NEW COUNSELING PROGRAM TO COMBAT ADDICTIVE BEHAVIOR OPENS IN LAUREL

Secret personal battles may ,sometimes leave people wanting to give up on
life. However, help may be on the way.

"Discovery Group," a Christian support ministry for rehabilitation and
spiritual healing, will begin offering its services in Laurel on July 11.

"Discovery Group is designed to help 'secret sufferers' in the church and
community," explained the group's founder, Rev. Gary Browning of Mobile,
who was in Laurel to announce the opening of his counseling program. " I
lived a 'double life' myself before I was found out. Alcohol had taken over
my life. And I believe that there are many today who are also leading
double lives, but who want to change and heal."

Browning has lived the reality of addiction and despair. After serving as a
minister for 14 years, he experienced a personal failure which resulted in
his turning to alcohol as a solution. In 1992, however, he went through
treatment for alcohol abuse and sought spiritual guidance. Today, he
credits God with restoring his life and then leading him to serve others by
sharing his journey.

As Browning increasingly became aware of people within the church who were
fighting secret battles and that the 'un-churched' were also seeking
redemptive measures, he founded the Discovery Group of Mobile, Ala., as a
Christian support ministry for rehabilitation and spiritual healing. To
date, he has led more than 700 groups since its inception.

"Counseling or psychiatric attention, while available to a community, can
be very expensive per hour," Browning noted. "And most problems cannot be
solved or alleviated in an hour or two. So Discovery Group does not charge
a fee to participants. We rely on donations."

He continued, "My ministry is so needed. It fills a niche somewhere between
the church and a humanistic approach. Basically, we follow the 12-step
program of AA, but with an overtly Christian orientation. Many people who
come to the group have issues with the church, but are comfortable with us."

Browning's literature defines Discovery Group as a confidential,
non-confrontational, caring group which helps individuals deal with issues
of addiction -- whether alcohol, drugs, gambling or sex -- and with abuse,
loss through death or divorce and any other life-challenging difficulty.
Other issues include eating disorders, depression or coping with a major
illness or life threatening disease. In addition, the groups are helpful to
family members and close friends who are trying to help loved ones with any
of these problems.

"Discovery Group is non-denominational. We help people of all faiths. We
partner with local churches and assist pastors and congregations, as well
as those outside the church. We are also an adjunct to already existing AA
programs and other counseling groups. We do not supplant any other
program," Browning added.

Discovery Family Ministeries of Laurel

Chip Irby and wife Cher' of Laurel were introduced to Browning by a mutual
friend last year. The timing was fortuitous since the Irbys had experienced
a new awareness in the wake of September 11. The couple observed that
people have a tendency to throw a check at distant problems which do not
affect them directly, but to be complacent about problems in their
immediate community.

As Chip Irby expressed it, "When people in New York were facing horrendous
terror, the country reached out with funds to help them. In Jones County,
though, we have some of the same psychological terror in the everyday lives
of people here. But on a local level, we don't do anything. We just go
about our lives. Cher' and I wanted to do something in our own hometown. As
a community, we need to support a brother or sister who has fallen on hard
times. Money can help some problems, but it is a band-aid at best.

"We want people here to experience true healing and pass it along to
others. I personally believe that Christ is the only answer."

As a result of their new commitment to the community, the Irbys, along with
Browning, will sponsor two Discovery Groups in Laurel, both beginning July
11 -- the first will assist adults every Thursday for 12 weeks, from 7-8
p.m., at the Red Cross Training Center at the corner of Oak and Magnolia in
downtown Laurel; the second is aimed at youths (ages 13-17) every Thursday,
from 5-6 p.m., at the same location.

Browning noted that the Discovery Group for youth will be a pilot program here.

"There are six kids from Judge Gaylon Harper's Youth Court who are being
urged to participate by him and counselor Stella Clayton; however, it is
totally voluntary. The court is simply recommending the program as a
resource to their parents. Which brings up an important point -- an
individual really needs to come of his or her own accord to this or any
other program. We will emphasize the spiritual side of AA, though. I really
respect the 12-step approach. But Discovery Group does take people to
another dimension in their spirituality."

Irby added, "We are also excited to work with the youth in the pilot
program. We plan to involve them at the beginning of the 12-weeks and then
again at the end with Gibbes Goodwin's Challenge Country in Ellisville. We
feel that this will add another important dimension to the 12-steps.

"I envision this program growing from this beginning and involving more and
more people. There will be opportunities for organizations or private
individuals to participate financially or, hopefully, as group facilitators
in the future. Volunteers can move from Discovery Group into their own
ministeries. We encourage readers to tell others who might benefit from
these meetings."

For more information about Discovery Group, contact the Irbys at 601/425-9011.