Brett Scharnhorst is Campus Pastor at Crossing Church 929 in Quincy, Illinois, and also leads a recovery ministry called Re:generation. His life before Jesus was chaos, full of substance abuse, and porn addiction, but today, Brett has peace in his life, has been free from substance abuse for 12 years, and is no longer tempted by pornography. All that gives Brett first-hand experience on his topic of “Creating a Church Culture that Supports Long-Term Recovery” during Heartland Recovery’s 2025 Addiction & The Church event, which is the source for this Recover Out Loud blog post.
“All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be dominated by anything.” — 1 Corinthians 6:12
The Uncomfortable Truth
Here’s something you rarely hear from the pulpit: addiction isn’t just out there in the world. It’s in here—in our churches, in our homes, in our families, and yes, sitting in our pews.
Recent research reveals that many Christians who genuinely love Jesus are battling hidden addictions. And we’re not just talking about the obvious ones like pornography, substance abuse, or alcohol. We’re talking about the socially acceptable addictions we’ve baptized as “just being busy” or dismissed as “that’s just my personality.”
Consider these hidden struggles: approval-seeking, workaholism, entertainment consumption, food, social media, gambling, and the relentless need to control everything around us. These can be just as destructive as drugs and alcohol, yet we rarely acknowledge them as spiritual battles.
Redefining Addiction
The simplest definition of addiction is this: anything that takes the place of where God should be sitting on your heart. It’s an idol that we’ve placed on the throne instead of Jesus.
As Jesus said in John 8:34, “Everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin.” Notice He didn’t say “everyone who practices addiction is a slave to addiction.” Biblically speaking, addiction is sin. It’s slavery—when something has so much control over us that we have no choice but to obey its demands.
The prophet Jeremiah captured this perfectly: “My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that cannot hold water” (Jeremiah 2:13). Addiction is drinking from a well with a broken system, trying desperately to fill a God-sized hole with things that will never satisfy.
Understanding the Roots
Here’s what many churches miss: addiction is often a symptom of a deeper wound.
One recovering addict shared his story of using methamphetamine, alcohol, marijuana, and pornography for years, thinking those substances were his core problem. But through ministry and recovery work, he discovered the real root: growing up with an alcoholic father who was verbally abusive, being raised primarily by women who loved him but didn’t know how to model healthy masculinity. The drugs and alcohol weren’t the problem—they were his solution to deep emotional pain.
Addiction typically has three types of drivers:
Emotional drivers: loneliness, shame, fear, and rejection. Tragically, these are often the very feelings people experience in church when they’re struggling.
Spiritual drivers: attempting to fill the void that only God can satisfy, seeking life and purpose apart from God’s plan.
Relational drivers: unhealed wounds from broken relationships, often dating back to childhood.
Think of it like drinking salt water. It looks like it could quench your thirst, but the more you drink, the thirstier you become. That’s what chasing addiction feels like—it pretends to satisfy while destroying you from the inside out.
The Gospel’s Chain-Breaking Power
Here’s the good news that should make every church service feel like a celebration: the gospel has chain-breaking power.
Galatians 5:1 declares, “For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery.” This isn’t just poetic language—it’s a promise with three dimensions:
- Jesus forgives our past. Romans 8:1 says there is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus. None whatsoever.
- Jesus changes our hearts. Ezekiel 36:26 promises a new heart and a new spirit. Real transformation starts from the inside out—it’s an inside job. You can put a dress on a pig, but it’s still a pig.
- Jesus gives us the Holy Spirit’s power. Acts 1:8 promises power to live differently, not by the world’s standards but by God’s.
Some people are delivered instantly—God has the power to snap His fingers and free someone immediately. Others walk out this process daily. But in both cases, it’s Jesus who does the freeing. Not the pastor. Not a program. Not willpower. Jesus.
What Walking in Freedom Looks Like
James 5:16 provides the blueprint: “Confess your sins to one another and pray for one another so that you may be healed.”
This is often the hardest part. If you’re coming out of addiction, who can you trust? The fear of judgment and condemnation is real. But if we truly believe Romans 8:1—that there’s no condemnation in Christ—then we must create spaces where people can trust the church community.
Here’s the practical pathway to freedom:
Confess it to God. Stop hiding. First John 1:9 says it all—God is faithful to forgive.
Confess it to others. Find a safe group of godly people. Proverbs 27:17 reminds us that iron sharpens iron.
Replace lies with truth. Renew your mind. Romans 12:2 calls us not to conform to the pattern of this world but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. It all starts in our thinking.
Build guardrails. These aren’t rules—people in recovery often hate rules. Think of them as guidelines that keep you on the road, preventing you from driving off the cliff.
Join a recovery community. Programs like Regeneration or Celebrate Recovery provide the boat where people won’t let you fall out.
Stay surrendered daily. Freedom is maintained only through daily dependence on Jesus Christ.
Think of it like pulling weeds. If you pull out a weed but leave the roots, it will come back. Freedom means dealing with the roots and planting something new in their place. When you take the hard, painful step of digging into the groundwork of your life and pulling out those deep roots, that’s when real healing begins.
The Church’s Critical Role
Jude 22-23 gives us our marching orders: “Have mercy on those who doubt. Save others by snatching them out of the fire. To others show mercy with fear.”
What does this mean practically for our churches?
Be a safe place. Create an environment free from gossip and judgment where people can tell their story and be themselves. The church should be a front-door ministry, not a side-door where people have to sneak in to fit in. The church is not a showcase for saints—it’s a hospital for sinners.
Don’t shame, shepherd. Jesus came to save, not to condemn (John 3:17). When someone shares their struggle, respond with compassion, not judgment.
Equip and disciple. Freedom flourishes in long-term discipleship, not just a one-time prayer. Instead of “Let me pray for you” and sending someone down the road, try “Let me pray for you, here’s my number, let’s have coffee sometime.”
Be ready for mess. People are messy. Ministry is messy. We’re dealing with broken people—and that includes all of us. We are not called to be comfortable. We are called to be Christlike.
The Invitation
If you’re struggling today with any addiction—visible or hidden—know this: Jesus is not standing over you with crossed arms in disappointment. He’s reaching His hands out to you with love, and He has the power to set you free.
Your role is to link arms with others in the fight. They will fight for you in prayer, walk with you, remind you of truth, and hold you accountable.
If you’re struggling, don’t wait. Talk to a leader. Don’t give the deceiver one more foothold in your mind. Do the exact opposite of what shame tells you to do—step into the light.
And if you’ve been set free? Be a chain breaker for somebody else. The ultimate chain breaker is Jesus Christ, but you can link arms with Him and help set others free through your testimony. It can be as simple as three statements: three words about your life before Christ, three words about how Christ changed you, and how your life looks today with Christ.
The truth is simple but profound: the church should be the emergency room, not just the triage. It should be where wounded, broken people—all of us—find healing, hope, and the freedom that only Jesus can provide.
Will we be that church?
Listen to Brett’s presentation on our YouTube channel; more Addiction & The Church resources are available here on our website.