Step 8 & 9: Are YOU on the list? Pride of unforgiveness!!

Step 8 & 9: Are YOU on the list? Pride of unforgiveness!!

What drives someone to seek a life without alcohol and the shame that comes with it?

Here, Zach and his co-host Monty Ronald Fremont chat through Steps 8 and 9 of the 12 steps from a Christian recovery angle, zeroing in on a question that catches many people off guard: "Are YOU on the amends list?" The conversation starts with familiar recovery territory—making a list of people harmed and becoming willing to make amends—but quickly shifts towards the often-ignored person on that list: yourself.

Zach shares how years of addiction fed an inner soundtrack of "I'm not good enough" and "I always screw up," and how that ongoing self-condemnation can cause deeper damage than many external harms. Grounding their discussion in the Bible, they talk about identity, grace and what it means to be a "new creation" in Christ.

One of the strongest points is Zach’s claim that refusing to forgive yourself after God has forgiven you is actually pride: "If you can't forgive yourself, but God has forgiven you, you're holding on to something that God himself said, I have cast away." They also suggest that clinging to an old identity—like "convicted felon" or "just a sinner"—can become a kind of idol that blocks growth and recovery.

The tone is relaxed, funny in spots (yes, including talk of "badass sheep" and rams), but it keeps circling back to serious recovery work: putting yourself on the list, accepting God’s forgiveness, and letting go of self-pity as a lifestyle. If you’ve done the 12 steps but never truly forgiven yourself, this conversation might hit closer to home than you expect.

So, are you still carrying a past that God has already let go of—or is it time to finally cross your own name off that list?