In a world where addiction touches virtually every family, workplace, and community, the church finds itself at a crossroads. In this post based on a seminar presentation by Heartland Community Church Pastor Kris R. Palmer, we’ll explore questions such as “How do we respond to those struggling with addiction and brokenness?” and “How do we move beyond judgment to become truly redemptive communities?” These answers lie at the heart of what it means to be a welcoming church in today’s world.
The Good Samaritan: A Model for Redemptive Community
The story of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:30-37 provides a powerful framework for understanding how we should respond to those in need. Jesus tells of a man beaten and left half-dead by robbers, ignored by religious leaders, but helped by an unlikely Samaritan who showed compassion without regard for his own safety or convenience.
This parable reveals a crucial truth: we’ve all found ourselves in the ditch at some point. The difference is that none of us were created by God to live there. We weren’t designed to remain in places of brokenness, addiction, or despair. Yet too often, the church passes by on the other side of the road, much like the priest and Levite in Jesus’ story.
The Samaritan’s response teaches us that authentic mercy is costly. It required financial sacrifice, great humility, and a willingness to be utterly selfless. Most remarkably, he helped someone who, under different circumstances, would likely have despised him. This is the attitude that must be at work in us as we seek to help the hurting and broken.
Created in God’s Image: The Foundation of Human Dignity
To understand addiction through a theological lens, we must first grasp one of the most fundamental truths of Scripture: human beings are created in the image of God. This isn’t merely a nice theological concept—it’s the foundation of human dignity and the basis for how we view one another.
Being created in God’s image is what makes humans sacred and gives life its inherent worth. It’s what empowers us to reason, choose, think, imagine, feel emotions, make moral decisions, and maintain spiritual relationships. This image enables us to be relational, which is precisely why we should be welcoming churches that reach out to others.
This understanding transforms how we view those struggling with addiction. They’re not “lesser than” or “damaged goods”—they’re image-bearers who have found themselves in a ditch, just as we all have at various times in our lives.
Understanding Brokenness and Sin
When people engage in addictive, destructive, or abusive behaviors, these actions often stem from deeper issues. Addiction is frequently a behavior resulting from something going on internally. These root issues emerge from the brokenness in our hearts.
It’s crucial to understand that brokenness, pain, and hurt are not sin. The devil often wants us to feel shame and condemnation for our brokenness, but that’s not what requires repentance. However, how we react to our brokenness—through anger, bitterness, unforgiveness, or destructive behaviors—that can become sin requiring God’s redemption and forgiveness.
We live in a fallen world where sin impacts all of us. Romans 3:23-24 reminds us that “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God and are justified by his grace as a gift through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” This levels the playing field entirely. We’re all fallen human beings who need redemption.
The Mess We’re All In
A significant part of being a redemptive community involves understanding that we’re all in great need. We’re not bigger, better, faster, or stronger than those we’re trying to help. We’re fallen people who have been redeemed by Jesus, reaching out to other fallen people who have the same opportunity for redemption.
The church is messy because we’re a mess. The problem is that we often deny this reality or at least deny our part in it. It’s difficult to minister to others from a right heart and perspective without understanding that “that’s me too,” regardless of our background or circumstances.
This understanding prevents us from developing a superiority complex and keeps us grounded in grace and humility. It also helps us recognize that Jesus is the answer—not us, not our programs, not our wisdom, but Jesus and his redemptive work.
Redemption: At the Center of God’s Purposes
Redemption isn’t just a nice add-on to the gospel—it’s at the very center of God’s purposes and the core of his story. Jesus came to seek and save the lost, to serve as a ransom for our sins, because he loves the broken and wants to make us whole.
God is always the God of second chances, third chances, fourth chances, and beyond. As long as there’s breath, there’s opportunity for redemption. In Christ, we have redemption through his blood and the forgiveness of our trespasses according to the riches of his grace (Ephesians 1:7).
This redemption doesn’t just forgive—it transforms. There’s so much more to life than just being sober or not using substances. We need to be transformed, and we serve a transforming God. We’re freed from our sin to live a life of liberty, freed from bondage and shame to live in active, intimate relationship with God and each other.
Being a Welcoming Church
To truly help those struggling with addiction, everything the church does must be centered on the redemption we have in Christ Jesus. This is non-negotiable. While churches can and should do many things to help people in need, the only thing that ultimately works is when all our efforts are centered on Jesus and his redemptive work.
What Welcome Looks Like
A welcoming church extends what we might call a “holy welcome” to the hurting and broken. This isn’t about having a welcoming building or even welcoming meetings—it’s about having welcoming lives. We are the church, and if we’re going to be welcoming, it must flow from who we are as people.
God’s own welcome was an essential part of his redemptive message. He’s generous, utterly giving, and completely open in his invitation. Remarkably, he extends this invitation not only to friends but to enemies—which describes all of us before salvation.
Jesus perfectly demonstrated this welcoming spirit during his earthly ministry. He reached out to the broken, hurting, downcast, children, women, and people others significantly shied away from. He took servanthood and hospitality to the extreme by laying down his life for his guests.
Practical Steps to Being Welcoming
Be Friendly and Available: Make yourself intentionally available. Don’t be aloof or standoffish. Let down your walls, pay attention, and be aware of people around you. Active listening and mindfulness of others are crucial skills to develop and teach.
Be Intentionally Helpful: Put others before yourself. Think of others first. Recognize that everyone is different from you—not everyone will look, act, or respond the way you do. Understanding these differences is vital for being truly welcoming.
Create a Safe Environment: The church should be a place where people can be open and honest without fear of shame or judgment. If struggles remain hidden, nothing can be done to help. We must cultivate an atmosphere where transparency is possible.
Provide Wise Counsel and Professional Help: While Jesus is always the answer, that answer finds expression in many ways, including professional help. We need to let medical and psychological experts do what they do best while we as disciples do what we do best—point others to Jesus.
The Cost of Authentic Welcome
Real mercy and authentic welcome are costly in many ways. Like the Good Samaritan, it may cost us financially, but it will certainly require great humility and a willingness to be utterly selfless. It means being willing to reach down and help those who, in different circumstances, might have walked past us.
Being a redemptive community isn’t about being free from trouble or conflict—it’s about being willing to stick together for the long haul, trusting God and the gospel as our roadmap forward.
Moving Forward
As we consider how to be more welcoming and redemptive, we must ask ourselves: Who’s in the ditch in our neighborhood? Who’s in the ditch in our area of influence? How can we, where we live, worship, and participate in family life, show mercy and help to those in need?
The answer is found in Jesus’ words at the end of the Good Samaritan story: “Go and do likewise.” This means being willing to get down and dirty in the ditch, being willing to give of our resources, time, and energy, and being willing to invest in people for the long haul.
Every person we meet was created in God’s image, made to be part of the family of God. They have choices to make and decisions to face, but regardless of their background, situation, or circumstances, they have the potential to know Jesus and become part of God’s family.
The church’s calling is clear: we must be redemptive communities that welcome the broken, love the hurting, and point all people to the transforming power of Jesus Christ. In doing so, we live out the very heart of the gospel and fulfill our purpose as the body of Christ in a broken world.
The journey toward becoming a truly redemptive community isn’t easy, but it’s essential. As we embrace this calling, we discover that in helping others find their way out of the ditch, we often find our own healing and transformation as well. This is the beautiful, messy, costly, and ultimately rewarding work of the church.
Kris R. Palmer, PhD, is pastor of Heartland Community Church in northeast Missouri. Find the link to other “Addiction & The Church” 2024 sessions here on our website.