Addictions Ministry
Addictions Ministry
Psalm 18:6
But in my distress I cried out to the LORD;
yes, I prayed to my God for help.
He heard me from his sanctuary;
my cry reached his ears.
Whether it is addiction to alcohol, heroin, sex, tobacco, work, gambling, sugar or caffeine, throughout history and throughout civilizations there has been a human need to escape from our emotions and circumstances or to improve or enhance our “life experience”.
Human beings are such complex creatures and at the centre of all human existence there is an emptiness that can only be filled by one thing. It is our hole in the soul. And no matter how good life gets or how successful we are, there always seems to be something missing!
At Edinburgh City Mission we believe that we were not created to be self-seeking, self-centred creatures, but we were born to be in relationship with God. What’s more, until that relationship is restored through faith we can never know peace as we were intended to know it.
Addictions ministry is a journey towards recovery for broken people in a broken world! Based on sound teachings from scripture and evidence-based approaches, it brings the individual to wholeness and into relationship with his/her maker.
Through our life experiences we have been hurt, rejected, lost and at times bemused. In response we try to become even more self-reliant and independent, but this is the exact opposite of the plan that our creator (God) had for us. This has manifested in our lives as self-seeking, self-willed, compulsive behaviors, and as a result we have come into conflict with one another and with God. Often left feeling empty, bruised, and hurting as the consequence of our “Self-will” run riot!
Through the approach at ECM we confront our displacement and come back into relationship with others and God. Learning to live a Christ-centered life in a broken world, we see things as they really are, and not as we’d like them. Giving up control, and in return finding peace and serenity!
Primary Healing
Before we find the solution we have to understand our problem. This requires courage to look inward and being honest about what we find. On the journey, by sharing our experiences with each other, we find fellowship and understanding.
Some of the areas that we look at are:
¨ Denial
¨ Acceptance
¨ Surrender
Working in a safe environment, and in a structured way, our lives can be transformed in a relatively short period of time.
Using sound scriptural / spiritual principles and proven psychological techniques we heal from our hurts and unhealthy choices, and move on to a far more rewarding life, more precious than gold or silver!
Join us and find out what it is like to discover and recover.
Billy McHaffie is a missionary/evangelist with Edinburgh City Mission and heads up this ministry. An addict and alcoholic from the age of 13, he discovered the power to free him from addiction. Not only was he freed but his life was totally transformed and he has many years of sobriety (abstinence from drugs and alcohol) behind him. Out of the ashes he found love and great joy!
Billy has worked in Edinburgh for a number of years, both with chaotic drug/alcohol users and those in recovery. This is the main focus of addiction ministry although other compulsive behaviors can be addressed.
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