Mansfield pastor writes book, 'Ministering to the Addicted'
Chad Hayes is on a mission in life: helping others.
Hayes, the senior pastor of Caesarea Baptist Church, has written a book, "Ministering to the Addicted."
"Often times we tend to avoid what we don’t understand. The easy route is to say, 'I don’t know,' or 'I don’t know how,' and never make any attempts to understand. Sadly, even in our churches we have pushed those to the side who we don’t understand," Hayes said.
"We must ask ourselves, 'Does the Bible have the answer for everything?' The answer is yes! So, what does the Bible say about addiction? What does the Bible say about the solution to addiction? It may surprise you but it is not rocket science, as it is very simple. It is actually so simple, that any believer can minister to the addicted. Ministering to the addicted takes a Bible-based approach to addiction recovery," he said.
Hayes was born into poverty, as his dad was an alcoholic and drug addict.
His dad took his own life when Chad was just 14 years old. Chad also spent four years on active duty in the U.S. Marines where he developed his own addictions, and he said it was then that he needed to be set free.
Ministering to the addicted is written from the perspective of one who lived with an addict. It is written from the perspective of one who needed recovery himself, but also from the perspective of one who helps others to recover.
“Ministering to the Addicted” is currently available for preorder on Amazon Kindle for a reduced price prior to release on Feb. 15.
“Ministering to the Addicted” will be available in paperback on Amazon the same day.
Hayes said Feb. 15 is a significant day to the author.
He said Feb. 15, 2002 was the day that he became aware of his dad's suicide. So on the 21st anniversary of the death of Raymond J. Hayes, “Ministering to the Addicted” will be made public.
Hayes, who was born and raised in Alexandria, Louisiana, has been pastor of Caesarea Baptist Church in Mansfield since June of 2018.
lwhitmir@gannett.com
419-521-7223
Twitter: @LWhitmir
This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Chad Hayes' dad was an alcoholic and drug addict.
