A.A. Today: An Individual Member's Personal View

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A.A. Today: An Individual Member’s Personal View
Dick B.
© 2009 Dick B. All rights reserved

What is A.A. Today?

I think the A.A. “Preamble” that is read at the beginning of most meetings is as good a description as I’ve heard:

Alcoholics Anonymous is a fellowship of men and women who share their experience, strength and hope with each other that they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from alcoholism. The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking. There are no dues or fees for A.A. membership; we are self-supporting through our own contributions. A.A. is not allied with any sect, denomination, politics, organization or institution; does not wish to engage in any controversy; neither endorses nor opposes any causes. Our primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics to achieve sobriety.

Who may participate in the fellowship?

My own beginning experience provides me with an answer. I phoned the local Alcoholics Anonymous number in the phone book. I was told to go to a meeting. The person on the end of the line gave me a meeting place in a Baptist Church near where my office was. I walked in the meeting of some 60 people. A secretary announced himself, opened the meeting with a moment of silence followed by the serenity prayer, and had someone read from the Big Book the first portion of the Chapter How It Works. He asked all those with less than 30 days of sobriety to raise their hands, and I did. Then he called on people round the room, and they shared what was going on in their lives. A basket was passed around the room for voluntary contributions. The secretary suggested that the new people obtain a copy of the Big Book and attend a meeting the next day. The members joined hands and recited the Lord’s Prayer. And I headed for the literature table and purchased a copy of the Big Book. A man named Tom wrote his name and phone number in the Big Book and said, “90 meetings in 90 days.” I left the meeting, attended one the next day, and haven’t had a drink or a sleeping pill since two days before the first meeting. Was I a member? I decided from the Preamble that I was. Could I participate? I certainly did. Were any requirements imposed on me as a condition of “joining” the fellowship? The answer is: No!

What else is involved in participating?

I saw clearly that what I did was up to me. And, following suggestions, here is what I did: I went to a meeting every day. I read the Big Book. I got a sponsor. I had three grand-mal seizures within 7 days. I went to the ICU and a treatment program for 30 days. I came out and resumed participation. That meant that my sponsor endeavored to “take” me through the 12 Steps in the same way his sponsor had done for him. I continued daily meetings. I served as a greeter, a person who set up chairs and put them away, and frequently used the phone numbers that had been given me by members. After meetings, I joined other participants for coffee. I started reaching out to newcomers offering to listen to them, take them to meetings, and tell them what I was doing.

What about God?

I saw mention of God in the language of the 12 Steps that were on the wall and in the Big Book. I began reading the Bible and praying to God each day. I heard others talking about some “higher power.” One said his higher power was “Ralph.” Another said his higher power was the “Big Dipper.” Still another said “it” could be a “rock.” And, while I wondered how these people could pray to such an higher power, expect healing from “it,” or ask “it” for guidance or direction, I didn’t have anyone telling me what I could not believe. Nor did they denounce God. But some did mention that “God could and would” help “if He were sought.” Some spoke about praying to him. Occasionally, some apparently disgruntled person would say that he or she had to get a “new” god because he or she had been taught that God was a punishing God—something they said they didn’t believe.

I never heard a word at meetings about what Bill Wilson or Dr. Bob believed, nor did I hear mention of the Bible or Jesus Christ or the necessity for going to church or belonging to a religious fellowship.

But that all changed! My sponsor and his sponsor began telling me that people who read the Bible got drunk. They both objected to my bringing newcomers I was sponsoring to a Bible fellowship. Our Bible fellowship really supported A.A. participation, went to all the “chip” meetings when someone celebrated a sobriety date, attended A.A. birthday parties, and never criticized A.A.

And then, after some three years of active participation every single day in every facet of our local program—speaking, sponsoring, chairing meetings, serving as a secretary, treasurer, and greeter—I made two major changes: (1) I began attending Big Book Seminars to learn as much as possible about the Big Book program of recovery and how to “take” and “take others through” the 12 Steps. I brought most of my sponsees to these seminars and urged them to sponsor others in the same way. (2) I began reading A.A. literature about A.A.’s real history, its early Christian Fellowship, its daily study of the Bible, its Quiet Time, its Christian literature, its prayer meetings, and its high success rates as recorded on page xx of the Big Book. I read the last line of Dr. Bob’s story in the Big Book, page 181, which said, “Your Heavenly Father will never let you down!” I nead Bill Wilson’s statement on page 191 where Bill said, “The Lord has cured me of this terrible disease and I just want to keep talking about it and telling people.” And that is when my personal view of the importance of God’s role in A.A., sobriety, and life itself became quite clear.

What was the Original A.A. Program of 1935 like?

I’ve spent 19 years digging out the answers to that question, and I’ll have much more to tell in the next article about where you, as an individual, can find the answers for yourself if that route is of interest to you. For now, I would make four important points:

• The original A.A. program was founded on June 10, 1935 at 855 Ardmore Avenue in Akron, the home of Dr. Bob and Anne Smith. Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith founded it, and it was a Christian fellowship.

• The original program is accurately summarized in A.A. General Services Conference-approved literature—DR. BOB and the Good Oldtimers; the summary was provided to
John D. Rockefeller, Jr. by his agent Frank Amos who thoroughly investigated the
program in 1938. And it consisted, according to A.A. literature of five required elements: (1) Abstinence. (2) Reliance on God. (3) Elimination of sinful conduct. (4) Growth in fellowship through Bible study, prayer, seeking God’s guidance in a Quiet Time, and reading religious literature. (5) Helping other alcoholics get straightened out by the same means. Religious and social comradeship were recommended but not required. So was weekly attendance at a religious service.

• The program had other important features: (1) Qualifying the newcomers as serious about permanent sobriety. (2) Hospitalization. (3) Belief in God. (4) Living in the homes of Akron believers when necessary. (5) Attending morning Quiet Times at the Smith home each day where Anne Smith read AAs and their families the Bible, led prayers, sought guidance, and discussed items from her journal. (6) Daily get togethers which resembled old fashioned prayer meetings. (7) A weekly meeting at the home of T. Henry Williams. (8) The requirement that every newcomer make a “real surrender” which involved acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, ask that alcohol be taken out of his life, and praying for the strength and guidance to live according to cardinal Christian teachings. (9) Study of Christian literature circulated by Dr. Bob. (10) Daily use of devotionals such as the Upper Room and The Runner’s Bible. (11) Socializing at the end of meetings. (12) Visiting newcomers in the hospital.

• The program had a documented 75% success rate among the seemingly hopeless, medically incurable, real alcoholics who went to any lengths to establish their relationship with God and get well.

Can you do in A.A. today what the pioneers did in their original program?

You certainly can. A.A. has no “rules.” A.A. has no “police.” A.A. has no dictators as to practice or doctrine. Its leaders are but “trusted servants.” And it has no index of forbidden books. Its own traditions make it clear that whenever two are gathered together to overcome alcoholism, they can call themselves an A.A. meeting.

If the early pioneers did what they did, and you learn what they did, you can certainly learn more and incorporate their activities in your program today. I have done just that, with nothing but success, for almost twenty-three years of continuous sobriety.

Gloria Deo

dickb@dickb.com
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