Hi ****,

Thank you for your comment on the Recovery Reformation website.

For clarity, I will address your comments point by point.

It is well known by those familiar with the history of Alcoholics Anonymous that Bill Wilson regularly used a Ouija board and communed with demonic spirits - especially during the time in the 1930’s when he was writing the program of Alcoholics Anonymous. AA's official biography Pass it On of Bill Wilson states that he and Dr. Bob, the two co-founders of AA, during the summer of 1935 were involved with practicing seances and communing with demonic spirits. In his biography, Bill Wilson explains one of their experiences with a Ouija board: "The Ouija board began moving in earnest. What followed was the fairly usual experience-it was a strange melange of Aristotle, St. Francis, diverse archangels with odd names, deceased friends-some in purgatory and others doing nicely, thank you! There were malign and mischievous ones of all descriptions." Also, Henrietta Seiberling who worked for Bill Wilson  wrote on July 31, 1952 of Bill Wilson's communion with demonic spirits while he wrote the 12 steps, "He imagines himself all kinds of things. His hand 'writes' dictation from a Catholic priest, whose name I forget, from the 1600 period who was in Barcelona, Spain-again, he told Horace Crystal he was completing the works that Christ didn't finish, and according to Horace he said he was a reincarnation of Christ. Perhaps he got mixed in whose reincarnation he was. It looks more like the works of the devil but I could be wrong. I don't know what is going on in that poor deluded fellow's mind."

These demonic practices are obviously condemned in scripture. Leviticus 19:31 says, Do not turn to mediums or necromancers; do not seek them out, and so make yourselves unclean by them: I am the Lord your God. Deuteronomy 18:10-12 says, There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord. And because of these abominations the Lord your God is driving them out before you.

I am actually quite familiar with Celebrate Recovery and it’s teachings. CR does use scripture - particularly the Beatitudes in an effort to market the twelve steps as a Christian Recovery program. However, most of the Beatitudes are ripped out of context by CR and applied erroneously. Also, the Beatitudes are blessings by God’s grace that are beyond our power to obtain outside of God’s grace. Celebrate Recovery replaces the the word “Blessed” which conveys God’s grace and and our joy in it with the modern connotation of the word “happy”. But what is worse is that CR turns something so majestic and beautiful and Godly as the Beatitudes into a ridiculous self help program to be worked through. Where is grace and blessing in that? It’s completely man centered. How does that glorify God?

CR’s attempt at Christian justification of the twelve steps by mixing in some Bible verses is blasphemous. Why would anyone ever want to add to the Word of God - and especially add something that was demonically inspired and teaches a false gospel as the twelve steps do?

On page 58 of the book Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions a direct insult to and denial of the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins is made. The claim is made that, "Our moral inventory had persuaded us that all-round forgiveness was desirable, but it was only when we resolutely tackled Step Five that we inwardly knew we'd be able to receive forgiveness and give it, too." Jesus tells us in Matthew 26:28, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

Bill Wilson and the AA/12 step program insult Jesus Christ by rejecting the truth that Jesus taught in John 14:6 and instead claiming on page 98 of Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions that, "Now and then we may be granted a glimpse of that ultimate reality which is God's kingdom. And we will be comforted and assured that our own destiny in that realm will be secure for so long as we try, however falteringly, to find and do the will of our own Creator." Jesus tells us in John 14:6, I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Some of the most confused people I have encountered are those who have been misled by the teachings of Celebrate Recovery. One of the men in our Church, just yesterday evening at Bible study made the comment that in all the time he spent in Celebrate Recovery he never learned of sin, condemnation, repentance, the atonement, etc… Basically, he never heard the gospel in CR because it is not a part of it.

You make the statement that, “CR is a Christ centered program, Jesus Christ is our higher power…” As a Christian, demeaning the name of the Lord in such a way should turn your stomach. Where is reverence for Jesus Christ in applying to him the man made label “Higher Power”?

The reason Celebrate Recovery is worldwide is because it is of the world and therefore the world accepts it and loves it. John 15:19 says, If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. And John 17:1 says,  I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.

You claim that you have seen people come to Christ through Celebrate Recovery. That may be possible because God works all things together for good. However, because of the nature of CR being based on heresy there is the very real danger that I have witnessed, of people being led to a false Jesus through the program of CR because it is outside of the Biblical gospel. The gospel of Jesus Christ is presented in the Bible and should not be added to or tampered with which is what CR has done by creating it’s own Bible. We are commanded in Deuteronomy 4:2,  You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God that I command you. 2 Corinthians 11:4 says, For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough. Galatians 1:8-says,  But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.

You ask, “how many people in your Church are hurting but can’t talk to anyone about it for fear of being seen as someone with less faith than other members?” My answer is none. Our Church seeks the Lord, preaches the Gospel, and strives to serve the Lord and be in loving fellowship. Anyone who comes will be welcomed and we will share the Word with them. The Way Ministry Church was born through homeless outreach on the streets of Boise and include people who have been set free from addiction without worldly programs.

You seem to think that Recovery Reformation is a program. It is not because there is no need for recovery programs in the Christian faith. We strive to open people’s eyes to the heresy of Alcoholics Anonymous and its application to programs like Celebrate Recovery and to point to the cross and preach the gospel.

Now ****, I ask you the question that you asked me, “Do you, or have you really looked into Celebrate Recovery?” And I will also ask, "have you held the teachings of Celebrate Recovery up to the light of scripture?" Because I have and it is not Biblical and is based on heresy.

God’s Word is the authority and it is sufficient. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 says,  All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work. 

I pray that you will seek the Lord in truth and come to see as many others have that CR has no place in a Christian Church.

God Bless,

Chad Prigmore
Pastor
The Way Ministry Church
Recovery Reformation

​Actually, my response was not simply my opinion but the truth about Celebrate Recovery from a Biblical perspective.

Regarding any controversies pertaining to our faith we are to turn to the scriptures as Paul does in Romans 4:3, “For what do the scriptures say?”  We are not to lean on our own ideas or understanding, but to search the scriptures prayerfully guided by the Holy Spirit for the answers and clarity we seek.

Paul also teaches us in 2 Timothy 3:16-17, “All scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.”

So, along with the above two references to the Word, also please consider that we are commanded in Deuteronomy 4:2, “You shall not add to the Word that I commanded you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God that I command you.” And also in Revelation 22:18-19, “I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.”

Obviously, it is clearly stated in scripture that God's Word is not to be added to or taken away from. Yet, Celebrate Recovery not only adds to the scriptures but actually adds writings based on the twelve steps of Alcoholics Anonymous which clearly proclaim a false salvation message which is in direct contradiction to the Biblical gospel message of salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. Just one example of many of the false salvation message taught by Alcoholics Anonymous is found on page 58 of Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions: “Our moral inventory had persuaded us that all-round forgiveness was desirable, but it was only when we resolutely tackled Step Five that we inwardly knew we'd be able to receive forgiveness and give it, too.” How could this ever be true since Jesus Christ is no part of the Alcoholics Anonymous program whatsoever? But also, how could anyone ever justify taking such a blatant and destructive lie and then adding writings from the same false teaching to the Word of God?

Celebrate Recovery also corrupts the Word of God by using the Beatitudes that the Lord proclaimed during the Sermon On the Mount as a self help program. The writers of the Celebrate Recovery program actually had the audacity to use the Beatitudes which are fruit and blessings of being regenerated and transformed by grace, into something that they falsely claim can be worked toward and obtained. They even replaced the word Blessed in each beatitude with the lesser word of Happy.

You mention in your comment that, “I learned in CR how to stay clean and sober for 27 years. It worked for me. It works for anyone wanting sobriety and willing to work for it.” My questions to you are, How does your participation in a program that has been proven to be based on a false teaching that contradicts the gospel of Jesus Christ bring glory and honor to Jesus Christ? Why is the Word of God and seeking to be conformed to the image of Christ not enough for you and others in Celebrate Recovery? What if wanting sobriety is not needed? What if by seeking Christ, and adhering to His Word you discover that sobriety is nothing more than a blessed by-product of salvation?

Jesus tells us in John 14:15, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” By participating in Celebrate Recovery a person must blatantly disobey Christ's commands.

Today, February 12, 2015 I have twenty three years clean and sober. The only reason I remember the date is because it used to be such a big deal, but who really cares how long it's been except for those who have been fooled into believing alcoholism is a disease from which we just get a daily reprieve. I walked away from Alcoholics Anonymous and the twelve steps ten or eleven years ago and have never stepped foot into a twelve step meeting since. I am not diseased and I work no program. I have been freed from the sin of alcoholism and drug addiction by the blood of Jesus Christ. All I need is the Lord and would never dream that I could ever need anything else or would need to add to His glorious Word.

"In 1935 a couple of guys formulated, based upon the scriptures, what are known as the classic Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous and used by hundreds of other recovery groups. Twenty million Americans are in a recovery group every week and there are 500,000 recovery groups. The basis is God's word."