103. Freedom From Sexual Sins Part 3 with Liz Beck

Welcome to the For Freedom Podcast. This podcast exists to bring the freedom of the gospel for everyday Christians with everyday issues. Now here are your hosts, John Holyfield and James Saifert. Welcome today. We are excited about having Ms. Liz Beck from Hope for Addiction. She is the founder and president of Hope for Addiction. She's also a certified biblical counselor through ACBC and a certified addictions biblical counselor through ACBC, as well as a commissioned addictions counselor through the Addiction Connection. Liz is the president and founder of Hope for Addiction, as well as a conference speaker, trainer, and curriculum writer. Liz, welcome to the For Freedom Podcast today. How are you today? I'm great. Thanks for having me. I'm looking forward to the conversation. Absolutely. Well, we're in our session right now of sexual sins, and me and Liz, we got together. I got to meet her at the annual meeting for the Southern Baptist Convention down in New Orleans just a couple of months ago. A great time down there, but we were able to connect and gave some material to me. I've looked over it in setting up for having this interview today. And John's able to be with us today. He's got a church emergency. But Liz, tell us about yourself and Hope Addiction. What are your principal beliefs? What do you stand for? And what is your goal for the ministry? Well, Hope for Addiction is a biblical approach to helping people with addictions. We bring the light of the gospel to bear for those who struggle with addiction. So we really want to equip the local church to enter into these situations that can seem abnormal. We have been told by the culture that these are disorders. But when we understand addiction from a biblical perspective, we see that it's just a natural outflow of a fallen, sinful nature. And so we really want to help the church to be confident to enter in and be able to walk alongside and help people see that there's freedom in Christ. So that's really what we're all about. And, you know, how to practically apply biblical truths to the real struggle of addiction. So that's what we're that's what we're doing. Fantastic. I love that you the main focus there is to the local church. Yes. So often ministries will start in a way where the church isn't primary. And then there's no support base. There's no help for the individual when they when they're going through trials. And so the church is great to use that and to keep that as your backbone. Do you guys have any self-sustained centers or do you just create curriculum and do what's the process for Hope Addiction? How does someone says they've got a problem? They come to you, they go to your website. What's the process there? So we have a couple of different options. So depending on where a church is in their process of being able to serve those who struggle with addiction, maybe it's just one person in their church that they're looking to serve, or maybe they want to have a whole recovery ministry within their church. So depending on where they are, we've got resources for all of that. We have what we call a free toolkit that has just some articles even about how to think about addiction. How do we view it from a biblical perspective? We also have some curriculum that makes it really easy for the average church person who doesn't really know about addiction to sit and disciple one-on-one someone who has this struggle and to be able to connect gospel truth with the struggle of addiction. We also have training videos. And so the thing that's great about our training and our equipping is it isn't specific to addiction because we're looking at the heart issues. And so when we are looking at that, that's universal, right? We all have the same heart condition. So a lot of our training materials are a biblical counseling foundational training. So they're applicable for any church leader. But we also then connect the practicals with addiction. So here's the biblical principle. Now, what does that look like as we're sitting across the table from someone and trying to help them to understand what crisis degrees of involvement that a church may have? And we've got resources to help them with all of it. And then for churches who want a full recovery ministry with a weekly recovery meeting, we have resources for that as well. And all of those are all written by our team to make sure that we are bringing a biblical view and a practical understanding of addiction to people who are in need. So we have, you know, all of our materials are reviewed by a pastor to make sure that they are biblically sound and that we are presenting things in a simple way that somebody can understand, but also with biblical integrity. Well, that's fantastic. And they can find that at hopeforaddiction.com. Is that correct? Correct. Yes. We'll mention that again at the end and we'll have that link in our show notes as well. That's awesome resources, great things to equip the church. I think oftentimes we need these ministries that come alongside the church to help us, to equip us, to give us a different perspective of how to view something that, like you said, the world says is a disorder when really it's an issue. It's how to get to the heart of the matter, as Jesus says often in his ministry. So there's probably about a hundred different, maybe thousand different ministries for addiction. Why would we start another ministry for addiction? What was the goal? What was the reason behind starting this? You know, we, we, we, we ask this question a lot of times when people write a book, why write another marriage book? Why write, you know, there's a hundred of them out there. So, so what was the purpose of this? Right. Well, as we see year after year, the deaths, the problem of addiction continues to increase. Right. So, so the, the, the solutions that are being presented are not working. They're not effective. And so for me, just with my personal involvement, I was married to someone who struggled with addiction, our entire marriage. And I had been even kicked out of a church once because of his addiction. So I was kind of wounded by the church, even in this area of addiction for, by churches who just didn't understand. And so the church that I'm at currently, they loved me and cared for me and my family. They entered into the messiest situations with us. And my pastor did not always have that, all of the answers for the addiction piece, but he always anchored me in the hope of the gospel. And so I just was, I was, I was, I was going through a divorce. My life was falling apart. My husband's addiction had wrecked everything. And I was trying to just figure out what, what I was doing with my life, you know? And, and the question that God started stirring in my, in my heart was what would it look like for the local church to care for addicts the way that my church cared for me? And so I, I had seen a lot about addiction from both a quote Christian perspective, as well as the secular solutions. And, um, they left me and my husband and my family hopeless. Like there was just no, there's no out there. The, the connection to the local church body, um, was crucial for, for me and for my family. And so, um, I didn't see that modeled in the addictions solutions that were out there. Even the Christian ones, they still, even the Christian ones that I saw still had a component or a foundation of a world's view of addiction. It was still the disease model. It was still the once an addict, always an addict. It was still this addiction community, the focus on the problem rather than really having tangible solutions toward freedom. So that is kind of where we started is just figuring out what would that look like? How, how would we do that? Um, recognizing that a lot of churches, um, will either, they're, they're uncertain about these messy situations and they're messy. Um, so they'll, they'll send out to the secular solutions, right. Or in an attempt to really care for people biblically, they kind of lack the understanding of the practical needs of someone who struggles with addiction. Some, you know, strong accountability that isn't behavior modification, but anchored in gospel truth, right. Helping the people to understand what it looks like to walk in the light. How do we put off and put on, what does that look like for someone who struggles with addiction? And so that is kind of, so now we have a model that is being replicated in churches all over the country. And we're, uh, looking at launching, um, in a church in Brazil next year. So it's very exciting to see that even this biblical approach that is anchored in the local church community, um, is something that is, isn't, um, out there and available as much as we would hope as believers. Yeah. So how are you in all 50 States? Do you have representation in most of them or what? Not yet. What's your metric there? How do you, how do you, uh, you track that as far as help goes, if someone is looking for help in that sense? Yeah. So we have a lot of churches, about 250 churches that are accessing our resources online. Um, but we have a limited number of churches that we would call partner churches that are, uh, running the recovery meeting, uh, because that's a vetting process. That's a little bit more extensive. Um, so we, we do a lot more training with those churches. Um, so it's a lot longer process and, and connection point with us. Um, so I think that we're not even 10 years old yet. So we're coming up on our 10th anniversary, which is amazing to see what God has done. Um, so this is why we're, we're going to more conferences where pastors and church leaders are to let them know that we exist, that we are here to provide resources for them that will equip them in the ministry that then, um, people, churches, sending people to us. To care for, um, we're limited in what we can accomplish here. So what we want to do is replicate, um, in churches all over the United States and beyond with an understanding of how to care for people with addiction so that they can make a difference in their local church community and in their, their communities, uh, around them. Yeah, that's fantastic. And, uh, I love that. So what, what states do you currently need? Maybe we can find some churches that are in the States to, uh, you know, help people out. Do you, do you have that? Yeah. Well, we're in, I think six states right now. Um, so I'd love to see us in every state or even multiple, um, churches in, in, uh, one city even. Um, so we, we're in Arizona, so we have a strong presence in Arizona. We have, I think four meetings here in Arizona locally. Um, so we are in multiple churches right now. Uh, we're, uh, we just launched a meeting in Vermont, which is very exciting. So, um, so yeah, we're, we are looking for churches, um, that want to partner with us in, you know, whatever level that is. Um, cause my heart really is to serve the local church, equip the local church to do this. Um, yeah, it's challenging. Yes, it's, it's messy. Um, but God's word, the gospel brings hope. Right. And so I want to equip churches to be situation seems overwhelming. And you literally are like, I got nothing, right? Like, I don't know what to tell you right now, but I can tell you about Jesus. Right. And I can tell you what he's done, um, at the cross to save you from your sin issue than your addiction. Right. But in the process of saving you from your sin, he brings freedom for this issue of addiction as well. So yeah, I'd love to talk with more pastors for sure. Fantastic. We'd love that as well. And, uh, like I said, again, if you, if you want to reach out, please reach out to Liz. Uh, but let's, let's continue on. You mentioned earlier that you had a husband that, uh, as you're still your current husband, or you said you had a divorce or, uh, Yeah, we were divorced, um, in 2011. Um, sadly his addiction really led to some pretty hard things and took a long time. I was separated, um, in 2009. So it was a slow process to get there. Um, and had great care from my pastors just waited on the Lord. You know, I still had hope for my marriage. Um, but you know, there's, there's a point with biblical grounds. Like we have a, a biblical, you know, uh, principle even for that. And, and we were there and, um, he was unrepentant. And so, you know, it was, it was a hard, I mean, it was hard to get to that place where I, I knew that it was, that I was released there. You know, it was difficult. Um, but I also needed to care for my children. So yeah, we were divorced in 2011. And, um, so the shortly after that, in December of 2013 is when hope for addiction got its official start. And, um, so we were seeing good success with people. Um, my son was reaching out to his dad, inviting him to come to our recovery meeting. Um, but he wasn't really interested. He was pretty, he was getting more and more lost in his addiction. And then in October of 2016, um, he overdosed and died. Wow. I hate to hear that. Or my kids and I, I mean, I still loved him. I mean, I, I, I do to this day even. Um, and, and so there's a level of sadness with a death like that, that was hard. And, you know, we're still processing through all of that, the brokenness of, of a death like that. Um, especially when, when I'm in this ministry and I'm seeing people whose lives are being transformed. So it was, it was hard. Um, but the Lord has been gracious even in that as, as I and my children have grieved. And, um, so this, this ministry is, is personal to us. Um, and, um, yeah, I mean, it's, it's a hard, it's a hard ministry. It is. Um, and on the other side, then you see people whose lives are truly transformed and they're living in freedom and they don't have this struggle anymore, you know? Um, so yeah, it's, it's important to me and I, I don't want to see people like my husband who were so lost in the lies of the culture that he couldn't change, that this was always how he was going to be, that he would always be an addict. Um, that's a lie and people are dying, believing that lie. So I, I want to help the church to present the gospel loudly, um, and with hope to people that they can be set free. Yeah. And with having that experience, you've got this, you've seen the effects of what it had on your marriage. You've seen the effects of what it had on your children and it just brings this overwhelming desire to help others. And it's great to see your heart in that. And, uh, what other, uh, so, so he overdosed, but what other do you just specifically deal with, um, drugs, alcohol? Do you do pornography? Do you do other sexual sins? What other, uh, what areas do you cover in your resources that you have out there? Yeah. So, um, because we focus on the heart issue, right? The, the root cause of the addiction and not the outward expression of that addiction. Um, we are able to bring, um, to bear biblical truth for, um, any addiction. So what, what we do is focus more on substance addiction. Um, there are some things that are unique, um, for, um, sexual addiction that, um, and then there's things that are unique for substance addiction, um, that need to be addressed. And there are some nuances with that. Um, we are working on putting together, um, a curriculum for specifically for pornography. So I'm working with one of my pastors right now to put that together. Um, I don't know when we'll have something available for that, but if, if you, um, are looking at the root causes, there's still, um, a common heart issue that can be addressed. And so our materials do help root causes. Absolutely. And there is that, that thought of, of having to deal with the heart. I love Brad Bigney's book and we've interviewed him as well. And it's great to see, uh, those same overlying things that the Bible does talk about. Uh, what other experiences have you faced or in your life that, that causes you to want to address this? Is there anything else that, uh, or in, in your own personal life of going through this with your own struggles with your husband? Uh, is there any other experiences you've had? I know I've mentioned you're certified through ACBC and the addiction counseling. Uh, what other areas of expertise do you have or experience do you have? Well, I, I lived this very front and center. Um, I, I say, uh, people tell me I should write a book. Um, but I don't know about writing a book. There's a lot of personal things in there that I don't think would be helpful for my children to know about their life that we had. Um, but just walking through the experience, um, you know, living it day in and day out, the different situations that I found myself in. Um, I, I know that God has used those things to help me not be afraid of hard, messy situations. Um, I mean, even I see, I think back to times in my own journey with the Lord and just being at a place where I was really ready to be done with my marriage and, and the Lord just prompting me to stay in my marriage to that broken place of, okay, God, if this is really what you created me for is to serve an addicted husband day after day, um, and literally, um, this is it, then, then I will do that. And I will do that for your glory. Um, and just that, that process of, of understanding and obeying the Lord in the midst of things that I didn't really want to do, um, but knew that I could glorify God, even in that. Um, and you know, that process of wrestling through God, I deserve better than this. I deserve a husband who loves me and leads me. And, you know, just getting to that place where no Liz, what you deserve is death and hell. And because of Jesus, you don't have that. Um, I think those places, um, in my own process with the Lord helped me, um, to recognize that, that my need for a savior was as great as my husband's need for a savior. It just looked different, um, even in the same circumstance. So, um, I think those things are all, um, helpful for me. And, and I know that God has gifted me for this ministry and given me discernment and understanding that, um, that I, I don't, I shouldn't have in my natural self, um, but an ability to understand the suffering of addicts and be able to bring, um, you know, hope. In our, our sufferers. And so if we can meet them in that place of suffering and bring hope to them there as well, I think that, um, we can, um, come alongside them in a way that isn't just, oh, you need to get clean. You need to stop using, but rather recognize the suffering that they're in and help them to see that, that sobriety is more than just not using, um, that God has more for us than just sobriety. God has, um, redemption and, um, and freedom. And so that brings hope to someone who struggles with addiction, um, in a way that the world can't bring. Absolutely. Yeah. I'm on a committee here in our County with our health department called, uh, Sud substance use and disorder. And, uh, they had a guy come in last month as we were talking through some stuff and, uh, he was an addict and he's on the response team for their County. And he said, he is, uh, he said, of course, all studies say peer support is your, your greatest advocate and a peer advocate is the best way to have it. Um, and so he said, I'm that peer support. He said, I show up where they're at when an hour on one call happens and there's an overdose, I show up. And he said, when EMS, because they're a turn and burn system, they get in, they get the recovery and they're gone and they leave the guy hanging. He said, I come in after that. And now I'm here to help. Okay. What can I do? Do you need a meeting to go to? Do you have a appointment I can take you to? And he begins to work with them on a peer support level, which is just a, he, he explained it a lot better than I ever could. But this, this way where someone comes in and he's not even coming from a biblical worldview and he's coming in and saying, I want to just step beside them and help them out any way I can. And the whole time I'm thinking, man, if the church were to do that, to meet the people where they're at, because we have the ultimate hope. We have the ultimate reason for life is what God has given us with, through his son. And so we have this awesome opportunity. And we have people that are around us that are hurting every day. And so I love that. In your, in your experience, of course, as we're wrapping up, we've got just a couple more minutes here. How does, how would you say the gospel offers help in caring for people with addictions? So I think again, if we understand the root, right? If we understand what's causing someone to find refuge in substances, it helps us to be able to connect them to all of the implications of the gospel. Right. So we think about addiction is this thing out there that is beyond the gospel other than, you know, just salvation or whatever. So if we understand the gospel for everyday life, what Jesus did at the cross affects a person, even in their struggle with addiction. So there is a physical component that, that can't be ignored, right? So we have to understand that if someone is actively using intervention to help them with the physical component, but when someone is not actively using, um, then there is this, um, this still, this desire for a refuge, right? And so how can we help them find that refuge in the Lord? So as we, um, so let's say, um, here's an example, um, that if somebody's suffering from anxiety, right? Anxiety, this fear of the unknowns and someone who's getting sober, like there's so many unknowns, they don't know how to live life. Um, they're trying to get a job. They haven't worked a normal job in years, or maybe it's a mom who doesn't know how to parent her children. Cause she's been checked out, um, for years. So, so there's a lot of anxiety. There's a lot of fear. So if we look at lamentations three as a model, right, there's real circumstances that are happening that cause, um, you know, my soul to be bowed down within me, right? I'm continually remembering it. And my soul is bowed down. That's real. Those circumstances were real. The circumstances that an addict faces are real, but then there's a change in thinking, right? But this, I call to mind and therefore I have hope. So what is that? That is remembering the steadfast love of the Lord, the mercies of the Lord, the faithfulness of the Lord. And therefore I have hope. So we help them to understand that. Yeah. Circumstances are real, but when we shift our thinking away from the circumstances that are the goodness of the Lord, the faithfulness of the Lord, the mercies of the Lord, there's hope to be able to move through that. So what we do then is we help them with the specific things. Where has the Lord been faithful? Where is the steadfast love of the Lord evidenced in your life? We help them to focus there and then apply that. So when they are tempted toward anxiety, which then leads them to use, now we're giving them an anchor in the word of God and in the gospel, the truth, right? So God's love is poured out on them first and foremost through his son, right? So the love of Christ, right? So this is where we kind of help them with that tangible connection of what it looks like in their everyday struggle. So that's just one example of kind of how we would think through that. That's fantastic. And I love it. I love getting down to that personal level, allowing them to see the goodness of the Lord so they can begin to get that hope and help that they need. Last thing we're going to ask is we've mentioned your website, hopeforaddiction.com. Where else can people can get in touch with you or find out more information if there's another resource there? And then what other resources have you found that are most helpful? Have there been books? Have there been things that people can use outside of Hope for Addiction? And I know we talked a little bit about that at the convention, but what is your thought on that? How people can get in touch with you? And then what resources do you have? Absolutely. So our website has tons of information. You can email me at liz at hopeforaddiction.com. And we can set up a phone call or a Zoom meeting or something like that, where we can even talk through specific situations that you're facing in your church. And then as far as resources outside of what we provide, I think my top two books are Ed Welch, Addictions, A Banquet in the Grave is a great understanding of addiction from a biblical perspective. And then my second favorite is Paul Tripp's Instruments in the Redeemer's Hands. I think both of those have been extremely instrumental in my life, but also just in those who are wanting to lead and to enter in more in these kinds of situations. So I highly recommend both of those. And then one more I'll throw out there too for family members who are struggling is a book by Dave Harvey called Letting Go, Rugged Love for Wayward Souls. I think that is a beautiful, it's not specific to addiction, but it does bring gospel hope for family members who are struggling with loved ones who are in rebellion toward God, are making very sinful choices that are destructive. So it really is helpful and how to think through that for someone who has a family member. Fantastic. Love it. And so thankful that you were able to come on today and share your testimony, share your story, share the ministry that God's laid on your heart. And I'm sure the hundreds and hundreds of life that have been affected by this ministry and will continue to be affected by the ministry of the gospel, really. And thank you for coming on. Thank you. Yeah, thank you. Absolutely. Anything we can do to continue to partner together, that would be great. Write a book and we'll have a interview from the book as well. I think it'd be great. I think you've got an awesome story and an awesome heart behind what you've got going on there. So with that being said. I'm grateful. God is good, isn't he? All the time. Love it. Well, thank you guys for tuning in today. And until we get to you again next time, to God be the glory. I found my new name. I found that good grace. I found that healing. And the tears fell down my face when I found my beginning. It has no ending. I found that second chance. I found my best friend. I found my forgiveness. I found my happiness. I've been singing ever since. I found my freedom in you. Thanks for listening to the For Freedom Podcast. If you enjoyed the content of the podcast, please do us a favor by liking, subscribing, or sharing the podcast on whatever podcast platform you listen to. I found my best friend.

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