Introducing Our Newest Staff Member
Greetings friends!
For the blog this month, I thought it would be a good idea to introduce you to our newest member of the Transformation to Recovery team! I am so excited for how God is working through this ministry and because of the generous support of our donors we have been able to hire a part-time executive administrator. As we have grown as a ministry it has become clear that for me to focus on my strengths as Executive Director, I am in need of some administrative help. This will free me up to continue to lead the ministry as God has called me. So it is my joy to introduce you to Caleb McCurley, our new Executive Administrator. I have asked Caleb to share a little bit about himself as well as why he is excited to be a part of this ministry.
John Carlson, Executive Director
Hello, as John said, my name is Caleb McCurley and I have recently come on staff with Transformation to Recovery (TTR) as the Executive Administrator. I have been a member of Christ Church South Philly (of which TTR is a ministry) since it started back in 2014. While I am not a native Philadelphian, I have now been here in the city for almost eight years. I moved to the Philadelphia area (South Jersey) in 2012.
I grew up in Maryland, about a half hour outside of Baltimore. In my college years, I began to have a strong desire to be a part of urban ministry. At the time, I lived in the suburbs and didn’t have any relationships with a gospel-centered ministry in the city. But I became convinced that since cities are where there are the most people in terms of densely populated areas that this is also where there should be a strong contingent of gospel-centered churches and ministries.
Through a series of really supernatural circumstances, God led me to become connected with the church planting team that became Christ Church South Philly. Although I don’t have time here to fully tell that story, feel free to reach out to me if you’d like to hear more, it really is an amazing story of God’s faithfulness and sovereign hand at work!
So while I haven’t even been here in Philadelphia for 10 years yet, it really is home to me and my family, and I am beyond thrilled to be a part of what God is doing here in this city!
Speaking of family, I married my wife Jessie in 2014 shortly after Christ Church was established. We have two beautiful children (yes that is objectively true!) and later this month we will be welcoming baby number 3! It is such a joy to have a young family here in the city. I absolutely love the fact that while I am not a native Philadelphian, my children are Philly natives!
As I think about TTR and my role in it, I can’t get the question of “Why?” out of my head. Why this ministry? Why am I excited to be a part of what God is doing through this ministry.
I recently read a book called Start With Why by Simon Sinek. It is not a Christian book, and I don’t necessarily endorse everything he says in the book, but I think he is on to something.
The main premise of the book is that people don’t necessarily buy a product or movement because of “what” it provides or “how” it achieves its goals, but because of “why” it exists.
As I consider TTR and my role as a part of the ministry, I think the “why” of TTR is vital. The reality is our city is full of recovery ministries and recovery houses. But the reason I am so excited to be a part of TTR is the “why.”
See we don’t just exist because there is an Opioid epidemic in our city. We don’t just exist because alcoholism is sky-rocketing. That is the what.
We don’t just exist because with 12 steps someone can become sober. That is a how.
No, we exist, and I believe our ministry is essential, because of the gospel of Jesus Christ. That is our “why.”
This is what sets this ministry apart from many of the other programs in the city, some of which are even successful in helping people achieve sobriety. Here at TTR, we aren’t willing to just settle for simple sobriety, we want to see the lives of men and women transformed by the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Yes, absolutely, sobriety is a huge part of that. But more than sobriety, we want people to come out of the darkness of addiction into the light of the Gospel.
We believe that Jesus’ death on the cross shows us that God takes our sin very seriously. Whether it is pride, selfishness, or addiction to pain killers, the stark reality is we deserve God’s wrath. But instead of experiencing that wrath, we can experience the transformative forgiveness and new life in Christ because he paid that penalty on the cross for all who place their faith in him.
Furthermore, Christ didn’t just die and wipe the slate clean for us. No, three days later he rose from the dead, achieving victory for us over sin and death! It is the reality of the empty grave that motivates us and reminds us that those who are in the darkness of addiction(or any other sin) can have new life in Christ!
Being motivated by the truth that the gospel can change lives is what sets us a part from many of the other recovery ministries in the city. It’s also why I am so excited to be a part of this ministry.
In my time at Christ Church, I have seen God do miraculous work in the lives of so many people as they have been transformed by the gospel. And I am filled with hope for the future as I know Christ will continue to deliver people from the darkness of addiction through the light of the gospel.
Maybe at this point you are wondering, “Yeah but why are you so confident that this will be successful?” The answer to that is easy. Because this is my story. I was once stuck in the darkness of sin. I was a self-righteous, self-centered person, stuck in my sin with no hope of “recovery.” And then I encountered the gospel of Jesus and my life was completely changed. If God can change my heart, I know he can change anyone!
2 Corinthians 5: 17-18 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation…”