Meth epidemic motivates Arab church to educate community

To say that methamphetamine is a problem in Marshall County is a definite understatement.
   
“Every week, there are meth lab busts in the newspaper. Every family is touched by it in some way,” said Max Roden, pastor of Gilliam Springs Baptist Church, Arab, in Marshall Baptist Association. “It’s an issue of epidemic proportions here.”
   
So the church — located in the heart of what is reported as the most meth-saturated area in the nation — decided to meet the problem head-on, trading its Judgement House this year for a dramatization chronicling the effects of the drug. 
   
“The Truth About the Lie,” a drama and multimedia presentation, follows the downfall of a couple tempted into trying meth. The couple’s struggles climax when the young man — deep into addiction — nearly kills their baby, kills a Christian peer who tries to witness to him and finally kills himself.
   
And then the audience watches as the young girl finds hope in Christ.
   
“It really touched a nerve,” Roden said. “It was amazing. Everywhere I go, people are still talking about it, and we are still seeing people get saved as a result of it.”
   
The drama, written by Minister of Music Steve Lacey and staged Oct. 22–25, presented the gospel in hopes that those in attendance might know Christ, but it was also done so that those who already do could know the horrors of meth and how to help others stay away from it, Lacey said.
   
“We did it having never heard of one being done before, so we didn’t know what to expect. But we were very pleased with the turnout — it was almost a full house at every performance, and there were lots of decisions,” he said.
   
Sammy Gilbreath, director of the office of evangelism for the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions, said the program — the first of its kind in Alabama — was a new idea that he thought would “be a growing idea.”
   
“Methamphetamine is just exploding in Alabama. This (presentation) is a wonderful way to reach out,” he said.  (TAB)