The Journey Begins…

The journey begins. Actually if someone you know is a new participant at The Way Homes, the journey has probably been way too long already. We are confident that The Way Homes can be the starting point for every man who is truly ready to follow the one and only One who has all power, that one Jesus Christ.

Each participant in this program has been thoroughly interviewed and understands fully that we are not a secular home where men pick and choose what sort of higher power they will follow. While we are non-denominational we are 100% scriptural. We believe The Word of God – the Bible – to be the ultimate Truth and Way which we are all to follow. With this understanding we would like to point out some things to the friends, relatives and sponsors of those who live in and participate in this wonderful journey of Christ-centered recovery.

Principle one in the road to recovery states: Realize I am not God. All of us fall short including the leadership at times. When the men fall short we want to follow the Scriptural Principles that states we are to come along side them and help them grow. When we fall short, many times the men tend to get on the phone and condemn us as being unchristian like. Many times our falling short means we didn’t do what they thought we should do and they tend to lash out rather then come talk to us.

We are discovering more and more that when a man starts taking his will back he will focus on every possible injustice and exploit it to the point where resentments and anger will exaggerate even the most smallest of oversights.

We have even had men who, having made a decision to return to their old habits, have told their support group that they need money to pay for things or they will be forced to move. They then use the money to support whatever their addiction is.

Each man is told they must have a Program sponsor who can help them through tough times so that they don’t make poor decisions on their own. Your experience with the participant may include such behavior in the past. Maybe you have even been the target of false accusations. We assure you this is not uncommon for men who have taken back their will.

We encourage all who are praying for a man, related to a man, assisting a man, mentoring a man, or simply know a man in recovery to get involved in the program of recovery yourself! We recommend Celebrate Recovery® co-dependent small groups, Al-Anon and Thursday morning Prayer & Share at the thrift store to help you better understand what you can expect and how you can keep from enabling the man you want to help.

We ask you to be proactive in helping us recognize the early signs of relapse by staying in touch with the leadership of The Way Homes at the first signs of your friend or relative starting to place his focus on our shortfalls. Please contact us if you feel something needs to be brought to our attention. Your call is treated with confidentiality and will be handled with sensitivity and care.

While we believe everybody has the ability to make a new start we also believe that old behaviors demonstrate the possibility of relapse. We are committed to these men and pray that each one will thrive here when they honor Christ in all they say and do. We believe Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. We do not change the way God has called us to lead this ministry. We are committed to honoring God in all we do and when we fall, we need Grace not condemnation.

Grace is why we are here. Grace is what we need to give.

May His Grace be with you,

Gregory J Anderson
on behalf of The Way Home Leadership Staff

[Editor’s note: The Way Homes now makes a difference in the lives of both men and women.]