Well... my references are to many church experiences. It would probably encompass at least 6 church bodies that I had been a part of over my lifetime and through my hell period.
So... I dont feel it is so much the wrong church as it is the wrong church culture. These were all "Full-Gospel", "Charismatic", and/or "Penetcostal" churches. They were all equally irrelvant to what I was going through. I will never forget a guy who was chronically unemployed and suffered from severe depression come up to me and recommend a program for substance-abuse recovery.
I know that bizzare stuff can happen anywhere so I do not mean to pick on one particular group. We have highly odd and irregular experiences in AA all the time. Someone tried to pick a fight with me the other day at an AA meeting because I was aked to share and he wasnt.... not exactly in keeping with the tradition of AA unity coming first. So wierd and unusual stuff is everywhere.
Also... I will be clear about the fact that my journey through all manner of chaos has never led me to believe anything other than what the Bible has taught. If anything... it appears more true than ever.
As you are likely aware, 12-step recovery is completely based on the Bible and was originally a discipline practiced by a group of Christians that Dr. Bob and Bill W had become a part of.
My church experience has included some narrow-minded disdain for 12-step because it welcome other concepts of God (as we understand him). My experience with many Christians is that they are often recationary to any aparent threat to their faith. Any phylosophy that competes with what they believe is theologized away.
Yet the 12-step quest lead many people to God as we understand him... meaning the God of the Bible and Jesus Christ.
So... perhaps your church experience has been different. I do believe there are good churches out there. Hey.... I have experienced them too. I really find relevance in many Vineyard churches with their looser style. So my intent was not to criticize.
I am just so please to finally find some longer term healing from the pain inside and the choices I ended up making around it. I found it in places like this and my AA meetings. Oddly, not in Church. Yet Church in my experience professes to be God's people and carry his message. I find that only partly true.
