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FIRST-PERSON: An anti-drug plan that works


DURHAM, N.C. (BP)–The telephone calls from distressed individuals and their families are many. The plea is usually the same, “Can you help me?”

Those who have tasted the bitter fruits of drug abuse come from varying religious, social and economic backgrounds, but the dark experience in which they find themselves has reduced all of them to a common denominator. They are broken, and their hope for better days seems quite elusive.

Long ago we discovered that, among those who seek relief, there are those who achieve victory and those who suffer defeat. Addicts who attempt to find recovery by their own efforts usually fail. They are seeking to work miracles through their own ingenuity, often encouraged by family or some significant other who feels that all that is necessary for the drastic change is a significant personal determination to achieve wellness. They are urged to pull themselves out of their self-made mire by their own bootstraps. Many of these see sobriety as the ultimate aim.

And then there are others who turn to the seeming magic of psychology, group meetings or step-programs. They wish to feel good — as does most of our society — and these efforts seem to promise the best opportunity to escape pain and discomfort. However, they often lead to wallowing in the guilty past rather than the adoption of a dedicated Christian lifestyle.

The reason we receive so many phone calls from people looking for a better way is due to the sad record of failed efforts in the current treatment field, as well as the hope that a plan we have prayerfully devised will result in a measure of success not previously realized among those who have fallen prey to the addictive powers of alcohol, prescribed medicines and the illegal substances that plague our society.

There is more to treatment of the addicted than the achievement of a lifestyle free from drug abuse. Many of those who become entrapped in the drug world have never experienced the changed life that comes only to those who walk in the steps of Jesus. They do not need rehabilitation: They need a new way of life.

HIS Way is a carefully planned program that we have formulated through the leadership of our Lord that not only helps achieve permanent healing of the participant, but sets this person on a life direction that will not only be rewarding to the over comer and his loved ones, but also to all whom he encounters. Above all, it helps develop a lifestyle that will surely honor our Savior.

This Christian plan of direction is demanding, requiring a local church devoted to following the commandment of our Lord that we reach out with open hearts to a hurting world. It also requires trained mentors who have experienced a call from God to this ministry and broken participants who are serious about discovering a new way of life.

We know it is imperative that those involved directly in the program totally surrender to the leadership of the Lord. It must never again be living by our rules, but rather living only by His rules.

Since the article about HIS Way appeared a few weeks ago in an issue of Faith and Family Values we have receives hundreds of inquiries, and we have been privileged to assist several local congregations across the country in beginning such a program. Does your church have an open heart for broken people? If so, call us for details of this program, and get on with doing His will His way. He will be pleased!
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Ted Stone and Philip Barber are Southern Baptist ministers who provide leadership to churches and individuals seeking avenues of hope for those involved in drug abuse. For information about speaking engagements or about the anti-drug HIS Way program, contact Ted Stone, Ted Stone Ministries, P.O. Box 1397, Durham, N.C., 27702, or telephone 919-477-1581.

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  • Ted Stone and Philip Barber