Description
With increasing numbers of believers reporting life-dominating struggles and addictions, many
churches are launching Christ-centered recovery groups in an effort to help individuals find
freedom. Since healing happens in the context of spiritual community (James 5:16), groups that
offer a safe place for strugglers to experience God?۪s grace while growing in their ability to make
healthy choices are necessary for recovery. A common challenge in church-based recovery
groups, however, are individuals who attend groups faithfully but continue to struggle with life-
dominating behaviors, failing to experience lasting change or spiritual growth. This failure may
result when accountability in the group is reduced to members using the group as a
confessional to release feelings of guilt rather than as a community they resource when they
are feeling vulnerable or triggered. Transformational accountability???or accountability that is
effective in promoting enduring change and spiritual maturity???can be developed through
implementing an emotionally-focused approach in the group process. This approach targets
heart change in the following ways: fostering emotional awareness, uncovering faulty beliefs
fueling negative emotions and behaviors, cultivating authentic connection with God and others,
developing emotional and spiritual maturity, and enabling self-control.
Presented by: Troy Haas, M.Div. & Melissa Haas, M.A.
Learning Objectives
Participants will:
- Discuss challenges related to accountability in church-based recovery groups and explore the concept of transformational accountability
- Explore an emotionally-focused approach that promotes transformational accountability in church-based recovery groups
- Examine practical applications and interventions for transformational accountability in their ministry context
