The Celebrate Recovery Bible is one of those resources for which I had such high hopes. As a pastor, a number of those persons I see in pastoral counseling and pastoral care have what John Baker calls "hurts, hang-ups, and habits". Make no doubt about it, "sin is addicting", as Rick Warren says in the Foreward. It's addicting because it offers us ways of dealing with past hurts, current hang-ups, and destructive habits in ways we misleadingly think we can control.
But sin ends up controlling us. Whether it's alcohol, prescription drugs, porn, body dymorphic issues -- the list is nearly as endless and varied as the varieties of human living.
So Christians need resources that help us maneuver, with grace and kindness, through those hurts, hang-ups and habits, in order to thrive with the abundant life Jesus has for us.
Most churches, of course, turn to programs like Alcoholics Anonymous. So Baker and Warren's alternative -- Celebrate Recovery -- is a welcome response, a Christian response. And this Celebrate Recovery Bible is one of its most important resources.
I was excited to see the "Eight Principles" and "Twelve Christ-Centered Steps". They add a depth and specificity to "12 Step Programs" that are explicitly Christian. The margin annotations throughout this Bible highlight all of the ways the Bible explores each of those Principles and Steps. There's a pastoral sensitivity here, that encourages reading the Bible not just for information, but for spiritual formation. For wholeness in the Body of Christ.
And that wholeness is also explored through the stories of real people. The "Recovery Stories" are testimonies to the goodness of God in Christ. They're a way for the whole Church to celebrate recovery. And I think they're honestly the most powerful contributions to this resource. You'll not just find the regular "hurts, hang-ups, and habits" you'd expect (like drugs and alcohol and sex); there are others the Church rarely talks about (like eating disorders and rape).
I was disappointed with the "Character Studies", though. Some of them seem forced, like the study of Mary and Martha (p. 1319). Baker psychologizes the text in ways the text itself doesn't speak. And in that way, he adds more to the powerful biblical story about the power of Jesus to confront death (in whatever its form), additions that are simply too much for a faithful, theological reading of the text.
The "30 Day Devotionals" at the end offer questions to ponder. They're worth working through each month for several months.
The biblical text is the 2011 revision of the New International Version. It's beautifully laid-out, in clear, readable print. I only wish it were available in formats other than a paperback. Paperback Bibles are so impractical for long-term use.
In the end, The Celebrate Recovery Bible is a beautiful resource for those who struggle, and for those who live and love those who struggle. Those engaged in ministries of counsel and care especially need a copy.
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