Church role in meth crisis should be acceptance, says minister

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This article was published 09/03/2020 (2379 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

When Christians think about the meth problem, they shouldn’t only think about how they can change addicts, but what the terrible situation can do to “change them.”

That’s the message Bob Ekblad will bring to Winnipeg on Tuesday, with a presentation titled, “Meth Crisis and the Church: How Should We Respond?”

Ekblad, a Presbyterian minister from Burlington, Wash., will share lessons he has learned from years of reaching out to people struggling with addiction.

Christians are often tempted to judge people who are addicted, when the goal should be to “provide acceptance and welcome,” he said.

People struggling with addictions “are drawn to those who don’t judge, don’t look down on them, who are willing to try to understand them,” Ekblad said, adding many addicts turn to drugs because of loneliness, isolation or because they are carrying lots of pain.

Drugs are a way to self-medicate and deal with those problems, he said.

If churches want to help people caught in addiction, they should try to be the kinds of places people want to turn to when they want to change, so people who are struggling with addictions need to see the church as a place they will be accepted before they wanted to change, Ekbald said.

Ekblad’s church, Tierra Nueva (or New Earth), which he co-pastors with his wife, Gracie, has many ex-addicts among its members. It also welcomes people to attend services even if they are high.

“We’ve only had one incident in 25 years,” he said, noting people in the church of about 60 are assigned to be on the lookout for disruptive behaviour.

Ekblad, the author of Reading the Bible with the Damned, is being brought to Winnipeg by Inner City Youth Alive, a church-based organization that provides a safe and nurturing environment for children and youth in the North End.

Executive director Kent Dueck said Ekblad’s message is important for local Christians because “we are seeing families torn apart” by meth. This includes people he knows, such as one “fantastic dad” who is lost to meth addiction.

Although meth appeared in the North End years ago, its use has greatly increased recently, Dueck said.

“We are regularly seeing kids fall into it,”he said.

Like Ekblad, Dueck believes churches should avoid judging people who are dealing with addictions.

“That is so useless. We need to be compassionate, not judgmental. These are good people caught in a bad cycle. They are not horrible people,” Dueck said.

The meth problem isn’t limited to one part of Winnipeg, he said.

“Our intent is not to get them to send people down to the North End to hand out food and brochures,” Dueck said of other churches. “We are inviting them to engage with people in the North End relationally.”

This would include volunteering with organizations such as his, supporting its work financially, and “praying for our community.”

Ekblad’s presentation is at 7 p.m., Tuesday, at Canadian Mennonite University’s great hall (500 Shaftesbury Blvd.). Admission is free, but registration is required at www.icya.ca.

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