Only pastors fully understand what fellow pastors are experiencing," he said, noting that most of the issues discussed would be difficult to share with a member of a pastor's own congregation.


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It's an exciting process of discovery and makes it that much more natural as you provide support for the ministry from the pulpit and other teaching opportunities. Once you've become immersed in recovery, you will be amazed at how much of the Bible speaks to
the matter.

Hess Hester
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And, he said, Celebrate Recovery groups go past what a typical accountability group might do to dig down to the "hurts, habits, and hang-ups that are keeping you from experiencing life as Christ wants us to experience it."

"I think when you're working with 12 steps you're inclined to be more honest in that when you come down to your moral inventory you have the opportunity to get more honest with one other person than you've probably ever been before in your life," he said.

According to Hester, the time spent with his group was not only personally beneficial and life changing, but an eye opening experience for him to be able to use as he ministers to his congregation and others.

"It's an exciting process of discovery and makes it that much more natural as you provide support for the ministry from the pulpit and other teaching opportunities," he said. "Once you've become immersed in recovery, you will be amazed at how much of the Bible speaks to the matter."

Hester can be contacted online at his church's Web site, www.shbc-tulsa.org.

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