All famous painters have one thing in common; an element makes the painting come alive. Whether it is a pose, a color, lighting, or brush stroke, without it the painting is dull and uninteresting. The author likens compassion as that element in healing. “To be compassionate is to be moved in our guts, to mysteriously experience another's pain.” (p. 197) Murren says the church may be a poor place for addicts and hurting people to seek help. We listen as it is our duty, but the heart felt compassion is missing. We need to listen with our heart not with theology, doctrines, or traditions. People long to be heard, understood, and respected. These elements are at the core of most problems. Murren says preaching is not the best way to provide healing because it has a negative connotation. Preaching is speaking without
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He believes there are three main reasons. (1) We tend to rely too heavily on ascribing a moral solution for everything. Not all addictions have a moral backdrop. It could be due to other reasons. See John 9:2. (2) We often have little patience for the relapse that all addicts face. He states, “…about 85 percent of recovering addicts will relapse in their first two years.” (p. 203) The church must be ready to commit to these people for the long haul. We must throw out our idealistic view of progress. Patience and compassion not condemnation is the thing that brings them back to wholeness in Christ. One method used is former addicts working with current addicts. This is “walking in another’s moccasins.” He believes twelve-step ministries are a valuable asset to the church in dealing with the addict and broken. (3) We tend not to let people grow. Murren summarize this sentence well. “We lock people into old identities or our own ideas of who they are or should be.” (p. 204) Parents do not let children forget their mistakes and we carefully watch former addicts for future
He believes there are three main reasons. (1) We tend to rely too heavily on ascribing a moral solution for everything. Not all addictions have a moral backdrop. It could be due to other reasons. See John 9:2. (2) We often have little patience for the relapse that all addicts face. He states, “…about 85 percent of recovering addicts will relapse in their first two years.” (p. 203) The church must be ready to commit to these people for the long haul. We must throw out our idealistic view of progress. Patience and compassion not condemnation is the thing that brings them back to wholeness in Christ. One method used is former addicts working with current addicts. This is “walking in another’s moccasins.” He believes twelve-step ministries are a valuable asset to the church in dealing with the addict and broken. (3) We tend not to let people grow. Murren summarize this sentence well. “We lock people into old identities or our own ideas of who they are or should be.” (p. 204) Parents do not let children forget their mistakes and we carefully watch former addicts for future