No, popular Christian musician Jason Gray will not perform concerts in all 28,000 Celebrate Recovery churches – though it would be a “lift” for each one. But he is coming to a leading St. Louis church – First Evangelical Free Church on Carmen Road in the St. Louis area (See www.efree.org, www.efree.org/event/jasongray and www.crfirstfree.com). The concert evening is a celebration of the 10th anniversary of being a Celebrate Recovery Church.
Most may be reading this after this particular concert … Thursday evening, August 24, 2017. Regardless, the content of this radio conversation – which you can hear now — with is impacting, different, and certainly interesting!
The church’s “Healing” Pastor, John Richardson, ministers to all levels of brokenness of people, offering them encouragement and hope in Jesus Christ. Even some of the very folks considering suicide, John and Jason discuss how God uses “brokenness” to draw people to Himself. We note the Bible book of Amos chapter four. Paraphrased, God said through His prophet Amos, in effect that He sent His people all kinds of trials and “brokenness” so that they would come to Him, so He could help them in their brokenness, and be the answer to their problems.
We also note that the “Prodigal Son” (Luke 15) had to “crash and burn” … come to the end of himself … before he could return to his father … and allow the father to “love on him” and turn his life around. What is described as “brokenness” was an instrument of God to bring the Prodigal to joy, forgiveness, and meaning in life!
That is what the Living God makes available to all who are “broken.”
It was an important radio conversation that I had with “Celebrate Recovery” founder, John Baker that occurred 10 years earlier. This amazing story titled “Baker, John March 1, 2007” is available right now by clicking on … http://haroldhendrick.com/2007/05/06/baker-john-march-1-2007/ .
The copy written then about John Baker:
“John Baker, an alcoholic for years who, in time, looked to God for relief and deliverance. As a young man he moved from the St. Louis area (Belleville, IL) to California. John tells of a 14-page letter he wrote to Pastor Rick Warren of Saddleback Church, where he was attending worship. He proposed a ministry to people like himself with addictions. Within a very few days Pastor Warren invited John to his office. After discussion, the pastor said to John something like: “That’s a great idea. Do it!” The vision now had given birth to “Celebrate Recovery.” Amazingly, throughout the subsequent years through today, more than 400,000 (in 2007) have participated in Celebrate Recovery. This radio conversation with John Baker was conducted in connection to his earlier visit to St. Louis. See www.celebraterecovery.com.”