Brad Barber co-hosts The Next Step Podcast, which is based around the Church’s Addiction Recovery Program and addiction in general. He grew up in the Church in southern California, served a mission, and attended Brigham Young University. Brad has seen many friends caught in addiction and became involved with ARP after hearing podcast co-host Jay’s testimony of the program and wondering why there weren’t ARP addiction meetings in his area.
Highlights 1:00 How Brad got involved with ARP and started The Next Step Podcast
6:35 Setting up the ARP program is supposed to start with the stake
7:00 A facilitator who is an addict in recovery should be leading the meetings
7:40 Leaders who have not been through the process do not know what addicts have gone through and addicts can tell
8:40 A sponsor is a person who is in sobriety from addiction
10:00 At first, addicts categorize themselves against each other until they realize everyone’s struggles are the same
10:45 Quote from the intro of the ARP manual (in LDS Tools) about what addiction is
12:05 Some statistics about addictions that go beyond alcohol, drugs, and pornography
13:20 “Atonement Realization Program”
14:00 Elder Oaks’ talk, “Good, Better, Best”: Have people been lifted, encouraged, and changed?
15:05 A 12-Step meeting is different than counseling
16:05 Meetings usually start from the bottom up, where a family member starts a group after discovering the program exists
16:35 The 12 Steps were invented by the founders of Alcoholics Anonymous in the 1930’s
17:15 Good: There are ARP meetings in the stake, and ward leaders are aware of them
17:50 Group leaders are generally not addicts in recovery, and need to be a person who has no judgment toward others
19:20 Advice to group leaders: Don’t show up dressed like a missionary or pretend to be something you are not
20:20 How to get to better: Be passionate, coordinate with other group leaders
21:00 Invite leaders to go to a meeting and challenge them to not be afraid of what other people might think
22:30 Dos and don’ts about attending a meeting
Introduce yourself by first name only
Resist the urge to share your testimony
24:15 Better: Passionate group leaders and facilitators
25:25 Better: Have meetings with a varying mix of people at stages of sobriety to help support the participants
25:35 It’s the responsibility of group leaders to find those addicts in recovery and get them to come
26:25 Bishops have a responsibility to help identify those people and connect them to ARP
28:00 It’s the purpose of sponsors to follow-up and that’s how to maintain sobriety
29:05 Spouses need to understand this as well
29:50 Better: Have your bishops attend ARP meetings
30:50 Treat the ARP meetings the same as self-reliance meetings and attend a 12-week course to really understand the power of these steps
32:05 Self-reliance meetings are formatted the same as ARP, where everyone shares their experience instead of listening to an “expert”
32:20 Everyone can benefit from learning the 12 Steps
33:20 Better: Persons who have done the 12 Steps are now supporting others
34:10 Sponsoring others helps with keeping temptation in check
35:25 Best: You have facilitators who have broken anonymity
36:55 Talk to addicts in recovery and find those who are willing to break anonymity and share
37:35 The opposite of the fears of judgment is what actually happens
38:15 Best: Have group leaders who share and encourage others to attend
40:10 Best: Spouses and others attending the general ARP meetings
40:15 If you can only have one meeting, have a general ARP meeting
41:35 Spouses attending the meetings is powerful
42:25 12 Step support groups should not be another Sunday School lesson
43:05 Spouses and family members find hope and healing by doing the 12 Steps themselves
45:25 What can we do for youth?
46:35 Mature youth (age 16 and older) can go to a meeting with an adult
47:00 Bishops can go through the 12 Steps with the youth
48:50 The more we learn about what addiction is, the more we can do to help
49:25 There is a spouse/family support guide available online
50:00 What is the right time to send a member to ARP? When they feel they are out of control on some level and willing to go
51:50 If the ARP meeting turns out to be a lesson instead of a 12 Step meeting, find a different meeting somewhere else
52:30 Step back and encourage them to go even if they can’t admit they’re an addict
53:00 Addicts have usually been lying for a long time
53:15 It’s an issue everywhere and if you can’t see it, you need to look more closely
54:15 If there’s no ARP in your area, go to an AA meeting or something else similar instead, and grow into ARP long-term
55:40 Encourage women to go, even if it’s a mixed-gender meeting: It’s not just a “dude problem”
56:50 A lot of people leave the Church because they think they messed up and there’s no way back
57:30 Approach it as using God’s owner’s manual for life
59:20 There’s a way back
1:00:25 Where to start: Talk about it
1:01:00 Reach out to the nearest facilitator, take action yourself
1:01:30 This is for every type of addiction
1:02:30 Missionaries who understand this before their missions can help even more people
Links The Addiction Recovery Program
What Every LDS Leader Needs to Understand About the Addiction Recovery Program
The Next Step Podcast
The Next Step Podcast on Facebook
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