Author: Contributor

When people recover from addiction, it doesn’t end there, they need to undergo aftercare treatment to sustain their sobriety.

If someone relapses, it means that some measures were absent that could have made their sobriety permanent. For instance, if they didn’t apply some coping skills they learned during addiction recovery, they might return to their addiction.

The church has a pivotal role to play when its members recover from addiction. Their responsibility will be instrumental to ensuring that the individual’s recovery is permanent.

Here are some ways the church helps their recovering member

Continued counseling

Counseling is a lifelong journey especially if you just recovered from addiction. You need someone who will always keep tabs on you for accountability sakes.

Also, it is important you have someone around who reminds you of the necessary steps you need to take to sustain your sobriety.

Support to rebuild broken relationships

When some people are addicted, they have strained relationships with their loved ones. Sometimes, it might be difficult for them to get back on track except if a third-party intervenes.

The church can step in to heal the rift between recovering individuals and their family and friends. Taking this step is essential because an individual’s family and friends are usually the first set of people who should show support and care to their loved ones.

Support and Encouragement to draw closer to God

Addiction can affect an individual’s fellowship with God. They might not be fervent in studying their Bibles and prayers because of the guilt feelings.

Some of them may not even be frequent with church attendance because they feel that God is angry with them. It is important for the church to help recovering individuals to find their identity in God once again.

The church can provide them with the needed support to bring them back to the fold, and to set them in tune with God. This might not be achieved instantly but in due time, the recovering individual will find themselves in God again.

Do you suspect if a church member is struggling with addiction? They might either be dealing with substance or behavioral addiction, and struggling to maintain a close communion with God. Here are some of the ways to know if a church member is addicted.

Isolation

An addicted church member will prefer to stay in isolation instead of being around people. They are less likely to come for church meetings, and would rather keep to themselves.

If they were active members or workers in the church, you may not see them physically like before. When you ask for the reason for their unavailability, you might not get a tangible answer.

Decline in performance at work and life

Another way to know that a church member is addicted is when they experience reduced performance when it comes to life and work.

They might not be able to meet work-related milestones and this can affect their productivity, and even cost them their jobs.

The same also applies to other aspects of their lives where they may be unable to record superb performances in different activities that they are involved in.

Problems with family and friends

Addicted church members are likely not to be on good terms with their loved ones.

When addiction exists in the family, it can cause hate and resentment between the addict and their loved ones. This is why there might be bad blood for sometime until the addiction issue is solved.

Emotional Instability

Emotional instability is another feature that comes with addiction, and even church members struggling with one habit or the other may experience this.

When someone is emotionally unstable, they experience unpredictable reactions, and their emotions might be extreme.

When the church notices that their member is addicted, it is important that they rally round them to provide the needed help and support to get back on their feet. This could include constant prayers, fellowship, study of the word, counseling, etc.

Pastors are ministers dedicated to service to God and their congregation. They are mature, patient, flexible, and have impressive administrative prowess.

They are the highest authorities in a given church. With such respect and reverence accorded to one man, it is normal for people to see them as “emotionless” and saints. 

In the last few years, there has been increasing awareness that pastors are also humans and can be addicted to various things.

This has shaped the mindset of people to make sure they lookout for the signs and help those in need. Pastors can be also be addicted like others, they can also be treated. 

The first step to helping an addicted pastor is to help him/her understand that they are also human. It means they are susceptible to making mistakes.

This acknowledgment helps them not to feel bad about themselves while gaining sobriety. This stage of knowledge forms the core of the healing process.

The next step is choosing the rehab center. Due to the sensitivity of their position and the public image they represent, they should use executive rehab programs or a religious-based rehab program.

The executive program ensures their privacy and confidentiality. In contrast, the religious-based rehab programs make sure they are within people of similar values.

The next thing to consider is the type of program. There are two main programs: the outpatient rehab program and the inpatient rehab program.

The inpatient program is an intensive care program where the clergy is treated for some time, usually one to three months. The outpatient program is much more flexible as it allows the patient to leave the care unit at night.

The programs involve detoxification, addiction treatment, specialized care, and extended/aftercare. The journey to sobriety is not an easy one. It is, however, worth it.

The church is a way to lasting sobriety. The church makes available a community of like-minded people with the right set of values and the overwhelming love of fellowship.

It creates an atmosphere of love and intimacy that encourages addicts to live better lives. Addiction recovery programs often concentrate on the mental and physical health of addicts. The church focuses on the faith, mental, physical, and social health of addicts.

There are benefits to enjoy by seeking help from the church on your way to sobriety. A few will these benefits will be discussed in the subsequent paragraphs.

For those who seek Christian ways to getting out of addiction, the church helps addicts find strength in faith and satisfaction in fellowship.

When you are down and all hope seems to be lost, the church shows you the ray of hope that comes in God. The church creates a channel where you are immersed in your faith walk while maintaining your health routine. 

One of the primary benefits of the church is to create a fellowship where people can interact freely without a feeling of being left out.

The church creates an avenue where people of different classes and races can come together, unified in God. The church helps create the support system addicts need to recover and have lasting sobriety.

Churches regularly set up activities and events that help addicts get over their drug cravings. By immersing themselves in the activities and events, they are so involved with serving that they forego their drugs and their cravings. This new way of life helps them to maintain their sobriety. 

A study revealed that people who attend churches at least once a month have a 22% lower risk of being depressed. By going to the church regularly, the mental health of addicts is improved. The same goes for their physical and social health.

Anyone who has addiction problems would find it herculean to break through. If they are not careful, they could spend their entire lives putting up measures in place to break the addiction.

It can be unarguably stated that, addiction is one of the toughest battles that anybody can face. What they can do to help themselves, is to find support from a proficient support system.

One of the best places to find this kind of support is the church. It would interest you to know that, the church is one of the organizations with a nice structure that caters for the welfare of all her members.

With the proficient structure that the church comes with, it would be easy to fight against cravings and triggers that cause addiction.

Now, the church would not only address addiction with physical methods, there would also be the inclusion of spiritual measures.

This is based on the fact that, the church believes whatever happens physically, has a root in the spiritual realm. So, they would back up their treatment system with good counsel and prayer.

You will be surprised to find out that, there are counselors in the church, and they are also some of the same individuals who work in the secular world.

However, there is an advantage of having them around. These individuals would help you fight addiction spiritually ad physically, ensuring that no stone is left unturned.

Triggers and cravings would set in at some point, and they would have warned you beforehand about the possibility.

Hence, what they would do is, they will teach you how to use prayer and faith to war against these factors. They will also advise you not to hesitate from meeting a therapist who would help you out.

The church is regarded as a family, and this is because there is ample love and care shown in the church. The church is a proficient support system, which gives enough compassion and care to people who are in dire need of it.

In addition, the church would also ensure that, there are worthy activities that would make sure that the mind of an addicted individual is kept occupied.