Wings of Eagles

Vision & Mission

Our Mission

To glorify God in a whole life commitment to the Lordship of Jesus Christ in our homes, community and world by sharing His Good News and love.  To be a caring group of persons in recovery from life hurts, building up and equipping recovery partners to grow and produce good fruit in other hurting souls. 

Our Vision For The Future

We are committed to extending the abundant and eternal life of Jesus Christ. We will become a positive force in the recovery community and improve the quality of life around us.  We will offer our services and program to all those groups and/or individuals who are interested in promoting the healing power of Jesus Christ to lead and assist in their recovery.  We are committed to provide support for those persons seeking healing and life changes through a faith in Jesus Christ and a desire to enter the process of Recovery.  We strive for excellence in all we do because God is an awesome God.  He is worthy of our very best and we give it with joy!  We give Him all the glory!  Celebrate the future with us. Catch the Wings Of Eagles Recovery© and Carried by His Wings Recovery© movement and vision.

Statement Of Faith

We believe Jesus Christ (Yeshuah HaMeshiah) is the Son of God.  He was born into this world through a virgin birth fully God and fully man.  He died on the tree to pay for the sin of mankind.  God raised Him from the dead and He appeared alive to His followers before ascending into Heaven.  There He reigns over all creation and is preparing a reward for those who trust in Him for their salvation and who live according to His will.  One day He will return in power and glory to lead the living and the dead to the judgment.

The Bible, both Old and New Testaments, is inspired by God (God breathed), written by human authors under the inspiration of God, and is the only infallible, authoritative Word of God.  It is our guide for living, we have no other manual.  We believe salvation makes one a member of God's community. 

We believe in the unity of God's church.  We are non-denominational because we believe that there is only one church in God's sight and it is made up of all those who have chosen Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord.  We are affiliated with Harvest Fellowship Community Church, in San Antonio, Texas.  Affiliation gives accountability but without control.  The Wings Of Eagles Recovery© and Carried by His Wings Recovery© movement are non-denominational.

We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity and every believer receives His presence.  It is through His power believers are enabled to live a godly life.

We believe God's Spirit enables us to live above daily, continual sin.  When we accept Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord we are kept by His grace and in gratitude we should sustain a continuing relationship with Him.  When we fall short of our expectations and God's there is forgiveness through repentance.

We believe that TOTAL FREEDOM from ANY "addiction" is only possible through the supernatural power of our Lord Jesus Christ and the accompanying application of God's Word into the lifestyle of the Believer.  We accept psychology and/or modern recovery therapy as acceptable methods to deal with human problems but where their advice and/or methodology leave the counsel of God's WORD we choose to depart from that same counsel.  Our heart's desire is for each person to permanently escape any appearance of addiction and never again wear the label "addict."

Methods of Service

We are currently providing a Recovery Group at Wings Of Eagles - North Central);  on Mondays (Alcohol, Drugs, Anger) at 7:00 pm and Thursdays (Sexual Purity) at 7:00 pm.  

Call Manny (210) 884-2116 for details.  

Statement of Shared Principles

We celebrate the distinctives of each of the ministries of the 

Wings Of Eagles Recovery© and Carried by His Wings Recovery© movement groups.  Each of our ministries has a unique history and makes a unique contribution.  We see this as strength, not as a problem to be solved.  We share, certain common convictions and this statement is intended to briefly explain those shared convictions. 

1.  The ministries of the Wings Of Eagles Recovery© and Carried by His Wings Recovery© are based on the biblical wisdom found in the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous.

We thank God for AA and for other Twelve Step fellowships.  Many of us first found sobriety in the rooms of AA and are grateful to God for the strength, support and encouragement we continue to receive there.  We encourage people who participate in our ministries to continue to participate in AA, NA or other Twelve Step programs appropriate to their situation.

2.  We believe that the things people "do" when they "do" the Twelve Steps are biblical, spiritual disciplines that would be helpful to any Christian.

The Twelve Steps are not the Twelve Ideas.  Or the Twelve Theological Convictions.  They are a set of suggested behaviors.  They are things to do.  What do people "do" when they "do" the Twelve Steps?  Here are a few examples: self-examination, confession, making amends, prayer, and meditation.  These are spiritual disciplines with very deep roots in the Christian community.  Even the most casual examination of the history of AA will show that it was in the Christian community that the founders of AA learned the importance of these spiritual disciplines. 

3.  We believe that the Twelve Steps are not a magical cure for any addiction.

As it says in the Big Book of AA: "We are not cured of addiction.  What we really have is a daily reprieve contingent on the maintenance of our spiritual condition." (Big Book, chapter 6) Humility about what the Twelve Steps make possible is a good policy.  As we sometimes say: "AA won't solve all my problems but it can help keep me sober to work on them."

4.  We believe that the Twelve Steps of AA are not everything-you-need-to-know-about God.

The Twelve Steps are a kind of spiritual kindergarten.  Think of it as Introduction to Spirituality 101.  It is the introductory course (with laboratory required!).  Other courses will be necessary for Christian maturity.  People who are not addicts may even be able to start with the more advanced courses.  It is, however, our shared conviction that addicts need the introductory course.  Here is where we learn the basics (e.g. There is a God and it is not me).  When explaining why a more traditional Christian discipleship program (the Oxford Groups) was not well suited for alcoholics, Bill W, said that they "need to be fed with teaspoons rather than by buckets." (AA Comes of Age, p 75) The Twelve Steps provide a structured process in which to learn the most basic of spiritual truths.  It takes some of us a long time to take in the basics.  Will there be more to learn later?  Of course.

5.  We believe that the Higher Power who makes recovery possible is the God of the Bible.

When we are active in our addictions, we are our own God.  Whether we are aware of it or not, we have chosen ourselves to be our "Higher Power".  The first baby-step in early recovery involves learning that we have made a very poor choice.  Recovery begins when we recognize that we are not a suitable candidate for "Higher Power" and we agree to let somebody or something other than ourselves be God.  Recognizing that there is a God and that it is not I is a huge step.  It is the beginning of a long process of developing a relationship with God.  In the process of recovery we learn more and more about God.  The ministries of the Wings Of Eagles Recovery© and Carried by His Wings Recovery© believe that the Creator of the Universe honors and rejoices in the simple faith of a hopeless addict who comes to believe that a power exists which is greater than their own and which is capable of restoring them to sanity.  From this humble beginning we have, over a period of time, come to believe that the God of the Bible, who is revealed most clearly in Jesus, is the real power behind all recovery and is, therefore, the only fully appropriate choice for Higher Power. 

6.  We believe that the Christian community has a lot to learn from the Twelve Step tradition.

The acceptance, honesty, safety and mutual support found in most Twelve Step meetings often comes as a shock to Christians when they first attend.  They wonder why it feels safe to talk about what is real on Monday and Thursday nights in the recovery group but it does not feel safe to talk about what is real on Sunday mornings.  Why, they wonder, does it feel like you have to already be a good Christian before you feel comfortable at church?  We think this is a good question.  People in the Twelve Step community have a lot they can learn from the church.  But the church also has a lot it could learn from the Twelve Step community if it had the spiritual humility to pay attention.  We believe it is God's intention for Christian fellowships to be safe places to be people-in-process.  It is our collective prayer that the Christian community will learn something from AA and other Twelve Step fellowships about how to be a safe, supportive fellowship that welcomes people who are struggling with the most difficult of life's problems.

The Beginning Of Change

No matter where we are in our struggle with addictions, prayer is the beginning of change...

The fact that most of my sinful lifestyle is immaterial when the gravity of my deeds is weighed.  The same deeds could have been done if I had worked in a dairy, or for an airline, if I had been a policeman, a garbage collector, a teacher, a doctor, or a minister.

What is important is not who I worked and traveled with, but rather that I was delivered from the hold sin had on me.  God is no respecter of persons.  What He did for me, He will do for you.  All we have to do is to ask God with a sincere heart and repent of our sins.  When we repent, we turn our back on the old things, and look toward the new.  Do not try to depend on our own strength and wisdom.  We do not have what it takes, on our own.  With the strength of God and by the blood of Jesus, we can do it, though!

In Jesus, if we have accepted Him as our Savior, we are more than conquerors.  We are a joint heir with Jesus Christ, and as such, have at your disposal God's complete arsenal of weapons against Satan, regardless of what manifestation of his ugly self you are experiencing or which of his demons is trying to attach itself to you.

We can be more than conquerors only after we have accepted Jesus as our Savior.  If you have not done that, but would like to, please pray this prayer with me. 

"Jesus, I recognize that my life is a mess, and that I cannot get it back on the right track without You in my life.  I have committed some horrible sins in my past, but I believe You will forgive me of those sins.  I confess those sins to you and repent of them.  I turn my back on them, and ask You to come into my life as my Savior and as my guide and my helper.  I cannot do this on my own, but I know that with You by my side, and in my heart, I can do anything You ask me to do.  Thank you for forgiveness, for the gift of salvation, and for giving Yourself to die just so I could have that gift.  I honor You and give You my life to use as You will. In Jesus' name, Amen."

Accountability

As men, we carry our pride like a badge of honor.  We use it for a shield against anything that might threaten our self-esteem.  We hide behind it when other people attempt to offer suggestions which, if followed, would require us to change our courses in life.  We know better than anyone else what is best for ourselves.  After all, we managed to bring ourselves to this place in life where we are.  And we will do a fine job of going on the next step. 

Therein lies one of the greatest problems that men who are addicted to pornography/sexual impurity face.  Because they believe that they know what is best for them, and because they do not want anyone violating their manhood by telling them what to do, they continue blindly down the same road of destruction that brought them to the place where they are.  That place may be one where, because of his pornography/sexual addiction, his marriage has fallen apart, his financial situation has deteriorated, and worst of all, his spiritual relationship with God has all but disappeared.

It is crucial that men come to the understanding that they cannot fight this battle alone.  Perhaps you are one who considers himself to be a "self-made man," one who has fought his way up the corporate ladder - only to find that you were the only one there when you arrived.  If you are a pornography/sexual impurity addict, you should consider that by yourself, you managed to crawl all the way to where you are.  In the world of pornography/sexual impurity addiction, the ladder goes down, not up.  It goes straight down into a pit that has the ability to totally consume us.

Accountability is often discounted as nothing more than a crutch, a place to hide one's own inadequacies.  Objections to accountability are usually rooted in pride - that same pride that says you don't need help.  God takes a different view, though.

Proverbs 27:17 -- "As iron sharpens iron, So a man sharpens the countenance of his friend."

Ecclesiastes 4:11-12 -- "Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm; but how can one be warm alone?  Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him.  And a threefold cord is not quickly broken."

Admitting the need for accountability is not surrendering our manliness.  It is not the sign of a weak person.  It is not a crutch that might allow one to think he can walk without assistance when in fact, he can't.  Instead, it is the sign of a man who is big enough to admit that he cannot do everything.  Accountability is one of the most powerful weapons we have in the battle against pornography/sexual addiction.  The use of that weapon allows us to admit to our accountability partner that we have come against something that, at least for a moment is more powerful than we are.  It allows us to admit that we need help to fight that enemy, but in a way that brings no reproach. 

I am willing to be an accountability partner if:

1.      You will check in with me every morning or evening or when you are thinking of acting out.

2.      You are open and honest (starting with spouse).

3.      You do not hide anything.

4.      You are willing to make a change in your life.

5.      You really do want to overcome pornography/sexual addiction in your life.

6.      You are willing to let Jesus Christ take control of your life.