“At a Christian facility for those who struggle with drugs and alcohol, a man who had gone through the program and graduated was hired on staff with no formal training to lead the residents, we will call him Jim. The only experience Jim had in leading was on the streets using and dealing drugs, therefore he brought that mindset to the forefront of his leadership style, ‘I tell you what to do and you do it with no questions, or else.’ The question, of course, is ‘or else what?’ Since this Christian facility was teaching and counseling the residents from a Biblical perspective with topics like humbleness, meekness, love, and patience, Jim’s behavior and attitude were in stark contrast to this. This style of ‘leadership’ impacted other people in the program and staff alike, who in turn either left early in their program or quit altogether. How did this and why was it allowed to happen? Jim was hired under the assumption that since he completed the program, he was qualified to lead residents who had been abused, neglected, struggled with mental health and had heart issues, and who most of all had a severed relationship with Christ. Unfortunately this assumption was wrong, without a sound Biblical curriculum to ensure that the residents are healing and being freed from the bondage of addiction, and being assessed on a regular basis, failure is certain. Without any type of thorough Biblical leadership development and training for leaders in Christian facilities, the results will always be catastrophic. The leadership unintentionally set up this scenario for failure, becauseJim is just one of many examples of poorly trained and ill equipped leaders who were thrown into the fray.
Drug addiction is very complicated to deal with, therefore men and women who have been called to serve at these Christian facilities (the leaders) must have proper training in and understanding of the mental health aspect of recovery. More importantly, they must have an intimate relationship with Christ along with an understanding of what Scripture says about those in leadership roles. To bring about successful spiritual recovery, the leaders facilitating the design of these programs must be properly trained, mentored, and discipled, along with being spiritually well equipped. The core of the organization must be Christ-centered in order to bring about this kind of transformation in an addicts life.”
Dr. George N Kalaras
Our LIFEiLEAD™ Support Groups are volunteer-driven and the group leaders are committed to working with the group members to help guide them along the path of recovery. Many of our group leaders have been through addiction and recovery themselves, and all of them have been through our training and development program. Our goal is to plant multiple LIFEiLEAD™ Support Group Programs in communities, churches, transitional homes, and prisons for those struggling with drugs and alcohol.
While our groups are free for those who attend, there are upfront and ongoing costs to provide the necessary training and materials to effectively plant, lead, and sustain the LSG Programs. Not every location where we plant our program has the finances to fully cover the cost of our Program.
Please consider partnering with us with a monthly or one-time donation for 2015 to help reach our goal of $25,000. Your generous donations will go towards helping communities, churches, transitional homes, and prisons in need of the
LIFEiLEAD™ Support Group Program. This effort to generate support for the LIFEiLEAD™ program will allow us to continue to provide help to individuals and families
With your help, we can continue to play a significant role to ensure the continuation and success of these vital services.
LIFEiLEAD
PO Box 633
Warrington Pa 18976-0633
LIFE@riversideconnect.com
1-877-269-9590