International Christian Recovery Coalition

Dick B.'s son Ken B.

Dick B interviews Christian Recovery leader Steve F. of Altamonte Springs, Florida

on

www.Christian Recovery Radio.com

Dick B.

You Can Hear This Archived Radio Interview Right Now!

You may listen to Dick B. interview Christian Recovery leader Steve F. on the July 30, 2012, episode of the "Christian Recovery Radio with Dick B." show here:

http://goo.gl/1PW6b

or here:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/christian-recovery-radio-with-dickb/2012/07/30/dick-b-interviews-christian-recovery-leader-steve-foreman

Episodes of the "Christian Recovery Radio with Dick B." show are archived at:

www.ChristianRecoveryRadio.com

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Synopsis of the Steve F. Interview—One you won’t want to miss!

Steve F. of Altamonte Springs, Florida is: (1) A long-recovered member of the fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous. (2) An A.A. member who was sponsored by Clarence H. Snyder (whose sponsor was Dr. Bob). (3) Chief Shepherd of the Clarence Snyder “Came to Believe” Retreats which now number twenty and are held in England, Scotland, Ireland, the United States, and wherever there is need and energy to put them on. (4) One of the authors, as well as the publisher, of Our A.A. Legacy to the Faith Community: A Twelve-Step Guide for Those Who want to Believe, by Three Clarence Snyder Sponsee Old-timers and Their Wives, Compiled and Edited by Dick B. (5) A Christian recovery leader, and a participant in International Christian Recovery Coalition. www.ChristianRecoveryCoalition.com. (6) Married to Sue F., the father of two, and a businessman in Winter Park, Florida. (7) Yes. He does have a drinking period, and he tells a bit about it in the interview.

High Points

Probably the most important aspect of Steve’s interview concerned his meeting of old-timer Clarence Snyder; Snyder’s no-nonsense, specific way of taking AAs through the 12 Steps in six hours as soon as possible; and the simple and urgent need for those who want to say they are recovered to answer three beginning questions and get moving. “Now!,” said Stev,e was the epitome of Clarence Snyder’s approach to recovery. The three questions put to a newcomer were: (1) Do you think you have a drinking problem? (2) Do you want to do anything about it? (3) What are you willing to do about it? And the only answer to the last question was, “Anything.”

With Clarence, there were no suggestions. Just laws. There was no Bible thumping. Just letting your light shine by attraction. And, as to when the newcomer should begin, the Clarence Snyder answer was, “How long do you want to stay sick?”

Steve then illustrated exactly how Clarence took groups of AAs through the Twelve Steps in six hours. And, in Steve’s case, the process began three weeks after he got sober and met Clarence. Clarence was a promoter. He often said, “Who would be attracted to a drunk!” So he advertised. He took 30 or 40 men through the Steps as a group. He spoke of the solution: “A prescription with 12 ingredients.” It was to be taken before a “lower power” got to work trying to confuse. It was to be taken before a “pity committee” took charge. It was to assure that the newcomer got sober and recovered.

Steve devoted a portion of his time to explaining what happens in the twenty spiritual retreats for AAs and their families that are now being held. He pointed out how on Sunday, the concluding of the three day events, the twenty or thirty people who had come in with pale faces and fear were given a gold chip for their real surrender to Jesus Christ. They were then to go out, spread the word, continue the legacy, and do the work.

The Our A.A. Legacy to the Faith Community twelve step guide has now been used by at least 20,000 people. It covers the history, the actual taking of the steps, and the methods for conducting and leading a retreat. It can be obtained from Steve for $3.50 a copy, including postage. Details are found on www.cametobelieve.org. Steve’s A.A. phone number is 407 862 5900. His email is steve@cametobelieve.org. Payment in advance is required.

We encourage all listeners to go to the website, locate one of the retreat dates, and locations. Obtain a copy of the Our A.A. Legacy to the Faith Community guides; and take the 12 Steps at one of the retreats or as an organized group. There are speakers at the retreats; testimonies by those who have “come to believe;” and opportunity for prayer and praise. I myself have been privileged to attend and be a speaker at several of these retreats—in Florida, Wisconsin, and Southern California.

dickb@dickb.com

Gloria Deo

Dick B.'s son Ken B.

Preview of interview of Christian Recovery leader Steve F. of Winter Park, Florida, on the Monday, July 30, 2012, episode of the "Christian Recovery Radio with Dick B." show

www.ChristianRecoveryRadio.com

Dick B.

Our guest is Steve F., businessman, Christian Recovery leader, and long-recovered member of the Alcoholics Anonymous Fellowship. Steve has a lovely wife Sue and two grown children. Steve and Sue live in Winter Park, Florida. And my son Ken and I have known both Steve and Sue for a long time. Our experience with them has been heightened by appearances as speaker at the Life Enrichment Retreats founded by A.A. pioneer Clarence H. Snyder; our mutual friendship with Clarence’s wife Grace (“Amazing Grace”) Snyder; our work on the book That Amazing Grace; Steve’s support as a benefactor for large chunks of our work; and my work with Steve and two other sponsees of Clarence H. Snyder on the Our Legacy Guidebook – which has now attracted 20,000 readers.

Steve will tell us a little about his life, education, business, family, faith, drinking period, work as musician, and hands-on service to newcomers in Alcoholics Anonymous.

He will also cover his experience as one of Clarence Snyder’s many sponsees, the unusual accomplishments of Clarence, and the spiritual retreats Clarence founded. He’ll tell us about the robust continuation of these retreats in many parts of the United States and abroad and his leadership as the Chief Shepherd of these events. In particular, I know he will tell us of the purpose, writing, and utility for AAs and their families of Our A.A. Legacy to the Faith Community: A Twelve-Step Guide for Those Who Want to Believe, by Three Clarence by Three Clarence Snyder Sponsee Old-timers and Their Wives, Compiled and Edited by Dick B., and published by Came to Believe Publications, 2211 Lee Road, Suite 100, Winter Park, FL 32789. And about their website www.cametobelieve.org

dickb@dickb.com

Gloria Deo

Dick B.'s son Ken B.

Ever since our January conferences in the San Francisco Bay Area and in Orange County, interest has grown and grown in the new book by Dick B. and Ken B. has grown. Its title is Stick with the Winners! How to Conduct More Effective 12-Step Recovery Meetings Using Conference-Approved Literature: A Dick B. Guide.

You can obtain it in trade cover right now by going to the Dick B. website front page www.dickb.com. It's a succinct 89 pages. It is sent to you print-on-demand, direct from the printer to you. It's reasonably priced at $19.95.

And it will help you form groups that cover old school A.A., Conference-approved literature, and the way to use both today to help the still suffering alcoholic or addict who needs and wants God's help.

We will be discussing the chapters from time to time to encourage you to see and use its valuable information. You can also download a copy for $9.95.

Now is the time to get answers to the frequently asked: "How do I start an early A.A. Christian Fellowship Group today."

dickb@dickb.com

Dick B.'s son Ken B.

http://dickb-blog.com/

Dick B.'s son Ken B.

Ken and I are working on a new, free video series telling the story of "Bill W., The Man You Thought You Knew." It will fit well with the information to be covered in the Vermont workshops. And it will be published on Christian Recovery Radio.com. www.ChristianRecoveryRadio.com
Dick B.

Christian Recovery Radio

www.ChristianRecoveryRadio.com

Dick B. interviews, news on recovery, video classes, free Take 12 Radio program, free videos, free audios, and free talks by Christian Recovery leaders

Dick B.'s son Ken B.

Of all the puzzlers invented by the "wisdom of the rooms" and publicized by critics who know better, perhaps the greatest entre for higher powers, light bulbs, spirituality, Santa Claus, and "Something" is the shopworn and illustory phrase, "spiritual, but not religious." What in the world does that mean? What is it supposed to argue? What drunk is it supposed to help?

One A.A. oldtimer Mel B. wrote that, if pressed to define the difference, it is doubtful that AAs could do so. On the other hand, one Roman Catholic writer--who consistently links himself with like-minded "scholars" has repeatedly claimed this odd phrase as descriptive of A.A.

Actually, there is never a word of documentation for the appellations--light bulbs, trees, rocks, Big Dippers, Gertrude, spirituality, not-god, and all the rest. And most Christians shudder at being chastized for mentioning the Bible in an A.A. setting, while being pelted with "spiritual" "higher power" nonsense not-god-ness.

Now, a puzzled Catholic woman--not totally accurate in her jurisprudence--nonetheless tells it like it is from her religious viewpoint and her observations of Alcoholics Anonymous. She states:

_________________________________________________________________________________

Why do people insist AA is not religious?/Efficacy of AA & other treatment programs

I'm dealing with a spouse who has alcohol issues. His first therapist (social worker) told him to go to a Beginner's AA meeting, and to "Keep An Open Mind."

He went, and was instantly uncomfortable. Not only was Jesus Christ mentioned constantly as the Savior, but the meeting ended with, "The Lord's Prayer."

He related this to the social worker, who berated him for not going to a Beginner's meeting. (Which it WAS listed as.) And then told him that, "The Lord's Prayer" is not really religious, anyway.

My husband now sees a psychologist who specializes in cognitive behavior and doesn't push AA.

Now I'm furious that MY new therapist is telling me that AA would be a good resource for my husband. "It's not religious, it's spiritual," and "Your higher power can be anything at all, the ocean, even yourself."

I'm not confrontational, and I tried to remember some of the advice I've received here about debating. I told her that I had done research on AA, that it had a 5% success rate, and that the Supreme Court had ruled that it was religious. Then I started to get emotional and told her that it was all based on a Buchmanite group designed to get people to accept Christ as the Savior, and that the Higher Power stuff was nonsense, since sure, it starts out as, "the ocean," but ends up referring to God. And the "higher power" definitely CANNOT be yourself, since it has to be some outside force. As Henry Ford said of his cars, you can have any color you want so long as it's black. Well, you can have any Higher Power you want so long as it's God.

As former Catholics, my husband and I tend to get a bit touchy when religion is sold to us. It is very difficult to get away from, "Magical Thinking," and I've been working so hard to restructure my thoughts, to think more critically, to learn about logic, and to question things. And it took a lot for me to "talk back" to my therapist about this, and I still feel guilty, like I should just accept it as good advice. Such is the mark that being a good little Catholic girl leaves on person.

I feel so angry that the majority of people don't question AA at all.

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A comment:

There is no tenable argument that "AA" is this or that or anything at all. Certainly not about a doorknob of a "spiritual" god or just plain "Somebody."

Yes. There are those therapists, social workers, clergymen, researchers, atheists, and anti-AA writers who asks absurd questions about whether "AA" is religious, whether "AA" is spiritual, whether an "higher power" is a group or a light bulb, whether God is an "higher power" or a "Christian god," whether "the ocean" refers to God, and whether you can have any Higher Power you want--so long as it is God.

A.A. is a fellowship. A.A. is a society. A.A. is a group of drunks who attend meetings. A.A. was originally a Christian Fellowship. A.A. later invited in any who wanted to quit drinking--whether gay or black or native American or Protestant or Roman Catholic or Jew or agnostic or of no belief at all. And if one tried today to put a label on that conglomeration and call it Masonic or Spiritualist or Cult or Swedenborgian or idolatrous or atheist, he would be hard pressed to persuade any reasoning person that such nonsense is right.

Today--right or wrong, crazy or sane, religious or irreligious, sick or well, diseased or afflicted, believing or unbelieving, Christian or Hindu--an AA individual is merely a drunk who may be in the rooms under court order, under treatment bussing, under a wife's insistence, or because he wants to quit drinking.

Yesteryear (in 1935 and for a few years), he came in, professed a belief in God, accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, attended prayer meetings, studied the Bible, read Christian literature, used quiet time Christian devotionals, and helped others quit drinking for good, place their reliance on God, and try to walk by the spirit of God in obedience to the will of God.

Many still do. And today many don't. More's the pity.

Gloria Deo

Dick B.'s son Ken B.

The New “Stick with the Winners” 9 x 12 Paperback Guide

Just Released and How to Obtain It No

Dick B.

Aloha to you, all from Maui, Hawaii!

ANNOUNCING!: The new 6' x 9' paperback version of "Stick with the Winners!: How to Conduct More Effective 12-Step Recovery Meetings Using Conference-Approved Literature: A Dick B. Guide for Christian Leaders and Workers in the Recovery Arena" by Dick B. and Ken B. It may be purchased by clicking on the "Donate" button in the "Help Support Our Work" section in the center column of the front page of the www.DickB.com

Web site and entering "25.00" as the amount (= $19.95 + $5.05 for Shipping). You may read more about the book (in its digital download/eBook form) here: http://www.dickb.com/Stick-with-the-Winners.shtml

But to order the new Print-On-Demand paperback version, please use the "Donate" button in the "Help Support Our Work" section.

Dick B.'s son, Ken

Dick B.'s son Ken B.

Due to the worldwide participation of so many in International Christian Recovery Coalition, of which Dick B. is Executive Director, there are now a number of places and ways to learn of Alcoholics Anonymous History and the Christian Recovery Movement from Dick B. and his son Ken B.

There's YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/dickbchannel

There's Christian Recovery Radio.com www.ChristianRecoveryRadio.com with videos, audios, radio, classes, and a radio program.

There is this dickb main blog: http://MauiHistorian.Blogspot.com

There are the Dick B. Twitter comments http://Twitter.com#!/DickB_Maui

There are host of A.A. history blogs - that you can click into from Dick B.'s main site www.dickb.com

There are the International Christian Recovery Coalition materials: Its main site www.ChristianRecoveryCoalition.com; its blog; and its forums

And there are the many posts by Dick B. on Facebook - under Richard G. Burns

Background on Alcoholics Anonymous History, the Christian Recovery Movement, and A.A. Historian Dick B.

Dick is a writer, historian, retired attorney, Bible student, CDAAC, and an active, recovered member of the fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous. Dick has individually and with his son authored and published 44 titles and over 1100 articles on Alcoholics Anonymous History and the Christian Recovery Movement. He has conducted talks, seminars, workshops, and conferences on the area of his experience and expertise--AA History and Christian recovery from alcoholism and addiction.

Gloria Deo

Dick B.'s son Ken B.

Ken and I have checked out the dates, scheduled the events, contacted the likely cadre members, and welcomed others to the early September gathering in Vermont for workshops, visits, seeking, and learning the real roots of Alcoholics Anonymous in the boyhood days of Alcoholics Anonymous Cofounders Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob.

It will involve a substantial stay in the beautiful village of St. Johnsbury, Vermont--where Dr. Bob was born and raised. It will include the Dr. Bob Core Library in the North Congregational Church where Dr. Bob's entire family attended and Dr. Bob received so much of what he called his "excellent training in the Good Book" as a youngtser. It will include the archives. It will include the Fairbanks Museum across the Street. It will include Dr. Bob's birthplace and family home on Summer Street. It will include the Courthouse where Judge Smith presideed as Probate Judge. It will include learning where the nearby Young Men's Christian Association building was - when Judge Smith was YMCA president, where the YMCA conducted activities in Dr. Bob's church and academy. It will include the Athenaeum - village library - where so many biographical and historical books and papers are lodged, including newspaper accounts. And it will include St. Johnsbury Academy just a block or two away where Judge Smith was an examiner, where Mrs. Smith attended and had been a teacher and was involved as an alumni worker and historian. Also, where Dr. Bob attended daily chapel, required weekly Bible study and church attendance, and religious curricula in this Congregational institution.

Then to Manchester, Vermont where Bill Wilson attended Burr and Burt on Academy; and where Bill Wilson attended daily chapel and may have attended the Manchester Congregational Church, the resources of the Manchester Historical Society, and the records of Bill's presidency of the school Young Men's Christian Association and his four year attendance at a Bible study course. Also the presidency of the school Young Women's Christian Association by Bill's girl friend Bertha Bamford.

Perhaps to nearby Rutland where Bill's family lived for a short time before the parents separated.

And then on to the Wilson House. This was Bill's birthplace. It is adjacent to East Dorset Congregational Church where Bill and the Wilsons attended; and where the family were founders, attenders, and funders. It is the church where the records and Sunday school teachings and sermons show the focus on salvation and the Word of God. It is the church where Bill's parents were married. It is the church where the Griffiths (the family of Bill's mother) attended and which they regarded as the family church. It is the location of the large A.A. history library in the Griffith House. It is near to the cemetery where Bill and Lois Wilson are buried.

We will be conducting talks, workshops, visits, and gathering of materials for two or three days in St. Johnsbury and will hold forth from the Comfort Inn and Suites in St. Johnsbnury which is located very near to all the village locations just mentioned.

Come join us. Contact me at 808 874 4876 or dickb@dickb.com. Plan to participate, gather facts and information, view important books and records, gain a real understanding of the extensive Christian upbringing of both Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob, and be able to learn and help us disseminate all the valuable story to those in 12 Step Fellowships and/or are seeking God's help and will profit from realization of how solidly attached to First Century Christian principles and practices the cofounders were in their youth and in their early "old school" Christian Fellowship program they founded in Akron, Ohio, in June of 1935.

The International Christian Recovery Coalition needs hands-on leaders who are or will become well-versed in the strong Christian background of the entire Christian Recovery Movement and early A.A. and can help those who want it to see the role of God, His Son Jesus Christ, and the Bible in early A.A. and the role they can play in recovery today.

Gloria Deo

Dick B.'s son Ken B.

The Trip to A.A.’s Spiritual Roots Centers on Vermont

An International Christian Recovery Coalition Fall Leaves Cadre Workshop

With Informative Visits to Historic A.A.--Related Locations in Vermont

By Dick B.

Come Join Us!

As we have said, we are planning a Fall Leaves Workshop centered on the New England Area and definitely zooming in on historic A.A.-related locations in Vermont: the Green Mountain territory of Bill W.’s and Dr. Bob’s youth. It’s where my son Ken and I identified and examined in great depth some of the Christian roots of A.A. And we gathered an immense amount of historical evidence, embodied it in our books and articles, posted it on the Web, and included it in our www.ChristianRecoveryRadio.com presentations. But there’s nothing like the excitement of seeing it all for yourself with excellent guidance. And there’s nothing like learning it for yourself so that you can be one of those experienced Christian leaders who can transmit A.A. founding information fully and accurately

You will be able to participate in September 2012 events involving:

1. St. Johnsbury and Dr. Bob’s boyhood home;

2. North Congregational Church—the Smith Family church and location of the historical collections in Dr. Bob Core Library;

3. Identifying Akron A.A.’s “Christian fellowship” program with Dr. Bob’s Young People’s Society of Christian Endeavor;

4. The immense historical resources in the St. Johnsbury Athenaeum (library);

5. The St. Johnsbury Fairbanks Museum, the Courthouse where Dr. Bob’s dad was probate judge, the former location of the YMCA building where Dr. Bob’s father was President;

6. St. Johnsbury Academy—where Dr. Bob’s mother was a teacher and later an historian, where Dr. Bob’s father was an examiner, and where Dr. Bob attended daily chapel and weekly church services and Bible studies, and participated in YMCA events;

7. East Dorset and Bill W.’s birthplace;

8. The Wilson House where Bill W. was born and where many A.A. meetings, seminars, and tours and offered;

9. The Griffith House where Bill was raised by his maternal grandparents for several years and where he studied the Bible with his maternal grandfather, Fayette Griffith;

10. The Griffith House Library which probably contains the largest collection

of A.A. historical books and articles and pamphlets and memorabilia of

any place in the world

11. East Dorset Congregational Church, where Bill, Bill’s parents, and

both sets of grandparents attended; and where Bill attended church and

Sunday school, along with revival and conversion and Temperance meetings;

12. The Bill and Lois Wilson gravesites;

13. Manchester, where Bill attended Burr and Burton Academy, attending its

required daily chapel and four-year Bible study course, and was its president

of the Young Men’s Christian Association during his senior year; and

14.Your optional personal detour to see the Fall Leaves display.

Want to come?

This cadre tour and workshop will give you an accurate knowledge of A.A. history, A.A. historical collections, and A.A.’s Christian roots and origins most have probably never heard about or understood. It will provide you with important keys to the Christian upbringing of Dr. Bob and Bill W. It will show you more about real “spirituality”; ie., the relationship with God that the Big Book talks about. You visit a location with thousands of A.A.-related historical items. It will take you to an area filled with New England charm. It will be far more than just a walk through a memorial building or two. It will be at a time when the Fall Leaves displays are there. And Dick B. and Ken B. will be there to show you what’s what.

What is needed to make it happen:

Prayer.

A real interest in learning something very vital about “old-school” A.A. ideas and their applicability today.

A zest for a guided tour to inspect, learn about, and handle scads and scads of historical evidence, attend meetings if you wish, and hear Dick B. and Ken B. report on 22 years of research as you move about and stop for some short talks.

We hope to develop a cadre of long-sober folks who can learn and absorb the important Vermont history of A.A.’s Christian origins, the Christian upbringing of Bill and Bob, and how they can be applied today

Benefactors to provide funds for our travel are needed.

Your plans for a car or car pool with friends.

Accommodations at the St. Johnsbury Marriott hotel and in East Dorset.

And an essential willingness to walk, look, listen, and learn.

Since this will be an International Christian Recovery Coalition workshop, we are looking for a cadre of Christian leaders and workers in the recovery arena who want to learn and pass on to others what we’ve found and you have actually seen.

This will be unlike other history and archive conferences, seminars, and forays.

You’ll see and enter the buildings. You’ll pick up and examine the historical items. You’ll explore on your own, too. You’ll hear from two speakers who have researched, written about, and spoken about the whole scene—many times.

This may be the only time in your life that you will have such an opportunity.

This July is the month to plan and let us know if you’ll be coming and when. It is also the month to help fund our trip. And then to make your car and hotel reservations.

The light is green this July, and we’ll go. In August, we’ll be all set. For more information, contact Dick B. by email at DickB@DickB.com.

Gloria Deo

Dick B.'s son Ken B.

The Trip to A.A.’s Spiritual Roots is a Go: They Center on Vermont

An International Christian Recovery Coalition Fall Leaves Cadre Workshop

With Informative Visits to Historic A.A.-Related Locations in Vermont