Why Can't Church Be More Like an AA Meeting?

Autor*innen

• Stephen N. Haynes

Parameter

• Medizin & Gesundheit

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Do Christians need recovery, or is it the church that requires healing? Addiction, whether to substances or behaviors, affects faith communities just as it does elsewhere. However, churches often lack the safe environments necessary for addressing addiction, co-addiction, or family dysfunction, leading many Christians to seek help in Twelve-Step fellowships. Once they experience the vulnerability, acceptance, and healing found in these groups, they may feel let down by the church, questioning why it can't emulate the supportive atmosphere of an AA meeting. Drawing from his own journey to find mutual support and healing within the church, Stephen Haynes examines the history of Alcoholics Anonymous and its ties to American Christianity. He reveals that while AA has distanced itself from the Christian parachurch movement, it retains vital elements that many churches have lost: comfort with brokenness, an emphasis on honesty, and skepticism towards piety. Haynes advocates for Christians to reclaim these aspects in the pursuit of a "recovering church." He emphasizes that this journey begins with what he terms "Step 0," the challenging admission that, despite appearances, we are not fine.

• Sprache: Englisch
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2021
• Einband: Paperback