Stories tagged with: addiction

• John Crist marks return with online video message

  by Jonathan Howe, posted Thursday, July 16, 2020 (3 years ago)

  

  Screen capture from YouTube

  NASHVILLE (BP) -- Disgraced Christian comedian John Crist has returned to public life more than eight months after an admission to "sexual sin and addiction struggles" sidelined his career.

  In a 4-minute, 39-second video released online Wednesday (July 15), Crist acknowledged poor choices yet did not specifically apologize for the actions that led to his fall from grace. Instead he stated that he had made "a lot of poor choices in [his] personal life" and a lot of decisions that hurt himself and other people. Read More

• Autopsy reveals cause of death for TobyMac's son

  by Tess Schoonhoven, posted Thursday, January 23, 2020 (3 years ago)

  

  Photo from Instagram

  NASHVILLE (BP) -- The death of Truett Foster McKeehan, 21, son of Christian rapper TobyMac, was caused by an accidental overdose of fentanyl and amphetamines. The cause was listed on a report from the Davidson County (Tenn.) medical examiner, according to the Tennessean newspaper.

  McKeehan's death was sudden. Emergency crews found him dead on arrival to his home after a call was made regarding a person in cardiac arrest. Read More

• Half of pastors see opioid abuse in their own congregations

  by Aaron Earls, posted Wednesday, November 20, 2019 (4 years ago)

  

  iStock

  NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Like most U.S. pastors, Robby Gallaty knows someone who has been affected by opioid abuse. But unlike most pastors, Gallaty has personally suffered through addiction.

  Twenty years ago this month, Gallaty endured a near-fatal car accident. When he left the hospital, the club-bouncer-turned-church-leader took with him several prescriptions for painkillers. Read More

• Gallaty book reveals what nearly killed him

  by Joy Allmond, posted Thursday, October 31, 2019 (4 years ago)

  

  NASHVILLE (BP) -- Robby Gallaty isn't who you think he is.

  At least that's what billboards in the greater Nashville area said of Gallaty, pastor of Long Hollow Baptist Church in nearby Hendersonville, in the weeks leading up to the church's 2016 Easter service.

  The message -- meant to mimic a smear campaign -- gained national media attention and garnered 14,000 attendees on Easter Sunday, doubling the church's usual attendance of 7,000. Read More

• FROM THE STATES: Addiction ministry support team started in New England; Alabama agencies to require background checks

  by BP and State Convention newspaper staffs, posted Friday, October 18, 2019 (4 years ago)

  

  SBC graphic

  Today's From the States features items from: The Baptist Convention of New England (Mass.) and The Alabama Baptist (Ala.).

  BCNE starts addiction ministry support team

  By Baptist Convention of New England staff

  NORTHBOROUGH, Mass. (BP) --The Baptist Convention of New England is adding an addiction ministry consultant to its church growth team. Samuel Arroyo-Breeden, a member of First Church in Charlestown, Mass., will work with New England churches that are interested ... Read More

• Rick Stanley's daughter: 'Dad is out of all pain'

  by Brittany Stanley, posted Tuesday, May 07, 2019 (4 years ago)

  

  ATLANTA (BP) -- John 10:10 tells us: "A thief comes only to steal and to kill and to destroy. I have come that they may have life and have it in abundance."

  Try using the word "addiction" where the Bible says "thief" and re-read the passage. Read More

• Atypical hours & location attract recovery attendees

  by Todd Deaton/Western Recorder, posted Thursday, December 06, 2018 (4 years ago)

  

  Western Recorder photo

  ERLANGER, Ky. (BP) -- New Reality -- Southern Baptists' newest church plant in northern Kentucky -- meets on Friday nights, not Sundays.

  Even more atypical, New Reality is part of a Life Recovery Center in Erlanger providing Christ-centered answers to those struggling with addictions.

  The church plant has grown quickly -- from 20 people in May to about 95 in late October and was anticipating its first three baptisms in late November.

  Chris Hamilton, who leads New Reality, is a recovering alcoholic himself who has been sober for 10 years. After coming to Christ, he felt called to preach "the recovery gospel." Read More

• Trump opioid declaration underscores ministry need

  by David Roach, posted Friday, October 27, 2017 (6 years ago)

  

  Image: iStock/license purchase required

  WASHINGTON (BP) -- President Trump's declaration that America's opioid crisis is a public health emergency came amid calls for churches to heighten their response to drug abuse as well.

  The opioid crisis is a "major problem," said Robby Gallaty, pastor of Long Hollow Baptist Church in Hendersonville, Tenn., and a former drug addict whose testimony has encouraged others to seek freedom in Christ. The opioid epidemic, he noted, is an opportunity "to show people that the thing they're searching for and seeking is not found in a drug. It's found in a man, and His name is Jesus." Read More

• Teen internet addiction cited as growing concern

  by Daniel Woodman , posted Friday, July 21, 2017 (6 years ago)

  

  Image: iStock/License purchase required

  NASHVILLE (BP) -- Gateway Seminary professor Paul Kelly had a friend who once became so addicted to online gaming that he would ignore his family and friends while also skipping meals so he could play more games on the internet. His desire became so severe that he began failing classes and stole from his family to support his habit.

  Amid the emerging challenge of internet addiction, youth ministry experts are calling for churches to raise awareness of the topic and provide resources for parents and students. While pornography is perhaps the most publicized online addiction, internet-based activities that are less sinister in themselves can rise to a harmful level, according to a growing body of evidence. Read More

• U-Turn for Christ battles men’s bondage to addiction

  by Sheila Allen/Northwest Baptist Witness, posted Monday, April 17, 2017 (6 years ago)

  U-Turn for Christ, a restorative ministry in southern Oregon led by Kevin Darr, has been standing firm for nearly a decade against the ravages of life-controlling addictions. Read More