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Taking an Honest and Spiritual Inventory

Zondervan

Chapter One

Eight Principles Based on the Beatitudes

By Pastor Rick Warren

1. Realize I'm not God. I admit that I am powerless to control my tendency to do the wrong thing and that my life is unmanageable.

"Happy are those who know they are spiritually poor." (Matthew 5:3)

2. Earnestly believe that God exists, that I matter to Him, and that He has the power to help me recover.

"Happy are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted." (Matthew 5:4)

3. BLDBLDonsciously choose to commit all my life and will to Christ's care and control.

"Happy are the meek." (Matthew 5:5)

4. Openly examine and confess my faults to myself, to God, and to someone I trust.

"Happy are the pure in heart." (Matthew 5:8)

5. Voluntarily submit to every change God wants to make in my life and humbly ask Him to remove my character defects.

"Happy are those whose greatest desire is to do what God requires." (Matthew 5:6)

6. Evaluate all my relationships. Offer forgiveness to those who have hurt me and make amends for harm I've done to others, except when to do so would harm them or others.

"Happy are the merciful." (Matthew 5:7) "Happy are the peacemakers." (Matthew 5:9)

7. Reserve a daily time with God for self-examination, Bible reading, and prayer in order to know God and His will for my life and to gain the power to follow His will.

8. Yield myself to God to be used to bring this Good News to others, both by my example and by my words.

"Happy are those who are persecuted because they do what God requires." (Matthew 5:10)

Twelve Steps and Their Biblical Comparisons

1. We admitted we were powerless over our addictions and compulsive behaviors, that our lives had become unmanageable.

"For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out." (Romans 7:18)

2. We came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.

"For it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose." (Philippians 2:13)

3. We made a decision to turn our lives and our wills over to the care of God.

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship." (Romans 12:1)

4. We made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.

"Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord." (Lamentations 3:40)

5. We admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.

"Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed." (James 5:16)

6. We were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.

"Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up." (James 4:10)

7. We humbly asked Him to remove all our shortcomings.

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9)

8. We made a list of all persons we had harmed and became willing to make amends to them all.

"Do to others as you would have them do to you." (Luke 6:31)

9. We made direct amends to such people whenever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.

"Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift." (Matthew 5:23 – 24)

10. We continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong, promptly admitted it.

"So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall!" (1 Corinthians 10:12)

11. We sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and power to carry that out.

"Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly." (Colossians 3:16)

12. Having had a spiritual experience as the result of these steps, we try to carry this message to others and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

"Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted." (Galatians 6:1)

Serenity Prayer

If you have attended secular recovery programs, you have seen the first four lines of the "Prayer for Serenity." The following is the complete prayer. I encourage you to pray it daily as you work through the principles!

    Prayer for Serenity

    God, grant me the serenity
    to accept the things I cannot change,
    the courage to change the things I can,
    and the wisdom to know the difference.
    Living one day at a time,
    enjoying one moment at a time ;
    accepting hardship as a pathway to peace ;
    taking, as Jesus did,
    this sinful world as it is,
    not as I would have it ;
    trusting that You will make all things right
    if I surrender to Your will ;
    so that I may be reasonably happy in this life
    and supremely happy with You forever in the next.
    Amen.
    Reinhold Niebuhr

Celebrate Recovery's Small Group Guidelines

The following five guidelines will ensure that your small group is a safe place. They need to be read at the beginning of every meeting.

1. Keep your sharing focused on your own thoughts and feelings. Limit your sharing to three to five minutes.

2. There is NO cross talk. Cross talk is when two individuals engage in conversation excluding all others. Each person is free to express his or her feelings without interruptions.

3. We are here to support one another, not "fix" another.

4. Anonymity and confidentiality are basic requirements. What is shared in the group stays in the group. The only exception is when someone threatens to injure themselves or others.

5. Offensive language has no place in a Christ-centered recovery group.

Lesson 7

Sponsor

Principle 4: Openly examine and confess my faults to myself, to God, and to someone I trust.

"Happy are the pure in heart." (Matthew 5:8)

Step 4: We made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.

"Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord." (Lamentations 3:40)

Think About It

You've heard the word "sponsor" for a few weeks now. I'm sure you have at least a vague idea of what a sponsor is, but maybe you're wondering why you even need one.

Why do I need a sponsor and/ or an accountability partner?

There are three reasons why having a sponsor is vital.

Having a sponsor and/or accountability partner is biblical.

"Two are better off than one, because together they can work more effectively. If one of them falls down, the other can help him up. But if someone is alone ... there is no one to help him.... Two people can resist an attack that would defeat one person alone." (Ecclesiastes 4:9 – 12, GNT)

"As iron sharpens iron, one person sharpens another." (Proverbs 27:17)

Having a sponsor and/or accountability partner is a key part of your recovery program.

Your recovery program has four key elements to success:

To the best of your ability, maintain your honest view of reality as you work each principle. The best way to ensure this is to have a sponsor and develop a strong accountability support team.

• Make recovery group meetings a priority in your schedule. Knowing that a sponsor or accountability partner will be there to greet you or notice that you're not there is an added incentive to attend.

• Maintain your spiritual program with Jesus Christ, through prayer, meditation, and studying His Word.

• Get involved in service, which includes serving as a sponsor (after you have completed all eight principles) or accountability partner.

Having a sponsor and/or an accountability partner is the best guard against relapse.

By providing feedback to keep you on track, a sponsor and/or accountability partner can see your old dysfunctional hurts, hang-ups, and habits beginning to return, and point them out to you quickly. He or she can confront you with truth and love without placing shame or guilt.

What are the qualities of a sponsor?

"Though good advice lies deep within a counselor's heart, the wise man will draw it out." (Proverbs 20:5, TLB)

When you are selecting a possible sponsor, look for the following qualities:

1. Does his walk match his talk? Is he living by the eight principles?

2. Does she have a growing relationship with Jesus Christ?

3. Does he express the desire to help others on the "road to recovery?"

4. Does she show compassion, care, and hope, but not pity?

5. Is he a good listener?

6. Is she strong enough to confront your denial or procrastination?

7. Does he offer suggestions?

8. Can she share her own current struggles with others?

What is the role of a sponsor?

1. She can be there to discuss issues in detail that are too personal or would take too much time in a meeting.

2. He is available in times of crisis or potential relapse.

3. She serves as a sounding board by providing an objective point of view.

4. He is there to encourage you to work the principles at your own speed. He does not work the steps for you!

5. Most important, she attempts to model the lifestyle resulting from working the eight principles.

6. A sponsor can resign or can be fired.

How do I find a sponsor and/or an accountability partner?

First, your sponsor or accountability partner MUST be of the same sex as you. After you have narrowed the field down with that requirement, listen to people share. Do you relate to or resonate with what is spoken? Ask others in your group to go out for coffee after the meeting. Get to know the person before you ask him or her to be your sponsor or accountability partner!

If you ask someone to be your sponsor or accountability partner and that person says no, do not take it as a personal rejection. Ask someone else. You can even ask for a "temporary" sponsor or accountability partner.

Ask God to lead you to the sponsor and/or accountability partner of His choosing. He already has someone in mind for you.

What is the difference between a sponsor and an accountability partner?

A sponsor is someone who has completed the four participant's guides. He or she has worked through the eight principles and the 12 Steps. The main goal of this relationship is to choose someone to guide you through the program.

An accountability partner is someone you ask to hold you accountable for certain areas of your recovery or issues, such as meeting attendance, journaling, and so forth. This person can be at the same level of recovery as you are, unlike a sponsor, who should have completed the eight principles or 12 Steps. The main goal of this relationship is to encourage one another. You can even form an accountability team of three or four.

The accountability partner or group acts as the "team," whereas the sponsor's role is that of a "coach."

Write About It

1. Why is it important for you to have a support team?

2. What qualities are you looking for in a sponsor?

3. How have you attempted to find a sponsor/accountability partner?

4. What are some new places and ways you can try to find a sponsor/ accountability partner?

5. What is the difference between a sponsor and an accountability partner?

6. List the names and phone numbers of possible sponsors or accountability partners. These should be individuals you have met on your "Road to Recovery" who have touched you in the sharing of their experiences, strengths, and hopes.

(Continues...)

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Excerpted from Taking an Honest and Spiritual Inventory by John Baker Copyright © 2012 by John Baker. Excerpted by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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