Former NewSpring Church Pastor Perry Noble opened up on Facebook by sharing four ways he destroyed his life with an addiction to alcohol.
“I spent last week with my counselor and was able to make major progress toward healing. In meeting with him, he helped me to dive in and discover the areas where I clearly dropped the ball. After we discussed this, he and I both felt it would be beneficial to share these things as it helps in my healing process, but also so that some of you will not make the same mistakes that I did,” Noble wrote.
“Honestly, the list is probably a lot longer than just four things; however, these are the areas where I have clearly identified making EXTREMELY unwise decisions.”
NewSpring Church in South Carolina fired Noble over the summer for his addictions.
Executive Pastor Shane Duffey told the congregation, “While this is the most difficult and painful decision we’ve had to make, unfortunately it was necessary. Perry’s made some unfortunate choices and decisions that have caused us much concern.”
Noble says these four areas are where he struggled the most: Isolation over community; alcohol over his wife and daughter; control over relationships; and silence over crying out for help.
“I was sick—deceived by sin, alcohol and myself. I justified this by saying I needed it to take the edge off, to help me relax, to help me deal with the pressure at home. Honestly, I knew the entire time I was using it as an excuse to zone out at home, thus causing me to neglect my role as a husband and a father. As I look back on making this foolish exchange, waves of self-condemnation crash into my soul. I know I’ve been forgiven for the sin, but I must now deal with the consequences,” Noble says.
Furthermore, “I was hurting, deeply hurting.
“In doing so I allowed sinful thoughts to exponentially multiply in my mind, thus impacting my mind in ways that were both destructive and harmful. I believed the deceptive lies the enemy would whisper to me such as, ‘no one will understand,’ or, ‘you are the only one who has this issue,’ or, ‘if you tell people what’s really going on they will abandon you.'”
Noble says he has no idea what’s next, but is praying about how to proceed.
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