Untitled Step 10: Interview with RECOVERED Pastor Episode

Untitled Step 10: Interview with RECOVERED Pastor Episode

What drives someone to seek a life without alcohol? This conversation between Zach and recovered pastor Corey zooms in on Step 10 of the 12 steps: "continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong, promptly admitted it," all through a deeply Christian lens. You’ll hear how both men came through Celebrate Recovery and why they call themselves the "sheep guys"—because they see themselves as following the Shepherd who restores their souls.

The episode circles around a big idea: repentance isn’t a defeat or a shame parade, it’s meant to be a daily joy. Corey shares how a sermon by Tim Keller and Luther’s first thesis flipped his view, realising that "all of life is repentance" and that gospel repentance is very different from religious box-ticking.

Zach and Corey talk honestly about guilt, shame and that punishing image of God many people in addiction carry—whether as a "hard man" or a "divine taskmaster". They tie this directly to the urge to drink: alcohol once felt like relief from the relentless inner battle and harsh self-judgement. Now, through faith in Jesus and ongoing inventory, they describe learning to live from a new identity instead of the "old man" patterns.

Step 10, as they frame it, is less about obsessing over faults and more about staying humble, keeping short accounts, and being willing to say "I blew that" in real time—to a spouse, to a friend, or to God. Practical tools like sponsors, Celebrate Recovery groups, and honest conversations at home are highlighted as ways to stay "naked and not ashamed" rather than hiding in fear.

If you’re wrestling with a harsh view of God, or tired of feeling like a constant failure in sobriety, this chat might help you see daily inventory as a path into freedom rather than another stick to beat yourself with. How might your recovery change if repentance felt like joy instead of judgement?