When I first walked through the doors of Recovery at Summit on a Thursday night, I was looking for freedom in one particular area of my life (lust). I wanted to get in, work the process as quickly as possible, and get on with life. In my mind, I was planning on sticking around for six to nine months.
Four and a half years later, I still love Thursday nights. God has brought freedom from the issue that brought me, and I have discovered several other areas where I needed God’s transforming power. I am deeply grateful for what God has done in me.
But healing in those broken places is only part of the story. The other big reason to love Recovery (besides the snacks) is the community. Many of us had never experienced a place of such vulnerability, acceptance, and love. We had never known a place where we could put all our joys and struggles on the table and be confident that nobody would run away or find us strange. Here we find the Church being the Church, a hospital for souls in a broken world.
When I read Romans 12:6-9, I see a picture of this Recovery community:
“Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight.”
A friend who is in a painful place because of addiction reminds me: “The opposite of addiction isn’t sobriety. The opposite of addiction is community.” That’s why churches need Recovery. We are able to be the minsters of reconciliation to and with each other.
But deep community isn’t just for Thursday nights. Recovery is a pitstop, a place to find safety and healing, to learn to tell your Grace Story, and to be launched out into your Personal Mission. Many men and women have come to Recovery for a season, received healing, and left to do other things. That’s awesome. We need safe and vulnerable people in every area of the church, and the lessons of love and grace we learn at Recovery are for all of Summit and all of the churches we serve.
This passage in Romans is not just for one ministry. This is a picture of all true Christian community. At Recovery at Summit, we want to be sober. Not just to avoid wrecking our lives, but because we have a part to play in making the Church, the Bride of Christ, ready for her Groom. Let our love be genuine, at Recovery, at Summit, and in every Gospel-centered body of believers.