Over my years in recovery I have become aware of several different pathways to sobriety. I have direct personal contact with two of these and am pretty familiar with a third. All three of these share one thing in common, spiritual strength. I started in the AA program which, in turn, led me back to my church. Some AA axioms are a good place to start.

• No human power could relieve our alcoholism.
• We came to believe that God will restore us to sanity.
• We claim spiritual progress not spiritual perfection.
• The point is to grow along spiritual lines.

God’s grace is our greatest gift. No matter how low we have gone, all we need is the slightest bit of willingness and openness to allow God to enter our life. Like a small spark can start a fire, God will work within any open heart. Once our transformation begins it progresses for the rest of life hence our axiom, “We claim spiritual progress not spiritual perfection.”

This brings me back to my church. Eight years ago I found Harvest ending a three month “church search.” That first Sunday, Pastor Brian’s message spoke so directly to my growing AA program, I was simply amazed. I wondered if he had experience or knowledge of the program. As time passed and he and I became friends, I learned that pure Christ driven theology is exactly what AA’s founding father’s based the program. It didn’t take long for me to understand that my AA program and my church were not separate things. They were two parts of the same thing and God unites it all.

Starting this week and running to Easter, Pastor Brian provided “The Spiritual Growth Challenge,” five days of study and prayer specifically designed to improve our direct connection to God. Again, compare this church challenge to the AA axioms I listed above. For me, AA and Harvest Community Church are two equal halves of my recovery.