What if addiction isn't the real problem?

In this powerful and deeply honest conversation, Steve Adams sits down with author, speaker, and storyteller Jon Seidl to discuss his new book, Confessions of a Christian Alcoholic. Jon shares his journey through anxiety, trauma, addiction, recovery, and ultimately deeper intimacy with Christ.

Together they explore why addiction often begins long before substance abuse, how unresolved wounds shape our behaviors, the danger of hidden struggles in the Church, and why true freedom comes not from behavior modification but from healing the deeper places of the heart.

Whether your struggle is alcohol, work, pornography, approval, control, comfort, food, success, or something else entirely, this conversation is for you.

As Jon says:

"We're all addicted to something."

Topics include:

• Trauma and addiction

• The role of shame in keeping people stuck

• Why Christians often hide their struggles

• Radical vulnerability and authentic community

• Identity in Christ

• Abiding in Jesus as the path to freedom

• The concept of "messy sanctification"

• Finding healing beneath the habit

Guest:

Jon Seidl: Author of Confessions of a Christian Alcoholic

Learn more:

https://www.jonseidl.com/confessions-of-a-christian-alcoholic-book

https://www.veritasrecovery.org/

For more resources from Embracing Brokenness Ministries:

https://embracingbrokenness.org/

Chapter Markers

00:00 Introduction: We're All Addicted to Something

01:23 Meet Jon Seidl

05:50 From Journalist to Storyteller

09:30 Finding Rest and Mental Health

13:40 Success Didn't Fix the Problem

16:00 When Alcohol Became an Escape

19:00 The Slow Fade into Addiction

23:00 The Miami Trip That Changed Everything

27:00 "Get to the Root of Why You're Drinking"

29:00 Childhood Trauma and Hidden Wounds

32:00 Letting Jesus Into Every Part of Your Story

35:00 Why Jon Wrote This Book

37:15 Four Steps Toward Freedom

37:30 Abiding in Christ

40:15 Finding Your True Identity

43:00 Radical Vulnerability

47:00 The Power of Obedience

50:00 Escapism, Sobriety and Freedom

52:00 Embracing Messy Sanctification

56:00 The Healing Power of Community

58:00 Veritas Recovery and Next Steps

1:01:00 Final Encouragement

Richard Blackaby joins Steve Adams for a powerful conversation about spiritual maturity, daily rhythms with God, and what it really means to experience God in everyday life—not just in the extraordinary moments.

Drawing from the legacy of the bestselling study Experiencing God and the new release Experiencing God in Everyday Life, Richard shares deeply personal stories about his father, Henry Blackaby, spiritual formation, abiding in Christ, and how ordinary believers can learn to recognize God’s presence in the middle of everyday life.

Together, Steve and Richard discuss:

Why many Christians feel disconnected from God in daily life

The danger of reducing faith to activity instead of relationship

The role of spiritual rhythms and habits in transformation

The importance of spiritual companionship

How suffering and disruption shape maturity

The next generation’s hunger for authentic faith

Why most of life is lived in the “valleys,” not the mountaintops

This conversation is filled with wisdom, encouragement, and practical insight for anyone longing to walk more closely with Jesus in the ordinary rhythms of life.

🎥 Video opening courtesy of Lifeway.

📘 Get Experiencing God in Everyday Life by Richard Blackaby and sons:

https://www.lifeway.com/en/product/experiencing-god-in-everyday-life-bible-study-book-with-video-access-P005853831

Buy on Amazon: https://a.co/d/066sB40o

🌐 Learn more about Richard Blackaby and Blackaby Ministries International:

https://blackaby.org/

🌿 Learn more about Embracing Brokenness Ministries:

https://embracingbrokenness.org/

⏱️ Chapters

00:00 — Opening Video (Courtesy of Lifeway)

01:24 — Welcome & Why This Conversation Matters

04:06 — Richard Blackaby on Family, Ministry & Legacy

10:54 — Grandchildren, Prayer Journals & Spiritual Heritage

14:12 — Writing Prayers & Hearing God More Deeply

15:28 — Leadership Trivia Begins

17:38 — Why Experiencing God in Everyday Life Matters Now

20:20 — Religion vs. Relationship with God

24:18 — “The Bible Is the Only Book Where You Can Know the Author”

25:18 — The Seven Realities of Experiencing God

26:15 — George Barna’s 10-Stop Spiritual Formation Journey

29:10 — Activity vs. Intimacy with God

31:30 — Humility, Abiding & the Presence of God

35:29 — Spiritual Legacy Across Generations

40:46 — Why Richard Wrote This Book with His Sons

45:19 — The Spiritual Hunger of Younger Generations

47:23 — God in the Ordinary Moments of Life

50:00 — Spiritual Maturity & Daily Rhythms

53:12 — Habit Stacking & Walking with God Daily

56:58 — Spiritual Companionship & Community

01:00:49 — Ministry, Prison Work & Walking Together

01:01:30 — Richard’s Message to the Younger Generation

01:03:05 — Leadership Trivia Answer Revealed

01:05:28 — Why This Book Is an Invitation Into a Way of Life

01:07:11 — Final Encouragement from Richard Blackaby

What does it really cost to follow Jesus? And what does it cost us when we don’t?

In this powerful conversation, Steve Adams welcomes Morgan Snyder to the Embracing Brokenness Podcast for a deep and honest discussion about discipleship, formation, healing, risk, and the slow work of becoming whole in Christ.

Morgan reflects on his 26 years in formal relationship with Wild at Heart, his transition with his wife Cherie into the Become Good Soil movement, and the deeper work of apprenticeship to Jesus in the second half of life. He shares why he and Cherie are now focused on “going deeper with fewer,” investing in the thirsty few who long for more of God and the abundant life.

Together, Steve and Morgan explore the danger of consumer Christianity, the difference between information and formation, the invitation to become wholehearted men and women, and why brokenness is not the end of the story but often the beginning of deeper restoration.

This episode is for anyone who feels stuck, spiritually dry, overextended, or aware that simply “believing the right things” has not produced the healing, maturity, intimacy, and purpose they long for. Morgan reminds us that God is not far away. He meets us at the end of our rope, in our need, in our pain, and in the ordinary moments where we create space to notice His voice.

Learn more about Morgan and Cherie Snyder’s work at Become Good Soil:

https://becomegoodsoil.com

Learn more about Embracing Brokenness Ministries:

https://embracingbrokenness.org

Chapters

00:00 — God Meets Us at the End of Our Rope

01:00 — Welcome to the Embracing Brokenness Podcast

01:32 — Introducing Morgan Snyder

02:14 — Morgan’s History with John Eldredge and Wild at Heart

03:34 — Becoming Good Soil and Going Deeper with Fewer

04:55 — Husband and Wife Ministry in the Second Half of Life

05:45 — Don’t Waste Your Pain

07:01 — Preferring a Circle Over a Platform

08:00 — The Hidden Years and Carrying Water

09:11 — Steve’s First Wild at Heart Retreat

11:08 — Trusting the Slow Work of God

12:33 — The Interior Work of Becoming Whole

14:23 — We Are All Being Discipled by Something

16:21 — Leaving Platform, Salary, and Momentum

17:45 — Brokenness, Anesthesia, and the Fire in the House

21:22 — The Cost of Not Following Jesus

22:36 — Sabbath as Resistance

23:48 — God as the Father Who Initiates Our Children

24:56 — Why Embrace Brokenness?

27:16 — Living Where God Has to Show Up

29:16 — Becoming the Kind of Person God Can Entrust

30:25 — Risk at the Core of Discipleship

31:05 — Prison Ministry and Holy Ground

34:11 — What Is Burdening Morgan’s Heart?

35:48 — Dallas Willard and the Discipleship Crisis

37:40 — Power, Service, and the Vulnerable

39:52 — The Incomplete Gospel

41:57 — Consumer Christianity and Hyper-Individualism

43:53 — Information Is Not Enough

45:22 — What If God Feels Distant?

46:31 — How Do I Find God?

47:31 — Creating Space to Notice God

48:37 — The Gift of Margin

49:35 — Micro-Shifts That Change a Life

50:31 — Start with What Is Necessary

51:08 — Becoming a King and Practical Resources

52:02 — Become Good Soil and the Thirsty Few

53:28 — Participating in the Restoration of All Things

54:05 — Closing Thoughts