Breaking Free

“The Addict in Us All” is an upcoming conference especially for those who want to help others who are caught in the grip of an addiction. This November, starting on the 14th, the Christian Counseling & Educational Foundation (CCEF) will be hosting a weekend-long conference for anyone who wants to learn about addictions, and learn more about the hope God gives to those who feel trapped by an addictive habit or substance.

My wife and I will be attending this conference, not only to learn, but to network with those who are on the front lines helping others in their addictions.

For your amusement, the following are my top 7 reasons why I am attending this conference:

1. The name of this conference really grabs my attention. “The Addict in Us All”—with a title like this we are likely to hear an uncommon definition of what addiction really is. Often an “addict” is a clinical label we pin on one who can’t stop looking at porn, or one who is always on the bottle (and this is partially correct). But in reality, we all suffer from a subtler addiction: an addiction to Self, a self-centeredness that is the bedrock of sin.

2. To see Mark Driscoll. I love listening to this guy. He’s sort of the shock-jock preacher of our day. His ability to combine humor with rich biblical teaching is unlike anything I’ve heard. His talk will be related to his new book, Death by Love, and will be about how the cross of Jesus relates to addiction.

3. To rub shoulders with some amazing teachers. The line-up for this conference is simply amazing.

Ed Welch, who wrote the fine book, Addictions: A Banquet in the Grave, will be giving a talk about how addictions are not just diseases to be diagnosed. Addiction is, at its root, a voluntary slavery to sin.

David Powlison, the editor of The Journal of Biblical Counseling, will be talking about addiction as an “escape.”

I’m also looking forward to the workshop led by Julie Smith Lowe. She will be talking about female body image. I’m always struck and saddened by how much pornography feeds feminine insecurities. Julie’s talk will be about how to silence the voices of our culture that tell women their value lies in how they look.

4. To liveblog. I am planning on liveblogging the conference. For those of you who can’t go, tune in to Breaking Free to get frequent, up-to-date information and photos from the conference talks and workshops.

5. To learn how to help others get beyond their addictions. For Christians struggling with sexual addiction, the feelings of shame and defeat can lead to despair and a wrong focus. “If I could just stop doing __________” becomes the false goal.

I’m really looking forward to meeting John Freeman. John is the director of Harvest USA, a ministry reaching out to those who are affected by sexual sin. His workshop, “Learning to Walk in the Desert,” will be about understanding and living out of God’s larger goals for our lives.

6. To promote Covenant Eyes. There are so many pastors, educators, and counselors coming to this conference. I hope to get a chance to talk to many of them about how our software can benefit those who are living with an addiction to porn.

7. To climb the Rocky steps. I can’t resist. I’ve been to Philadelphia before, but never got to climb the “steps,” and do that little dance Rocky does. If you never saw the movie, this last reason will probably be lost on you.