We’re losing their minds.
As I write this letter, we are involved in a daily crisis that affects the children in our city in ways that I believe many are entirely unaware of. Even as we watch the news unfold from countries overseas and even our nation's own centers of power, our city is being systematically attacked by an epidemic of illicit drug use. The availability of the drugs is staggering. Just last week, I spoke to a mother who was struggling to deal with the drug abuse of her daughter, who is a middle school student in Amarillo.
Her daughter is buying methamphetamine from other students on her campus and using it regularly. If you're unfamiliar with the current "meth" that is available on the street, it is a highly potent and destructive drug that is cooked in makeshift kitchens and also smuggled in over the border from Mexico. It is a drug that floods the brain with dopamine, burning out the dopamine receptors in the brain until the user's brain is prematurely aged, and the chemical residue from the meth causes the body's organs to shut down. It typically takes a short time of drug use to alter the user's sense of reality dramatically and can lead to hallucinations and even a complete psychotic break in the mind of the user. The damage is irreversible. To imagine that middle school students are using this drug is alarming.
In addition to methamphetamine, other "cocktail" drugs are circulating in homes, back alleys, and public parks that have unpredictable and wide-ranging effects. The drugs are chemically designed to circumvent the legal system that would otherwise be a deterrent to their use. They are "cooked" with chemicals that are toxic and laced with potentially deadly opiates such as fentanyl. The users have no idea how the drugs will react in their bodies or how much of the drug will cause them to overdose.
For us at Citychurch, we have to constantly navigate the need to minister to those who are affected by this epidemic while at the same time protecting the children in their homes and, more importantly, those who come to Citychurch to find an escape from the violence. Sometimes, it can feel like we are speaking to someone who has completely lost their mind. They have no sense of where they are, their memories are shattered and they have lost all control of their physical impulses. You can imagine how hard it is for a child to feel safe in a home where the adults and even older siblings are living in this state of paranoia and violence.
Later today, we will be meeting with the police department to determine what legal tools are at our disposal as we continue to struggle with the threats of violence and vandalism that have become a part of our daily struggle at Citychurch.
I would ask that you pray for us as we seek God's wisdom and discernment in ministering in the midst of this incredibly challenging environment. There are a few realities that inform our decisions that I want to share with you so that, as you pray for us, you will have a better sense of our convictions.
As difficult as this situation is for us as a church, there are children who are dealing with it daily. They have no escape, so we must face this difficulty head-on.
This is a physical manifestation of a spiritual battle. The threats to our city's safety and security are physical; the remedy is spiritual.
Jesus Christ is still on His throne. This is the sin for which our Savior suffered and died. Sin always leads to death. However, the redemption from sin that Christ made possible is powerful beyond any pain, even the pain of death.
Finally, this is the responsibility of God's people. This is the job of the church. As the church, we cannot delegate the responsibility of spiritual regeneration to institutions that are, by their very nature, secular and agnostic.
We will continue to serve faithfully in obedience to Christ with the deep conviction that He continues to work through this crisis. We know He loves our city because this evil, as threatening as it is, has not overtaken us. We also want to thank you for your financial support. Without your help, we could not continue to offer the hope of the Gospel to those we serve. Every work of God requires this kind of partnership and sacrifice. For our part, we will continue to use whatever the Lord leads us to give in a way that will allow it to have the most significant impact. In Psalm 1, David shares the key to God’s favor in a world that is spiritually fallen. He writes…
1 Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
2 but his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
3 He is like a tree
planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.
4 The wicked are not so,
but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
6 for the LORD knows the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish. (ESV)
Please pray for us as we strive to walk in wisdom, to stand firmly planted in the righteousness of Christ and to sit at His feet and worship. We are His people and He is worthy to be praised from the heart of His city.
Donnie Lane
Sr. Pastor, Citychurch