Life's Healing Choices: Rick Warren's 'Open Nerve' Manipulation

PD Network Webcast THE JESUS MODEL FOR RECOVERY July 16, 2009

Rick Warren: And the point is, in our Life’s Healing Choices Program which is ongoing, we have two different things: we do the boot camp, this is the second time we’ve done the boot camp—

John Baker: Right.

...Gerald Sharon: Yeah, now and in the Life’s Healing Choices that we’re doing this fall that doesn’t mean you’re going to have to immediately launch Celebrate Recovery—

Rick Warren: Nope.

Gerald Sharon: —but it’s a step to begin helping people—

Rick Warren: Yeah.

Gerald Sharon: —in their church find that healing and making those choices.

John Baker: And that’s why Life’s Healing Choices is going to reach out and appeal to a lot of people that are not, you know, that maybe never come to a recovery meeting—

Rick Warren: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Rick Warren: But I want to guarantee you that if you go through this journey with us, we’ll hold hands together; and imagine if twenty thousand, thirty thousand churches, like we did with 40 Days of Purpose, held hands together said ―we’re going to focus on renewal, recovery, revival, restoration, the steps of spiritual formation and the Beatitudes, you can’t get better than the words of Jesus.

Rick Warren: If I were starting a church today, this would be the first series I teach. You know, if I were planning a church today I would start with this. Why, because everybody’s hurting somewhere and this is going to be an enormous community outreach. The people are going to feel very comfortable bringing their friends to a small group to learn about their habits, hurts, and hang-ups, and how Jesus wants to heal their hurts. I mean you can’t get more—Leroy Eims use to call this ―open nerve evangelism. Find the open nerve, okay. And anybody can be won to Christ if you find the key to his heart, and the key to his heart is where is he hurting.

Rick Warren: Okay, now let me explain that. “Blessed are those who are poor in Spirit.” What does it mean to be poor in Spirit? He’s not talking about financially poor; poor in Spirit means I recognize my need for God. And the reason why most people never get healed—and you’re not going to get any chance to go any more on these—

Rick Warren: —you’re not going to get any chance—the reason why we don’t get well is we won’t be honest to God, we won’t be honest with ourselves, we won’t be honest with other people, we live in denial, we will not be poor in Spirit; but if we say ―God, I’m helpless, my life is unmanageable, I cannot control the uncontrolled, but you didn’t intend for me to control those things and you’re God and I’m not,that’s what it means to blessed of the poor in Spirit, and it is the first step to spiritual maturity, it’s the first step to Christlikeness, it’s the first step to healing and wholeness.

John Baker: And that’s why Life’s Healing Choices is going to reach out and appeal to a lot of people that are not, you know, that maybe never come to a recovery meeting—

Rick Warren: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

John Baker: —but will join a Life’s Healing Choices small group and freedom from their hurts, hang-ups, and habits.

Rick Warren: Let me make a bold statement: Everybody needs recovery. Why? Because everybody’s broken. We live on a broken planet, we are sinful people, all have sin, and that means everybody, and so because of the sin we have hurt others and we have been hurt by other people. Everybody needs healing—

John Baker: Yeah.

Rick Warren: —in their heart.

John Baker: Yeah, and if you don’t believe you’re broken


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