MOBILIZING THE CHADIAN CHURCH TO UNDERSTAND AND TREAT ALCOHOLISM A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GORDON-CONWELL THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE DOCTOR OF MINISTRY BY MARDOCHEE NADOUMNGAR MAY 2012 Copyright © 2012 by Mardochee Nadoumngar. All Rights Reserved This project is dedicated: * To God who so loved the world, and to Jesus Christ his Son who has come to seek out and to save the lost, and « To everybody who has a deep concern for the recovery and the salvation of those who are struggling with alcohol addiction. If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free... everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not have a permanent place in the household; the son has a place there forever. So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed. @ John 8:31-32, 34-36 CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 00.00. cccececccesccscsessessessseveneesseaesssseseesensacaeaenseceeatacaeseaenensaeeeassenensaens vii ABSTRACT ioc ccc cece eseseneneseeeseseseavscavsesanesesssenenensesessssssessansesuensesussanesseceeeasseseseaeseenseeeeteaes ix INTRODUCTION... cceccseeesesenesessssseasenssessessenseneseerenesesensessessssecseseseasseaesenesenaseaeseneneseseseneaes 1 CHAPTER ONE: PROBLEM AND ITS SETTING uo... cccccccccccccccsseesscseeseseseesesensececeseseensens 3 What is Alcoholism? oo... ccc ssesescnestvenesssesensanenseensesesnenssseesessessnseeaceaeseseseseneenseseeseeeas 3 Causes of Alcoholism: Why Do People Drink? ......0......:.:cccccccessscesesesesesecseneneesesesenecseseaeseesens 6 Effects of ACOH oo... cccccscesssssssseseneneceescrsnerscssecesnevacaeuesceneseaeseesatacaecacaeseceeseasessaeieaceeeestes 15 CHAPTER TWO: THEOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK ....0.0....ccecccessseceseeeesesestcesesesneenseatacesees 43 What Does the Bible Say About Drinking Alcoholic Beverages? .............ccccccccccccseseesetseaee 43 What Does the Bible Say About Recovery From Life Controlling Sin? ...........0..c.c00: 70 CHAPTER THREE: LITERATURE REVIEW. ...0.0......ccccccccccecssessssesessseeseseseseseecsenacseseseeseees 86 Moderate View on the Use of Alcoholic Beverages ..............:cccccccsssseessesseesessestsesssnresecsassecs 86 Total Abstinence Point Of View .0........0 cece eesseccseeeeeerseseseessenscsesenseseseeecesseeessessanseeetseasees 92 Two Responses to AlCOWOD 00.0... cece eesecssseenseseneneeeeaeseseceeceetscseseesceessnsecesceesstssessenstaeaes 123 CHAPTER FOUR: PROJECT DESIGN occ ce cceesccseeseectecseseseeseencesensecesesensesesenenstscseneees 131 Teaching # 1: The Awareness of the Alcohol] Problem .............0..0..0:::cccccccccseeeeteseeseseees 131 Teaching # 2: Biblical Understanding of Alcoholic Consumption..........0....0.0.....cc000cce 137 Teaching # 3: Biblical Understanding of Progressive Sanctification .........0...00.00...cccc0 146 Teaching # 4: The Christian Twelve Steps to Sobriety and Their Biblical Foundations 153 Teaching # 5: Starting our First Twelve Steps Group. ........ccecccccccccsssesecssssecseesesesseesssseees 168 CHAPTER FIVE: OUTCOMES AND CONCLUSION ..0..ccccccssescsssseseesssseseecesesesesceeenees 177 About Future Pastoral Plan for Helping Those Who Struggle With Alcohol.................. 177 About a Project that Educates Catholic and Protestant Leader S..............cccccccssceseeseereee 185 vi About a Project that Helps Other Organizations Fighting Against Alcoholism in Chad Question Their Approaches 00.0... csc csssesessceesensseeseensesessereseacseeseseseaseseesseescenseaeseasenens 187 About the Information that Will Help Guide Further Research....0..0....0..0..:ccccccceceseeeenees 191 CONCLUSION ono cccccccneesceeseneeeersenenenseeneesenseaeseasaccevaesesesseeaeaeseescseneesseaesanecseneessenessensees 198 APPENDIX A: SURVEY .ooo.cocccccccccccceccceeceseeeeseseaeneneseseseeecaeeestesssecceseseseseaneresesesteseaseesseaes 205 APPENDIX B: SEMINAR OF JANUARY 21, 2012 AT LUTHERAN CENTRE IN NDJAMENA, CHAD. 200i ceccccccccecceceecreceseeeeresesennenesessavenesensansreneseavensaeseseeteseaseneusaesnssens 206 APPENDIX C: THE 20 QUESTIONS... ccccccsecssteneseseesesesesecacaesscneesseessnsnesesesetiestevees 208 APPENDIX D: QUESTIONS TO IDENTIFY CODEPENDENT BEHAVIOR ........ 210 BIBLIOGRAPHY |... cesesesecsesresteseneneneseseneaesesesensseressneseaesenssoseseassssssessnsacaeetqveraeees 211 vii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First, Iam grateful to Almighty God who opened the door to me for the Doctor of Ministry program at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. May His name be praised forever! Second, J am thankful to the Philadelphia Foundation and the D.Min. Arnold Scholarship who paid my tuition; to Dr. Ernest Larson who paid my travel expenses for this program, and to Scott and Debara Hafemann who hosted me and fed me each time before and after my stay on campus, and who provided meal tickets for me while on campus. Their hospitality and generosity were a great encouragement to me. I also thank all of those who have supported me in many ways during this doctoral program. May God bless each of you! Third, my sincere gratitude goes to Rev. Mario Bergner, for his willingness to guide me in writing this thesis. His advices and suggestions were very useful for the formulation of my theme, for my research, and for the writing of this project. I also thank Dr. David Currie who served as advisor and reader for this project. May God bless you — Mario and Dave! Fourth, [ thank everyone who helped me by filling out the survey questionnaires that I have distributed. Their responses and suggestions have been very helpful in the process of this work. May God bless all of you! Finally, I cannot end these acknowledgments without expressing my big thanks especially to my wife Ruth and our children for their encouragement and supports in many forms since the beginning to the end of this doctoral program. Their love and viii prayers have helped me greatly to get this work done. God bless you — Ruth and kids. After all, may our God alone receive honor and glory forever! ix ABSTRACT This work focuses on mobilizing the Chadian Church by training its pastors, leaders, and devoted Christians to understand the issue of alcoholism and treat it. In other words it seeks to help them understand why people drink alcohol, how dangerous it is to drink too much alcohol, and how they can help those struggling with alcohol find recovery. First, the thesis defines what alcoholism is, then identifies its causes and effects on drinkers themselves, on their families, and on the society. Second, it shows a clear biblical teaching about alcohol consumption, about drunkenness that can lead to eternal separation with God, and about progressive sanctification as way for Christians to embrace recovery from alcohol abuse, dependency, and addiction. Third, it suggests that the Christian 12 Steps to recovery based on biblical selected verses constitute a powerful tool to transform many lives if pastors and church leaders at all levels are trained to use them wisely under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Unlike the "Higher Power" model in the Aicoholics Anonymous! approach, which is not precise about the nature of God, the Christian 12 Steps to recovery are Christ-focused. Jesus is the way, and the truth, and the life; there is no other way to the Father but through Him (John 3:16). Only Jesus Christ has the power to set people free from the bondage of alcoholism and to give them eternal life. The work includes the results of the participants! evaluation on a training seminar for pastors and church leaders and concludes with a chapter highlighting the outcomes established by the study. INTRODUCTION Why writing a Doctor of Ministry thesis on alcoholism? The motivation is worth of consideration. During the general bi-annual meeting of my denomination, "Assemblees Chretiennes au Tchad" that is Plymouth Brethren in Chad in February 2009 in the city of Lai, in Chad, one of pastors stood up and challenged the audience on the issue of alcohol consumption. "We must do something, we must make a decision about alcohol consumption in church" he said, and then he added "I don't know the situation in other local churches but in my local church, some Christians drink alcohol, some even get drunk, and some women sell alcohol beverages. When I put some of them under church discipline they are mad at me and many keep drinking alcohol... Can Christians drink alcohol now? We must make a general decision about this issue." Although the raised issue was worth of consideration it was not discussed because it was not part of the agenda of the meeting. Two months later I had the opportunity to begin my D.Min. program in Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in pastoral skills track. When I was assigned to choose a topic for my “thesis-project” proposal, I decided to look closely at the issue of alcohol consumption that the pastor challenged my denomination with. In the beginning, I phrased my topic in terms of "The Effects of Alcoholism on Sexuality and Marriage." Later, with the help of my mentor I rephrased it to make it practical, "MOBILIZING THE CHADIAN CHURCH TO UNDERSTAND AND TREAT ALCOHOLISM." With this in mind, not only do I seek to answer the question of whether Christians can drink alcohol or not, but also to help pastors, Church leaders, and Christians understand the issue of alcoholism and treat it. In other words I