Preamble

(The following preamble is read in many Christian Recovery Groups)

A Christian Recovery group is a fellowship of Christians who share our experiences, strength, and hope with each other so that we may overcome our common problems and grow in Christ.

We recover by being honest with ourselves and others. We seek always to make this meeting a safe place, an affirming place, and a responsible place.

To make certain that this is a safe place, we keep everything said during this meeting confidential, and we keep it in this room.

To make certain that this is an affirming place, we do not give advice. We desire to affirm that God can lead you to make healthy and Christ-honoring decisions. Please attempt to use “I” messages instead of “you” messages. We share our experience, strength, and hope.

To make certain that this is a responsible place, we share only our own issues. We do not "take other people's inventories." We neither fix nor blame others. We seek to practice and model responsibility by allowing each other to be responsible for our own lives, decisions, and actions.

When we attended our first meeting, many of us were having a variety of feelings. We were relieved to find a place where people might understand our pain and despair. We were angry that we had to get help and could not manage alone this part of our lives. We felt lonely and were ashamed of the way our lives had become. We had secrets that we were reluctant to share.

Our group is not a therapy group or a study group. It is a Christ-centered support group. We do not give advice. We share our experience, strength, and hope with each other.

Here we learn a new way of living. We learn, at our own pace, to experience in a healthy way intimacy and sharing with others. We learn to trust, to ask for our needs to be met, to say no when no is appropriate, to express our feelings, and to hang around when all we want to do is run. Here no one shames us for what we have done or still are doing. Here we have a safe harbor within which to heal, and for that we are grateful. The only requirement for membership in our group is a desire to change our unhealthy behaviors.

We are happy you are here. We encourage you to take one day at a time and keep coming back... it works when you work it.