Collaborative Christian Recovery Ideas and Plans from Summit Conf # 1

Collaborative Christian Recovery Ideas and Plans
That Emerged From Our Recent Three California Visits

Dick B.

To avoid a clutter of information, and the enable readers more easily to refer to items of interest to them, I will divide into several parts our report on the recent International Christian Recovery Coalition and Association of Christian Drug and Alcohol Counselors Institute Conferences, Meetings, and Talks in California.

The People Who Really Helped Make the Lifelines/
Crossing Church Events a Great Starting Point

The Crossing Church and its Lifelines Program in Costa Mesa, California set the new Collaborative Christian Recovery effort on a solid pace, offering a special meeting of
some 16 leaders and participants on Friday, September 16 after the Lifelines talk I gave.

The Lifelines folks enabled an Eleventh Step talk before its large group on Friday.

On Saturday, from 9:00 AM to 1:45, Randy Moraitis, Executive Recovery Pastor at The Crossing and his staff provided a large conference room, the Lifelines band, ample sound and seating provision, coffee, and snacks. During our stay in Costa Mesa from September 15 through the following Thursday, David Powers of the Rock Church in San Diego, the Rock Recovery Ministries, ABC Sober Living, and Soledad House provided us with free accommodations at the Westin Costa Mesa for three nights, and Randy Moraitis made arrangements for us to stay free of charge at a lovely private guest cottage owned and stocked by two members of his church.

The first report will cover those who spoke or were scheduled but unable to speak at the actual Northern California Summit Meeting # 1 Conference.

Dick and Ken B. delivered talks on the International Christian Recovery Coalition and its projects.

Scheduled but unable to make the panels were:

Henry Lozano, Director of Teen Challenge in Los Angles and Urban Ministries Initiatives. Henry could not attend as a speaker because of a family emergency that arose in New Mexico, but he did meet with us for several hours to discuss Christian Recovery, renewed activity of Teen Challenge in Southern California. He was advisor on substance abuse matters to two Presidents and two California Governors.

Karen A. Plavan, Ph.D., Chairperson of our Coalition, Pittsburg, PA; Director, The Oasis Recovery Center of Western Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh, PA:, Assistant Professor, Counselor Education—Chemical Dependency, The Pennsylvania State University; Teacher, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, who was scheduled as a panelist but had to cancel because of Pennsylvania duties. She has chaired many of our events and spoken at many of our events on A.A. history and Christian Recovery.

Robert Turner, M.D., MSCR, of Charleston, SC--Co-Chairperson of our Coalition, Medical Director of the MUSC Medical Neurophysiology Laboratory; Associate Professor in the departments of Neurosciences, Pediatrics, and Biostatistics, Bioinformatics, Epidemiology. Robert was asked to be a panelist but had to decline due to professional obligations, but he became one of several benefactors of our conference.

Jean LaCour, Ph.D., President and Cofounder of the NET Training Institute, Inc.; serves with Christian leaders from seven nations on the leadership council of the International Substance Abuse and Addiction Coalition (ISAAC); Member of “Partners for Recovery,” a steering committee for the Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA); former Faith Coordinator for Florida’s Access to Recovery (ATR) program. Jean was unable to attend but provided flyers on Christian recovery aspects and awarded Dick B. a Hero of Recovery Citation for presentation at the conferences.

David Powers, Christian leader at Rock Church, Rock Recovery Ministries, ABC Sober Living, and Soledad House in San Diego. David was asked to exhibit and be a panelist, but had previous recovery obligations in San Diego. As stated, he provided Dick and Ken with housing.

Brother Wayne White, Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor, Executive Director, Footprints/Alcoholics Victorious, Kansas City, Missouri, Co-Director, Bridge Organization Outreach. Wayne was scheduled as a panelist, but had to cancel due to a heart problem.

Rev. Jerry Liversage, Responding Recovery Ministries, Garden Grove, California. Jerry has a unique outreach due to his wide experience in the food industry and is able to provide food for recovering alcoholics and addicts and to serve at soup kitchens. Jerry attended our conference, its workshop, and met with us for 12 hours to plan with him for outreach. We wished to have him be a panelist, but the speaker list was full by the time we had met with him. He has great ideas. and can be a great resource person for the coalition.

Bob J. of Kihei, Maui, Hawaii was unable to attend but has long been and was at this conference a major benefactor supporting A.A. History and Christian Recovery Outreach.

The following were panelists at the North American Summit Meeting Conference # 1 at The Crossing Church.

Randy Moraitis, Executive Recovery Pastor, The Crossing Church, Costa Mesa, who explained the broad Christian recovery programs existing or planned by The Crossing and reaching into the community and a myriad of problems besetting the afflicted and affected.

Robert T. Tucker, Ph.D., D. Min., Registered Addiction Specialist, President/CEO New Life Spirit Recovery, Inc.; President, Association of Christian Alcohol and Drug Counselors Institute, Inc., Huntington Beach, California; Director of the Southern California Office of the International Christian Recovery Coalition. Also a conference benefactor.

John B., South Orange, New Jersey, long-recovered AA, Christian, and A.A. history researcher and writer, with whom we had several meetings to discuss pending historical contributions and directions in applying “old school” A.A. to recover

Bob Noonan, M.A.., Marriage and Family Therapist, Radio Personality, Orange, California, Director of Activities, leader at Steppin’ Out Group, a frequent recovery speaker, and a man who has arranged TV interviews for Dick B. and also the co-founder of Overcomers Outreach, Inc.

Jeff MacLeod, Executive Director of Overcomers Outreach, Inc., Whittier, California, who shared the many new Christian recovery events and projects being undertaken by this widely known Bridge group founded by Bob and Pauline Bartosch many years ago.

Russell Spatz, Attorney at Law, Miami, Florida; Long recovered, of Alive Again, leader of many A.A. activities in Florida, Christian church leader, frequent speaker, and a bold and forceful advocate of linking Alcoholics Anonymous to the Bible and the accomplishments of Jesus Christ in today’s recovery scene.

Wally Lowe, Vero Beach, Florida; leader of Satellite Christian Recovery Resource Center on his property in Florida and a booster of the Clarence Snyder retreats for AAs and their families. We had a lengthy discussion over lunch with Wally and with Joey Delgado—a ministry student at Fuller Seminary and former leader of several James Club groups in the West Covina area in Southern, California. Joey has hosted several of our talks on A.A. history and the Christian Recovery Movement and led a number of our Introductory Foundation for Christian Recovery Classes.

Roger Mc Diarmid of Huntington Beach, California, businessman—a very active speaker for the International Christian Recovery Coalition Speakers Bureau; a coordinator of our work in Southern California, much involved with His Place Church, and ardent A.A. history and recovery speaker.

Dale Marsh, Recovery Pastor elect of Oroville Church of the Nazarene, and leader of Serenity Group. Dale is also an active speaker for the International Christian Recovery Coalition Speakers Bureau, an active proponent of expanding Christian recovery outreach to AAs and others in the Christian community as well as alerting pastors to the need for collaborative Christian recovery services. Dale widely conducts our Introductory Foundation for Christian Recovery Classes for many groups in his area. He is studying to become a licensed substance abuse counselor.

Jerry McDonald, consultant and former marketing leader at Betty Ford Center, Certified substance abuse counselor, interventionist, and treatment facilitator, national business development consultant for the Betty Ford Center. Jerry is a Christian, long-recovered, and helped us formulate ideas for Christian Recovery Resource Centers.

The following were other strong supporters of International Christian Recovery Coalition with whom we had extensive meetings during the conference period.

David Roman, Sunset Beach, California, Proprietor of four Cucina Roman Restaurants in Orange County, avid distributor of Dick B. books, and co-manager and caterer at International Christian Recovery Coalition conferences at His Place Church in Huntington Beach, California

Jonny Ray Bartel, 4900 Birch St., Newport Beach, California. Businessman and well-known musical entertainer. Active in His Place Church at Huntington Beach, enthusiastic supporter of Teen Challenge in Southern California, and co-worker recovery leader with Roger Mc Diarmid. We met with Jonny in our cottage, and he was a summit conference attendee.

Rev. Cynthia W. Sloan, Program Associate, United Methodist Special Program on Substance Abuse and Related Violence (SPSARV) New York Office location: 475 Riverside Drive, room 338. New York, NY 10115 ; North Carolina Office location: 325 Meadowbrook Drive Matthews NC 28104-4309, phone: 704-882-0282; email: csloan@gbgm-umc.org. Cynthia traveled all the way from North Carolina as a benefactor of the conference, an exhibitor, and a speaker. She has great interest in world-wide broadening of recovery efforts, including those for women, people of other nations, and ethnic groups.

Nikole Wood, The New Media Report on OC Radio Live. She approached us at the conference on the suggestion of Randy Moraitis, met with us several times, and is very interested in our proposed radio interviews of the various speakers, panelists, and other Christian recovery leaders and workers who are International Christian Recovery Coalition leaders and participants, Christian Recovery Resource Centers, and/or active in our proposed collaborative Christian recovery ideas and plans.

Gloria Deo.
DickB@dickb.com