Post 123
FROM ONE TINY
STATEMENT!
In earlier GRM Blog posts, I have told stories of how a single question, a call to the GA Hotline, or a simple click on the keyboard has lead to journeys unknown and never-thought-of before. Results occurred that changed lives … mine and others.
In Post 2, It was a Cold and Snowy Night, the very beginnings of Gambling Recovery Ministries were hatched from the question, And what are the churches doing about it? Never, ever, ever was there an inspiration inside my outreach-ministry mindset to reach out to persons affected by problem gambling. Still, the question was posed – and there was no answer, except (sadly) Nothing. It was the “right time and the right place” for such a beginning, actually. The two persons asking the question were in position to expand the possibility and make it happen. And they had their “Founding Director” sitting in front of them - who couldn’t believe what was being said and relegated to her!
During the founding days of GRM, it was apparent that the newly created Board needed to learn more about gambling addiction and recovery issues. With a deep breath, I called the nearby GA Hotline to see if someone could provide information – and not think that we were some kind of competing religious group. Sure enough, this one phone call opened new – and very helpful – channels of communication. The person on the volunteer shift provided much information and an invitation to celebrations of abstinence (called Pinnings) and to Gam-Anon Meetings. One of the best events I have ever attended was the Workshop that our Board sponsored for any GA and Gam-Anon Members to come and speak about how both organizations provide support and help to persons impacted directly or indirectly by compulsive gambling. Over the years, I have met many courageous people in recovery - and gladly, have referred persons to GA and Gam-Anon. What valuable resources these two organizations are!
Then there is GRM’s involvement with San Diego’s incredible Christ Ministry Center that came about as a result with one quick keyboard click. You’ll see the story in Post 42, August: Expansion!! Who knew that – for example – a desperate-to-stay-abstinent person would call me from a Las Vegas hotel room … a referral from the Center provided this connection.
Again, there’s another story to tell! As this edition’s title relates, an additional, expanding outreach to problem gamblers, and their family members/friends, began with one tiny statement. Over the years with this ministry, I have come to know many remarkable professionals who work on behalf of recovery support for those with a gambling disorder and their concerned others.
Whether my colleagues are therapists, prevention specialists, researchers, professors, administrators, or Directors of Councils on Problem Gambling, there is a shared sense of dedication to provide the best care possible and knowledge about gambling addiction. One such person is Curtis Barrett, Ph.D. Founder of the Kentucky Council on Problem Gambling in 1995. Dr. Barrett continues to see new possibilities for extending the highest quality of support to those seeking and in the process of recovery.
Several times, Dr. Barrett and I had co-presented educational programming, when in early 2013 we were having still another conversation about outreach to gamblers. Suddenly, Dr. Barrett said, Janet, we’re just going to need to get you certified! [as in Certified Gambling Counselor]. My knee-jerk reply was, I’m not a [clinical] counselor; I’m a pastor! It took only a speck of time for Dr. Barrett to reply that there should be created some kind of certification for clergy to serve within faith-based settings as the best-equipped first responders to parishioners affected by disordered gambling. Instantly, this possibility took hold in our conversation.
Though I favored this idea, I had no background for creating such a credential. However, I trusted Dr. Barrett’s history of being a foundational leader in the field. Then too, he was a long-standing Board Member of the American Compulsive Gambling Counselor Certification Board – of which I had been serving, also, for about two years.
By spring, we had proposed the concept of an American Board (non-clinical) Clergy Certification to Jeffrey Beck, the President of the Board. At the May Board Meeting, I presented a multi-page form to describe the proposed credential and subsequently, was assigned to head up a committee to formulate such a certification. Preliminary conversations took place that summer; and in September, the American Board voted to give the green light, officially, to the committee to create the certification.
What followed were e-mail meetings, teleconferences, and on-site working sessions involving a terrific group of serious planners. There were many discussions and questions to answer. On June 27, 2014, the American Board’s Clergy/Lay Minister Certification in Gambling Addiction Prevention, Education, Awareness, and Spiritual Outreach Care was approved! We were then to have our first 4-Module Training in November in New Jersey. The rest is history!
So far, we have also held the Trainings in Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Maryland, Massachusetts, and this coming April 2020 in Davenport, Iowa, along with interest in Delaware and Minnesota. One key piece of information to highlight is that in 2016, the American Board and the International Gambling Counselor Certification Board merged; and the Clergy/Lay Minister Certification has continued with the newly merged Board. PLUS possibilities of expanding internationally are now in discussion!
FROM ONE TINY
STATEMENT!
Blessings,
Rev. Janet Jacobs, CCGSO
Founding Director
Gambling Recovery
Ministries
For more information on
the IGCCB Clergy/Lay Minister Certification visit:
For more information on gambling disorder and recovery issues
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