faith in action

The church’s public witness: Tackling alcohol and drug addiction

Alcohol and drug addiction are serious matters that confront every community. Consider observing National Recovery Month in September.

Rev. Cynthia J. Abrams August 3, 2017

A recent article cites research that over 70 percent of young people are underage drinkers, a disturbing statistic since an individual who starts to drink before age 21 is more likely to become a lifelong addict.

All too often, local churches and pastors become aware of serious problems such as underage drinking or opioid abuse during a crisis or when confronted with tragic circumstances. In the midst of such an environment, it is vital to promote and foster ongoing healthy and open dialogue with factual information about addiction prevention, intervention steps, treatment, and long-lasting recovery.

Even further, a critical step in wholistic ministry on addiction issues is to offer opportunities for church members to become engaged in addiction advocacy and ministry. Active engagement in addiction prevention transforms communities and encourages healthier environments in which young people can thrive without resorting to societal pressures to drink or take drugs.

The first step in dealing with addiction is education, developing a full understanding of the issue.

The United Methodist Church has spoken comprehensively about alcohol and other drugs for decades and United Methodists work diligently on effective methods to combat these issues in important ways around the globe. United Methodist Social Principle ¶162.L and Resolution 3042 provide an important way for pastors and teachers to open discussion about pro-active paths to addressing addiction and offer compassion for addicted people in our congregations and communities.

Too often we hear of the pain caused by unfounded notions about addicts and addiction. Judgmental attitudes toward addicts create negative feelings among those who suffer from addiction and facilitate stigma rather than compassion and active healing. These conclusions are often based on a misunderstanding of addiction and its causes.

Public health, hospitals, counselors and law enforcement agencies are often well-aware of addiction problems within their communities. Individuals and families who face addiction can be reluctant to share problems with their pastor or local church for fear of judgment, they may contact a pastor only after the problem becomes a crisis. At that point, conveying a message of judgment stigmatizing someone suffering from addictions hurts the addicted person and their family and damages the church’s faithful witness to suffering people and prevents an opportunity for effective and credible ministry alongside those who suffer from addiction.

A common way that local churches address these issues is by opening church doors to AA and other 12-step groups. This is an important witness and a measure of our hospitality to people struggling to achieve recovery.

AA and other 12-step groups are programs whose primary approach encourages recovery through a support-based model. 12-step programs have affected millions of lives and offered hope to many people who are now in life-long recovery. Providing space for these programs is an essential tool to combating addiction. However, education about addiction and advocating for effective prevention are critically important too, and are necessary tools that churches need alongside recovery programs.

Effective change involving prevention calls us to dig deeper and go further in our own education and advocacy by addressing the systemic and insidious ways that addiction infiltrates our society. Extending addiction ministry to prevention and advocacy addresses the systemic root causes that lead people to need recovery programs in the first place.

For example, the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth points out the correlation between alcohol advertising targeted at young people and higher rates of underage and binge-drinking.

A recent alcohol policy symposium featured two leading experts describing the connection between the number of alcohol outlets in local communities and rates of crime and risky behaviors among young people.

Another intransigent problem is the outsized influence the well-financed alcohol and pharmaceutical industries has on our elected officials including Members of Congress. This influence affects public policy with far-reaching effects, often to the detriment of public health and best practices related to addiction.

These examples point out that addiction can never be successfully combated without addressing systemic problems through concerted and targeted advocacy and educational efforts. Churches, in particular, are well-equipped to ‘connect the dots’ and help impact public policy. We educate members about a wide variety of issues every week and call them to faithful living and acting in the world. This is an environment ripe for activating people in efforts to thwart the social costs of addiction and ultimately save lives.

Every September, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, sponsors National Recovery Month to increase awareness of behavioral health conditions and support those in recovery. This celebration promotes the message that behavioral health is essential to overall health, prevention works, treatment is effective, and people can, and do, recover from mental and substance use disorders.

The 2017 Recovery Month theme, “Join the Voices for Recovery: Strengthen Families and Communities,” inspires communities to be socially inclusive, offering support to those with mental and/or substance use disorders. It also encourages members of the community to seek help when needed, lend a hand, and contribute to their community as citizens, parents, employees, students, volunteers, and leaders.

Consider observing Recovery Month at your church can mean asking someone in recovery to speak at worship or you may plan an event after Sunday worship or during the week to invite the community to learn more. Your community may already be observing Recovery Month. Materials and links to community events can be found on the National Recovery Month website. To help those on the path to recovery, you can:

For more information on The United Methodist Church and addiction, visit www.umcjustice.org/what-we-care-about/health-and-wholeness/addictions