Perry Noble, the former pastor of the Newspring megachurch fired over alcohol problems who checked into a 30-day rehab programme, has said his period in an Arizona treatment facility was "one of the most difficult things I've ever experienced".
Noble was dismissed by his church's board of directors in July. They said in a statement he had "made some unfortunate choices and decisions that have caused us much concern", citing his "posture towards his marriage, increased reliance on alcohol and other behaviors".
Noble announced he would enter a treatment centre and pledged he would do "whatever it takes to get better".
In a Facebook update to his followers he said of his treatment: "Being in that place allowed me to come face to face with issues from my past as well as my current struggle, and placed me in a place to successfully overcome my overmedication via alcohol."
He said of his future: "The best move for me in regards to getting better is to humbly place myself under the authority of someone who I can trust and is qualified to walk me through this next season. As I often say, you can't do life alone, and it's going to take the help of other people if I am going to fully embrace the healing that needs to take place in my life."
He said he was "humbly submitting" himself to his therapist John Walker, who would serve as his pastor, psychologist and "spiritual formations director".
He asked for prayers for himself and his family, concluding: "I can honestly say I am excited about the future God has for me and my family. The one thing I keep hearing from Him over and over again is that He is not finished with me. I have no idea in what capacity He will use me in over the next several years; however, I do know that it will be immeasurably more than all I could ask for or imagine – because, in Christ, the best is ALWAYS yet to come."
