Recovering People by Quentin Genuis

It still feels strange to say I have written a book about addiction and the church. The folder on my computer containing the manuscript is still titled “Book?”, as if I am still unsure if I am writing it or not. But there it irrefutably lies on my desk: Recovering People by Quentin Genuis. 

People have asked me what my method was for writing a book amidst my other jobs and vocations: father of four beautiful scallywags, emergency physician, teacher, amateur grower of dahlias, and ethicist (whatever that means). I am never able to answer this question well, because I did not have a method. I did not plan to write a book until my wife Kalyn told me it was the only way to keep my head from exploding. “Tell me what you want to say about addiction,” she said one night, sitting on our kitchen island with a pencil and a sheet of paper. I rambled. She wrote, then handed me an outline and told me to get to work. 

One of the things that made writing this book feel like such a gift is that it has never felt like my project. Instead, it felt like the opportunity to be a vessel for the beautiful and often-missed features of the lives of other people. Persons with addiction are so often viewed primarily as problems to be solved. But, through my work at St. Paul’s, the good LORD has cut me to the bone with the simple conviction that they are His creatures, made for belonging, purpose, hope, and joy. Each one is a person for whom God became incarnate. Each one is a person for whom Christ died. 

These are simple truths, but they are not easy to consistently live out of. Accepting the personhood and value of our neighbors with addiction calls us to high, self-emptying, standards of compassion and hospitality.  A core conviction of the book is that it is time for churches to embrace their responsibility to be places of sanctification and freedom for persons with addiction. We can only do so when our communities are places of deep friendship, confession of sin, costly interdependence, primary belonging, right worship, truth-telling, and hope.

We all fall short of this vision. I certainly do. But, just as writing Recovering People was an attempted act of loyalty and affection for my friends who live on the Downtown Eastside, so it was also a project made possible by my brothers and sisters at Christ City Church. It is here that Kalyn and I (and our scallywags) have learned so much about how immersive bodies of grace can re-order our disordered lives according to God’s good purposes. We have been the recipients of hospitality, dahlia tubers, good advice, babysitting swaps, prayer, baby clothes, faithful presence in times of doubt, inspiration, and the beautiful mystery of liturgy. And so, as much as anyone, we want to thank the people of Christ City for your kindness and your example. We hope to be like you. We hope, together, to be the kind of community where dramatic forms of sanctification, including recovery from severe addiction, are common. 

In conclusion, this article was intended to be a brief book blurb for potentially interested persons. I cannot help but feel we have wandered into much more important territory. Nonetheless, for the sake of completion: Recovering People speaks “Christian-ly” about what addiction is, how we ground our approach to addiction in the Bible, and what the Church can do about the addiction crisis of our time. It also contains some great Emergency Department stories. 

If interested, you can find some more information here: https://quentingenuis.com ; or email me anytime at quentingenuis@gmail.com

Warmly

Q