By Edward T. Welch


Description
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Everyone of us is a potential addict.
Eventually, every addict finds himself at a crossroads.

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 lure us. They 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. 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 Crossroads: A Step-by-Step Guide Away from Addiction.

Crossroads was designed as a group study for those struggling with addiction. These ten steps, presented in author Ed 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. 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.


Author
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Edward T. Welch, M.Div., Ph.D., is a licensed psychologist and faculty member at the Christian Counseling & Educational Foundation (CCEF). He has counseled for over twenty-five years and is the best-selling author of many books including When People Are Big and God Is Small; Addictions: A Banquet in the Grave; Blame It on the Brain?; Depression: A Stubborn Darkness; Crossroads: A Step-by-Step Guide Away from Addiction; Running Scared: Fear, Worry, and the God of Rest; and When I Am Afraid: A Step-by-Step Guide Away from Fear and Anxiety. He and his wife Sheri have two married daughters and four grandchildren.

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How to Use

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This small group resource offers a biblical alternative to addiction recovery programs. Using ten steps, addicts are helped to first see themselves accurately and then pointed towards Christ and the hope of forgiveness and change in the gospel. The steps begin by helping addicts gain an accurate sense of who they are and their need for God and then move into the specifics of how God, in Christ, meets their needs.  The Facilitator¿s Guide has notes for the small group leader inserted throughout and guidelines in the beginning for moving toward addicts and leading a small group.

Crossroads can be used either in one-on-one addiction counseling or as a study guide for an addictions recovery group. If you plan to use it with a small group, here are some suggestions from the author on how to structure the group time.

1. Decide with the group on a time to start and stop.
2. At your first meeting work together on a statement of purpose. This is a nice opportunity for you to consider why you are meeting together and put that into words. Aim to be brief. For example, ¿We need help, God gives help, and he uses people.¿ Also read through the ¿Getting Started¿ section of the guide (pp. 1-4)
3. Pray.
4. Read a short passage of Scripture that is relevant to the meeting¿s topic (you can use a passage that is in the step for the week).
5. Listen to a testimony. Consider ending the testimony by asking the person how the group can pray for him or her, but be careful to keep the time from being a group counseling session. It is hard enough to share something shameful, such as an addiction. An advice free-for-all could be confusing at best and could easily push the person away. If the person doesn¿t have an accountability partner, you could talk after the meeting and suggest someone who could be a mentor.
6. Give a brief summary about the step discussed in the meeting (done by the leader or someone the leader has asked beforehand).
7. Discuss group responses, action plans, or questions about the step. Keep comments brief.
8. Pray for one another. In a large group, you could write prayer requests on 3x5 cards and distribute them to group members.
9. Sing a hymn and/or worship song
10. Give a benediction. One of the shocking things about God is that he desires to bless his people. The blessing from Number 6:24¿26 is one example.

Who Is the Product For?

This small group resource is suitable for teenagers, young adults, and adults who struggle with addiction. This resource can be used to address all kinds of addictive behavior, including alcohol or drug abuse, sex/pornography, food, etc. It has been used effectively in individual discipling/counseling relationships and in churches and ministries as a small group study.

Related Products:

Ministries and churches, after going through Crossroads, have used CCEF¿s core curriculum with their addiction recovery groups. How People Change (book, small group study guide, and DVD seminar) by Timothy S. Lane and Paul David Tripp is the first of CCEF's three core courses about gospel-centered change. The second part of the series is the book and small group resource Instruments in the Redeemer's Hand by Paul David Tripp. The third in the series is Relationships: A Mess Worth Making (book) and Change and Your Relationships (small group study guide) by Timothy S. Lane and Paul David Tripp. Each course is designed to give pastors, counselors, and ministry leaders a biblical, Christ-centered, and user-friendly tool to equip laypeople to grow in grace. The three courses together answer three fundamental questions: Why do people do the things they do? How does lasting change take place in a person? How can God use me in someone's life to help them grow?