“Unfortunately, Not All Broken Christians Remain Unaffected by Their Childhood Abuse & Trauma After Going Through Truth Encounter. – but that Can Be Avoided."
For decades I have ministered Truth Encounter to broken Christians and I have seen many permanently freed from present issues related to past abuses. Yet, some continue in their brokeness.
Some of the issues people have overcome are failed marriages, anger, anxiety, depression, poor self-worth, perfectionism, and addictions. The addictions overcome are multiple such as alcohol, drugs, pornography, sex, food, shopping, gambling, excessive exercise, social media, video games, television & movie watching, and tobacco.
That said, I have also grieved to witness some people – who I am positive experienced breakthroughs in Truth Encounter – later return to their former destructive behavior. Why?
I have learned three possible answers as to why, after Truth Encounter, a Christian would return to their “broken” way of living.
The first reason a Christian would return to their “broken” way of living after Truth Encounter is they did not complete all the needed Truth Encounter sessions. Some people only require one session, others require more. God is able to accomplish all that is needed in one session; however, sometimes, a person is too emotionally or mentally exhausted to continue. Thus, additional future sessions are needed. If they fail to complete those sessions, they have effectively “short-circuited” the process and never come to the total freedom God promises.
The second reason a Christian would return to their “broken” way of living after Truth Encounter is their failure to practice the disciplines of the Christian faith, such as prayer, meditation, the hearing and study of God’s Word, fellowship, fasting, etc. When one does not continue to follow our Lord in the ways He has provided for us, we do not stagnate; we slide backward. If this continues long enough, we will become spiritually weak and begin giving in to temptation. Our adversary knows the areas to which we are most susceptible and will craft the means to exploit that weakness.
The third reason a Christian would return to their “broken” way of living after Truth Encounter is more complex and the rest of this article is dedicated to the explanation.
When Christians completed Truth Encounter and genuinely tried to pursue God through ongoing discipleship and still returned to their former brokenness, that had baffled me for years. I now have a theory as to why those individuals failed.
To present my theory, I need to first give an abbreviated explanation of my beliefs regarding Truth Encounter; a detailed explanation is found in a series of previous articles that begin here.
As to the abbreviated explanation of my beliefs, as they relate to Truth Encounter, we begin with the following thought.
Properly administered Truth Encounter will create for a broken Christian, a non-threatening environment that makes it easier for them to have an encounter with the Lord. That encounter is often profound and it first spotlights a lie or lies the person has believed. They are next presented with God’s truth in regard to the lie(s). When people believe that truth and act on it, they experience the freedom they have not known.
The “believe” portion is the awareness of a lie or lies they have believed, along with God’s truth regarding the lie(s).
The “act” part is what they need do in response to the truth revealed.
The needed “act” is most often forgiveness of whoever abused them in the past, and can also include accepting God’s forgiveness for their own failures, as well.
The process is essentially a revelation of sin and a response of repentance. When successful, this process frees a person from the power of the lie(s) they have believed, and that, in turn, allows them to proceed in the maturation of their faith through discipleship.
A bit more needs to be said in regard to the lie(s) a Christian believes.
The power of the lie(s) is that when believed, a person is sent down a path of deep emotional pain. The pain develops into a “bent” toward anger, anxiety, addiction, depression, perfectionism and/or poor self-worth. They then do what all creatures do when in pain; they seek relief.
Both the pain and relief sought is something that occurs nearly subconsciously & automatically; they usually do not ponder either. Typically, the relief they find becomes an addiction, which, of course, causes further issues.
The addiction doesn’t matter whether it is drugs, alcohol, sex, exercise, shopping, social media, gaming, workaholism, etc. What does matter is their particular addiction(s) releases chemicals & neurotransmitters, and a hormone in the brain and body; such as: Serotonin, Endorphins, Dopamine, and Oxytocin.
Certain chemicals, such as Methamphetamine will cause not only Dopamine but also Serotonin & Norepinephrine, to flow in greater amounts, as well. The greater release of neurotransmitters is key because this activity creates in the body & mind a state of euphoria. Euphoria is an enhanced sense of well-being. That sense of well-being or “rush” dulls one’s sense of pain & discomfort.
The problem again for some Christians is that though they are set free, they then neglect to grow in their faith through discipleship. Eventually, that neglect can result in a return to their former captivity; that explanation I clearly understood. What I did not see was the significance of a missing component in their discipleship efforts.
Some, even though they may pray, attend corporate worship, read the Bible, etc., still fail. Why?
I think some people may falter and return to their former “broken” life habits, because the practices I just mentioned may not, for them, release brain chemicals to the extent they have become accustomed.
Prayer & study can be cerebral activities. Those activities may not release the aforementioned brain chemicals at all or the amount released may not be the unnaturally high amount that they are used to receiving from their addiction(s). Also, prayer can be difficult for many people, and Bible study, especially for those not intellectually gifted, may be quite challenging.
What I am saying is that these Christians may be free from their past compulsion(s), addiction(s), or poor habits, but—their brains are still accustomed to the brain chemical release of their former lives—and they miss that effect, which causes discomfort and inner turmoil. What to do?
I am ashamed to say that after decades of performing this ministry, countless hours of prayer, training, research & study, I only now see what I believe to be the missing component. When I say “missing component” I refer to what it is that causes the failure for some who experienced successful Truth Encounter and then later returned to their former “broken” state.
The answer is a lack of personal (not corporate) deliberate praise to God.
Why, for many people, does a vibrant worship service cause them to feel more “alive”? Is it always a supernatural encounter? Even if it is, what is happening within them physiologically? I believe it is the brain chemical release, and perhaps more so Oxytocin, because its release in the brain is more related to social activities.
Now, I am aware that much happens within Heaven and the soul of a believer when they engage in praise; however, within the context of this article, I am speaking only about the potential physiological effect. The effect is euphoria, well-being, lessened pain, etc., and it is the brain chemicals I mentioned that causes that effect. That euphoric state is a condition in which the body feels good, and one has a sense that their problems are not so big after all.
Through both my past as an addict and through my coaching education & practice, I learned to recognize a brain flooded with Dopamine and the other brain chemicals. From that experience, I know the release of those “feel good” brain chemicals occur within me when I am engaged in genuine praise & adoration of my God.
That said, a brain “up” with Dopamine, Serotonin, Oxytocin, and Endorphins will later “come down;” then the difficulties of life will be more easily felt. For a former “broken” Christian, even if they have labored to pray & study, but haven’t developed the discipline of praise, the temptation to former habits may be overwhelming. Their tendency will be to “white-knuckle” it, and that is seldom a reliable solution.
For praise, you do not need to be intellectually gifted or driven. You don’t need to know how to study the Bible. You don’t have to be in a fellowship with others. You can do it alone, and you don’t have to sing, dance, or play an instrument well.
The quality is not the focus; the Lord is the focus and your obedience to His Word to praise God.
If you raise your hands and sing to the Lord, play your instrument to the Lord, or dance before the Lord, I believe the brain releases those wonderful “happy” chemicals. Thus, a Christian who recently experienced the Lord’s deliverance through Truth Encounter needs to begin training to praise the Lord immediately.
I say a Christian who recently experienced the Lord’s deliverance through Truth Encounter needs to begin training themself to praise the Lord, not only for the sake of obedience to the Word but also for the following reason: stress is unavoidable in life. Why do I say this?
In their former condition, broken Christians incurred stress that formed due to their internal battle caused by the lie(s) they believed. The brain’s Limbic System interprets stress as pain and pain as a threat to one’s survival. In the past, they trained their Limbic System to seek survival by seeking relief from pain through unhealthy methods. If they now train their brains to praise God when the stress of temptations occur, they will experience a praise-induced, proper release of brain chemicals designed to relieve stress, deaden pain, and create a sense of well-being.
Thus, their brain will learn to crave that Godly experience when the stress of temptation arises.
I think it is helpful to consider my theory in this way. Trying to forget or block out a bad habit is a mistake; our brains are too smart to forget. The better method is to replace the brain chemicals released by a bad habit with the chemicals released by a good habit. Does this make sense?
