Why "Just Say No" Missed the Point with Jeff Arp

Jeff Arp: Why "Just Say No" Missed the Point

Transcript has been lightly edited for readability.

Meet Jeff Arp

Jeff Arp: My name's Jeff Arp and I serve as the Vice President of US Operations and Training for Living Free. I get to train people around the world that are part of our online academy. The internet is a great tool to connect with people on every different continent, if they have internet.

I spend a lot of my time working with churches and individuals that are interested in becoming a part of Living Free, or using Living Free to reach their community and serve their church. I spend a lot of time working with individuals and church leaders. I spend a lot of my time doing research, finding out where we can increase our effectiveness and how we can become more relevant to people.

A lot of my job is just providing pastoral care and encouragement to people that are doing Living Free. Wherever they may be. They might be in a small classroom with a few people, or they might be part of a ministry with numerous groups. It's exciting to see how Living Free has impacted people in corrections, people in residential programs, people in churches and communities.

The Question That Changed Everything

Justin Franich: Going into ministry when you first got involved with Living Free, or whatever ministry came first, is there anything you believed back at the beginning that you no longer believe now about this type of work?

Jeff Arp: That is such a great question, because Living Free has helped me understand the struggles of addiction in a way that was a paradigm shift for me. The way I understood it and looked at it totally transformed.

I gave my life to Jesus when I was four years old. For the most part I have always tried to serve Him. I've always felt the conviction of the Holy Spirit when I was walking in the flesh. I spent a lot of time as a child praying and seeking God. Bible study has been a part of my life ever since I can remember.

So I never struggled with drugs. Never struggled with alcohol. Never struggled with a lot of the addictions that plagued a lot of people. And as a pastor, I always looked at it like this: just say no. If you have a problem with drugs or alcohol, just say no. Just don't do it. If you have a problem with pornography, just stop it. Just quit looking at it.

That's how I looked at it. I went through Bible college. I went through seminary. And nobody ever really talked about the trap.

Learning About the Trap

When I started doing Living Free and I learned how people get trapped, it really changed my perspective. I learned that a lot of addiction is really just people trying to numb out the pain they've accrued in life. Things that have happened to them. They're looking for relief from that pain, whether it's emotional, relational, physical, or even spiritual. People are looking for a way to numb out.

I always looked at addiction as a drug and alcohol issue. And what I learned when I got involved with Living Free is that there's a lot of things I was doing to numb out or make myself feel better that I never preached against. Never heard a sermon against. Things like food. Things like entertainment. Things I would use to distract myself rather than deal with pain.

"Why Would I Want Those People in My Church?"

Justin Franich: What's been the biggest struggle in going in and ministering and helping churches, equipping them with material to get that gap closed?

Jeff Arp: You're talking about labeling. To me, that's probably one of the biggest things we do in church world. We label people.

When I started working for Teen Challenge, that's how I got familiar with Living Free. I would go into communities and let people know what we could offer their churches. I had one pastor tell me, "Why would I want those people in my church?"

Honestly that blew me away. I thought, because Jesus would. That's the short answer.

The other reason is because I've found in ministry that those who have been saved from huge problems and huge sins are usually the most excited about serving God and telling others about what God can do. I always love to see people come to know Jesus. It doesn't matter what their background is. But if they have an addiction background and God sets them free, they usually become my biggest cheerleaders.

Trying to help other people, especially church leaders, see that potential is probably one of my biggest frustrations. A lot of people think Living Free is for those people. Our people aren't going to accept them.

Every Pew Has Somebody

But what I've learned is that almost every church, I would say every church, almost every pew in every church, has a family member or a loved one struggling with addiction. I have family members that are struggling with addiction. So why would the church not want to help me minister to my family?

That's what Living Free does. It helps family members minister to their loved ones. To me, that's what the church is about. Not just ministering to the people with the problem, but equipping the church to minister to their family members.

Where to Start if You're a Pastor

Justin Franich: For people looking at either establishing or reestablishing this type of ministry in their church, what are those next steps? What does that look like if I'm pastoring a small-town church?

Jeff Arp: One of the things I love to do is help churches expand their vision. Help them become more effective at reaching people that I believe God is speaking to and drawing. But God needs somebody to go.

What I love about what I get to do for Living Free is equip anybody who's willing to be equipped to minister to people. When I started doing Living Free, I had been in ministry for twenty years, pastoring and serving on church staffs. And when I started doing Living Free, it changed the way I counseled. It changed the way I preached and taught. It changed the way I did evangelism. I had tools that helped me be more relevant to people I had never connected to before.

The more I got involved with Living Free, the more hunger I had to help people that were out on the fringes and were being overlooked.

Inside Living Free: The Online Academy

Living Free offers an online academy. It's only four weeks, about ten hours a week if you really pour yourself into it. We equip people to understand the trap of addiction, to understand family systems and the impact our family has on us, and to equip people to facilitate. That basically means helping people learn in a small group setting where we're learning from each other and equipping each other.

The Awareness Workshop

We also have an awareness workshop. The awareness workshop focuses on what people want out of life. Research tells us there are three things people want regardless of what part of the world they live in, their gender, or their age.

We talk about those three things. Then we talk about challenges. What are the things that keep us from getting what we want? How do we deal with them? Then we talk about choices. The choices we make and how we respond to our challenges will determine the direction our life is going to take. If people made a bad choice and got off track from the direction they thought their life was going to take them, the fourth segment of the awareness workshop is freedom. How do we help people get back on track?

I love that awareness workshop. It's a great tool to equip the community, because like I said, it's not just about drugs and alcohol. It's about anything we use to numb our pain. Living Free is a great resource to help people connect with what they want out of life. The closer we get to Jesus and the more we want what He wants for our life, the more joy that we have. It's hard to put in words, but people who have experienced it would definitely say amen.

Discipleship Beyond the Workshop

From the awareness workshop we offer dozens of small group curriculums that churches can use to help people grow, to disciple people in their relationship with God, and to help their relationships be more fulfilling, more exciting, and more loving.

Justin Franich: That's really good. I appreciate it, man. Thank you for sitting down and chatting.

Learn more about Living Free at livingfree.org. If you or someone you love needs help, visit svtc.info/get-help.