TIME TO CONNECT

Have you thanked Him?

Have you praised Him?

Have you made it your priority to agree and cooperate with Him today?

Have you taken that deep breath and listened for what He has for you today?

1 Timothy 2:1 (The Message)

The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know.

Alder once remarked, “One of the most important things you can do on this earth is to let people know they are not alone.”

A couple months ago I was in Columbus attending a session with our Recovery Housing leaders.  In recent years there has been great progress and momentum around opening and maintain sober living facilities for people who are embracing a lifestyle of recovery. 

There is even a great podcast that echoes the sentiment of Alder called the OPPOSITE of ADDICTON is CONNECTION. - http://thinkt3.libsyn.com/recovery-housing-and-homelessness

And as I have traveled around meeting with churches, pastoral and lay leaders who have a heart for the addicted, I am constantly re-emphasizing the importance of “the church” (and I don’t mean the facilities, WE are the church) in becoming a place of CONNECTION for folks seeking FREEDOM from addiction and its grip.

WE should be the place where folks can comfortably CONNECT.

WE must help folks believe they are not alone.

We constantly ask people who are seeking recovery to “change everything” and that includes changes not just their habits of addiction but their ALLIANCES of addiction.  And sadly many of those who are looking for that new social context don’t see “the church” (US) as an option. 

They often tell me the church is:

Judgmental

Cold

Distant

Barricaded

Uninviting

Unapproachable

Disparaging.

WOW.

Friends, it is time for us to turn that tide.  It is.

Folks are desperate for meaningful connections. 

They can’t function alone.

Connections are not just beneficial they are crucial, helpful and changing!

For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. 

Matthew 18:20 (KJV)

As one piece of iron sharpens another, so friends keep each other sharp.

Proverbs 27:17 (ESV)

Friends and Family Give Strength

Two people are better than one. When two people work together, they get more work done.  Ecclesiastes 4:9 (ERV)

Unfortunately when it comes the addicted, the church has often advanced the stigma. We have implied to the addicted they are moral failures and bad folks who make bad choices who aren't welcome.

We have to stop it.

Our addicted community needs us.  

Their families need us.  Their children need us.  Their spouses need us.  

We must as Alder suggests let people know they are not alone!

Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. Romans 15:7 ESV

Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers...Hebrews 13:2 ESV

Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. 1 Peter 4:9 ESV

“When a stranger (ADDICT) sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself… Leviticus 19:33-34 ESV

Now I don’t normally get too preachy with the OFH. 

But my heart was stirred today by an account shared with one of my closest para-minstry partners Wednesday.  As they were ministering to a desolate and challenging street in Columbus they came upon a little girl who was ALONE and seemingly sleeping on a porch of a home.  Yet upon further examination, she was not sleeping, she was dead. 

Face down.

Alone.

Discarded.

Disconnected.

Forgotten.

Gone.

I don’t need to say anything else.

Things need to change. 

CHURCH, we need to become a community of compassion and connection again.

“Love is our true destiny. We do not find the meaning of life by ourselves alone - we find it with another.”  - Merton

Have a blessed weekend.

Opportunities for Hope (Champions Charge)