Jerrimiah Cunningham knows what it’s like to be shackled to addiction. Family hurt, years of substance abuse, mental health issues, and a wrong understanding of God left him deep in despair. But he also knows the power of God’s transforming mercy and grace. He is now a pastor and volunteers to help those struggling with addiction in Southeast Missouri, holding out the hope of the gospel to those who feel like they are beyond help.
A life of pain and addiction
Cunningham lived in addiction from his teenage years until 40 years old. Coming from a family of addicts and alcoholics, he learned to use substances like alcohol, marijuana, crack, LSD, and even Freon to manipulate his emotions. “I did not have the tools to deal with what I was feeling,” he remembered. “My life had been a wreck for as long as I could remember.”
Contributing to his anguish was the reality that Cunningham felt abandoned by his father, who was rarely around. When he was present, Cunningham’s father would often use Scripture to demean him. Anger took root in Cunningham’s heart and gave him a distorted understanding of a relationship with God. Running away felt like the only option:
“I decided that right out of high school I needed to get away. I joined the Marines. Otherwise, I knew I would either end up dead or in prison by the time my 19th birthday rolled around. When I joined the military, I began to drink all the time. I was trying to fill a void in my life, and yet, it was still there when I got sober.”
Cunningham hated his life, was plagued by suicidal thoughts, and was in and out of hospitals for years. The whole time, he felt worthless. “Who was I? What was my life worth?” he asked. “I couldn’t put my life in order. I felt as if I just brought down everyone I was around.”
Finally, he came to know and surrender to Christ, believing that his perfect Father in Heaven accepted and loved him—scars, mistakes, and all—because of Jesus. “If only I would have stopped running all those years ago and just listened to him call me,” he recalls, “I would have known that he is the one who can fill that void.”
Though he no longer desires to use substances, he continues to take daily medications to help his mental health. And, in a full-circle story, he now uses his life to help those who are suffering with addiction and mental health issues, pointing them to the goodness of God:
“I share my testimony because I know that life is hard. Living with hopelessness becomes so exhausting that a person begins to believe that ending their life is better than living. But I also know that there is hope. I am not an expert on addiction or mental health, but I am a pastor and want to provide encouragement as part of the body of Christ by walking alongside those who are struggling.”
Living with hopelessness becomes so exhausting that a person begins to believe that ending their life is better than living. But I also know that there is hope.
Addiction’s effect on our families
Although the Lord has miraculously pulled Cunningham out of his addiction, he still remembers the way it affects family and friends. Families lose contact with the one struggling with mental health and addiction for days or even years because of going to rehab, being in jail or prison, or just being incapacitated.
Cunningham has even experienced and caused his loved ones to deal with the up-and-down emotions of addiction, from anger and guilt, to blame and sorrow. “When I was dealing with addiction, I was not only absent physically from my family, but also absent mentally and emotionally,” he said. “While I slept off the hangovers, my wife didn’t have a husband nor did my boys have a father. So many scars were created.”
Sadly, he knows all too well that a lifestyle of addiction is frequently passed to the next generation, whether by example, neglect, or a biological propensity without the tools to fight temptation. These issues have proven that they are not isolated to individuals but affect whole families and communities.
A different kind of addiction
While we often think of addiction as involving drugs and alcohol, Cunningham recently learned about the insidious nature and destruction of a different kind of addiction: pornography. National events like the COVID-19 pandemic have only intensified this struggle. Cunningham notes, “In March of 2020, Pornhub gave a free trial to their premium package for 30 days. As the world began to close down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, people were isolated. Thus, it was easy to become addicted to porn with no financial repercussions.”
He goes on to say, “I believe pornography is one of the leading forms of addiction. Because it causes so much shame and is one of the hardest addictions to break, those who struggle remain isolated and silent.” Baptist Press, in an October 2024 article, confirmed that pornography use is rising among Christians.1Diana Chandler, “Porn Use Grows among Christians, Study Says, Urging Church to Offer Healing,” Baptist Press, October 22, 2024, https://www.baptistpress.com/resource-library/news/porn-use-grows-among-christians-study-says-urging-church-to-offer-healing/.
Cunningham recommends a book titled The Freedom Fight: The New Drug and the Truths That Set Us Free by Ted Shimer, which he says opened his eyes to the effects of pornography. Shimer writes that 65% of non-Christian men use pornography monthly, while 64% of Christian men do.2Ted Shimer and Josh McDowell, The Freedom Fight: The New Drug and the Truths That Set Us Free (High Bridge Books, 2021), 18.
Shimer also notes that pornography creates a high amount of dopamine in the brain, according to research.3Ibid., 41. Amphetamines and cocaine seem to be the only other two drugs that produce more. However, while dopamine crashes with amphetamine and cocaine, it sustains at its peak with pornography. This creates a desire to continue to seek that particular high. The author also reports there is evidence that the prefrontal cortex of the brain, which helps with impulse control, shrinks as a result of a pornography addiction.4Ibid., 142.
In a digital age of sexual confusion and moral relativism, it is easy to find access to pornographic material, justifying its sinful use to numb the struggles of life, find momentary pleasure, and satisfy the ache of loneliness.
A costly ministry
Cunningham has undeniably seen God’s power in his own life, yet ministry to those with mental health and addiction issues is impossible apart from the power of the Holy Spirit. As he describes, “One of the most difficult aspects of addiction and mental health ministry is that there isn’t enough time to reach out to all those who struggle.” Because of our human limitations, there are only so many people one can help.
Knowing what an addict needs, Cunningham has a dream of starting a community for those coming out of addiction, where they can have relationships and receive practical help. He describes his vision:
“It would not be a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center but a place where those who are trying to stay sober can live, especially those who cannot get a job due to lack of transportation or criminal background. I desire to help these men find jobs and get on their feet so that when they leave our community, they have transportation, a place to live, sobriety, and a group of other men that they can always reach out to.”
His desire is that we pray for his continued strength and discernment, for the good of those he ministers to, and for the good of his family. “I want to help everyone but am unable due to the lack of time. If I spread myself too thin, I am unable to give 100% to those I am working with, much less to my family.”
Caring for those with addictions
Cunningham’s experience—both personal and ministerial—has given him insight into how we can best serve those caught in addiction. The first piece of advice, which he says is the most important, is to be educated about addiction and despair. We cannot help people effectively if we know nothing about what they are walking through.
Secondly, we have to reach out. Those struggling with addiction will often not be the ones to seek us out, although they need community. Cunningham clarifies, “In The Freedom Fight, Shimer quotes Johann Hari, writing ‘The opposite of addiction isn’t sobriety, it’s connection.’ . . . Connection equates to relationship. Relationship equates to discipleship. Without building relationships and having accountability in those relationships, it is easy to isolate and continue in addiction.”
In addition, we have to be willing to share our own struggles. Cunningham remembers, “When I was struggling, I didn’t want to hear how great someone else’s life was. I wanted to hear about the difficulties and how, though it’s difficult to lean on Christ at times, he will bring us through.”
Without building relationships and having accountability in those relationships, it is easy to isolate and continue in addiction.
He also emphasizes the importance of counseling. “I used these addictive substances to suppress the things I wrestled with,” he says. “It was through counseling that I was able to deal with them.”
Conclusion
Jerrimiah Cunningham knows that there is hope, peace, and the presence of God in every trial that we go through, including addiction and mental health issues. By walking alongside those dealing with addiction, he is a living testimony that there is freedom in Christ and that we can truly “taste and see that the LORD is good!” (Ps. 34:8).
The Church should join Cunningham in standing by those wrestling with addiction, assuring them that Jesus came for those who are sick, which is all of us (Matt. 9:12). Together, we can catch one another when we stumble and reach out when one of us falls. “As a body of believers,” Cunningham exhorts, “let us be the hands that reach down to help pick up those who are struggling.” And as we do, may we bring them to our Savior over and over again.
This article is from the Winter 2024 issue of Light magazine, Finding Rest in the Wilderness: Hope and Help for Mental Health Struggles.
