We live in a community that has been heavily influenced and damaged by drugs, most of the people we work with have a continuous diet of prescription drugs, as well as illegal (over-the-counter) drugs that circulate through their veins every day. I grew up in this environment and others come from a family of suppliers This is the family business!Now we have seen many addicts attracted to Christ in recent years; we have seen some not only make professions of faith, but grow and bear permanent fruits accompanied by true repentance; The honest truth, however, is that these are the exceptions and we have not had painful experiences in recent years and have taught us valuable lessons in our ministry here at Niddrie.
1. Expect disappointments. Jesus warned us in the parable of the sower to wait for failure. It is not our fault that people choose to ignore the truth of the gospel. Suburban ministry can be painful and we need to strengthen ourselves for this reality. The naivety of some Christians when entering this kind of ministry never ceases to amaze me. The key is not to let your realism shrink in hardness of heart and bitterness. On the other hand, do not allow your romantic ideas about ministry among the poor to lead you to credulity and openness to use and manipulate.
- 2.
- Forget about your savior complex.
- We are not people’s personal saviors.
- We do not have the power to change a heart.
- As well-intentioned as we are.
- We do not have a magic wand.
- If we start with a savior complex and think we can fix them all.
- Then it will break our hearts when people let us down and they will be disappointed all the time.
- The Bible warns us not to place our trust in princes and men.
- And we must certainly never link someone else’s recovery with us; in this way.
- There is a headache.
- Failure and spiritual disaster.
3. Remember that only the gospel has the power to truly transform a life. It’s only when people transform from within that we start to see long-term growth and fruits in their lives. Just keep sowing this seed. Sometimes it will germinate quickly and sometimes it will be painfully slow, but we must trust that the Lord will produce his harvest in his time. Not only must we remember this truth, but we must constantly send people back to that truth. I need very quickly. They want you to solve all the problems for them, this is aggravated in a culture where the benefit system has paralyzed them and left them without any motivation, we will be tempted to set rules and goals, but we must remind them that their decisive hope is in reconciliation with God through authentic faith in Christ and repentance of sin.
4. Quickly lead new believers to independence. We tend to pamper new believers who come from difficult environments and apologize for their behavior. We may feel guilty about their (frequent) traumatic experiences. Fight the urge to let them depend on you. This type of influence and mutual control can be very attractive. We want to solve all the problems and rush to help them in every crisis. Fight this temptation! Our discipleship must empower, train, and prepare them for the works of ministry, and not keep them dependent on us and our charity for a long time.
5. Teach and set an example of repentance. We constantly strive to love people who seem to intend to press the self-destruct button for no rational reason!They can behave very well for months or even years, and then suddenly they go into a big frenzy or are arrested or involved in another problem. . Keep praying for your heart during this time. Continue to pray for your souls during this time. We know those who are Christ because they are like boomerangs. They always return to church because the Holy Spirit will not allow them to rest in their sinful state. We must teach our new believers that they will. they make mistakes (we all make mistakes) and that when they make mistakes, they must immediately run toward the grace found in Jesus Christ. We must teach them not to hide their sin under religious works and language, but to regularly admit sin and to value God’s grace even more. Repentance must also be part of Christian life and experience.
6. Pray for discernment. According to Dr. House: “Everyone is lying. “We have to keep an eye on that. Drug addicts and, to a large extent, alcoholics (who are the worst manipulators in my experience) are incorrigible liars and manipulators. They smell fresh (Christian) blood a mile away. Those who have been addicted to drugs for a long time will have a pattern of lying, deception and manipulation. They’ll look you in the face, tell you something, and yet it will be a complete and absolute lie. They’re teachers in this field. Discretion helps us identify the truths among the lies we are going to be told so that they get what they want. Again, this will lead them to discipline. We must question the behavior of lying early and systematically, even when they deny lying (which they will always do). We must teach them that the lie (even the smallest) is diabolical, because he is the father of the lie. He must direct them to Christ and pray that God will destroy his lies.
7. Persevere. We must be patient with those we discipline and remember that this is a long-term process. As long as we proclaim the truth of the gospel, we do our job. Save your own heart and move on.
By: Mez McConnell. © 20 diagrams. Website: 20schemes. com. Translated with permission. Source: How to Protect Your Heart When Disciplined Addicts
Original: Protect your heart when discipiping addicts. © Faithful Department. Website: MinistryFiel. com. br. All rights reserved. Translation: Camila Rebeca Teixeira. Review: André Alosio Oliveira da Silva.