By Minister Gordon Street, Commissioned Minister, Southwest Conference, United Church of Christ
One of the greatest gifts recovery has given me is a simple spiritual practice:
Listen for similarities, not differences.
It sounds simple, but it has transformed both my recovery and my ministry.
Whether I’m sitting in a recovery meeting, sharing coffee with someone exploring faith, worshiping with a congregation, or talking with someone whose theology is very different from my own, I try to begin with one question:
What experience is this person describing?
Recovery has taught me that people often use different language to describe remarkably similar spiritual experiences.
One person speaks of “being washed in the blood of Jesus.”
Another describes a “spiritual awakening.”
Someone else talks about finding peace after years of anxiety.
Another simply says, “I finally realized I wasn’t alone.”
Different words.
Often, the same experience.
As followers of Christ, we sometimes spend so much energy defining our theological differences that we overlook the work God is already doing in another person’s life.
Jesus rarely began with arguments. He began with people.
He met fishermen where they worked. He shared meals with tax collectors. He welcomed those society pushed aside. Before he changed lives, he built relationships.
That has become a model for my own ministry.
As a person in long-term recovery, I have discovered that the Twelve Steps and the teachings of Jesus are not identical. They come from different histories and serve different purposes.
Yet I believe they often lead us toward many of the same spiritual destination.
Both invite us to practice honesty.
Both call us toward humility.
Both encourage surrender instead of self-sufficiency.
Both teach forgiveness, reconciliation, compassion, service, and hope.
Both remind us that transformation is possible.
The Apostle Paul writes that “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22–23)
When I see those qualities growing in someone’s life, I see evidence of God’s Spirit at work.
That is why one sentence has become central to my ministry:
God is an experience, not an idea.
Recovery has taught me that healing begins when we stop trying to win arguments and start listening for the places where our stories meet.
Perhaps that is one of the invitations of the Gospel as well.
Not to erase our differences.
But to begin with the common ground where God’s grace is already at work.
An Invitation
If this reflection resonates with you—or raises questions about recovery, spirituality, or the life of faith—I would love to continue the conversation.
One of the greatest privileges of my ministry is simply listening to people’s stories. Whether over coffee, on Zoom, or by phone, I’d be honored to hear yours.
We don’t have to agree on everything to discover the common ground where hope begins.
Minister Gordon Street, Recovery Spirituality in Action