Pubdate: Fri, 01 Aug 2003 Source: Christian News (Canada) Copyright: 2003 Christian News Contact: http://www.canadianchristianity.com/cgi-bin/bc.cgi?bc/index Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1697 Author: Jeff Dewsbury CHRIST-CENTRED RECOVERY FROM DRUG ABUSE WHEN SHELDON says he's going to spend his 21st birthday with his family, his voice sounds determined, thankful. While celebrating with family is a given,something most guys his age take for granted, Sheldon says this birthday is special. This time he had to earn the chance to go home for the day. Last year, when he turned 20, Sheldon wasn't the same person that he is now. He was addicted to crystal meth, speed, and his 'family' back then was a bunch of his unemployed buddies, also drug addicts, that he shared a basement apartment with. Sheldon says the meth made him paranoid and delusional -- not the kind of guy that families are quick to throw a bash for. Like many drug addicts, the wear and tear of the lifestyle kept driving him closer to the proverbial bottom. When he finally hit his low point, he reached out to an uncle, asking him to find him some help. Together they found Teen Challenge B.C.'s website. For the past seven months, Sheldon has been living drug-free at Teen Challenge's Chilliwack facility. The ministry refers to people undergoing recovery as their 'students'; they prefer that term to the more commonly used 'clients,' because it more accurately represents the amount of learning involved. And conditions are rigorous: students only receive a 24-hour home pass once they have been clean for more than half a year. Now that the haze of the drug lifestyle has been lifted, Sheldon says he's enjoying the chance to get to know his parents again. "God has restored my relationship with them," he told BCCN last month. "Now I'm actually interested in how their lives are going, not 'can you meet me somewhere and give me money.' I used to only call when I needed something before." With an estimated 30,000-plus drug addicts and alcoholics in the greater Vancouver area, Sheldon's newfound freedom represents one shining light on a pretty dark street. There are dozens of social agencies and ministries, each employing their own philosophy (or theology), trying to help addicts recover. The complex issues surrounding detox, dependency and personal responsibility intertwine to create a twisted maze of ideologically driven government and nongovernment agencies charged with getting people off of the street. Somewhere in that labyrinth are Christian ministries which make a relationship with Christ a necessary component of the recovery process. This summer, 45 leaders from Teen Challenge, Wagner Hills Farm, Harbour Light (Salvation Army), Union Gospel Mission, Hope for Freedom Society, Samaritan's Inn, Set Free Ministries, House of the Good Shepherd, Hope in Action and other Christian ministries met together in an initiative that may eventually see them form an official association that recognizes their unique niche in the recovery 'world.' And while those who tout strictly secular methods may be at odds with explicitly Christian-based recovery methods, they can't argue with one fact: they are working. Methadone madness Wagner Hills and Teen Challenge are two Fraser Valley ministries which run programs that are notably Christ-centred. A significant element of their philosophy states that Christ is the only path to true freedom and that an individual cannot be truly free if he fills that void in his life with anything but a relationship with Jesus. To underscore this fact, the ministries refuse to administer methadone, a prescribed, government-sanctioned, yet highly addictive heroine substitute, saying they don't believe true recovery can come by substituting a legal drug for an illegal one. This stand has been an expensive one. The provincial government has made methadone a mandatory component of sanctioned drug treatment programs. In order to qualify for government funds -- which would constitute a portion of a ministry's budget -- each facility has to become sanctioned. "We see methadone as an addictive substance that is harmful to people," says Helmut Boehm, head of Wagner Hills. "The government is making a relativistic decision that methadone is less bad than people being on heroine. We don't see administering it as part of our mandate to bring freedom to people." Boehm is one of a number of people who view the whole methadone method as the government's way of managing the drug problem and the financial fallout from it. He points out that while methadone programs may help society in some ways -- reducing the number of robberies and break-ins, as well as hospital visits from drug users -- they don't help the addict. "That person is still harmed, not free, and in my view is in bondage. Not in a relationship with God and missing out on life," he laments. "If I administer it, I'm blocking the very place where God is meant to be, with methadone." Though Christian recovery centres are promoting unity in their ranks, they don't completely agree on how best to help addicts. Not all take such a strong stand on methadone, for instance, and at least one Vancouver program administers the drug as part of its treatment. Still, that hasn't prevented the leaders from working together in the fight to clean up Vancouver. While he refuses to "buy a person a needle" Boehm says he'll do a lot of other things to help someone change. "We don't just tell someone to change. Tough love means I'll do everything needed to help you change. I'll sit through the night with you, be your friend, find you a place to live." Despite the absence of methadone, there is a steady stream of addicts entering programs at the two facilities. At B.C. Teen Challenge, which has a waiting list, addicts even have to quit smoking cigarettes the day they walk through the front door. And coffee and sugar -- both foods that director Barry Berger says can be 'triggers' for addictions -- are strictly rationed. "We would solicit the government to develop drug-free zones, not free-drug zones," says Berger. Work and Bible Study Teen Challenge is an international organization with chapters in every region of the country. There are 559 Teen Challenges in 78 countries. It was started in 1958 by David Wilkerson of The Cross and the Switchblade fame. Their formula of Bible study, work ethic and a solid exit plan means that most of their grads break the cycle of addiction for good, says Berger. Their program also requires a one year commitment, which is far beyond the average for recovery programs. "We teach the guys to love the Lord God almighty with all your heart, mind and soul and to love your neighbour as yourself," says Berger, adding that that 'love' also includes respect and love for the people that make and enforce the laws of the land. If you truly want to love the police officer or lawmaker, you won't break the law and do drugs he believes. Teen Challenge students do 24 hours per week of physical labor and 24 hours per week of Bible study. According to Berger, one hard-nosed parole officer who visited the site this summer left saying "Good grief, this is much harder than prison." "I think we'll be getting his referrals," laughs the director. Teen Challenge International is in the midst of a three million dollar (US) study they commissioned to determine the current success rate of their program. In various earlier studies, the program has shown a success rate well above 80 percent. One study looked at students who had graduated the program five years earlier, whereas government studies will often only look one year beyond an ex-addict's graduation from a treatment centre. Despite the numbers, Berger says the government doesn't always take them seriously because they are Christian-based. Two years ago, B.C. Teen Challenge invited provincial and federal government officials to a working luncheon at the centre so they could see the facility and talk about their treatment program. "Once they saw the cross on the wall, we lost all credibility," he recalls. Judging Success When it comes to judging success, to putting hard numbers to a program, Boehm says there are many dimensions that can't be measured. "When we talk of success [of Christian recovery programs] it's a bit like asking 'how successful is the church at ministering to its people?'" He views Wagner Hills as one part of a larger Christian community, with many lay people working and praying for those with addictions. To take credit when a person makes a life changing decision at the farm or to feel failure when someone leaves prematurely would be to miss the other steps in a person's spiritual journey. He cites the case where someone who is supposed to stay at the farm for six months leaves after being there for only one week. Though that person may decide to used drugs again, they may eventually find permanent help through other influences. In the end, he says, "God's word will not return void." - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake