Studio RC - Known (Intro Pt. 2) - Max IngramStudio RC - Known (Intro Pt. 2) - Max Ingram
Studio RC
Pastor Max Ingram talks about God as Father and how Jesus reshapes that picture for people in addiction recovery. The focus is on challenging distorted views of God and embracing a more intimate, "Abba, Father" relationship.
24:15•29 Sept 2026
Known: Rethinking God as Father in Recovery
Episode Overview
- The episode explains that God was Father before creation, and that this shapes how people in recovery can understand His love.
- Max challenges the idea that painful experiences with earthly fathers should define someone’s view of God.
- Listeners are invited to question their instinctive picture of God and ask where that image truly comes from.
- The term "Abba, Father" is presented as an intimate expression of being adopted into God’s family rather than living as fearful outsiders.
- Recovery is framed as including freedom from false beliefs about God, not just freedom from addictive behaviours.
“Maybe the next stage of your recovery is not another behaviour you need to stop. Maybe it's a lie about God that you need to stop believing.”
What drives someone to seek a life without alcohol and to trust a God they’re not sure they understand? Studio RC’s "Known" series, led by Pastor Max Ingram, leans right into that tension, especially for people in recovery who carry complicated feelings about the word "father". Max, who openly identifies as an alcoholic in recovery, talks to those who have done the hard work on addiction but still feel weighed down by a fearful or distorted image of God.
He explains why Jesus consistently teaches us to call God "Father", stressing that "God did not become father when he created humanity. Before creation, before humanity, before sin, there was already Father, Son, Holy Spirit." For those used to distant, angry or unpredictable dads, that’s a huge shift.
You’ll hear Max tackle "daddy issues" with a mix of honesty and humour, using the image of a cracked mirror to describe how painful experiences with earthly fathers can warp someone’s view of God: "The answer is not to deny the crack.
The answer is to stop allowing a broken mirror to define the original image." He keeps linking recovery principles to faith, challenging people to question whether their picture of God comes from Jesus or from shame, trauma and past church experiences. The episode repeatedly returns to the intimate term "Abba, Father" and the idea that, through the Holy Spirit, people in recovery are welcomed as children, not treated as frightened employees trying to earn their keep.
Max suggests that "maybe the next stage of your recovery is not another behaviour you need to stop. Maybe it's a lie about God that you need to stop believing." If you’re wrestling with faith, struggling with the idea of God as father, or just wondering how spiritual recovery fits alongside the twelve steps, this gentle yet challenging talk might help you ask a braver question: what kind of Father do you really believe God is?
Do you want to link to this podcast?
Get the buttons here!
More From This Show
The latest episodes from the same podcast.