Pastors are often thought to be “men of the cloth” who basically sit around drink coffee, read books and pray all day. While this caricature isn’t exactly false, it certainly doesn’t capture the heroic work of our founder and leader, Jesus Christ, who beat up demons, challenged religious systems and offered healing and grace to the social outcasts of his day.
One of the false presuppositions that too many people struggling with addiction have is simply a false assumption that “pastors don’t have value” or “Can’t help”. This results in far too many people cutting off one of their greatest assets in recovery, their pastors, because they are misinformed about the effects a pastor could have in their life.
Let’s explore 2 benefits of how a pastor could you help you kick your drug addiction:
1. You Pastor is A SINNER!
That’s right! It’s your Pastor’s involvement in his/her own sin that should gives you credibility and trust with your addiction, not their perceived “perfection”. Hebrews 4 puts it this way about Jesus:
“We do not have a great high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses but one who was tempted in every way as we are but did not sin. Therefore let us approach the throne of grace with confidence and boldness and find help in our time of need”
You can move toward your pastor because most of them (if they were to be honest) are recovery addicts themselves (pleasure addicts, chemical addicts, people pleaser addicts, etc). Go to your pastor for help but don’t go to them because they’re a “pastor”; go to them because they are a person of brokenness who has learned some keys to recover.
2. Your Pastor actually LOVES you!
One of the great lies of addiction that plague people is simply the voice that whispers day and night; “You are a loser, nobody loves you!” This voice only adds to the stress and tension of addiction. Your Pastor does love you and think about this…..He/She went into ministry to HELP people (people don’t go into ministry for the pay).
As pastors, our “pay days” aren’t monetary; they’re simply having the opportunity to help folks in their hour of need. Let down your guard so you can be loved!
So let’s bottom line this….your pastor (or really ANY pastor) is ready to meet because they too, are in process and would be thrilled, excited and blessed to have the opportunity to share in your journey.
About the Author:
Ryan Moffat is the teaching pastor at Vast Church in Sisters, OR and is currently working on his Masters in Theology at Western Seminary in Portland, OR
Ryan received his BS in Bible and Theology and a minor in counseling from Multnomah University. He has pastored students, families and is passionate about Christ-centered recovery and healing. He’s been married to his beautiful wife Michelle for 13 years and they enjoy raising four crazy, unique and special kids together.
References:
[1]: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hebrews+4:16
The opinions and views of our guest contributors are shared to provide a broad perspective of addictions. These are not necessarily the views of Addiction Hope, but an effort to offer discussion of various issues by different concerned individuals.
We at Addiction Hope understand that addictions result from a combination of environmental and genetic factors. If you or a loved one are suffering from an addiction, please know that there is hope for you, and seek immediate professional help.
Published on June 13, 2017.
Reviewed By: Jacquelyn Ekern, MS, LPC on June 13, 2017
Published on AddictionHope.com