Recovery Ministry A High Calling: The Addicts Among Us 20 Feb 2018 She was in her 60s and had been an alcoholic for many years at that point. To know her was to know a sweet, kind, and godly woman. She served…
Recovery Ministry A High Calling: A Philosophy of Addiction Ministry 6 Feb 2018 Addictions are exceedingly complex. Addictions are complicated by heart idolatries, biological dependency, habitual coping responses, and diverse life impact. When I first started working with an addicted individual many years…
Recovery Ministry A High Calling: The Challenges of a Church-Based Addiction Ministry 30 Jan 201830 Jan 2018 I firmly believe that the church should be the front lines of addiction ministry, but such ministry is not easy. Working with addictions and those enslaved to them is complicated,…
Recovery Ministry A High Calling: What I’ve Learned from Pastoring Addictcs 23 Jan 2018 When I entered into Seminary I had plans for my ministry career. I was going to preach lots of exciting sermons and pastor a growing church. Admittedly they weren't very…
Recovery Ministry A Year of Studying Addictions: Concluding Thoughts 30 Dec 2016 I've spent far more than just this year studying addictions and recovery ministry. As a counselor focusing specifically on providing Biblical counsel to those struggling with substance abuse, I've spent…
Recovery Ministry Addiction and Emotions: Pleasure 22 Dec 2016 "If it feels good, do it." Such is the philosophy of our culture. Pleasure is king and we are ruled by our desire for comfort and good feelings. The inverse…
Recovery Ministry Addiction and Emotions: Perfectionism 15 Dec 201615 Dec 2016 To live as an addict is to live in a world of extremes. Addiction is, after all, a pursuit and experience of pleasure that is extreme. This way of living…
Recovery Ministry Addiction and Emotions: Shame 8 Dec 2016 Addictions never stay at the level of behavior alone. Eventually the strike at our very sense of self. The deeper we go into an addiction the more we may feel…
Recovery Ministry Addiction and Emotions: Paranoia 1 Dec 2016 Long-term drug usage has the potential to deteriorate a person's ability to discern reality. The average person is usually able to discern rational and irrational fears, but drug/alcohol abuse does…
Recovery Ministry Addiction and Emotion: Anxiety 24 Nov 2016 Everybody gets anxious, but certain kinds of anxiety can be particularly overwhelming. For some the amount of worry they experience can be a motivation to use and abuse drugs or…