Bishop Ward will host a Bishop’s Forum on Opioid Abuse on Tuesday, November 13th, 1-2:30pm, at the United Methodist Building in Garner. Register to attend this free event.
The Media Center offers the following resources for churches and families dealing with addiction. You may request to borrow these resources in advance of the Bishop’s Forum, and we can mail them to you. The remaining resources will be available for borrowing at the forum.
For Churches and Pastors Helping Those With Addiction
The Recovery-Minded Church: Loving and Ministering to People with Addiction by Jonathan Benz with Kristina Robb-Dover, 2016. Here you will discover a clinically informed, biblical and theological framework to love the addicts in your midst and also practical tools to help you succeed in doing so.- Addiction and Recovery: A Resource Manual For Clergy and Other Congregational Leaders by The National Association for Children of Alcoholics, 2009. This book is a recommended resource from the Special Program on Substance Abuse & Related Violence (SPSARV) of The General Board of Global Ministries of The United Methodist Church.
Breaking the Spirit of Addiction: Counseling Guide by Bishop Samuel J. Jones, 2010. This book, written by an experienced Mennonite bishop, aims to provide pastors, Christian counselors and laypeople insight on the various addictions.- Celebrate Recovery: A Program for Implementing a Christ-Centered Recovery Ministry in Your Church by Rick Warren and John Baker, 2012. Drawn from the Beatitudes, Celebrate Recovery has helped over half a million people resolve painful problems in the context of the church as a whole.
- Counseling Persons with Addictions & Compulsions: A Handbook for Clergy and Other Helping Professionals by Andrew J. Weaver, Charlene Hosenfeld, and Harold G. Koenig, 2007. This book contains easy-to-locate information on addictions and compulsive disorders, case studies, and suggestions for pastoral assessments and responses.
- Mental Illness and Families of Faith: How Congregations Can Respond (DVD) by Mental Health Ministries, 2008. Each segment presents an issue related to the experience of mental illness, puts a face to the issue and offers a message of hope. One session is specifically on addiction and depression.
- Broken to Peace (DVD) by EcuFilm. Christians share their stories of being broken and restored to peace. One story is on addiction.
For Families Dealing With Addiction
Loving Someone with an Addiction (DVD), Paraclete Press, 2013. Through interviews with experts and with families who have experienced the addiction of a loved one, this video will offer hope-filled support in the form of practical information, advice from others who have been there, and the power of shared experiences.- Finding Hope In Recovery: Families Living with Addiction (DVD), Mennonite Media Productions, 2008. This program combines families’ stories along with expert commentary to emphasize that with emerging forms of treatment, recovery is possible.
On Pills and Needles: The Relentless Fight to Save My Son from Opioid Addiction by Rick Van Warner, 2018. Van Warner exposes the common causes of opioid addiction, effective and ineffective ways it has been treated, and how families can walk alongside loved ones who are dealing with the daily agony of addiction.- Addiction: Why Can’t They Just Stop? (DVD), HBO, 2007. This documentary series sheds light on addiction, its causes and the latest and most prominent developments in treatments.
For Youth and Their Caregivers
Stories: Real Teens, Real Life: Volume 2 (DVD), BluefishTV, 2005. Two short videos of teens sharing their experiences with performance enhancing drugs and partying to fit in with the crowd.- Creating Caring Congregations (DVD). Shawn’s Story tells of an adolescent’s experience with bi-polar depression, addiction and suicidal ideations.
- The Volunteer’s Guide to Helping Teenagers in Crisis (DVD) by Rich Van Pelt and Jim Hancock, 2012. Van Pelt and Hancock recommend and detail a program for dealing with crises in a way that will be most helpful for struggling teens.
- Helping the Struggling Adolescent: A Guide to Thirty-Six Common Problems for Counselors, Pastors, and Youth Workers by Dr. Les Parrott, III, 2000. This resource provides information on common struggles of adolescents with assessment tools and information on how to help.
Request These Resources
The resources listed here can be borrowed by anyone associated with the North Carolina Conference of The United Methodist Church, free of charge. We can even mail them to you! All you need to do is fill out the Resource Request Form.