2009 National
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November 13-15, 2009
King of Prussia, PA
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Crossroads - Part 2
by Edward Welch
If you are interested in helping people with addictions, the Crossroads series may be of help to you. It is designed as a 10 step small group study and has both a participant and facilitator’s guide. This week we are posting two sections from the facilitator’s guide: Getting Started and Step 1: Listen. These sections are the same in both guides – only the facilitator’s guide has some additional notes in the margin to help in leading a group. If these materials would be helpful to your ministry, click on the image of the book for ordering information.
Read our previous excerpt from Crossroads
GETTING STARTED
Do any of these statements fit?
- You feel out of control. What began as an escape from the hassles of life has become hazardous. Something—drugs, alcohol, gambling, food, sex—is taking over. You feel like its slave.
- You still love your addiction, but it is no longer friendly. You think it is time for a change.
- You think it is time for change—you want to leave your addiction—but you aren’t sure how to change. You have already tried a few strategies, and they didn’t work.
- Someone told you that you’d better change.
- You are sick and tired of the lies, broken relationships, and nagging conscience that accompany all addictions.
- You are already off and running, already leaving your addiction behind.
Whichever fits, welcome to reality. You are closing in on it.
Reality is not as bad as you think. Yes, the world around you can be miserable at times. It can be miserable most of the time, as a matter of fact. You have known that misery. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have preferred an altered reality. But there is more to reality than what you see. Usually you are looking through glasses that are smudged, scratched, and out of focus, and things don’t look good. But reality—true reality—is better than you think.
Ellis Island, Lady Liberty and Ground Zero
by Tim Lane
Recently my wife and I visited New York City. We took the train to get there and I always love the experience when I come out from under the ground beneath Madison Square Garden and emerge on the streets of one of the most incredible cities in the world. You are struck by the beauty of the city; the magnificent buildings, the hum of city noises and the people.
On this particular visit, Barbara and I met some friends and did a tour of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. After that, we rode the ferry back to the Battery and meandered through the financial district until we arrived at “Ground Zero”. It was then that I was reminded of where I was exactly one week before the Towers came down in 2001. I was at the top of the Empire State Building with my wife and four kids looking out over the city, gazing at the Twin Towers exactly seven days before they would fall. For me, even a week’s distance was too close!
Counseling Problems & Procedures: Suffering
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This week's podcast is an excerpt from an actual CCEF Distance Education class.
Taken from CCEF faculty member Ed Welch's "Counseling: Problems and Procedures" class, this excerpt is from a lecture focusing on suffering, particularly the suffering that results from sexual violation. To hear an extended version of this class sample, click here.
CCEF offers training in biblical counseling both on site (at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia) and online (wherever you have a computer and an Internet connection). To learn more about CCEF Training, click here. Deadline to register for August Distance Classes is July 15.