Video Transcript: Why Recovery Ministry?

This is the topic that I'm sure you've been waiting for, because we've talked about the dark sides, we've talked about addictive behaviors, we've talked about conflict management, and how to navigate and win through conflict management. There's always a win with God. Now we want to come to the point of saying, How does this come together? What is a good example and model of how the church can bring domestic tranquility to the community, as well as within each church body, each church congregation. The church is not the building folks. We know that it's the people. So if it's the people, people have issues. We all have issues. Many must have subscriptions and volumes of issues. Hence the joke, yeah, he's got subscriptions and volumes of issues, not just a few issues. But what we want to do is give you, through the last part of the course here, a model of doing recovery and restoration and evangelism into the community at large. Because really, what we need to create is a community of recovery. It's not us and them, it's not you, and then those other people or those people who have problems. We all have problems. We all have issues. So why the demarcation? Why the big divide? There shouldn't be. We should be able to come together, diversity in unity, unity in diversity.

It's kind of like this. If I could take it to the living room and I got my shoe here, and one day in the wintertime, I needed to get my boots out of the closet, and I was going to go outside to  shovel the driveway, so I got my boots. And I'll just take one shoe to illustrate. I took the boots. I had the one boot in my hand, I thought, okay, here we go. Lot of snow outside. Now do a lot of shoveling of that snow so we can get through our driveway with the car, and also the walkways and so forth. Now, mind you, our family has a lot of aspects to it. Every family does. We have our different traditions, we have different interests. And one of our interests, we're not dog people, we're cat people. Now you dog people are saying, Oh my goodness. Dr Mark, you're a cat person, you don't know what you're missing. Dogs are the best. God bless you. I fully appreciate that. I appreciate dogs too. I grew up on cats, and we became a cat family again, traditions, expectationss; my wife, she grew up with cats, so we became a cat family up north, Northern Michigan, where we were living in Lake City, a small town near Cadillac, Michigan. We had a lot of snow, and I was going to go out there and shovel, and we had a cat who was a kitten, and he was very active, and he would bring things. We let him go outside, and he brings things to the door, or he'll bring gifts, like a dead mouse as well as a dead rabbit. He was a great hunter that he would make himself look like he didn't do it, but also to say, hey, look what I did, and aren't I a great kitty cat? I'm the hunter. I'm link the spy, the James Bond of cats. He knew how to do it well. So on this winter day, get my boots, I sit down, and I take the one boot, and I start to put my foot into the boot. Okay, but for some reason, my foot could not get into my toes. Could I get into the toe part of the boot? And so I kept on pushing and pushing, and something felt spongy, something felt weird, strange in my boot. So I took out my foot, out of the boot, and I took my hand to reach into the boot, and as I reached in, I started to feel what was in the boot. And unfortunately, it was what I started to think, what I was feeling, what it was and it was a dead mouse, a dead mouse in my boot. Of course. I got the towel, got it out, threw it away, wash my hands, put I was able to put my boots on and go outside and shovel, get that snow out of the way as I got that mouse out of the way

Of course, the joke always has been, since that day, and it was 20 years ago that this happened, was that either the cat, which we didn't know, killed the mouse and put it in my boot, or the mouse was in the house, and the mouse went into the boot, and as the mouse went into the boot, the mouse could not get out, perhaps, or just like to live in there for a little bit, we don't know. And the joke was that the mouse died because of the smell of my feet. Well, I've used that example many times in sermons and speeches. It's a  funny thing, sure. A mouse in the boat, a discovery that was inevitable and it had to happen so I could put my boot on to get out to do the work of shoveling that snow. 

So when we think about recovery, when we think about what the church ought to be, how we establish domestic tranquility in our communities and bring the gospel to people who are desperate to hear the good news of Jesus Christ, it begins with understanding where people are at and where people are at is that their lives are like the boat or the shoe. There's a lot of smelliness in our lives. Their lives are messy. Our lives are messy because we're human. All of us are human. In fact, the point of coming to church is that we don't have it all together. None of us do. The point of coming to church is that we don't have it all together, and we need Jesus to put us back together again, like Humpty Dumpty. Are we falling off? We've fallen short of God's glory, and we've fallen down and everything, or a bunch of parts, a bunch of pieces, and Jesus knows exactly what to do to put things back together again in the right place.

So we go back to the boot, because then, as Jesus puts us back into place, you see, ministry is messy, as we say at new Community Church here Grand Rapids, and also with community recovery in Grand Rapids, and also in India and also Kenya and Bangladesh, as we work in those three countries as well. No mess, no ministry. No mess, no ministry. If you have a mess to work with, you've got a ministry you have parts to consider, to look at, and how Jesus only can put things back together again.

There's ministry and what God has called us to do and to be. Things may look good on the outside, structurally sound, but inside it's smelly. Inside, there's a skeleton, which I found, like a skeleton of a dead mouse. There are skeletons inside of our hearts. And God says to you and me, I want you to go in as I to the Holy Spirit. Here empower you to go in and remove those skeletons, because God removes them, because I can't fix you. You can't fix me. I can't fix people. Only God can. But God calls us to be his tools as instruments of a blessing to bring people out, and to bring the messiness out and to bring fresh life empowerment into people's lives.

What is that? Well, that's where the term recovery comes into play. That's where the term restoration comes into play. That's how the church can be the redemption of the world, the hope of the world. And where then people as coming back to just looking at people as people, they can then put their boots on and and stand up, get to work for the glory of God. But how does this work? How can the church approach every person's boot, every person's life, where they are? The vision about this is to bring a point of contact to people on the first slide, to tell you about this and to go over what it means to have a have church, be a recovering agent, to be that agent of recovery. If this to become that side door. We know that with church, down through history, people are focused on the main door, the front door, where I come on in to the building to do church, to be church with other people, to come and worship together with other believers the main door. However, we have people in in your town, in my town, in every society, whether in the west or the east, where they have smelly boots, smelly lives, messy lives, and they're not too sure if they should come through that main door without being shamed, shunned and rejected and therefore not accepted. It should be the opposite, where they come to the main door and they are accepted right away, received where they are, and Jesus then restores them to the body of believers. That's the vision, truly. But also, there needs to be another vision to come alongside that, to help empower that vision of having people come as they are and truly be restored by Christ. Unfortunately, we live within cultures where where some things are shunned, some things are shamed, or there's stigma and there's awkwardness and messiness, and people don't always see eye to eye or accept other people, or there's too much conflict. Again, remember conflict? Too much red zone, too much emotion and shaming and blaming going on so that some people don't feel comfortable coming into the main door. What they need is a side door, another door to bypass that main door and come in that side door, so that eventually they can make it through the main door. That could be after the first time going through this side door, or maybe after a year, a month, whatever it could be. But that side door, that has an open door, and also an open chair for that new person is always made available all the time. So here on the slide, Jesus said, Matthew 25 verse, 30 to 41 that to those who were on his right remember the story: to the sheep on his right, He said, Come , those who have been loved by my father. Come, for you fed me when I was hungry. You clothed me when I was naked. You came to visit me in prison and so forth. Lord, Lord, when did we see you naked or hungry? And so on. If you've done it to the least of these, my brothers and sisters, you did it unto me.

And also that side door that point of contact. You make things available for people with messy lives, so they get cleaned up by God's power. That's the idea. So maybe this is a new concept for you, because we're always, all accustomed to the main door, but having that side door, so that those who are having issues. I mean, we all have issues. We all do, and we all really need the side door in effect, which really ought to be the main door, but we can have this main door, side door business, but for a good reason, just because we all fall short of God's glory, and we all sinners. We all need help and and we need some mechanisms, some places where we can get into the people of Christ, the body of Christ, so we can heal. We can be restored by God's power. So we need to meet people where their needs are, not where we expect to be as believers.

And finally, we need to bridge the gospel through their felt need and issues. Now, Community Recovery International, that's the name of the whole of the nonprofit, Community Recovery's vision is to bridge people for recovery, and that people in general, to God, to themselves and to the Community of Christ, to bridge them over. You are the bridge. We are the bridge, so they can walk over to God. Remember the bridge illustration that we had the other video? God's over here, mankind is over here. And in between is that separation, that chasm, the abyss, separation and only make a bridge. Mankind over to God's side. Christ Jesus, He is the bridge. That bridge illustration, where God uses you and me to bring people to that side door, into the main door, the main floor, in God's presence, God heals all of us and why we have this separation, where we have an us and them mentality in the church. I don't care what denomination, group, tradition, whatever, we all get into this, us and them thinking. And it is ,thinking, because the community is the church. The church is the community.

So what is the mission, the day to day about this? How do we go about this? What's the mission? What are we all about every day? We know where we're headed as far as bridging at community recovery, and I pray that you can adopt this same vision in another in the way that fits your ministry and what God's called you to do in another expression: diversity and unity, unity and diversity. So we're giving you a model here today to bridge people over. But secondly, what's the mission? Well, first, it's to receive, to capture recovering people, people who have issues where they are. Secondly, it's to restore them to God himself, and also to return them to re-enter society, so that they can come to the main door. And not that they're main door people, they're just come to the main door, in general, period, into the Community of Christ. And the church is a Recovery Center, a spiritual hospital. Now you think about a hospital, what do you have when it comes to receiving people, where they are, people come to the emergency room that main door the hospital. Everybody does, because there's a big urgent need. My arm's broken. I 've got pneumonia. I just know it, and I can't breathe and so on. Or if the baby's coming, the baby's coming, help. You're going through, ER, time to get to the doctor, get into the birthing room, give birth to, Lord, willing, a healthy child. So we want to give birth. We want to give birth to that spiritual hospital with every church, every situation, every need, can be hopefully--of course, only by God's power can this happen--for every felt need can be addressed. And of course, we have diversity of churches, so we need every church, or every expression, of course, centered on Jesus Christ, to bring recovery and restoration to every person. Well, this is where we are all in. You have to be all in. The pastors the staff follow. Tears. We expect imperfect people. Again, God tells us in Scripture to carry each other's burdens, to be interdependent, not co-dependent. Now we're trying to fix each other to be interdependent and to apply recovery principles, for example, whether 12 steps or recovery and there are biblical comparisons, which we showed you in the other video. We first start with the fact that we all need to surrender step one, that we we admit that we're powerless over our tendencies to do the wrong thing. Romans seven says, and I said this in other videos, Paul says the things I want to do, I don't do the things I hate I do. And what a wretched man, or what a wretched woman, that I am so imperfect. 12 steps and the Scripture is the foundation, because Jesus Christ, who heals us, and also the principles are that they're biblical, which are that the church is the people, that people can be transformed. There's a big difference between transaction and transformation. Transaction and transformation. What do I mean? Transaction  says that I, as the giver of the help, give with an expectation of something in return. There's a transaction. I pay for the food at McDonald's, and the order is brought to the counter for me to take on the tray to my table to consume. Transaction, I've always expect something in return or return on investment, as opposed totransformation.

You see here I am as the giver of the care of the help in Jesus Christ, as Jesus has restored me to begin with, and as I then, through the spiritual gifts and calling God's given me, minister to someone else, they then are transformed by the renewing of their minds, As we've been transformed, okay? And they give back and reproduce what Jesus Christ does in their lives. And as a result, what God does is that God continues to transform me, as we say, in recovery. Oh, God to recovery. Prayer Lord Jesus, bless her, bless him. Change me. Transaction does not promote this. Transaction is an expectation, an expectation of return. There's a human expectation, return to the giver. There's an expectation of return to the giver. Here transformation is an expectation of God, changing, healing and restoring the receiver and the giver. So transformation, very biblical, if God then transforming her or him, as well as you, as that giver, as well as the receiver, who becomes, then a giver of God's love to someone else and to another place. Remember Mark, chapter five, the Gerasene demoniac, legions of demons inside of him, and Jesus Christ comes on that beach-head. He arrives, and we know that Jesus Christ is in the business of transformation. The expectation is that Jesus, Christ, who is God, changes and heals and restores, drives out those demons, out of that man, and places him back into his right mind, or into the right mind that God gave Him to begin with, so he could then think clearly and be connected to God the Father. Of course, Jesus Christ, who is God, models how, through the power of Jesus Christ, through power the Holy Spirit, models to His disciples, what happens when we, with God's power, bring God's love and restoration to someone else. And what happens that Gerasene demoniac, who became a man of God, was the first evangelist to the 10 cities right nearby that region of Gerasene, or the Decapolis, Decapolis the 10 cities. And so Jesus Christ models that for us when it comes to becoming a non judgmental. Go back to the slide. They're non judgmental, empowering, transforming and resourcing, a Jesus driven, purpose driven group of people that are about transformation, not transaction.

Unfortunately, we've seen the church historically be about transaction. Okay, I go to the main door, and I go through the main door, I sit in my pew or my chair, and I do my time, I do my worship experience, and I go home and nothing more, and unfortunately that's it for a lot of people. It becomes a ritual, routine and therefore transactional, what I expect to have good feelings, feel better about myself and go home and try to live a good life. That's not transformational. We know this. Biblically speaking. We know this. And perhaps right now, God is pricking at your heart saying, Oh, now I understand. I hope we all do here as we're watching this video. How then Jesus is calling us to be transformational people, people about recovery, beginning with ourselves, as we said in the conference video, how am I the problem? How can I be restored by God so I can then help restore others? Because that's being biblical. That's transformational, Jesus driven, and where God that helps us to get rid of, again, put at the door, those pretenses, prejudices, barriers, whatever it is, also a question I have also posed to those in India, and also, you know, crossing over those who are in India, and also for those who are in Africa, looking at tribes or the caste system, or other systems that are similar, where people are born into a tribe or born into a system, where that's where they stay, and it's very rigid. How has that created barriers? Well, that's the answer. Is obvious, expectations, also transaction where you and also barriers where you can't go beyond what barriers have been put on you by the community.

Jesus Christ, He saw then He brought in transformation. He brought in the stooping down to  give the hand up, not the hand out, but to give the hand up to the woman caught in adultery. John, chapter eight. So who is accusing you now, Jesus asked the woman. No one? Go and sin no more. Amazing. Also John chapter four, the woman at the well, the Samaritan, scandalous, if you know that story well, and if you don't, please look it up in John chapter four, you read about how Jesus approaches her the heat of the day, and she gives him a drink, and he tells her all about her life, and she invites everybody to come to hear Jesus, and she becomes the evangelist and someone who is not fully Jewish, and in that culture, female, and how a male in that culture seemed to a female, one on one, was truly scandalous. Disciples came back from getting food and whatever they're saying, Jesus, what are you doing  with this woman? Ah, but let me show you, Jesus says, Let me show you any model for them, transformation. 

Transformation. So whatever culture, whatever community you're in, we need to be a community of transformation, acceptance and restoration, because it's about calling, of having passion for people to be servant leaders, empowering others over ourselves and bridging them into service. As we talk about the transformation where we reproduce ourselves through God's power, and more people are able to give back and to be transformers for Christ. And there's hope in calling, and I put hope is this. Hope is being becoming healthy and self awareness, and we talked about that a lot in this course, from self awareness and being healthy to the old hope of being others focused, but Christ centered. And we were, we are, not to the point of Co-dependency, but the point of interdependency and also we're going where God calls us to go, to bring the good news. Passion, the P of hope, passion about a particular group of people. And recovery is about everybody, everyone, all ages, all families, all sectors of life. E of hope is encouragement. So you are gifted by God with a gift of encouragement. First, Corinthians, 12, Romans, 12. We read about that, and also that encouragement in general does come through as we have the attitude of no mess, no ministry, and yes, there's a mess, and therefore there's a ministry to be done together as a body of Jesus. Finally, the point is to attract unbelievers to our hope in Jesus Christ, and begin with their need where they are, not where we expect them to be.

Okay, Strategy? What is a strategy  in this model of recovery, and how can the church become that spiritual hospital? Well, it begins with decision. Decision. What is your DNA? You need to ask the question of your church body, regardless of denomination, what is the DNA? What is our desire for the gospel? Is it the desire for the gospel? Or is it not? Is it to make the church a club, or is to make the church body a hospital, where we always have the emergency room at the main door, not only at the side door, but at the main door too, so we can bridge it over to where there's one big main door eventually, and help people understand that there are needs and we can be a part of the solution. As God uses, as God chooses to use us as his agents of blessing, and also direction, those side doors and the how, we need to look at what, where, the how can come in, in terms of recovery groups, we can look at that, also at different kinds of worship experiences, prayer time, as well as Bible study, as well as other things that can be all inclusive. And we also look at this too: We look at people, not policy. See, the people need to drive the policy, not the policy to drive the people.

Here's what I mean, as we look at transformation. Let's go over here, back to the to the board. As we look at transformation and transaction, quite often in transaction, we are saying to the other person, well, because of my duty, not because of my passion and desire, my duty, I'm here to help you to make myself feel good and also get something out of it in return. And we have many Bible stories about that too. And we think about that also the parable of the 10 bags of gold, for instance. But now we look at transformation. Transformation is where we are about the person that God has called us to, and begins with God. The 'given' is that, because of Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ bring us to the person, and what policy can be recognized and also employed so we can empower people and also, as we look at empowering people, we are adaptable. We are adaptable. Over here is transaction. It's not as adaptable. It's about duty, not desire. It's about a return that we expect, as opposed to the reproduction that God expects to do and will do, as we are faithful to the Lord, and also him working through us and to adapt to the messiness of other people's lives and situations. It's a calling. What cross are we willing to bear? What  cross has God placed on us, which then translates into passion, calling, desire, and then therefore placement, where God places us in different places to do recovery, to restore people with God's help.

So let's go back to the slideshow. We look at strategy which brings direction, results . With God there's really, of course, not always in our time, but in God's timing, planting seeds and so forth; it all applies as we look at recovery, as well as church planting and evangelism. Planting seeds and discipleship takes time. If we look at Scriptures, if I want to reference Genesis 1-2, Jeremiah 31, Romans 3, Ephesians 2, First Corinthians 9. Look up these passages. This gives us a theology of of the human experience, Genesis, 1-2. God made us good to begin with. He did. We have a heart that's been put in us that God has made good, and that English word good doesn't give a justice a complete heart. But in Genesis 3, which I did not put in the slide, but if we follow up with Genesis three, we realize that, yes, there was the capacity with the heart to disobey God. And Adam and Eve did. And then Jeremiah 31, though God comes right back to us and through the prophecy of Jesus the Messiah, and Jesus coming and dying, resurrected from the dead, He puts His law on our hearts to make our hearts complete again through the Holy Spirit. And also, Romans 3:23, to compliment this, to understand, that yes, we are all fallen short of God's glory, but to the gift of Jesus Christ. And again, Roman 6:20, the gift of Jesus Christ. Ephesians 2:1-10  we read about this, especially verses 8-9. By the grace and Gift of Jesus Christ, we are then made whole and complete. And First Corinthians 9, as we're into transformation. God does the reproduction, we become all things to all people,where God will save many, many for His glory. So that's the theology of people in these passages to look at and to study further as we look at how to become a community recovery in the church.

Also, what do people need? Well, I got the five A's:  acceptance, accountability, action, affirmation and access. Again, as I looked at caste,tribe, or looking at at class system, worldview, the question remains, everybody is everyone welcome? Is everyone welcome? Now, give a caveat to this: there is an exception that everybody is going to come through our doors, just because we do. Some people need an expression of God's body, of Jesus' body, then yours. However, the people that God does call you to, he does want you to be that welcoming open side door to the main door, a place to receive people where they are. But still the question remains, every day, already: Welcome? Are we there? Are we transformational, as opposed to being transactional, and also too with strategy direction? What do people need? Does it need a preparation of the heart? God prepares our hearts. Of course, is a place where we're to be in God's hand, and also to project confidence competence. We have confidence in Jesus Christ, regardless of the trial the test, good times, bad times, we need to project with to them that, yes, we have hope through Jesus Christ, and they need to receive that message. And as I said earlier, about church being a hospital, we also translate that into a healing center, where healing happens. I want you to ask the question, as I just asked here just now, about becoming welcoming. What is your church's vision? Why do you exist? What is the felt need of your people? What's the felt need of your community? And how can that come together? And also, how? Here again, was the methodology: what will fill that need? And I recommend to you, recovery as far as how this goes, because recovery can be in the form of many different kinds of groups. Yes, we look at Alcoholics Anonymous, we look at Narcotics Anonymous. But also, when you look at support groups in general, that that can be either therapeutic or just support or whole variety of things. Okay, also, where are your core church members at this? What were they at with this? Where to from here? 

As we look at the direction, the direction to recovery is evangelism. I've been pushing on this ever since, and so recovery is evangelism. Evangelism is good news, grace amidst chaos. Recovery is sanctification expressed in biblical context. So you may be asking, Well, what is recovery? How does that really work? Well, we looked at the recovery steps earlier in this course. I would refer back to that video. And secondly, we've also looked at the dark side, and also addictive behavior. There is recovery, meaning to be restored to the person in God meant for you to be. It kind of sounds like sanctification. It kind of sounds like Jesus forgiving me and me becoming more like Jesus. Very much so! So recovery just isn't about drugs and alcohol. It's about all of life, all about you and welcoming and receiving people where they are and they have the boundaries so that we can have the safe places for people can heal, be restored, spiritually, emotionally and therefore physically' You are what you believe, also redemptive, as I mentioned, becoming God's person where you can say, hey, I'm a believer who struggles  and just keeps going through the list each day each week, also restorative, to restore relationships with God and others and renewal, renewal of people in creation, because we're also looking at reunion. You are seeing people, for example, who have been estranged from their families. Just recently, I was on the phone with a dad, and he said, Yeah, my son and I are not talking. He's a senior in high school. His mom and I have been divorced for 10 years. I don't know what to do. Dr Mark, can you call him up? Can you connect with him please? I said, Okay, gave it a shot, and doesn't always work. Some people will not receive that call or say, Well, who are you pastor? Fortunately, this young man did, and he connected with me. Had make a call with the voicemail and call me back. Said, Yeah, my dad, he would only do this and only do that, and I don't like it. He's doing this and doing that, and he was just full of anger resentment. Said, Okay, well, tell me more about this. How do you feel? How can I pray for you?

Now take that exchange and bring that into a group setting. People can go to a group of open chair and they know. They can come that open chair and say, Here's what I'm struggling with. I don't believe ln Jesus, or I'm a seeker, and not know who Jesus is, yet, rather, at spiritually, who's struggling with this or that? I'm depressed, I'm angry. I had a bad day. The church needs to be a safe place to come.

Unfortunately, we know that the church, historically, as I mentioned, has not always been as welcoming. They're quite the opposite, unfortunately, where you have to have it all together to be in this sanctuary. No, it doesn't matter where you are. Come on in. Come on in. If you're coming out of jail, prison, and you're watching this video, and you're fresh out of jail, prison, or it's been a couple years, and you're still getting established or or wherever you're at, or maybe you are still incarcerated. There is hope in Jesus Christ, and there are churches around you that are saying, just come on in. It'll be okay. The video on reentry will address also how this, how the churches here, gradually, and here in Western Michigan, we are working with the churches, community recoveries. Work with the churches and other local places, locales, as we say in the United States and in other parts of the world that we're working on creating a network of bodies of believers, churches of Jesus with open doors. Come on in. Let's reason together, says the Lord, I will make you clean. I will give you a new start. I'll help you through the problems and issues. I'll bring reunion, reconnection between you and myself, God says, and between you and my people. Because you are my son. You are my daughter. Come home. Come home. Reminds me of Luke 15. We talk about the prodigal son, but also, as Tim Keller says in his book, The Prodigal God, you know, it's the father, it's the son. It's there all kinds of dynamics going on there. There are cultural things Jesus is touching on. But the idea is that, yes, once I was lost, but now I am found. Reconnection.

So recovery is outreach, the Great Commission. We've been talking about that all the way through here. We reach out what you would do with evangelism. You say, Hey, we've got a safe place to come on in for worship, but also for a group you can go to and talk about your problems, talk about your issues. It's okay. It gets messy, but it's okay to baptize and have baptisms and just come on up. You don't have to have to answer a bunch of questions. Just believe in Jesus. Romans, 10:9.  Believe in your heart that Jesus Christ is Lord. That He died for you, rose again for you, and you will be saved and have restoration and also how discipleship. Discipleship is this, folks, in a simple definition, it is this pointing people to Jesus. That's what discipleship is. As we point people to Jesus, then that brings them into the Word of God and into God's love and God's grace, and also with God's love, helping the person to overcome fear and also understand the 10 Commandments, and also Jesus Christ as the fulfillment of the 10 Commandments, and also the prophets and and so on. And have a love over your God while your heart, mind, soul and strength, and your neighbor as yourself, yes, pointing people to Jesus first and then brings them right into the whole sanctification process and recovery and the church. It's all about that being a spiritual hospital, and also to the need, the desire, the accountability. It's all fitting there too. And evangelizing, establishing, equipping. We evangelize, we bring the good news of the gospel, and also we bring them into those groups. And all along with Bible studies and Scripture throughout, I can understand who God is and and how to follow Jesus, else to give them the tools to tell someone else, remember, transformation, not transaction, to bring the good news to someone else. Community, recovery as community, all inclusive, broaden the scope acceptance of all people, bring the community where they are, and where there is none, to create community. If people are disconnected, reconnect them and to bolster reproduction. The pastor never does it all. We are all ministers of Jesus Christ. Therefore we are all involved in transformation, as God does it through you and me.

So we need to have that church growth, where we we have that place for people to come, there's room for everyone, and we continue to create the room or and then we plant other church sites, church planting, to have again, that all inclusive, that open door, open chair for the new people who are about to come in say, Yes, I want Jesus and I want to be part of this group of believers, an identity, and to identify new felt means and where new ministries can come up based on what the felt needs are. And in addition and so that there are different groups for different needs, church growth, church growth. But of course, it's Christ centered and looking at others and where they're at going from there. Recovery is Church. Of course, we've talked a lot about this already. God is people, not buildings, restoration, the trip experience. We're not into institutionalism. For example, you know of church groups that have unfortunately gone to that place of all denominations, where they made it into an institution, they've made into a club. You're a part of our club, or you can't come or, you know, you're not following the policy. Yeah, follow the rules. Okay? What rules? Hmm. Well, yeah, I hear what you're saying, but aren't we about grace?

Church Growth, as well. We talk about church growth not only in the numbers. One plus one is two, two by two times two is four, but also it's one life at a time. And one at a time and two at a time. And then, as we go back to the book of Acts, Acts 2 now, the Holy Spirit filled Peter, as we read about Pentecost, as well as the disciples there. And the Holy Spirit comes down. He speaks to people, of course, by the mass and 3000 come to Christ that day. And more after that, 1000s come to know Jesus, and they come to follow Jesus, but also that person, one on one, or that small group, or even a mid sized group, whatever. How is that done? You know how it is, but also the infrastructure has that first, that open chair and where you prepare, you plan. Let's get ready for what God's going to do. Be ready. And I'm not talking about transactional. I'm talking about transformational, because as God brings people through your side door, main door, you need room to put them, because, as I say. And also Dr Schuler, who was at the Crystal Cathedral from before, and also others in church growth, they talk about thinking in retail. Says, in retail, for example, you go to your clothing store, or you go to your grocery store, and what do they do? They make sure they have enough room for their product so you can buy the groceries, which, of course, in effect, means, and yes, that's transactional. I know you're buying the groceries. For the example, you're buying the groceries and and therefore you have food to eat, and how do the grocery stores prepare for you to come? Well, they have a big enough building to have all the food, all the grocery items that you need, whether it be dog food, cat food for your animal, as well as food for yourself, for people food, as well as having another section, perhaps for electronics and other things. You have these superstores, they make home. And then also you have the parking lot, so they make sure there's a place to park, because in our day and age, we have cars. So the cars: you have a parking lot, you can park your car, you can then connect with but also, there's, in effect, a transformation. How come? Well, if I am hungry, I go to the grocery store, or if I am my clothes are about to fall off my body because they're tattered and torn, I go to the clothing store. I'm going in there to get the food so I can eat the food and being who I am, and put clothes on, because I can't walk around naked, and I can be who God wants me to be. It's transformational.

Enough said. We need to be adaptive. We need to be yes, we do need policy. But again, people drive policy, not policy driving people and also being non judgmental. Matthew seven, I'm not to judge my neighbor. I'm to point them to Jesus, and also employ meaningful traditions that can change with minimal issue. There's nothing wrong with traditions. What can go wrong with traditions? If traditions become the god, rather than God being the God over the tradition? I'll say it again. Traditions are okay. There's nothing wrong with them, but with tradition, if they become the God again, follow the rules. Follow what? Oh, yeah, based on that tradition, but they become the God. That's wrong. The Lord Jesus Christ is God, and He is Lord over every tradition. Some traditions will have to change if they become the replacement of God himself. So we need to be open: radical inclusion. Follow Jesus, be adaptive. So community recovery. What we have done is we have created a model of recovery that I'm going to talk more about in the next video on creating a community of recovery and what we've done, and perhaps with our illustration and our model, you can learn how to put some things together to fit your context, and how Recovery ministry as all the restorative ministry or another name for it, can be effective where you are for the Lord Jesus Christ, now that you have the foundations coming through work with recovery, the church becomes that spiritual hospital to produce domestic tranquility everyone coming out of sin and into God's grace.