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Recovering People: Addiction, Personhood, and the Life of the Church
Working as an emergency physician at the epicenter of the opioid crisis, Dr. Quentin Genuis witnesses the devastating suffering caused by addiction and the incredible resilience of the affected persons. Drawing from real stories and grounded in rich theological insight, he argues that addiction is neither simple choice nor disease but something more nuanced and complex. Rather than moralizing or offering quick fixes, Dr. Genuis issues a timely call for radical hospitality, deep friendship, and abiding hope. This book shows how a humanizing view of addiction illuminates clear and practical ways that families, frontline workers, and faith communities can work to promote recovery. In a world too often numbed by grim headlines, he reminds us that every life is charged with dignity and deserves the chance for restoration.
166 pages, Paperback
Published November 6, 2025
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December 27, 2025
We read in the Parable of the Good Samaritan how a priest and a Levite casually pass by a man robbed and beaten by assailants but that the Good Samaritan was the one who stopped, bandaged the victim's wounds, and took him to an inn for further recuperation. As lamentable as it is, so often in Vancouver I can be that priest and that Levite, casually passing another addict sprawled out on drugs. It is commonplace to see such sights in the Downtown Eastside, the poorest neighbourhood in Canada; by the end of October 2025, 1538 overdose deaths had been reported for the year. It is not uncommon to see people riding the bus with a Naloxone kit dangling from their bag (a Good Samaritan's tool to treat overdoses).
Drug abuse is the most tangible sign of addiction in the Downtown Eastside, but addiction runs rampant throughout much of culture and also within the church. People can be addicted to drugs like opioids, yes, but they can also be addicted to alcohol, gambling, compulsive spending, pornography, tobacco, social media, and other negative habits. How are Christians to think about addiction and empathetically care for those who suffer them?
That is what Dr. Quentin Genuis invites us to consider in Recovering People: Addiction, Personhood, and the Life of the Church. An emergency physician at a downtown Vancouver hospital, Quentin has witnessed thousands of patients who come into St. Paul's emergency for treatment. His work in this book is grounded in both his experience in the ER and the Bible, theology, philosophy, and medical research. It is a deeply compassionate book; Quentin cares for his patients and is inspired in turn by their resiliency.
Addiction is a very controversial topic. The two main schools of thought assert that addiction is either a result of "choice" or that addiction is a "disease." Quentin carefully explains both of these sides but also finds them ultimately inadequate. The choice model tends to be unsympathetic and can inculcate a posture of condescension as the person with addictions (Quentin is insistent that this language be used rather than merely "addicts," as this term tends to dehumanize) is judged for having made such a terrible choice; "When these behaviors lead to risk or harm, the choice model suggests either the person's resolve is too weak to overcome their destructive will, or the person values the activity enough to accept the associated harm" (pp. 19, 21). It also places too much emphasis on the person's autonomy without considering how other factors like "adverse childhood experiences, genetic and medical factors, social and economic realities, political and cultural forces, or mental health" may have also contributed to the person's downward slide into addiction (p. 22).
Meanwhile, the disease model too severely undermines the person's self-autonomy; "It suggests that addictive behaviors can be adequately explained without reference to the individual's will or agency...Despite the good intentions of those who hold this view, it also risks dehumanization by implying that people with addiction lack will and volitional freedom. It sees them as passive victims rather than resilient, active persons" (p. 35).
Quentin wants us to chart a way between these two models. He favours a personal model that affirms persons’ with addictions inherent dignity and will and which affirms their own profound capacity to teach and bless us. He also exhorts Christians to consider before condemning, "What is this person ultimately seeking through this addiction?" (p. 99). He believes that we are all (rightly!) seeking after the true, the good, and the beautiful but that our addictions are those wayward, imperfect imitations of those transcendent virtues. People with addictions seek meaning and their addictions often are how they orient their lives to obtain meaning; they are an "ordering principle." We all have an ordering principle that we rely on to navigate life. For the social justice activist, it may look like participation in liberation for all those held down by their socioeconomic circumstances. For a Christian, it will be life lived in discipleship to Jesus, sanctified by the Holy Spirit, active in a faith community. I appreciate Quentin's extensive discussion of a Christian anthropology that understands the reality and prevalence of addiction even as it also encourages persons with addictions to forgo those negative patterns of behaviour.
Quentin observes that sometimes churches refuse to participate in meaningful ways when it comes to addiction, instead directing people with addictions to doctors. Other churches are too zealous in insisting that they have all the answers to addictions and dissuade people with addictions from seeking legitimate medical help (here I do think that more moderate Christians have been wary of "biblical counselling" that oversteps in its confidence in what Scripture alone can offer to those who are suffering mentally and I think this is why some churches are quicker nowadays to direct people to secular medical care). Quentin invites Christians to reach out in friendship to people who have addictions. He notes that it is widely proven that committed friendships and community have a major role to play in the journey towards recovery (p. 49). Yes, churches and individual believers can do such things as pray for someone with addictions during a Sunday service or accompany them to a doctor's appointment, but these friendships can also be more immersive. He points to the good work of ministries like Jacob's Well in the Downtown Eastside. It also makes me think about how most youth ministry in the church happens on Friday nights, the weekend, when kids and teens are most likely to have free time on their hands. If addictions are often born of isolation and a lack of connection, what would it look like for more churches to have events and programs on the weekends like movie or games nights for adults to foster healthy community?
Recovering People is a rich and deeply humane and compassionate book, offering churches and Christians insights into how to consider our anthropology and personhood and how to come alongside those who fight the good fight against addictions of various kinds. Pure Genuis.
Drug abuse is the most tangible sign of addiction in the Downtown Eastside, but addiction runs rampant throughout much of culture and also within the church. People can be addicted to drugs like opioids, yes, but they can also be addicted to alcohol, gambling, compulsive spending, pornography, tobacco, social media, and other negative habits. How are Christians to think about addiction and empathetically care for those who suffer them?
That is what Dr. Quentin Genuis invites us to consider in Recovering People: Addiction, Personhood, and the Life of the Church. An emergency physician at a downtown Vancouver hospital, Quentin has witnessed thousands of patients who come into St. Paul's emergency for treatment. His work in this book is grounded in both his experience in the ER and the Bible, theology, philosophy, and medical research. It is a deeply compassionate book; Quentin cares for his patients and is inspired in turn by their resiliency.
Addiction is a very controversial topic. The two main schools of thought assert that addiction is either a result of "choice" or that addiction is a "disease." Quentin carefully explains both of these sides but also finds them ultimately inadequate. The choice model tends to be unsympathetic and can inculcate a posture of condescension as the person with addictions (Quentin is insistent that this language be used rather than merely "addicts," as this term tends to dehumanize) is judged for having made such a terrible choice; "When these behaviors lead to risk or harm, the choice model suggests either the person's resolve is too weak to overcome their destructive will, or the person values the activity enough to accept the associated harm" (pp. 19, 21). It also places too much emphasis on the person's autonomy without considering how other factors like "adverse childhood experiences, genetic and medical factors, social and economic realities, political and cultural forces, or mental health" may have also contributed to the person's downward slide into addiction (p. 22).
Meanwhile, the disease model too severely undermines the person's self-autonomy; "It suggests that addictive behaviors can be adequately explained without reference to the individual's will or agency...Despite the good intentions of those who hold this view, it also risks dehumanization by implying that people with addiction lack will and volitional freedom. It sees them as passive victims rather than resilient, active persons" (p. 35).
Quentin wants us to chart a way between these two models. He favours a personal model that affirms persons’ with addictions inherent dignity and will and which affirms their own profound capacity to teach and bless us. He also exhorts Christians to consider before condemning, "What is this person ultimately seeking through this addiction?" (p. 99). He believes that we are all (rightly!) seeking after the true, the good, and the beautiful but that our addictions are those wayward, imperfect imitations of those transcendent virtues. People with addictions seek meaning and their addictions often are how they orient their lives to obtain meaning; they are an "ordering principle." We all have an ordering principle that we rely on to navigate life. For the social justice activist, it may look like participation in liberation for all those held down by their socioeconomic circumstances. For a Christian, it will be life lived in discipleship to Jesus, sanctified by the Holy Spirit, active in a faith community. I appreciate Quentin's extensive discussion of a Christian anthropology that understands the reality and prevalence of addiction even as it also encourages persons with addictions to forgo those negative patterns of behaviour.
Quentin observes that sometimes churches refuse to participate in meaningful ways when it comes to addiction, instead directing people with addictions to doctors. Other churches are too zealous in insisting that they have all the answers to addictions and dissuade people with addictions from seeking legitimate medical help (here I do think that more moderate Christians have been wary of "biblical counselling" that oversteps in its confidence in what Scripture alone can offer to those who are suffering mentally and I think this is why some churches are quicker nowadays to direct people to secular medical care). Quentin invites Christians to reach out in friendship to people who have addictions. He notes that it is widely proven that committed friendships and community have a major role to play in the journey towards recovery (p. 49). Yes, churches and individual believers can do such things as pray for someone with addictions during a Sunday service or accompany them to a doctor's appointment, but these friendships can also be more immersive. He points to the good work of ministries like Jacob's Well in the Downtown Eastside. It also makes me think about how most youth ministry in the church happens on Friday nights, the weekend, when kids and teens are most likely to have free time on their hands. If addictions are often born of isolation and a lack of connection, what would it look like for more churches to have events and programs on the weekends like movie or games nights for adults to foster healthy community?
Recovering People is a rich and deeply humane and compassionate book, offering churches and Christians insights into how to consider our anthropology and personhood and how to come alongside those who fight the good fight against addictions of various kinds. Pure Genuis.
January 12, 2026
A fantastic read on the heartbreaking, but not hopeless, reality of those facing addictions. Quentin does a great job of going over the popular models of choice and disease for addiction and draws a compelling middle ground model that seems appropriate. He also highlights many stories, showing that this is not just a work of academics for himself, but the reality of his work.
In the 2nd section he highlights how even though scripture does not specifically speak into addiction there are practical applications of care and compassion that has wisdom for these realities.
In the final section he speaks how the church can be a place of refuge and hope and an integral part of pursuing recovery for those experiencing addiction.
Definitely highly recommend this book and adding it to my ever growing pile of books I need to read annually.
In the 2nd section he highlights how even though scripture does not specifically speak into addiction there are practical applications of care and compassion that has wisdom for these realities.
In the final section he speaks how the church can be a place of refuge and hope and an integral part of pursuing recovery for those experiencing addiction.
Definitely highly recommend this book and adding it to my ever growing pile of books I need to read annually.
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