Jeremy Collins
We need to get high on Jesus and drunk on the Holy Spirit!
Families suffering from brokenness seem to be the rule instead of the exception these days. In keeping with our effort to confront real-life issues faced by youth this year, the topic of discussion for one of our camps was “Drugs and Alcohol”. According to the U. S. Dept. of Justice, over half of the inmates in prison are there for drug related charges. We must remember that behind this statistic is a vast ocean of shattered families. The Church must stand behind those in prison and their hurting family members outside of prison. There are multiple societal reasons for these issues which are far beyond the scope of this blog. Addressing the problem as a society boils down to the concepts of intervention and hopefully prevention. We got very real with our campers sharing our own experiences with substance abuse and incarceration. Instead of repeating banner type jargon, we looked at what scripture actually says about these things.
However, addressing the problem as the Church of Jesus Christ boils down to addressing a heart problem. Scripture is abundantly clear and repetitive about the true reason for our brokenness, which can take many different forms. It is simply that we have all chosen to go OUR way instead of GOD’S way (Genesis 2:15-17, Deuteronomy 30:11-20 and Matthew 7:13-14 just to list a few). Therefore the only fix for a broken relationship with God is to trust that Jesus Christ lovingly died on the cross ONLY to pay for our sins. Through trusting in that redemptive work we will be seen as whole and blameless once again in the eyes of God (Romans 3:21-26). Without Jesus Christ, we might be able to prevent or intervene in drug and alcohol related problems. But in the end we have only placed a band-aid over a broken heart.
I had a dream last night where God asked me to write down what was on my heart. In misspelled words written in odd looking, contorted “dreamy” letters I wrote something like this: I want to better understand the long term effects, good or bad, on people raised in a broken home so that we can better serve them while they are young.
Three Circles Foundation is dedicated to the idea, quoted from Frederick Douglass, that “it is easier to build strong boys than to repair broken men”. We hope to do just that, however, once a mother, a father or both are missing from the picture, there is no simple solution. We understand that there is a gamut of needs that go unmet when the family breaks apart, regardless of the reason. That is why we strive to serve and partner with other organizations to collectively minister to the needs of our community. Please be in prayer for us as we continually seek God’s direction in fulfilling our mission. For now we will continue to teach them about the best drug out there, Jesus, and the best booze ever, The Holy Spirit!
I want to take a moment to deeply thank those of you who have so faithfully supported what God is doing through Three Circles. God has used your commitments for continual improvement and plans to grow in the near future. If you have not supported Three Circles before, I encourage you to contact us and discuss ways to do so! Thank you.