Misunderstanding My Ministry

After speaking today about the whys and wherefores of compulsive sexual problems several men chatted with Owen and me about how to minister to friends and family members with a number of different problems. Several of them brought up family concerns, husband and wife conflicts, parenting problems, troubles at work, etc. All topics we are familiar with and to which we have some very practical solutions.

Here is the rub: Many of the men asked if we knew anyone who could help their friends. They thought that we only dealt with people with sexual problems. I mentioned to a couple of them that Owen and were both trained in marital and family therapy and that we were prepared to help people with any number of specific issues.

In fact, we are actually solution experts not problem experts. Yet, many assume if I do a workshop on alcohol and drug addiction I must know nothing about food or sex addiction. Or, if I do a seminar on parenting I know nothing about marriage counseling or career counseling.

As a matter of fact, all compulsive or problem behaviors have similar root causes and similar solutions. We look for the root and lay the axe to it regardless of the fruit. (One may be addicted to anger, food, TV, legal drugs, illegal drugs, chocolate, vanilla, cookies, whale blubber or have a foot fetish but the roots are similar.)

When I first began to minister in Russia and discovered how prevalent alcohol addiction was I asked my friends for their explanation. Several mentioned that the problem lay in the strength of the vodka. "Our vodka is so much stronger than your whiskey or beer" said a few of them. "That is why so many Russians are addicts."

Many people in the USA and Russia believe that it is more dangerous to drink "hard liquor" than beer, but it is as easy to get addicted to beer as it is to the strongest hard liquor. Remember, it is not the strength of the drugs on the outside but the condition of the soul that counts when we are discussing an addiction.

I am a Soul Doctor not an expert in building walls around people to keep sin out. If you are having terrible conflict with your wife or teenager I will help you get a whole soul by healing the hole in your soul.

I am an expert in teaching people not only how to be whole themselves but how to develop safe places where the souls of others can be made whole. Call me if you want your church to be a healing center.

I am also an expert on prevention and spiritual growth. If you want to know how to help people prevent divorce, domestic abuse, pornography, drug abuse, depression and anxiety, call me.