Pastors in Recovery

Episode 74 — The Twelve Steps Recap | Recovery as a Lifelong Practice

This episode is a pause, a breath, and a look back. In Episode 74, we step away from teaching individual steps and instead reflect on what the Twelve Steps give us as a whole. Not as a program to complete—but as a way of living. Each step becomes a rail that keeps us steady:

how we tell the truth,
how we surrender control,
how we repair damage,
how we stay spiritually awake.

This recap is especially for pastors and leaders who’ve walked the steps but need a reminder of why they matter and how they shape a lifetime of recovery. Next week, we’ll slow down even more as we begin a deep dive into the Serenity Prayer—line by line—discovering how it guides recovery for the rest of our lives. You don’t graduate from recovery. You live it.

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This episode includes AI-generated content.

Episode 73 — STEP TWELVE | From Recovery to Responsibility – Carrying Hope Without Ego

Step Twelve is where recovery turns outward—but for pastors, this step comes with real danger. When healing starts to look like leadership, ego can quietly slip in. In this episode, we talk honestly about what it means to carry hope without trying to carry people. Step Twelve reminds us that recovery doesn’t make us heroes—it makes us witnesses. In this episode, we explore:

• The difference between calling and control
• Why pastors are tempted to become fixers instead of fellow travelers
• How ego can hide inside good intentions and spiritual language
• What it really looks like to practice Step Twelve in daily life
• Why giving back is about availability, not platforms

Jon shares personal stories about creativity, ministry influence, early lessons in humility, and how this entire podcast—now 73 episodes—is simply a response to the opportunity to serve and give back. If you’re a pastor wondering what comes after healing…this episode will help you walk forward with humility, clarity, and hope. Recovery didn’t end with you—but it doesn’t revolve around you either.

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This episode includes AI-generated content.

Episode 72 - STEP ELEVEN | Listening Before Speaking + Original Song "Face Down on the Table"

Most pastors don’t struggle with prayer because they don’t know how. They struggle because their lives are loud. In Step Eleven, we’re invited to improve our conscious contact with God through prayer and meditation—but for pastors, listening can be harder than speaking. When our days are full of serving, leading, producing, and responding… there’s often no space left to be still. In this episode, we talk honestly about:

• why pastors already know Step Eleven—but still struggle to live it
• how constant noise and digital distraction make listening to God difficult
• the difference between prayer as speaking and meditation as staying present
• why God’s voice often feels quiet—not because He’s absent, but because our lives are full

This isn’t about doing more spiritual things.
It’s about making room. The episode closes with a simple, realistic listening practice and an original song, “Face Down on the Table,” inspired by the choice to set distractions aside and sit quietly with God.

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Episode 71 - STEP TEN | Stay Ready Stay Free + Original Song "I'm Keeping the Backpack Light"

Step Ten is where recovery becomes a way of life. In this episode, we talk about what it really means to stay honest in real time—not by sitting down later to write another inventory, but by dealing with life moment by moment as it happens. Using the image of a clear backpack, we explore how unowned reactions, careless words, and unresolved moments quietly add weight to our lives and ministries.

Step Ten invites us to keep the backpack light by owning our part promptly, repairing relationships quickly, and refusing to carry tomorrow what can be handled today. We also look at what it means to be “prepared in season and out of season”—not just with sermons, but with a clean heart—and how living this way allows us to stay free, present, and grounded in our calling. 

This episode is for pastors who want:

• Freedom that lasts
• Relationships without unfinished business
• Recovery that’s lived, not just talked about

Step Ten keeps us ready.
Step Ten helps us stay free.

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Episode 70 - STEP NINE | Making Amends Without Making a Mess + Original Song "My Side of the Street"

Making amends sounds simple—until you actually do it. In this episode, we move beyond talking about Step 9 and step into the harder work of doing it wisely. We explore how even sincere apologies can cause more harm when they’re driven by guilt, image management, or the need for closure. Through a personal story, three “Imagine a Pastor” scenarios, and Scripture, this conversation helps pastors understand the difference between managing our conscience and truly owning our part. Step 9 isn’t about fixing relationships or securing forgiveness.
It’s about taking responsibility without controlling the outcome. We’ll talk about:

• Why some amends make things worse instead of better
• How to own your side of the street without reopening wounds
• When silence and changed behavior are the most loving response
• Why peace comes from obedience—not resolution

The episode closes with an original, acoustic song, “My Side of the Street,” reflecting the quiet surrender that comes when we do our part and place the rest in God’s hands.

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Episode 69 - STEP EIGHT | Owning the Damage I’ve Done + Original Song "The Bubbleator"

In this episode, we step into one of the most challenging and freeing moments of recovery: learning to own the damage we’ve caused. For many pastors, it’s easier to talk about what happened to us than to look honestly at what has happened through us. Step Eight calls us to step out of our self-protective bubble, stop justifying our patterns, and let God show us the people we’ve hurt along the way. We talk about:

• How pride and unconfessed sin build a “Bubblelator” around our hearts
• Why Step Four is necessary before Step Eight
• How patterns form—and why we can’t heal what we keep defending
• What David teaches us when he finally said, “I have sinned against the Lord”
• Two stories of pastors who discovered freedom by seeing the truth
• Why this step is not about shame, but about clarity and healing

This episode is an invitation to step into the light, experience the grace of honesty, and allow the Holy Spirit to lead you toward real amends, real healing, and real change.

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Episode 68 - STEP SEVEN | Letting God Heal the Pastor, Not the Performer

Today we talk about the crash that almost every pastor knows but rarely admits—the moment after the sermon when the anointing fades, the adrenaline stops, and the real battle begins. You’ve prayed. You’ve preached. God has moved.

But when the house grows quiet… the worries return.
The pain you’ve carried comes back.
The temptations you thought were gone show up again.
And the enemy whispers, “You’re failing.” But you’re not.
You’re human.

And God is inviting you into something deeper than image management—He wants to heal the pastor, not the performer. In this episode, we walk through why pastors hide, why the anointing doesn’t erase our humanity, and how God used imperfect people throughout Scripture—Elijah, Balaam, and even King Saul—while still calling them to transformation. This step is about dropping the act, letting God into the rooms we keep locked, and allowing His voice to shape us more than our platform does. Step 7: “I seek character change, not image management.”
(2 Corinthians 3:18)

If you’ve ever felt anointed one moment and broken the next… you’re not alone.
And you’re not beyond healing.

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BONUS EPISODE — “Tripping Over Myself”

In this bonus episode, Jon looks at the blind spots we all have — the places where we keep tripping over our own attitudes, reactions, and old patterns. Sometimes the biggest obstacle in the hallway isn’t the enemy… it’s us.

This episode features Jon’s new original song, “Tripping Over Myself” — a throughtful track about stumbling over our own blind spots and learning to let God show us what we’ve been defending. If you’ve ever reacted too quickly, defended something that didn’t matter, or discovered your biggest struggle was actually your own stubbornness… this bonus episode will make you smile and encourage your heart. Sit back, enjoy and let God speak gently to the places you’ve been protecting.

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Episode 67 - STEP SIX | Being Willing To Change + Original Song "No More Defending"

Step Six is where healing finally starts to take root. It’s the moment we stop defending our dysfunction and become willing for God to rewrite what we’ve been hiding. In this episode, Jon shares raw stories from his years of church planting—ministry burnout, pride, insecurity, financial pressure, and the addictions that surfaced when life got overwhelming. He also opens up about the deeper roots behind anger, shame, and the patterns that kept him stuck. 

Romans 12:2 calls us to be transformed by the renewing of our minds…but renewal begins with willingness. If you’ve been exhausted, overwhelmed, or defending habits you know are hurting you, this episode is for you. God isn’t asking for perfection—only willingness.

Featuring the new worship song:

🎵 “No More Defending” — a Step Six anthem about moving from hiding to healing.



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Episode 66 – STEP FIVE | Confessing, Not Preaching + Original Song “Hats”

In this powerful episode of Pastors in Recovery, Jon unpacks Step Five: Confessing, Not Preaching — learning to tell the truth instead of performing it. He shares honest reflections from his own ministry life — the “pastor hat,” the “church-planter hat,” and the moment he realized that the only hat that truly fits is the real-self hat. Through personal stories, relatable pastor examples, and the story of King Saul, Jon reminds us that fear of people leads to performance, but confession leads to freedom. 

This episode also features Jon’s brand-new original Suno AI-assisted song, “Hats,” a nostalgic 1920s jazz-gospel piece led by clarinet that captures the journey of taking off every mask until only the real self remains.

🎵 Don’t preach your confession — live it.

📖 James 5:16 — “Confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed.”

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Podcast Music:
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This episode includes AI-generated content.