Alcoholics Anonymous
History
The Christian Recovery Movement Today—Growing or Going?
Dick B.
© 2012 Anonymous. All rights reserved.
Consider the Origins
In two of our recent books, Dr. Bob of Alcoholics Anonymous
and The Conversion of Bill W., we covered the
seemingly-forgotten-yet-very-important origins of Alcoholics Anonymous in five
groups of people and organizations, primarily of the mid-to-late 19th century.
See www.dickb.com/drbobofaa.shtml
and www.dickb.com/conversion.shtml.
Though critics of A.A., within and without, have often
sidetracked discussions of origins by pointing to the Washingtonians and the
Oxford Group, they have almost-uniformly failed to research, report, and
discuss the real Christian roots of the recovery movement. And, of late, some
of those critics tend to bypass A.A.’s documented Christian roots and misapply
Scriptural principles and segments by claiming no Christian should be involved
in today’s recovery movements. www.dickb.com/goodbook.shtml
and www.dickb.com/JamesClub.shtml.
Briefly, those Christian roots consisted of the following
large Christian movements of the mid-to-late 19th century:
Evangelists like Dwight L. Moody, Ira Sankey, F. B. Myer,
and Billy Sunday. These brought tens of thousands of drunks and derelicts to
Jesus Christ long before the Oxford Group or Alcoholics Anonymous were even
thought of.
The Gospel and Rescue Missions, spurred by the
highly-successful efforts of Jerry McAuley, H. H. Hadley, and the Water Street
Mission. The testimonials still available show the huge number of alcoholics
and derelicts who went to and were helped by many such missions.
The work of the Young Men's Christian Association (“YMCA”)
lay leaders during the 1870's—especially those of Massachusetts, New Hampshire,
and Vermont—who cooperated with churches of various denominations and held huge
conversion meetings that changed thousands of lives. And the greatest record of
the beginnings is found in the “Great Awakening of 1875” in St. Johnsbury,
Vermont, where A.A.'s Dr. Bob was born.
The Salvation Army’s unique, early outreach in the slums of
London and elsewhere, touching the lives of drunks and criminals; bringing them
to Jesus Christ; and, upon their transformation, persuading them to help others
by joining “God’s Army.”
The Young People’s Society of Christian Endeavor. At its
peak, it had a worldwide membership of 4.5 million. It was founded in Maine in
1881, and it reached the Town of St. Johnsbury about 1887—with Dr. Bob and his
parents involved in it at North Congregational Church, St. Johnsbury. It laid
out a pattern of conversion meetings, Bible studies, prayer meetings, Quiet
Hours, topical discussions, and reading of literature that found place in the
original Akron A.A. “Christian fellowship” founded in 1935 by A.A.'s
cofounders, Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith.
Consider the Changes between 1939 and about 1985, See The Dick B. Christian Recovery Guide and
Stick with the Winners – by Dick B. and
Ken B.
Bill Wilson fashioned a new A.A.—far different from the
highly-successful, original Akron A.A. “Christian fellowship” program begun in
1935—at the time Big Book was published in 1939. This new A.A. was accompanied
by an increasing growth of welcome to atheists and agnostics, people of
non-Christian beliefs, and people of no belief at all.
The new era saw the emergence of “higher powers.” These
substitutes for the power, love, and healing of Almighty God, the Creator, took
on strange names and idolatrous forms. They were called “the Group,” chairs,
light bulbs, door knobs, trees, Santa Claus, Ralph, Gertrude, Somebody,
Something, “It,” “not-god-ness,” and just about any concept a fellowship member
wanted to choose.
The higher power era was marked by a growing attempt to
delete references to Christianity, religion, and church by calling A.A.
“spiritual, but not religious.” And this baffling “spirituality” has given rise
to equally-strange names and idolatrous practices including devil worship and
spiritualist practices. Not that these have received acceptance by court
decisions or most Christians in A.A. But they have frequently moved fellowship
meetings, speeches, and members far far away from the original “Christian
fellowship” of A.A. founded in Akron in 1935.
Consider the Interesting Christian “Awakening” That Began
Thereafter
During the Big Book period just discussed, treatment
centers, insurance companies, therapists, counselors, academics, historians,
and writers began to treat A.A. as secular and to attempt to bar any talk of
religion or God or church from “treatment.”
But whatever the merit of such attempted “cleansing,” there
followed a Christian regurgitation. Perhaps it began with such organizations as
Teen Challenge, Alcoholics Victorious, Alcoholics for Christ, Overcomers,
Overcomers Outreach, Inc., and others. And, except for a few, these tended to
try blending A.A., its Steps, and its “spirituality” with biblical verses and
Christian precepts.
This changing picture was seized by Christian publishers who
pumped out and sold tens of thousands of what I will call “Christian Recovery
Bibles.” Well-known Christian publishing houses like Zondervan, Thomas Nelson,
Baker Book House, and others filled the pages of Bibles with notes,
annotations, Big Book and Step references, and won a large audience of
Christians.
There were other, less-widespread Christian publishing
efforts in the form of Christian Twelve Step Guides which tended to link each
A.A. Step with one or more Bible verses thought to be relevant to the Step or
an understanding of its Christian roots or application.
In one form or another, these Christian recovery efforts
survive today.
Consider the Heavy Impact of Celebrate Recovery and
“Christian Treatment Programs”
Not satisfied with the “higher power” idolatry in Twelve
Step fellowships, there followed a huge growth of church-sponsored and
church-related imitative 12 Step recovery programs. And at the top of the list
was and still is Celebrate Recovery—emanating from Saddleback Church.
With secular treatment programs and ideas changing and/or
failing, many treatment program efforts were turned toward Christian Treatment
Programs, Christian-Track Treatment Programs, and Christian residential
treatment programs—along with others.
Also, counselors and therapists began to emphasize
“Christian” alcohol, drug, and substance abuse counseling. And this too is
still in the works.
Consider the Gap and the Emerging Change for the Worse
More and more Christians in A.A. and Twelve Step Fellowships
were taking flight. Some went to the organizations and programs above. Many seemed
to relapse. Many became part of the growing anti-A.A. community. And a few
sought refuge in the anti-Christian A.A. community peopled by “Psychoheresy”
and similar individuals and groups who regularly lambasted Christians who went
to A.A. and issued dire Scriptural warnings about their going to
“destruction”—perhaps a synonym for just plain hell
Good News!
The Pendulum is Swinging Toward Effective, Comprehensive
Christian Recovery Today www.ChristianRecoveryCoalition.com
We invite readers to look at the International Christian
Recovery Coalition Web site, projects, literature, and “Christian Recovery
Resource Centers.”
They stemmed from a large gathering of Christian leaders and
workers in the recovery arena, as well as other concerned professionals,
treatment people, and Twelve Step Fellowship members. The gathering was held in
the Mariners Church Community Center in Irvine in May 2009. And its focus was
on the hard times Christians in recovery and others were having because of A.A.
opposition to Christianity, Christian opposition to A.A., and lack of what I
call “A.A.-friendly, Bible-friendly, Christian-friendly, history-friendly”
recovery efforts.
Without usurping the next article on “growing” Christian
recovery efforts, suffice it to say that there is a worldwide effort today to
bring before those who want God’s help the much-needed resources and programs
and opportunities that the Christian community provides. And that it is not
supplying as a united effort with common goals today. We have begun a major
effort to fill many of the “gaps” in Christian recovery efforts by encouraging
Christian individuals, groups, and organizations to become “Christian Recovery Resource Centers”—a
project of the International Christian Recovery Coalition.
The need is great. It is spelled out on the Coalition's Web
pages. And it includes all facets of successful and abundant Christian life
after recovery. And it is based on the idea that Christian alcoholics, addicts,
and affected others can be healed and transformed by the power and love of God,
and given a new life in Christ.
It involves primarily efforts by Christians: initial
interviews, assessments, and providing of basic information; possible
intervention; possible counseling and therapy; possible referrals; genuine,
comprehensive, Christian treatment that involves something more than a Bible
study and a chaplain, Christian recovery after-care and alumni groups, Christian
residential and outpatient treatment options; Christian sober living; Christian
recovery fellowships, study groups, Bible studies, “James Clubs,” Big Book
studies, Step studies, and retreats.
It involves reaching into prisons, jails, hospitals, rehabs,
half-way houses, homeless situations and communities. It involves addressing
veterans’ needs, military needs, family needs, health needs, economic needs,
and other elements of successful Christian living.
And then entry into the community in fellowship with
like-minded believers who can provide honest and wholesome access to vocational
education, school education, higher learning, opportunities in trades,
technicians, industrial, service, sales, teaching, military, government, and
social atmospheres. Accompanied by awareness of and chances to acquire medical,
nutritional, mental, fitness, recreational, sports, psychological, and
religious training.
Consider That It Is Happening Now—And Growing, Not Going
On the Coalition website, we name the many efforts of the
International Christian Recovery Coalition, and of other Christian leaders and
workers in the recovery arena, among those we know and among those we would
like to get to know and have our readers search out and learn.
Gloria Deo
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