There is a lot of truth in an old slogan you sometimes hear in twelve step fellowships: “Talking about the spiritual part of the program is like talking about the wet part of the ocean”. Recovery is an inherently spiritual journey. What people do when they do the twelve steps, for example, is a series of spiritual practices — all of which have long histories in the Christian tradition (e.g self-examination, confession, making amends, prayer, meditation). The emphasis on ‘journey’ makes it clear that spirituality is a process, it takes time, it must be ‘practiced’. We hope these videos and articles will help you to take the next step in your own spiritual journey.
Curricula
- Spirituality and Recovery An eight-session study guide on Spirituality and Recovery by Kim Engelmann based on the Spirituality and Recovery video series (see below).
- Recovery from Distorted Images of God. A 12 part video workshop by Juanita Ryan exploring the origins and impact of distorted images of God as well as pathways to healing. Over six hours of video. Includes a leaders’ guide.
Videos
- Videos on Spirituality and Recovery
Notice that the file sizes are quite large. Make sure your hard drive has room before ordering! The short versions can be viewed on this page – just click on the images to play. Two companion volumes of essays are available here.,
Audio
Articles
- God’s Silence – Dale Ryan
- Open Your Soul Wide and Say: “Ah” – Heather Kopp
- Silence – Scott McBean
- Parental Silence – Teresa McBean
- The Way to Serve. . .and Love – Jerry Webber
- I Suck at Empathy – Teresa McBean
- Seeing Myself in Others – Aaron Edwards
- Awakening Through Rest – Teresa McBean
- Waking Up: A Moment Of Clarity – Dale Ryan
- Minding the Gap – Matt Russell
- I Don’t Want God to Love Me – Taylor Gahm
- My Joyful Lent – Barbara Milligan
- Why Is Spirituality So Hard for Pastors? – Dale Wolery
- Spirituality and Recovery – Dale Wolery
- Recovery from Doubt: Experiencing God – Barbara Milligan
- Recovery from Spiritual Distress – Dale and Juanita Ryan
Articles on Toxic Spirituality
- Seeing God in New Ways: Recovery from Distorted Images of God – Juanita Ryan
- Recovery from Spiritual Anorexia – Dale Ryan
- If your god is not God, fire him. – Dale Ryan
- Spiritual Abuse in the Pulpit and the Pew – Dale Wolery
- When You Are Ready To Try Again: Going Back to Church – Jeff VanVonderen
- When Religion Goes Bad: Part 1 – Dale Ryan and Jeff VanVonderen
- When Religion Goes Bad: Part 2 — Religious Addiction – Dale Ryan and Jeff VanVonderen
- When Religion Goes Bad: Part 3 — Religious Codependency – Dale Ryan and Jeff VanVonderen
- Spiritual Abuse: An Interview with Jeff VanVonderen
- Breaking Free:What I’ve Learned About Spiritual Abuse – Barbara Milligan
- Spiritual Brokenness in Recovery – Dale Ryan