Don Cobb, Recovered Christian Author, Counselor, Interventionist

Request for Details on Your Christian Recovery Program Note: Here is the response just received from Don Cobb--a long-time supporter and participant in International Christian Recovery Coalition. Don mentions his work and his book and answers the questions we pose. Thank you, Don

 

From Dick B.

Executive Director, International Christian Recovery Coalition

PO Box 837, Kihei, HI 96753-0837

DickB@DickB.com; 1-808-874-4876

www.ChristianRecoveryCoalition.com

 

 

The International Christian Recovery Coalition makes no attempt to certify or endorse or recommend a particular program or technique for recovery from alcoholism, drug addiction, or other life-controlling problems. (Please see www.ChristianRecoveryCoalition.com.) It does receive phone calls, emails, and letters from all over the world. Typically, inquiries are from mothers, wives, and relatives of an afflicted person. The inquirer states he or she is a Christian; and states that the afflicted person: (1) may be or want to be a Christian; (2) is in dire straits with a seemingly-medically-incurable problem; (3) is in revolving treatment; and (4) is at his or her bottom. The inquirer asks if we know of Christian interventions, treatment, counseling, after care, sober living, and/or family-concerned efforts; and if we know Christian leaders or workers or fellowships who can help.

 

International Christian Recovery Coalitions “Participants” are located in every state and several other nations (http://christianrecoverycoalition.com/ICLC-Participants.shtml). They pay no dues and charge no fees in connection with their Coalition participation. They seek to tell others the role that God, His Son Jesus Christ, and the Bible played in the origins, history, founding, original “Christian fellowship,” and successes of early A.A. They also endeavor to show how the lessons learned from “old-school” successes can be applied in the recovery arena today. Most “Participants” are conversant with, or actually operating, Christian recovery efforts. And we try to keep them in touch with each other, with treatment resources, and with inquirers who want Christian help for themselves or their afflicted people.

 

This is to request that you send us by mail, phone, email, brochure, or information flyer details on the following questions we deem important when we suggest possibilities to Coalition “Participants,” to Christian leaders and workers in the recovery arena, and to the afflicted today.

 

1.            Is your CEO or Program Director a Christian? Yes I am.

 

2.            How many of your staff members are Christians, and what are their roles in treatment? My wife and are Christians. I am Executive Director and my wife Dawn Cobb handles administration responsibilities.

 

3.            Do you offer a full, substantive Christian recovery program? No. We provide outpatient counseling and interventions, and utilize my book "12 Steps: NOT For Dummies" for those who seek our help.

 

4.            Does your program teach about the Christian organizations and individuals who preceded A.A. and helped drunks, such as: (a) the Salvation Army; (b) rescue missions; (c) the Young Men’s Christian Association; (d) great evangelists like Moody and Sankey; and (e) the Young People’s Society of Christian Endeavor? Yes we do point our clients to Salvation Army Lytton Springs ARC recovery program, occasionally to the local Gospel mission.

 

5.            Does your program teach about the Christian upbringing of A.A.’s cofounders Bill W. and Dr. Bob? Yes we do. My book also points repeatedly to AA's Christian founder's methodology.

 

6.            Does your program teach about the original A.A. “Christian fellowship” program founded in Akron in 1935? Does it teach the summary of that program reported by John D. Rockefeller, Jr.’s representative Frank Amos and published on page 131 of A.A.’s DR. BOB and the Good Oldtimers. We teach about the original AA program, although I am not familiar enough with John D. Rockefeller or Frank Amos to teach about their teachings.

 

7.            Does your program teach about the 16 Christian practices which characterized the original A.A. “Christian fellowship” program and which are summarized in The Dick B. Christian Recovery Guide, 3rd ed. (2010)? Not yet. I do have your book DBCRG and will take a look at that.

 

8.            Does your program teach about the astonishing success rates of the original Akron program and of the Cleveland Fellowship which began in 1939? Yes we do. 78-93% success rates NEED to be taught.

 

9.            Does your program teach about how even today’s A.A. General Service conference-approved literature explicitly covers and tells the details about the roles played by God, His Son Jesus Christ, and the Bible in early A.A.’s astonishing successes? No, because I didn't know that. I'll do more research.

 

10.          Does your program teach about how all of the original AAs who were not already children of God were required to profess a belief in Almighty God and to come to Him through His Son Jesus Christ? Yes we do.

 

11.          Are you willing to incorporate material such as that which was touched on in questions 4-10 above in your curriculum, whatever your technique, program, or approach? Yes we are. Like I said, we already incorporate some of it.

 

12.          Do you conduct a full-time, substantive Christian recovery program which emphasizes: (a) God; (b) His Son Jesus Christ; (c) the Holy Spirit; (d) the Bible; (3) prayer; (f) Quiet Time; (g) Christian devotionals; (h) Christian recovery literature; (i) Bible study; (j) faculty or facilitators who have substantial Christian recovery training as clergy, recovery pastors, chaplains, Christian recovery program directors, and/or Christian recovery fellowship program leaders; (k) the power, love, healing abilities, guidance, forgiveness, and deliverance aspects of Almighty God and His Son Jesus Christ? (l) the renewed mind; and mj) walking by the Spirit of God rather than by the flesh. For the most part, yes we do.

 

13.          Do you have worship services, Bible study, prayer meetings, Christian counseling, and recovery background classes on your premises? We only provide Christian counseling at this time. Recovery background is covered in my book.

 

14.          Are you holding yourself out as a full-time, complete, healing Christian recovery program or facility? No. We are not that yet.

 

15.          Would you consider examining and perhaps even using the material researched and written by author Dick B. as a writer, historian, retired attorney, Bible student, CDAAC, and active recovered AA for  over 26  years of continuous sobriety, and publisher of  46 titles and 1,250 articles on Alcoholics Anonymous history and the Christian Recovery Movement? Of course, Dick. When I was Men's Director at the Redwood Gospel Mission, I was discussing this with you. At the time the Mission was experiencing serious financial difficulties, like it usually is, and so I was not able to implement your program, although I did distribute the books you sent me to the program members.