Dick B. discusses Good Book-Big Book
meetings and which Bible version to use on the March 30, 2013, episode of the
"Christian Recovery Radio with Dick B.” show. www.ChristianRecoveryCoalition.com
Dick B.
© 2013 Anonymous. All
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You may hear Dick B. discuss
Good Book-Big Book meetings and which Bible version to use on the March 30,
2013, episode of the "Christian Recovery Radio with Dick B." show
here:
or here:
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Introduction by Host Ken B.
Recently, we (Dick B. and Ken B.) published and disseminated
widely a newsletter primarily for those many folks who have been phoning,
emailing, and telling us at meetings that they want to start an A.A. Step
Study/Big Book and Bible study group as an A.A. Directory-listed meeting or as
a Christian Recovery meeting.
Inevitably, they ask how they should go about the process.
And we have published and/or otherwise sent out a good many guides, lists of
suggested study topics, and lists of suggested procedures for setting up the
meeting they wish to conduct. We particularly focused on such meetings in our
new title: Stick with the Winners!: How
to Conduct More Effective 12-Step Meetings Using Conference-Approved Literature
(http://mcaf.ee/s50mq).
More often than not, the meetings folks ask us about
conducting will cover study of the Big Book and 12 Steps in conjunction with
study of the Bible. This is because A.A. cofounder Dr. Bob made it so clear in
his last major talk to AAs how important the Bible was in formulating the basic
ideas for the 12 Steps. He spoke of the effort, study, and teaching that were
involved. And our most popular title, The
Good Book and the Big Book: A.A.'s Roots in the Bible (http://dickb.com/goodbook.shtml) has
been a frequent starting point.
This evening, Dick B. will summarize an article he just
wrote on this subject area, and which he also posted on line and sent to many
by email. The importance of the subject is underlined in Dr. Bob's remarks in
the A.A. General Service Conference-approved pamphlet titled The Co-Founders of Alcoholics Anonymous:
Biographical Sketches: Their Last Major Talks (item # P-53). And I (Ken B.)
will start the program off by quoting some of what Dr. Bob said on pages 13 and
14 of that important pamphlet.
In the early days. . . our stories
didn’t amount to anything to speak of. When we started in on Bill D. [A.A.
Number Three], we had no Twelve Steps either; we had no Traditions.
But we were convinced that the
answer to our problems was in the Good Book. To some of us older ones, the parts
we found absolutely essential were the Sermon on the Mount, the thirteenth
chapter of First Corinthians, and the Book of
James. We used to have daily meetings at a friend’s house. [See Dick B.,
The Book of James and the Original A.A.
Program’s Absolute Essentials www.dickb.com.JamesClub.shtml].
It
wasn’t until 1938 that the teachings and efforts and studies that had been going on were crystallized in
the form of the Twelve Steps. I didn’t write the Twelve Steps. I had nothing to
do with the writing of them. But I think I probably had something to do with
them indirectly. After my June 10th episode, Bill came to live at
our house and stayed for about three months. There was hardly a night that we
didn’t sit up until two or three o’clock talking. . . . We already had the
basic ideas, though not in terse and tangible form. We got them as a result of
our study of the Good Book.
Synopsis of Dick B.’s Talk on Which Bible Version to Use for Your Study
Group
The title of tonight’s talk is “A.A. Big Book/12 Step/Bible
Study Groups: Which Bible Version
Should We Use.” The talk is based on a two part article
just posted on many websites, blogs, and
forums, as well as being sent out in our newsletter. The first part is titled “Part
One: First, Which “Big Book” Should We Use.” And we will have more to say about that in another Christian Recovery
Radio interview. But the focus tonight will be on Part Two- “Now, Which Bible
Should We Use?”
And here are the answers provided to “Which Bible Should We
Use?”
Two Suggested Biblical Pieces Used by Early AAsin Their “Christian
Fellowship” Program
The King James Version of the Bible: Which Bible should we use?
The most appropriate answer is “the Holy Bible”—in this case, the King James
Version--which was the English Bible Version used, studied, and quoted by the
early A.A. pioneers, and which provided the basic ideas for their program of
recovery.
The Runner’s Bible: The next answer can properly be: The
Runner’s Bible: Spiritual Guidance for People on the Run, compiled and
annotated by Nora Holm, with an Introduction by Polly Berrien Berends
(Lakewood, CO: I Level, Acropolis Books, 1998). This book is a reprint of The
Runner’s Bible prepared in 1910 by Nora Holm. I found a copy of the earlier
book among the books of Dr. Bob that were shown to me by Dr. Bob’s son and
daughter. And Dr. Bob’s son, Robert R. Smith, told me that this was a favorite
devotional his father used. And a statement of the Table of Contents may well
show why:
“In the
Morning Will I Order My Prayer to Thee”
The Godhead
God the
Father
The Christ
of God
Him That
Filleth All in All
His Image
and Likeness
Walk in
Love
Rejoice
Always
In
Everything Give Thanks
Fear Not,
Only Believe
Get Wisdom,
Get Understanding
Ask and Ye
Shall Receive
He That is
The Greatest Among You Shall Be Your Servant
Forgive and
Ye Shall Be Forgiven
Be of Good
Cheer, Thy Sins Be Forgiven Thee
I Will Help
Thee
Behold, I
Will Heal Thee
For Thine
Is The Power
The Lord
Shall Guide Thee Continually
Thou Shalt
Walk In Thy Way Safely
All Things
Are Yours
Peace Be
Unto You
Happy Shalt
Thou Be
The Lord
Will Lighten My Darkness
Those familiar with the Bible will quickly recognize the
biblical references in the subjects. They will also see biblical expressions
applied in early A.A. And they will be seeing, in the many verses under each
subject, just what “basic ideas” Dr. Bob stated the early AAs began studying,
exerting themselves to learn, and teaching.
Four Well-Known, Relatively-New “Recovery” Bibles
The next four choices of a Bible for study are those that
arose long, long after A.A. was founded in 1935. And here are they are:
1. Serenity: A Companion for Twelve Step
Recovery. Complete with New
Testament, Psalms & Proverbs by Dr. Robert Hemfelt and Dr. Bernard
Fowler (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1990). Hemfelt is a psychologist
who is said to have specialties in the treatment of codependency, addictions,
and adult-children-of-abuse issues. Fowler is said to have a background in
education, counseling, and administration.
Neither A.A.’s cofounders nor its other pioneers limited
their Bible study in the way Serenity does. The Serenity authors state that the
Twelve Steps are printed but adapted for use with all dependencies. There is extensive psychological talk about
addictions and the like. The authors err in emphasizing the significance of the
Oxford Group; while, at the same time, omitting: (a) the Christian predecessors
of A.A., (b) the Christian upbringing of A.A.’s cofounders—which included
intensive Bible study by both Bill W. and Dr. Bob as young men, (c) the fact
that early A.A. in Akron called itself a “Christian fellowship,” and (d) the
important statements by Dr. Bob that the earlier AAs felt the answer to their
problems was in the Bible, and that the parts they considered absolutely
essential were Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, the Book of James, and 1 Corinthians
13. Missing too is the original Akron A.A. program which is stated in summary
form in DR. BOB and the Good Oldtimers at page 131; and missing in addition are
the 16 practices of the early A.A. Christians which implemented the seven-point
program as summarized.
Serenity’s commentaries do not cover the important early
A.A. requirements of belief in the Creator (Hebrews 11:6); conversion to God
through His Son Jesus Christ (Romans 10:9); the significance in James 4:7 of
submitting to God; the many phrases in Matthew 5, 6, and 7 from which Step
ideas came; and the high regard in which early AAs held 1 Corinthians 13 and
the importance of love.
2. Recovery Devotional Bible New International
Version: With 365 Daily Readings
(Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1993). Verne Becker is the
General Editor. This Bible contains a great many tools to aid study. The
Bible’s front matter, for example, includes the following items: (a)
Alphabetical Order of the Books of the Bible; (b) Acknowledgements; (c) Introduction
to the Recovery Devotional Bible; (d) The Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous;
(e) The Bible Step by Step; (f) Spiritual Roots of the Twelve Steps; (g)
Working Together – The Bible and the Twelve Steps; (h) The Recovery Family; and
(i) Preface to the New International Version.
In one sense, this version attempts to be all things to all
studies--a daily devotional; a bit of A.A. history; and opinions as to how this
or that verse can be applied to some Step or A.A. language.
And, except for a well-known article by Tim Stafford, there
is no adequate presentation of early A.A., or of the all-important Sermon on
the Mount, Book of James, and 1 Corinthians 13.
As an NIV, the book is perhaps more easily understood, yet
open to private interpretation that may or may not square with the idea that
the Word of God is God-inspired. The more one attempts to mix the secular with
the biblical, the more the biblical end suffers from man-made reasoning instead
of being the product of a renewed mind, coming from the transformation
discussed in Romans 10:9, 12:1-3, and 2 Corinthian 5:7. There is no adequate
recognition of the healing or cure that Bill Wilson claimed when he wrote “The
Lord has cured me of this terrible disease.”
3. The Life Recovery Bible: The Living Bible (Wheaton,
IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 1992). The Executive Editors are David
Stoop and Stephen Arterburn. This Bible is filled with footnotes explaining
verses. It explains “The Big Picture” and “The Bottom Line” for each book of the
Bible. It covers “Reflections” and “Insights.” Sprinkled through the various
books of the Bible are large column references to a Step, and then to the
authors’ attempt to relate the Step idea to a particular part of a particular
book of the Bible. There is an Index to Twelve Step Devotionals, to Recovery
Principle Devotionals, to Serenity Prayer Devotionals, and to Recovery
Reflections.
My son Ken and I have seen this particular Bible in wide use
among the many Bible study groups, Christian recovery fellowships, and 12-Step
meetings of Christians all over the United States at which we have spoken; met with
Christian treatment leaders, counselors, recovery pastors, doctors, clergy, and
Salvation Army treatment programs.
As with the other three “recovery” Bibles, there are several
problems that make them difficult for both the newcomer and/or the sponsor to
master and utilize. They don’t discuss “old-school” A.A. adequately or
accurately. Their histories are skewed to Bill Wilson’s “new version of the
program” represented by the Twelve Steps. They tend to excuse or try to explain
how A.A. is “spiritual but not religious;” and how it is open to all, including
atheists. They strive and strain to make Bible verses fit into and with A.A.’s twelve,
little “Steps.” Finally, they use the Bible in a way that neither early AAs nor
most present-day AAs can find focused on their own life-problems, disasters,
and legal and other difficulties.— as to which God can provide guidance,
forgiveness, and deliverance. In that respect, they also fail to emphasize
“cure” and “healing,” though early AAs spoke repeatedly of this. They fail to
point much to the role that God, His Son Jesus Christ, and the Bible played in
the Christian Recovery Movement. And they certainly fail to report adequately
or accurately the real Christian origins of A.A. ideas from about 1850
forward—efforts or people and organizations that helped rather than condemned
alcoholics. These included the Young Men’s Christian Association, the Salvation
Army, Gospel Rescue Missions, Congregationalists, the great evangelists, and
the United Society of Christian Endeavor.
If simplicity of presentation and simplicity of spiritual
understanding are essential to an AA’s being lifted out of the hole by the
power, love, forgiveness, healing, and guidance of Almighty God, then this
simplicity is missing in every one of the Bibles that tries to present
something other than God’s Word alone.
4. Celebrate Recovery Bible: New International
Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2007). Pastor John Baker is the
founder of Celebrate Recovery, a ministry of Saddleback Church in California.
The book is huge
As Baker explains in an introductory section called “About
the Celebrate Recovery Bible”:
. . . [T]he familiar twelve steps
remain intact under the Celebrate Recovery model, except that the vague
language about a Higher Power gets specific, focusing on the one and only true
Higher Power, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Celebrate Recovery is built on the
eight proven Biblical principles based on the well-loved Beatitudes from Jesus’
famous Sermon on the Mount . . . The Christ-centered twelve steps fit neatly
and naturally underneath the umbrella of the eight principles . . . [unnumbered
page xi].
He then lists the following features of the Celebrate
Recovery Bible: (a) Book Introductions; (b) Character Studies; (c) Recovery
Stories; (d) Lesson Studies; (e) Recovery-related Scripture Ties; (f) Thirty
Days of Devotions; (g) an Index Subjects Features; and to Character Sketches
and Recovery Stories.
I will let this Bible speak for itself and be explained at a
Celebrate Recovery meeting to those who have chosen to go the Celebrate
Recovery route. And there are many! Once again, the sheer volume of Bible,
explanations, mixture of Beatitudes and Steps, along with devotionals and the
like, would seem to challenge a newcomer, a sponsor, and/or a group leader in a
way that A.A. does not do—at least not in voluminous writing.
But it is fair to say that this is the newest, and possibly
the most-widely-used, “recovery Bible” today.
But Let’s Consider The Following,Simple, Christian Choice That Is
Available
First of all, most A.A. newcomers are sick, bewildered,
confused, in endless troubles, frightened, and timid in their approach to
recovery. I certainly was as well!
Second, “Keep it simple” is a common piece of wisdom of the
rooms that is frequently suggested; and, if of value, is tailored to moving the
alcoholic out of acute and delayed withdrawal, brain damage, confusion, and
fear.
Third, In the early days, A.A. had excellent, qualified teachers.
Among the lay teachers were:
• Dr. Bob’s
wife—an ardent Bible student and former teacher;
• Henrietta
Seiberling—a devoted Christian and Vassar graduate; and
• T. Henry
Williams—a famous inventor and former Sunday school teacher.
Then there were the clergy on the East Coast—led by Rev.
Samuel M. Shoemaker, Jr. And there was the highly-respected physician William
D. Silkworth, M.D.—specialist in treating thousands of alcoholics.
Each teacher, in his or her own way, spoon-fed newcomers.
With prayer; Quiet Time; three rather-brief segments of the Bible—Jesus’ Sermon
on the Mount, the Book of James, and 1 Corinthians 13. And with surrender to
God; Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior; much-needed hospitalization.; and with
living or meeting in the homes as the early First Century Christians did. Finally,
with simply helping others not so far along in recovery—all the while
fellowshipping, witnessing, and converting.
How About Your Considering the following choice!
How about the following choice when it comes to the Bible,
the Big Book, and Study Groups?
1. Select a
Bible version of choice—acquired, if desired, from a thrift shop.
2. Think about
the King James Version since that was used by A.A. pioneers and quoted in later
A.A. literature.
3. Read and
teach from the Book of James, Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7), and 1
Corinthians 13.
4. Bring in a
pastor or Bible teacher to conduct study of those three books.
5. Repeat.
Repeat. Repeat.
6. Discuss.
Discuss. Discuss.
7. Accompany
all this with prayer, use of a devotional like The Runner’s Bible, and simple literature
like Henry Drummond’s The Greatest Thing in the World (about 1 Cor 13).
8. Graduate
into the Christian books early AAs read for spiritual growth.
9. Have a
Christian A.A. teach simple A.A. history.
10. Have a
Christian A.A. who is Big Book-oriented teach how the historical approach and
the Bible can be applied in A.A. today.
11. Witness!
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