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Focus Focus Focus

Recently, I watched a Saddleback church broadcast in which Rick Warren identified the following problem with Alcoholics Anonymous: people that are sober for many years still identify themselves by their name and that they are alcoholic. According to him, that is still identifying with and living in the problem. Of course, he touted his church's own "Celebrate Recovery" program as being different and first identifying as a follower of Jesus and then mention a problem with Alcohol.

I don't know if I would have become and stayed sober had there been a 'Celebrate Recovery' meeting around when I first arrived on the sobriety scene. Actually, I rather doubt it. What Rick Warren fails to understand is the very necessary identification one alcoholic has with another. I needed to hear people that were sober for years identify themselves as alcoholics. I needed to know they were just like me and that drove the point home.

I have attended Celebrate Recovery in recent times and think it is a fine program, in sync with the twelve steps and on course to lead one to a Higher Power. The problem is that it is not exclusive to alcoholics or people with a desire to stop drinking and drugging.
The meetings I have attended included people who suffered from other issues, aside from drinking, drugging or even gambling. When you're new and struggling with addiction, you are apt to want to know the people you are hanging with [that basically are telling you that you need to change just about everything in your life] have at least been in the same position and have done that which they are asking you to do. The success of Alcoholics Anonymous and other twelve step programs has been that they stay focused on the issue that they were created to help with, be it drinking, drug use, gambling or even sexual addiction. That narrow focus is paramount to success.

So, to Rick Warren and others like him who probably have the alcoholic's best intentions in mind, I say "walk a mile in the shoes of one before you preach about what is best for them."

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