COMPASSIONATE RECOVERY
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GROUP MEETINGS Every Thursday Night at 6:30 P.M. (See schedule at bottom of page) E-Free Church, Gaylord Campus Chapel (Enter doors off middle covered drop-off area, upper parking lot) 1649 M-32 East Gaylord, MI 49735 Jack Dutton Compassionate Recovery Founder, Ministry Director 989-732-2647, jackd@miefree.org |
Compassionate Recovery:
A Journey of Inner Change and Outer Purpose
A Journey of Inner Change and Outer Purpose
No one gets through life on earth without getting hurt. No one. Not even Jesus.
Bruises always indicate something harmful has happened to us.
Brokenness afflicts everyone on some level. Broken promises. Broken dreams. Broken relationships. Broken spirits.
Bondage often results from the very remedies we develop to deal with our bruises and brokenness. Drugs, alcohol, porn, distrust, bitterness, perfectionism, food, ambitions, possessing things, gambling, grief, workaholism, the internet, cutting, relational dependencies, and many, many other things can form barriers that keeps us from experiencing all God has in mind of us.
Too often people, including professing Christians, think the solution to their bruises, brokenness and bondages is to somehow design a prescriptive antidote that if they just follow it faithfully, try harder and believe more life has to get better.
However, what if the real problem that we can do something about is inside of us at the deepest level of our being? What if the solution is more about something God wants to do in us rather than to us? What if it isn't so much about behaving better, being more self-controlled, or trying harder and more about being transformed on the inside?
What if it is possible to by a new nature strive to continue to mature in defeating the bad in us while simultaneously joyfully and willingly maturing in being the godly people we were created to be? What if God is just as interested in getting heaven into us as He is about getting us into Heaven? What if we don't have to wait till we get to heaven to experience freedom and many wonderful things we imagine are only possible in another yet future place and time?
COMPASSIONATE RECOVERY AND THE 3/260 CHALLENGE
The word "Christian" only appears 3 times in the whole Bible, all in the New Testament. Yes, what born again people believe about the ideas of faith in what Jesus did on the cross, being forgiven of our sins, being saved from hell and guaranteed heaven is important, but that in reality is just the starting point of the journey of the true follower of Jesus.
In contrast, the word "disciple" appears some 260+ times in the Bible, once in Isaiah 8:16 with all the rest completely centered in the Gospels and Acts. Jesus was the most prolific user of the term, never once using the term "Christian", and that should cause us to sit up and take notice.
While Compassionate Recovery actively proclaims the Good News of the Gospel and the importance of personal faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, this is seen as the starting point not the destination. The real goal of Compassionate Recovery is to obey Jesus' command in Matthew 28:19-20 to make disciples, teaching them to observe all of His commandments as evidence of their love and faith. Consistent with E-Free's mission statement we want "to meet as many people as possible right where they are and help move them closer to where Jesus would have them to be."
"Jesus’ Good News is that eternal life – life with God and for God, life under God’s care and life by God’s power – is available now. If you want that life, the logical step is to become a disciple – a student, an apprentice, a follower - of Jesus. Simply put, discipleship is the means by which we learn to live the life that Jesus offers. Christianity was never intended to produce Christians. Just disciples." John Ortberg from "Eternity is now in Session" p.52
This is what Compassionate Recovery is really about.
And Compassionate Recovery is not a quick fix.
It is an extraordinary opportunity to get to the root of bruises, brokenness and bondages, while simultaneously learning lifelong patterns that set people free and protect against continuing in old ways. Real lasting life change takes time and investment, so the greater the level of involvement using the tools of Compassionate Recovery, the greater the personal return.
Bruises always indicate something harmful has happened to us.
Brokenness afflicts everyone on some level. Broken promises. Broken dreams. Broken relationships. Broken spirits.
Bondage often results from the very remedies we develop to deal with our bruises and brokenness. Drugs, alcohol, porn, distrust, bitterness, perfectionism, food, ambitions, possessing things, gambling, grief, workaholism, the internet, cutting, relational dependencies, and many, many other things can form barriers that keeps us from experiencing all God has in mind of us.
Too often people, including professing Christians, think the solution to their bruises, brokenness and bondages is to somehow design a prescriptive antidote that if they just follow it faithfully, try harder and believe more life has to get better.
However, what if the real problem that we can do something about is inside of us at the deepest level of our being? What if the solution is more about something God wants to do in us rather than to us? What if it isn't so much about behaving better, being more self-controlled, or trying harder and more about being transformed on the inside?
What if it is possible to by a new nature strive to continue to mature in defeating the bad in us while simultaneously joyfully and willingly maturing in being the godly people we were created to be? What if God is just as interested in getting heaven into us as He is about getting us into Heaven? What if we don't have to wait till we get to heaven to experience freedom and many wonderful things we imagine are only possible in another yet future place and time?
COMPASSIONATE RECOVERY AND THE 3/260 CHALLENGE
The word "Christian" only appears 3 times in the whole Bible, all in the New Testament. Yes, what born again people believe about the ideas of faith in what Jesus did on the cross, being forgiven of our sins, being saved from hell and guaranteed heaven is important, but that in reality is just the starting point of the journey of the true follower of Jesus.
In contrast, the word "disciple" appears some 260+ times in the Bible, once in Isaiah 8:16 with all the rest completely centered in the Gospels and Acts. Jesus was the most prolific user of the term, never once using the term "Christian", and that should cause us to sit up and take notice.
While Compassionate Recovery actively proclaims the Good News of the Gospel and the importance of personal faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, this is seen as the starting point not the destination. The real goal of Compassionate Recovery is to obey Jesus' command in Matthew 28:19-20 to make disciples, teaching them to observe all of His commandments as evidence of their love and faith. Consistent with E-Free's mission statement we want "to meet as many people as possible right where they are and help move them closer to where Jesus would have them to be."
"Jesus’ Good News is that eternal life – life with God and for God, life under God’s care and life by God’s power – is available now. If you want that life, the logical step is to become a disciple – a student, an apprentice, a follower - of Jesus. Simply put, discipleship is the means by which we learn to live the life that Jesus offers. Christianity was never intended to produce Christians. Just disciples." John Ortberg from "Eternity is now in Session" p.52
This is what Compassionate Recovery is really about.
And Compassionate Recovery is not a quick fix.
It is an extraordinary opportunity to get to the root of bruises, brokenness and bondages, while simultaneously learning lifelong patterns that set people free and protect against continuing in old ways. Real lasting life change takes time and investment, so the greater the level of involvement using the tools of Compassionate Recovery, the greater the personal return.
Download brochure for more information:
| 2019-20_brochure.pdf |
Our Compassionate Recovery Meetings
- 6:00 - 6:30pm: Doors open for a time of unwinding and fellowship,
- 6:30 - 8:30pm: The meeting begins with a time of worship.
- The Lesson time is taught by Jack Dutton, ministry coordinator.
- We break into Small Discussion Groups following the teaching time by genders (men with men and women with women). This is intended to be a time where ideas from the teaching time can further be explored on a more personal level, however no one is pressured to share.
- 8:30 - 9:00pm: The evening concludes with an informal time of refreshments and fellowship called the "Solid Rock Cafe."