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(More customer reviews)This book is an excellent resource for understanding the entire dynamics of addictions, whether it be alcoholism, sex, food, smoking etc. It has been used in teaching institutions to help those with the addiction and those affected by someone elses addiction. It gives facts about how ministers and priests go into the ministry looking for something to fulfill them as many are already in a "broken" state of being. It helps us understand the far reaching characteristics of the insidious disease and how it takes over all aspects of a person's life. It has helped me understand how I chose the person I married. It also became clear as I remembered how I watched the congregation in the churches, that had so called "recovering" alcoholics(they were not in recovery--they were fooling everyone who chose to believe them)in them and how they divided the congregation as some people enabled the priest to continue to hide his secret until the entire church atosphere was engulfed in this one persons life. Through enabling the alcoholic person more damage was done than if it came out in the open right away, and the person was told that it was expected that he get help or leave. So many lives impacted through secrets and lies instead on openness and honesty. This book has helped my family and friends so much I hope you give it the chance it so richly deserves! Tucson
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How does a minister respond to a cry for help when the concern is alcohol or drug abuse? With one out of eight adults in the country suffering from alcohol dependency or drug abuse and one out of four families distressed by someone's use of chemicals, clergy frequently deal with related problems whether they are willing and capable, or not. How does a congregation respond to a minister who might be suffering from chemical dependency? Clergy are just as likely to suffer from the disease as any lay person, and yet denominational leaders and superiors, called upon by concerned members of the congregation, may feel powerless to discern the truth and act.Though parishioners are often called on to deal with the chemically dependent person or those suffering from the fallout, few are trained in this area. And because few clergy are trained as treatment specialists, often they only make the problem worse through personal, empathetic involvement. Instead, Alcohol and Substance Abuse shows how clergy and laity can be pastoral problem solvers, not practitioners, through intervention and referral.Throughout, the aim is to provide spiritual answers to the spiritual questions of dispirited people. This is a how-to handbook with specific descriptions and suggestions, featuring a comprehensive list of organizations and agencies equipped to help.
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