Pastor Rick Warren has identified several features that make Celebrate Recovery unique from other recovery programs:

1.    Celebrate Recovery is based on God’s Word, the Bible.  When Jesus taught the Sermon on the Mount, He began by stating eight ways to be happy and blessed.

2.    Celebrate Recovery is forward looking.  Rather than wallowing in the past or dredging up and rehearsing the painful memories over and over, Celebrate Recovery focuses on the future.

3.    Celebrate Recovery emphasized personal responsibility.  Instead of playing the “accuse and excuse” game of victimization, this program helps people face up to their own poor choices and deal with what they can do something about.

4.    Celebrate Recovery emphasizes spiritual commitment to Jesus Christ.  The third principle calls for people to make a total surrender of their lives to Christ.  Lasting recovery cannot happen without this step.  Everybody needs Jesus.

5.    Celebrate Recovery utilizes the biblical truth that we need each other in order to grow spiritually and emotionally.  It is built around small groups interaction and the fellowship of a caring community.

6.    Celebrate Recovery addresses all types of hurts, habits, and hang-ups.  Some recovery programs deal only with alcohol or drugs or another single problem.  But Celebrate Recovery is a “large umbrella” program under which limitless number of issues can be dealt with.  At Saddleback Church, only one out of three who attend Celebrate Recovery are dealing with alcohol or drugs.

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