A Note from Pastor Roger

February 29th, 2024
by Jason Bergstrom

Good afternoon Church Family!

One of my dear friends, Dr. Mark Denison, along with his wife, Beth, have an amazing ministry called There’s Still Hope. Mark and I first met at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary where we did our doctoral program together. Mark and Beth have built an incredible ministry that serves people who are battling addiction and navigating recovery. He is my go-to when it comes to referring men bound in sexual addiction or when I’m needing a place for a husband and wife to navigate the struggles of recovery, as he and Beth have solutions that help people find freedom.

One of my joys is to read his Daily Recovery Minute and glean its wisdom. Thus, I wanted to pass onto you Mark’s email from today. Mark is one of our CityRise Network partners, and I’m so excited to share this with you.

If you are battling addiction of any kind, please reach out to one of us on staff or reach out to Mark and Beth directly at Mark@theresstillhope.org.

"Rule 101"

Last year, I wrote my tenth recovery book, Recovery Rules. It contains 100 truisms. They are pithy, easy-to-remember statements about recovery. If I could add a 101st rule, this would be it:

What you tolerate today will dominate tomorrow.

If I tolerate staring at attractive women, those fantasies will dominate my mind tomorrow. If I tolerate missed recovery meetings, that absence will dominate me tomorrow. If I tolerate idle thoughts, sexual images, and flirtatious conversations, they will dominate tomorrow.

If Paul had written a book of recovery truisms, I’m pretty sure he would have included this: “Do not give the devil a foothold” (Ephesians 4:27).

Are you going to welcome the devil into your home and give him a seat at the head of the table? Of course not! And he isn’t asking for that. He just wants you to crack open the door when he comes knocking.

And then it’s over.

Recovery Step: Be careful about what you tolerate.

Link to online article from There's Still Hope: "Rule 101"

Don’t forget, this Sunday we will vote to affirm the four motions that were presented last Sunday morning and discussed yesterday evening. This annual business process allows us to move forward to take more ground for the kingdom.

We will see you at worship on Sunday as we launch a new series called "The Crux of the Cross," which will take us through Easter Sunday. If you are unable to join us in person, you’re welcome to be with us online at one of our livestreamed services through the app, on our livestreams page, or at youtube.com/cityriseorg.

Don't forget to visit the CityRise Hub Weekly for upcoming events across all our campuses.

Stay Expectant,
Pastor Roger