Healing

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Christians agree all humans have sinned and come short of the glory of God (Rom 3:23). Often believers say the church is a hospital for sinners. So if the Church is a hospital, the question is, “What are you here for?” The primary cause is sin, and the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all transgression. So what are your secondary issues? Everyone on planet earth has issues – or “hurts, habits and hang-ups” as Celebrate Recovery says. What is your diagnosis? The seven deadly sins are (1) wrath, (2) greed, (3) sloth, (4) pride, (5) lust, (6) envy and (7) gluttony. Some issues from rehab include money, approval, control, performance, criticism and appearance. How are you doing so far? In the Beatitudes Christ zeros in on the heart, so that covers a lot of ground for everyone. And Paul said we should work out our own salvation with fear and trembling – no doubt he meant something like a personal inventory.

The brilliance of the 12 Steps is that it focuses on the problem – the person in the mirror. Christians have a tendency to want to preach at everyone besides themselves, while AA remembers there is only ONE person you can change. Miracles of healing happen in 12 Step meetings because of the extreme honesty, unconditional acceptance, personal responsibility and the individual inventories. The Holy Spirit is all over their meetings because of the sincere confession of sin. Many churches ignore or cover up their own sins while 12 Step meetings plunge right in. Christianity has the verses, but it is 12 Step meetings that follow the Christian spirit and often get the amazing results.

Too bad churches haven’t come up with plans to actually carry out “Church and Rescue” - to really make a church like a hospital. Christians ridicule AA for calling themselves “alcoholics” years after they quit drinking, but the “alcoholics” have a lot less problems than “Christians” with pride as they remember what they were like before they met their Higher Power. Can you visualize a church that had a Sunday School /Sabbath School class for perfectionists, a class for controllers, a class for co-dependents, a class for the fearful, a class for people with compulsions, a class for drama addicts, etc? If churches are supposed to be hospitals, the vast majority are guilty of mal-practice. Most churches have no clue how to diagnosis the member’s condition. If they could think of a way to incorporate the extreme honesty, the unconditional acceptance, the personal responsibility, the mentoring and the individual inventories of 12 Step meetings into a small group structure at church, at least they would have a place to start. It is so sad that members can attend church regularly for five to ten years and still have the exact same emotional issues a decade later. By contrast, regular attendees of 12 Step programs have amazing healing and personal growth if they attend faithfully for even two to three years. Let’s pray for ways to incorporate the 12 Step honesty, the personal responsibility, the mentors, the unconditional acceptance and the individual accountability in a small group church setting so that we can actually make the church a “hospital” where sinners are healed and changed.

Would we want to install an “Emergency Room” in our churches where critical cases are taken? Just as hospitals have various departments like rehabilitation, oncology, neurology, psychiatry, nursery and surgery, so churches may need divisions to help believers heal from the real issues of life. Preaching emphasis could be put on the Serenity Prayer and changing what one is responsible for. Believers could be challenged to take an inventory as they actually “Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith” (2 Cor. 13: 5 NKJV.) Members could be urged to discover their issues. Classes could then address wrath, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy, gluttony, approval, control, perfectionism, criticism and appearance, etc. Primary issues could be dealt with and then secondary topics could be addressed. All this could be done in settings with honesty, acceptance, mentoring, responsibility and inventories. All based on Bible principles with prayer in Jesus’ Name. Just some thoughts…

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