Today I took part in my third annual Cabell County Drug Summit, combining numerous agencies and outreaches that are trying to tackle the problems of drug addiction and the violence associated with it.
Today’s primary focus was prescription drug abuse. We learned that the problem is huge in WV (5th largest in the nation) and we learned many of the reasons that perpetuate the problem. For instance keeping pain killers in a family medicine cabinet that is unlocked with children in the house. All in all it was very informative.
I was a little concerned that there was so little participation from the faith leaders in the community. Then when I began hearing the reports from each of the roundtable discussions, I was surprised that many of those at the tables brought up issues of faith and the involvement of churches.
Three years ago, the faith community was off to itself, disconnected from most of the forefront in the war on drugs. Now it seems that the faith community has become intertwined on several levels with the agencies that are leading in the fight. For this I am truly grateful. Yet, there were only a handful of churches that had official representation at the event. What surprised me more was that this years speakers didn’t seem to be real favorable toward churches…possibly because of the defensive attitude of one clergyman early on in the seminar.
I wonder if pastors are becoming dis-enchanted with the secular models of treatment and would much rather preach about the problem than get involved with being a part of the solution.
I wonder if I can retool some of my networks to address the problem.
I wonder if I’m really ready for the next level.
The challenge for everyone in attendance was great, but I feel that the challenge for faith communities is perhaps greatest. In this next year will we come together to help solve the problem, or will we continue our backwards slide into the abyss of apathy that has held the church back from really making a difference?
One thing that is for certain is I must one up my commitment level. I need to do more to help and do all I can to not hinder. I also need to find a way to bridge some obvious gaps in this exchange of ideas. Some of the faith community walked away from the table today, saying the separation between church and state was too great to continue. Not me. I believe that as the church continues to become involved in the various agencies that already exist and we begin to uplift each others outreaches while working in our own fields that God will honor our efforts and bless all levels of this conflict.
No matter what, we can’t give up. With 90% of my church’s youth being directly affected by illicit drugs I can ‘t give up. With my kids growing up in this community I can’t give up. For the sake of the Kingdom of God, I can’t give up…and I won’t.
DBjr
