Welcome to the conclusion of our special, three-week series, in which host Kevin Dixon invites pastors, friends and professionals to help him explore the subject of addiction. This week, Jake Smith of the Plumline Christian counseling organization describes our spiritual systems—mind, strength and heart. He and Kevin discuss what happens when these systems aren't fully developed and integrated, as well as the coping strategies that emerge to compensate for those weaknesses. Then, our final episode features Journey Elder and worship leader Tim Skipper sharing his own journey to recover and repair relationships damaged by an addiction.

Journey's HOOKED series is a direct response to the written, weekly prayers of our community. As we have read and prayed over your words, it has become clear to us that addiction affects more lives than any of us could possibly imagine. Whether that's substance abuse or a "process" addiction like pornography or gambling, we hope this series will help us our understanding and our healing.

If substance abuse or addiction is a problem, you are not alone. Please ask for help. You can call the National Substance Abuse and Addiction Hotline 24 hours a day at (844) 289-0879. You can always contact Journey's pastors, too, at [email protected] or by phone, by text at (615) 861-9503 or phone Journey at (615) 490-3603.  Next week: Suzie Lind and Sam Barnhart join Kevin to examine  addiction's spiritual and pastoral questions.