Addictions lure us. In a pressure-filled world, the prospect of instant escape can be exhilarating. No matter the object-drugs, alcohol, food, gambling, or sex, just to name a few-addictions extend the promise of pleasure. In the end, they deliver emptiness, death, and destruction. What began as an escape from the hassles of life becomes a form of bondage with addiction.
Addiction is a voluntary slavery. Change doesn't come easily. But change is possible! No matter how many times you have tried and failed, there really is a way through the addictive fog. There is a guidebook for living, and, contrary to what many think, it is available to anyone, even to those enslaved by an addiction. God is not silent on this issue. His Word offers hope, and that hope is the basis of the Christian Counseling & Educational Foundation's (CCEFs) Crossroads: A Step-by-Step Guide Away from Addiction by Christian counseling expert Edward T. Welch.
Crossroads was designed as a small group study for those struggling with addiction. These ten steps, presented in Welch's trademark direct, no-nonsense style, provide a biblical and practical framework for change. Welch is a wise and loving partner who walks beside readers on their journey to freedom through God. Along the way, they will learn to recognize the patterns of addiction, to choose wisdom over foolish desires, and to cling to the hope they have in Jesus, who sets captives free.
The path away from addiction has been laid by a God who is full of surprises, who faithfully pursues those enslaved even though they have deliberately avoided him. Because walking with an addict through the process of change takes wisdom, love, and perseverance, Welch has also written an easy-to-use leaders guide. In Crossroads: A Step-by-Step Guide Away from Addiction Facilitator's Guide, Welch walks leaders through the process of loving, connecting with, and speaking truth to a small group of addicts.
This book contains helpful observations about the mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual state common to most addicts. With access to Welch's solid theology on addiction and years of biblical counseling experience, counselors, pastors, and others with a heart for people who are hurting can play an active role in God's restorative work in the care and discipleship of those enslaved to an addiction.
