Alcoholics Anonymous History
Taking, Believing, and Understanding the Twelve Steps
Dick B.
© 2011 Anonymous. All rights reserved.
Why Take Them Before You Know What the A.A. Cofounders Said about Them?
Both Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith, the cofounders of A.A., spoke explicitly on where the 12 Steps came from. In sum, they stated that the basic ideas came from: (1) the Bible; (2) Dr. William D. Silkworth; (3) Professor William James; and (4) Reverend Samuel M. Shoemaker, Jr.
As we will see in this article, that is not the whole story. But here’s what A.A.'s cofounders said:
In his last major address to AAs, delivered in Detroit in 1948, A.A. cofounder Dr. Bob stated:
When we started in on Bill D., we had no Twelve Steps . . . 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 that we found absolutely essential were the Sermon on the Mount, the thirteenth chapter of First Corinthians, and the Book of James. [The Co-Founders of Alcoholics Anonymous: Biographical Sketches: Their Last Major Talks (NY: Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc., 1972, 1975), 13.]
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. . . . We already had the basic ideas, though not in terse and tangible form. We got them, as I said, as the result of our study of the Good Book. [The Co-Founders, 14.]
In The Language of the Heart: Bill W.’s Grapevine Writings (NY: The A.A. Grapevine, Inc., 1988), A.A. cofounder Bill W. stated:
So, then, how did we first learn that alcoholism is such a fearful sickness as this? Who gave us this priceless piece of information on which the effectiveness of Step One of our program so much depends? Well, it came from my own doctor, “the little doctor who loved drunks,” William Duncan Silkworth. [p. 297]
Who, then, first told us about the utter necessity for such an awakening, for an experience that not only expels the alcohol obsession, but which also makes effective and truly real the practice of spiritual principles “in all our affairs”? Well, this life-giving idea came to us of AA through William James, the father of modern psychology. It came through his famous book, Varieties of Religious Experience. . . . William James also heavily emphasized the need for hitting bottom. Thus did he reinforce AA’s Step One, and so did he supply us with the spiritual essence of today’s Step Twelve. [pp. 297-98]
Having now accounted for AA’s Steps One and Twelve, it is natural that we should next ask, “Where did the early AAs find the material for the remaining ten Steps? Where did we learn about moral inventory, amends for harm done, turning our wills and lives over to God? Where did we learn about meditation and prayer and all the rest of it?” The spiritual substance of our remaining ten Steps came straight from Dr. Bob’s and my own earlier association with the Oxford Groups, as they were then led in America by that Episcopal rector, Dr. Samuel Shoemaker. [p. 298]
What God was Bill Wilson speaking of? In The Language of the Heart, Bill wrote at page 284:
And then the great thought burst upon me: “Bill, you are a free man: This is the God of the Scriptures.”
What God was Dr. Bob Smith speaking of? In Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th ed. (NY: Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc., 2001), Dr. Bob wrote at page 181:
Your Heavenly Father will never let you down!
In 1975, Harper & Row published Robert Thomsen's biography of A.A. cofounder Bill Wilson under the title Bill W. – 50th Anniversary Edition – Commemorating the 1935 Meeting Between Bill W. and Dr. Bob that Launched Alcoholics Anonymous (NY: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1975). In it, Thomsen wrote:
Ever since he [Bill W.] and [Dr.] Bob had tried to shape a program, their ideas had been based on Oxford Group principles: first admitting they were powerless over alcohol, then making a moral inventory, confessing their shortcomings to another, making amends whenever possible, and finally praying for the power to carry out these concepts and to help other drunks. [p. 282]
The difficulty with all these somewhat-conflicting statements is that the Twelve Steps themselves came from a much broader group of resources than any of the writers stated.
Why Take the 12 Steps Before You Know the Details about Their 26 Sources?
There are three different types of roots of the sources of the 12 Steps. Two of the three are detailed in a recent title my son Ken and I wrote: Dick B. and Ken B., The Dick B. Christian Recovery Guide: Historical Perspectives and Effective Modern Application, 3rd ed. (Kihei, HI: Paradise Research Publications, Inc., 2010). They are:
The Seven-Point Summary of the Original Akron A.A. “Christian Fellowship” Program: Page 54 of The Dick B. Christian Recovery Guide, 3rd ed., quotes verbatim the seven-point summary of the original A.A. “Christian fellowship” program in Akron developed by Bill W. and Dr. Bob beginning during the summer of 1935. This original A.A. program, documented in late February, 1938, by Rockefeller agent Frank Amos, is recorded on page 131 of the A.A. General Service Conference-approved book DR. BOB and the Good Oldtimers (NY: Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc., 1980).
The 14 Specific Practices of the Akron A.A. Christian Pioneers: Pages 56-58 of The Dick B. Christian Recovery Guide, 3rd ed., discuss in some detail the 14 actual practices employed by the Akron pioneers in their implementation of the original, seven-point, A.A. Program documented by Frank Amos. With my son Ken's help, I unearthed and reported on these 14 practices in conjunction with our 20 years of research on the origins of Alcoholics Anonymous.
So what are these 26 wellsprings or sources of the 12 Steps upon which Bill Wilson drew when he put together the Big Book published in 1939? In three of my recent titles, I listed and explained what are at least 16 different sources of the ideas Bill Wilson finally incorporated into the Twelve Step program he fashioned and presented in the first edition of Alcoholics Anonymous. Yet the more one searches for specifics, and the more one researches, the more the fullness of the wellspring details becomes
In brief, there are 26 wellspring ideas incorporated into the Twelve Steps as presented in the text of the first edition of Alcoholics Anonymous, published by Works Publishing Company in 1939. These sources include:
The King James Version of the Bible (affectionately called “The Good Book.”).
William D. Silkworth, M.D. (Bill Wilson’s psychiatrist).
Professor William James of Harvard, whose book Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob had read.
Dr. Carl Gustav Jung of Switzerland, who told Bill’s mentor, Rowland Hazard, that—because he had the “mind of a chronic alcoholic”—a religious conversion might help him overcome drinking.
The Oxford Group, to which Bill Wilson and his wife Lois belonged and with which Dr. Bob and his wife Anne were associated in Akron. Its 28 life-changing ideas influenced all four people.
The teachings of Rev. Samuel M. Shoemaker, Jr., with whom Bill had worked on his proposed program and whom Bill called a “co-founder” of A.A.
The “no-cure” ideas and language of the lay therapist Richard Peabody, whose book, The Common Sense of Drinking, both Bill and Bob read.
The teachings of Dr. Bob’s wife, Anne Ripley Smith, who compiled and shared with early AAs and their families her personal journal which she wrote between 1933 and 1939.
The Christian books, other religious literature, and devotionals, circulated by Dr. Bob among early AAs.
“Quiet Time” and the guidance of God.
Belief in, and conversion to, God through Jesus Christ.
Qualification of newcomers as to their decision to quit permanently, and as to their willingness to go to any lengths in order to get and stay sober.
Medical help for, or hospitalization of, newcomers.
New Thought writings and ideas.
Intensive work helping newcomers get straightened out.
Recommended social and religious comradeship.
Recommended weekly attendance at a religious service.
Evangelists like Dwight Moody, Ira Sankey, and Billy Sunday.
Lay workers of the Young Men's Christian Association (the YMCA).
The Salvation Army.
Gospel or rescue missions.
The Young People’s Society of Christian Endeavor.
Dr. Bob’s extensive Christian upbringing and Bible study as a youngster in Vermont.
Bill Wilson’s extensive Christian upbringing, YMCA participation, and Bible study as a youngster in Vermont.
The “Farther Out” ideas manifested in Big Book language, and in the practices and experiments of Bill Wilson, and seemingly emanating from Bill’s extensive involvement in the Swedenborgian sect, in psychic experiments, in Richard Maurice Bucke’s Cosmic Consciousness book, in spiritualism, and in mysticism.
The idea of self-made religion, a self-made deity, and choosing one’s own conception of an “higher power.”
Through the years of my research and writing, all of the foregoing 26 ideas have been discussed; and today, substantial documentation can be found in several of my titles, including: (1) Dick B. and Ken B., Dr. Bob of Alcoholics Anonymous: His Excellent Training in the Good Book As a Youngster in Vermont (Kihei, HI: Paradise Research Publications, Inc., 2008), 275-99; (2) Dick B., A New Way Out: New Path—Familiar Road Signs—Our Creator’s Guidance (Kihei, HI: Paradise Research Publications, Inc., 2006), 14-32; and (3) Dick B. and Ken B., The Dick B. Christian Recovery Guide, 3rd ed.
Materials on the last two sources are discussed, from various viewpoints, in the following titles (among others): (1) Mel B., My Search for Bill W. (Center City, MN: Hazelden, 2000); (2) Mel B., New Wine: The Spiritual Roots of the Twelve Step Miracle (Center City, MN: Hazelden, 1991); (3) Susan Cheever, My Name is Bill: Bill Wilson—His Life and the Creation of Alcoholics Anonymous (NY: Washington Square Press, 2004); and (4) William G. Borchert, The Lois Wilson Story When Love is Not Enough: A Biography of the Cofounder of Al-Anon (Center City, MN: Hazelden, 2005).
Why Take the 12 Steps but Avoid the Prime Source of Instruction?
It would appear that today’s AAs and A.A. critics are stuck with ideas and approaches which seem to fill their individual beliefs, unbelief, or creeds—which sadly do not point them to the one place where the initial instructions for taking the Twelve Steps can be found.
We will suggest an approach, particularly for Christians, in a subsequent article. But it would be well to point to several inconsistent approaches today that leave something to be desired—by all concerned.
ñ Follow the instructions in Alcoholics Anonymous.
ñ Study the “Personal Stories” in the Big Book—including the original stories in the first edition (1939), all but three of which are omitted from the fourth edition (2001).
ñ Use one of the many secular “Step guides” that have all sorts of interpretations and have been published by Joe and Charlie from the Big Book Seminars, Hazelden (in a variety of forms), and a host of individuals.
ñ Use one of the so-called “Recovery Bibles”: Life Recovery Bible, Serenity: A Companion for Twelve Step Recovery, Recovery Devotional Bible, and the Celebrate Recovery Bible. Most are filled with page after page of attempted correlation of the Steps to the verse or section of scripture being read at any given time.
ñ Use one of the innumerable “Christian Step Guides” now in print, most of which append a writer’s view of one or more Bible verses deemed to be relevant to the Step under study.
Can any or all of the foregoing and other approaches be reconciled with the Bible and the Big Book? Can the Big Book and the Bible be reconciled at all? Can the Steps be used as life-changing guides emanating from biblical basics? Can the accuracy and integrity of the Word of God be preserved by a Big Book-Bible student who would like to utilize the Steps, the A.A. Fellowship, and the Bible in recovery? Can one study the Bible in conjunction the Big Book presentation of the Twelve Steps and meet the “requirement” of the Book of James—“But be ye doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves” (James 1:22)
When we address these issues in the next article, we will begin with the way in which Bill W. and Dr. Bob—though differing in theological viewpoints and religious backgrounds—were able to collaborate in the use of the Steps, build on the Bible basics, discuss A.A. history, and retain their own convictions as to how these elements could be used to help drunks.
Gloria Deo
Showing posts with label A.A. history. Show all posts
Showing posts with label A.A. history. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
The Oxford Group & Alcoholics Anonymous: A Design for Living That Works, by Dick B.
The second edition of The Oxford Group & Alcoholics Anonymous: A Design for Living That Works is one of author Dick B.'s leading A.A. History Books. www.dickb.com/Oxford.shtml.
This covers the progenitors of the group and the various phases of the Group from A First Century Christian Fellowship to the Groups to the Oxford Group to Moral Re-Armament. It specifically lays out the 28 life-changing principles of the Oxford Group that had an impact on A.A., A.A. History, and A.A. Twelve Steps. It lists the many Oxford Group expressions with exact parallels in A.A. writings. It discusses the lives of Oxford Group founder Frank N.D. Buchman, Reverend Samuel M. Shoemaker (a major leader in America), and Bill Wilson--cofounder of A.A.--who belonged to the Oxford Group from 1934 to August of 1937 and knew both Buchman and Shoemaker. There is a huge bibliography of hundreds of Oxford Group books Dick B. has read and cited and utilized in his A.A. history books and articles.
This book is now available in most bookstores, on amazon.com, in print-on-demand form, and soon to be in eBook format. It can also be purchased through Dick B.'s own website: www.dickb.com/Oxford.shtml.
This covers the progenitors of the group and the various phases of the Group from A First Century Christian Fellowship to the Groups to the Oxford Group to Moral Re-Armament. It specifically lays out the 28 life-changing principles of the Oxford Group that had an impact on A.A., A.A. History, and A.A. Twelve Steps. It lists the many Oxford Group expressions with exact parallels in A.A. writings. It discusses the lives of Oxford Group founder Frank N.D. Buchman, Reverend Samuel M. Shoemaker (a major leader in America), and Bill Wilson--cofounder of A.A.--who belonged to the Oxford Group from 1934 to August of 1937 and knew both Buchman and Shoemaker. There is a huge bibliography of hundreds of Oxford Group books Dick B. has read and cited and utilized in his A.A. history books and articles.
This book is now available in most bookstores, on amazon.com, in print-on-demand form, and soon to be in eBook format. It can also be purchased through Dick B.'s own website: www.dickb.com/Oxford.shtml.
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Welcoming You to the DickB YouTube Channel - First Series
Welcoming You to the Dick B. YouTube Channel
“The History of Alcoholics Anonymous and the Christian Recovery Movement”
Announcing the First Series, of Eleven Separate Presentations—one series of many to come—that is the first series of programs now up, running, and ready for you to view and hear
Here are Brief Summaries of Each of the Eleven Programs You Can Watch
Program One: “Introduction”
Dick B. discusses the need for brief, explanatory snippets explaining the role of God, His
Son Jesus Christ, and the Bible in the Christian Recovery Movement and in the origins,
history, founding, original program, and astonishing successes of the early A.A. Akron “Christian Fellowship”—as Dr. Bob described it.
Program Two: “Six Christian Origins”
Dick B. introduces the Christian Recovery Community and societies like Alcoholics
Anonymous to the six epochs (naming the events or organizations or persons) which comprise and impacted on the real Christian roots of recovery and of A.A.’s Akron program.
Program Three: “The Great Awakening of 1875”
Dick B. explains how this remarkable event in St. Johnsbury Vermont, the boyhood home of A.A. co-founder Dr. Bob, changed an entire village and many others with it, converted many to God through Jesus Christ, and left a heritage for other organizations and for the Christian upbringing of both A.A. co-founders, Dr. Bob and Bill W.
Program Four: “The YMCA”
Dick B. shows how the YMCA brethren in the 1870’s followed the traditions of non-denominational personal work by lay workers who brought about the Great Awakening through Gospel Meetings, conversion meetings, and work with churches and communities. He also points to the position that Dr. Bob’s father, Judge Smith, held as YMCA President in St. Johnsbury, and the position that Bill W. held as President of the
YMCA at Burr and Burton Academy in Manchester, Vermont.
Program Five: “The Christian Evangelists”
Dick B. highlights what the famous Christian evangelists (like Dwight L. Moody, Ira Sankey, F. B. Meyer, and Billy Sunday) brought to the recovery table in their huge revival meetings in New England and elsewhere in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s—when they brought about thousands of conversions and healed, by God’s power, innumerable sick folks, including drunkards. In fact, Dr. Bob himself appeared to take a special interest in one of these healing evangelists who spent considerable time in Akron not long after early A.A. was founded.
Program Six: “Gospel Rescue Missions”
Dick B. summarizes the widely known and applauded service performed by Jerry McAuley, his Water Street Mission, and Calvary Mission (where Bill W. and his “sponsor” Ebby made their decisions for Jesus Christ and became born again. He points to the typical “Jesus Saves,” hymn singing, Bible reading, prayers, and testimonials before the “altar call” where penitents like Bill W. kneeled, prayed, and gave their lives to Jesus Christ.
Program Seven: “The Salvation Army”
Dick B. illustrates the importance to early AAs of books like Harold Begbie’s Twice-Born Men which told how lives were saved and drunkards redeemed when recovered men went into the slums of London, found a derelict or drunkard on the streets, offered him Salvation and the teachings of the Bible, and then—when he had recovered—asked that he join “God’s Army”
Program Eight: “Young People’s Society of Christian Endeavor”
Dick B. fleshes out the highly important fellowship principles and practices that Dr. Bob learned when, as a youngster in his church, he was active in its Christian Endeavor group, as were his parents. Dick also illustrates the close parallel between the confession of Jesus Christ, conversion meetings, prayer meetings, Bible studies, Quiet Hour, discussion of Christian literature, and motto of “love and service,” and the Akron program of A.A. begun in 1935
Program Nine: “The Misunderstood Christian Origins of Early A.A.”
Dick B. shows how the very clear parallels between the six Christian origins of A.A. have been ignored, distorted, or misunderstood and replaced by historians, scholars, and AAs themselves. These origins have given way to tenuous references to the Oxford Group and even the Washingtonians when the Washingtonians failed almost a century before A.A. was born, and the Oxford Group was, at most, a fellowship with which Dr. Bob and Bill were both briefly associated, but which came into play as an A.A. source, when Bill W. later fashioned his Big Book and Twelve Steps published four years after the founding of A.A. Dick points to Dr. Bob’s specific statement that the basic ideas of A.A. came from the Bible.
Program Ten: “A Newcomer’s Plight on Entering A.A. Today”
Dick B. explains how some wild intrusions have slipped into the A.A. program at a time when a bewildered, hurting, problem-filled, sick A.A. newcomer enters a Twelve Step fellowship today. That newcomer begins early to hear about false gods (called higher powers), illusory New Age “spirituality,” and outright condemnations of religion and of any relationship with the Creator. This feeds the newcomer confusion at a time when he should be hearing about the real A.A. solution from the beginning—the power of God. He doesn’t hear the origins. He doesn’t hear the real history. He doesn’t hear about the early A.A. Christian Fellowship. And he is confronted with the unreliable “wisdom of the rooms,” revisionist ideas, and concern over what may be his own deeply held Christian convictions.
Program Eleven: “The Solution”
Dick B. concludes this first and very introductory series of programs by pointing to the much-needed return to information in the recovery world. Information that stresses the role that God, His Son Jesus Christ, and the Bible played and can play in recovery. Information that tells the specific origins, principles, and practices of the early A.A. Christian Fellowship in Akron. And information which shows how this information can and should be applied in recovery today—with a firm position, for those who want to hear it, that it was the power of God that early AAs sought to find, and the power of God which they declared had healed them in such high and unprecedented numbers.
Note: There will quite a large number of segments—series presentations, if you will—where Dick B. will take the viewer and listener through the comprehensive, truthful, accurate history of both A.A. and the Christian Recovery Movement. He will show the dramatic compromises and changes in the program that occurred in 1939. He will discuss the various people who helped shape both the early Christian program and who helped Bill W. shape the new program of 1939. He will point to the resources available to those who want to grow in understanding and faith.
He will suggest how others can further the mission of understanding and historical truth that he has undertaken—and, for the last twenty-one years, with the immeasurable help of his older son, Ken. He will explain how the Twelve Steps can better be understood and applied by those who know their actual origins and original intended meaning. He will urge the formation of study groups and explain how they can be formed. He will urge the continuation of the rapidly growing participation in the mission of the International Christian Recovery Coalition and of the projects it has accomplished and is planning to undertake.
dickb@dickb.com; www.dickb.com; www.ChristianRecoveryCoalition.com; www.mauihistorian.blogspont.com; www.drbobinfo; http://freedomranchmaui.org.
Gloria Deo
“The History of Alcoholics Anonymous and the Christian Recovery Movement”
Announcing the First Series, of Eleven Separate Presentations—one series of many to come—that is the first series of programs now up, running, and ready for you to view and hear
Here are Brief Summaries of Each of the Eleven Programs You Can Watch
Program One: “Introduction”
Dick B. discusses the need for brief, explanatory snippets explaining the role of God, His
Son Jesus Christ, and the Bible in the Christian Recovery Movement and in the origins,
history, founding, original program, and astonishing successes of the early A.A. Akron “Christian Fellowship”—as Dr. Bob described it.
Program Two: “Six Christian Origins”
Dick B. introduces the Christian Recovery Community and societies like Alcoholics
Anonymous to the six epochs (naming the events or organizations or persons) which comprise and impacted on the real Christian roots of recovery and of A.A.’s Akron program.
Program Three: “The Great Awakening of 1875”
Dick B. explains how this remarkable event in St. Johnsbury Vermont, the boyhood home of A.A. co-founder Dr. Bob, changed an entire village and many others with it, converted many to God through Jesus Christ, and left a heritage for other organizations and for the Christian upbringing of both A.A. co-founders, Dr. Bob and Bill W.
Program Four: “The YMCA”
Dick B. shows how the YMCA brethren in the 1870’s followed the traditions of non-denominational personal work by lay workers who brought about the Great Awakening through Gospel Meetings, conversion meetings, and work with churches and communities. He also points to the position that Dr. Bob’s father, Judge Smith, held as YMCA President in St. Johnsbury, and the position that Bill W. held as President of the
YMCA at Burr and Burton Academy in Manchester, Vermont.
Program Five: “The Christian Evangelists”
Dick B. highlights what the famous Christian evangelists (like Dwight L. Moody, Ira Sankey, F. B. Meyer, and Billy Sunday) brought to the recovery table in their huge revival meetings in New England and elsewhere in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s—when they brought about thousands of conversions and healed, by God’s power, innumerable sick folks, including drunkards. In fact, Dr. Bob himself appeared to take a special interest in one of these healing evangelists who spent considerable time in Akron not long after early A.A. was founded.
Program Six: “Gospel Rescue Missions”
Dick B. summarizes the widely known and applauded service performed by Jerry McAuley, his Water Street Mission, and Calvary Mission (where Bill W. and his “sponsor” Ebby made their decisions for Jesus Christ and became born again. He points to the typical “Jesus Saves,” hymn singing, Bible reading, prayers, and testimonials before the “altar call” where penitents like Bill W. kneeled, prayed, and gave their lives to Jesus Christ.
Program Seven: “The Salvation Army”
Dick B. illustrates the importance to early AAs of books like Harold Begbie’s Twice-Born Men which told how lives were saved and drunkards redeemed when recovered men went into the slums of London, found a derelict or drunkard on the streets, offered him Salvation and the teachings of the Bible, and then—when he had recovered—asked that he join “God’s Army”
Program Eight: “Young People’s Society of Christian Endeavor”
Dick B. fleshes out the highly important fellowship principles and practices that Dr. Bob learned when, as a youngster in his church, he was active in its Christian Endeavor group, as were his parents. Dick also illustrates the close parallel between the confession of Jesus Christ, conversion meetings, prayer meetings, Bible studies, Quiet Hour, discussion of Christian literature, and motto of “love and service,” and the Akron program of A.A. begun in 1935
Program Nine: “The Misunderstood Christian Origins of Early A.A.”
Dick B. shows how the very clear parallels between the six Christian origins of A.A. have been ignored, distorted, or misunderstood and replaced by historians, scholars, and AAs themselves. These origins have given way to tenuous references to the Oxford Group and even the Washingtonians when the Washingtonians failed almost a century before A.A. was born, and the Oxford Group was, at most, a fellowship with which Dr. Bob and Bill were both briefly associated, but which came into play as an A.A. source, when Bill W. later fashioned his Big Book and Twelve Steps published four years after the founding of A.A. Dick points to Dr. Bob’s specific statement that the basic ideas of A.A. came from the Bible.
Program Ten: “A Newcomer’s Plight on Entering A.A. Today”
Dick B. explains how some wild intrusions have slipped into the A.A. program at a time when a bewildered, hurting, problem-filled, sick A.A. newcomer enters a Twelve Step fellowship today. That newcomer begins early to hear about false gods (called higher powers), illusory New Age “spirituality,” and outright condemnations of religion and of any relationship with the Creator. This feeds the newcomer confusion at a time when he should be hearing about the real A.A. solution from the beginning—the power of God. He doesn’t hear the origins. He doesn’t hear the real history. He doesn’t hear about the early A.A. Christian Fellowship. And he is confronted with the unreliable “wisdom of the rooms,” revisionist ideas, and concern over what may be his own deeply held Christian convictions.
Program Eleven: “The Solution”
Dick B. concludes this first and very introductory series of programs by pointing to the much-needed return to information in the recovery world. Information that stresses the role that God, His Son Jesus Christ, and the Bible played and can play in recovery. Information that tells the specific origins, principles, and practices of the early A.A. Christian Fellowship in Akron. And information which shows how this information can and should be applied in recovery today—with a firm position, for those who want to hear it, that it was the power of God that early AAs sought to find, and the power of God which they declared had healed them in such high and unprecedented numbers.
Note: There will quite a large number of segments—series presentations, if you will—where Dick B. will take the viewer and listener through the comprehensive, truthful, accurate history of both A.A. and the Christian Recovery Movement. He will show the dramatic compromises and changes in the program that occurred in 1939. He will discuss the various people who helped shape both the early Christian program and who helped Bill W. shape the new program of 1939. He will point to the resources available to those who want to grow in understanding and faith.
He will suggest how others can further the mission of understanding and historical truth that he has undertaken—and, for the last twenty-one years, with the immeasurable help of his older son, Ken. He will explain how the Twelve Steps can better be understood and applied by those who know their actual origins and original intended meaning. He will urge the formation of study groups and explain how they can be formed. He will urge the continuation of the rapidly growing participation in the mission of the International Christian Recovery Coalition and of the projects it has accomplished and is planning to undertake.
dickb@dickb.com; www.dickb.com; www.ChristianRecoveryCoalition.com; www.mauihistorian.blogspont.com; www.drbobinfo; http://freedomranchmaui.org.
Gloria Deo
Monday, June 6, 2011
7th Dick B. YouTube Program - The Salvation Army
One of the major factors in the Christian origins of early A.A. was the Salvation Army. Its simple technique of sending a recovered and saved derelict into the slums of London was the start of passing it on. Next the saved member would offer salvation and the Bible to the derelict on the streets in the slums. When the new person became saved, he was asked to join "God's Army." And this simple pattern of one recovered drunk reaching out to another, converting the newcomer to God through Jesus Christ, and then calling for the new man to join the Salvation Army and help another to the same recovery and salvation by the same means.
The Dick B. 7th YouTube Program on A.A. History and the Christian Recovery Movement gives the viewer a brief summary of the important A.A.-Salvation Army link to the techniques of the early A.A. Christian Fellowship founded in Akron in June, 1935 by Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith.
Here's the Program data:
The Dick B. Channel on YouTube.com:
Title of Video: Dick B. 07 AA History & Christian Recovery: The Salvation Army
URL address: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3efpKJFFqIU&feature=channel_video_title
The Dick B. 7th YouTube Program on A.A. History and the Christian Recovery Movement gives the viewer a brief summary of the important A.A.-Salvation Army link to the techniques of the early A.A. Christian Fellowship founded in Akron in June, 1935 by Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith.
Here's the Program data:
The Dick B. Channel on YouTube.com:
Title of Video: Dick B. 07 AA History & Christian Recovery: The Salvation Army
URL address: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3efpKJFFqIU&feature=channel_video_title
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
The Dick B. Christian Recovery Guide, 3rd ed - Comprehensive Details
The Dick B. Christian Recovery Guide
Historical Perspectives and Effective Modern Applications
Third Edition (March 2010)
Based upon
Dick B.’s lifetime of Bible study, legal scholarship and training, 24 years of continuous sobriety, work with more than 100 sponsees, 20 years of historical research, and 39 published titles.
By Dick B. and Ken B.
© 2009, 2010 Anonymous. All rights reserved
"Glorifying God by making known the roles played by God, His Son Jesus Christ, and the Bible in the astonishing success rates early A.A. claimed (75% overall and 93% documented in Cleveland) among "seemingly-hopeless," "medically-incurable," "last-gasp-case" alcoholics who really tried to follow the original recovery program developed by A.A. cofounders Bill W. and Dr. Bob in Akron, Ohio, beginning in the summer of 1935."
"Glorifying God by helping Christian leaders and workers in the recovery arena substantially enhance their effectiveness in reaching those who still suffer by including accurate information about the original Akron A.A. 'Christian fellowship' program, its principles and techniques, and its historical setting into their recovery efforts."
Prepared for
the International Christian Recovery Coalition
July 2009
(revised in August 2009 and March 2010)
The Dick B. Christian Recovery Guide was a major focus of:
l Our pre- and post-Conference meetings with Christian leaders and workers as individuals and small groups in Southern California during the week of July 13-19, 2009;
l Our video taping work with Bob Noonan in a professional television studio on July 16, 2009;
l “A New Way Out Leadership Conference with Dick B.!” on Saturday, July 18, 2009;
l Individual proposals, and common approaches and projects, of the International Christian Recovery Coalition; and
l International outreach efforts designed to bring a new, accurate, historical element (with modern applications) to churches, clergy, and recovery pastors; Christian recovery programs and Christian track programs; Christian support groups; Christian recovery efforts in correctional facilities, hospitals, homeless programs, and detoxes; 12 Step and recovery fellowships; VA and military facilities, and other government programs; Christian counselors, therapists, psychologists, psychiatrists, and physicians; sober clubs and sober houses; and archivists, historians, and speakers.
(The 3rd edition of The Dick B. Christian Recovery Guide was substantially revised and expanded in conjunction with the production of the “Introductory Foundations for Christian Recovery” class by Dick B. and Ken B. on four DVD's in March 2010.)
The Dick B. Christian Recovery Guide is intended as a supplementary resource. It does not aim to change the fundamental nature of any existing Christian recovery or approach. Rather, it presents an attractive, appealing, helpful, and effective segment—primarily historical and introductory in nature—that all can use: (1) to bring to their respective audiences accurate historical information about the roles played by God, His Son Jesus Christ, and the Bible in the astonishing, documented successes of early A.A.; and (2) to enhance substantially the effectiveness of their Christian recovery efforts by employing the successful, relevant techniques and lessons from the original Akron A.A. “Christian fellowship” program in helping those who still suffer with alcoholism, substance abuse, and other self-destructive behavior and life-controlling problems.
Suggested Additions to Christian Recovery Programs Proposed in This Guide
First, a concise, accurate, historical element containing discussions of:
l Christian treatments that were effective in dealing with alcoholism prior to A.A.'s founding;
l The Christian training of A.A.’s founders as youngsters in Vermont;
l The Christian beginnings of A.A. in Akron and New York, including discussions of how the first three AAs got sober;
l The founding of early A.A., its actual practices, and the "original" Akron “Christian fellowship” program;
l The astonishing 75% overall success rate early A.A. claimed and Cleveland's documented 93% success rate;
l Alterations of the original Akron program that made their way into the first edition of Alcoholics Anonymous ("the Big Book") published in April 1939;
l Ways to enable a newcomer to utilize the early Christian A.A. precepts in the present-day 12 Step programs; and
l Means by which Coalition leaders and workers in the recovery arena can adapt and apply this (new) information to their own approaches and still underline the importance of God, His Son Jesus Christ, and the Bible in Christian recovery efforts today.
Second, a "package" of proposed approaches tailored to the needs, ideas, and programs of Christian leaders and workers in the recovery arena, as well as Christians in recovery.
Third, a discussion of present-day approaches that downplay reliance on the power and love of the one true God in favor of (over) emphasizing the 12 Steps and 12 Traditions alone, “higher power” language, pseudo “spirituality,” self-made religion, and actual unbelief; and often criticizing church, religion, reliance on God, and even the mention of Jesus Christ or the Bible by those in today's recovery fellowships.
Table of Contents
Introduction (by Dick B.)
Miraculous Healings Are Recorded in the Bible and Are Still Occurring Today
Effective Christian Work with Alcoholics Before A.A.
The Background Factors from Dr. Bob’s Youth in St. Johnsbury (1879-1898)
The Background Factors from Bill Wilson’s Youth (1895 to 1913) and Later
The Akron Genesis of Alcoholics Anonymous
The New York Origins
The Crucible at the Smith Home in Akron During the Summer of 1935
The Highly-Successful, Original Akron A.A. Program, as Summarized by Frank Amos and Quoted in DR. BOB and the Good Oldtimers
14 Specific Practices Associated with the Original Akron A.A. “Christian Fellowship” Program Bill W. and Dr. Bob Developed
The Verification of Early A.A.'s Astonishing Success Rates
Documenting the Successes of the First 40 Pioneers
Helping the Newcomer with a Full Kit of Spiritual Tools
Some Suggested Tools with Which to Arm the Nestling about to Be Flung out of the Nest
Helping a Christian to Begin Recovery Today
"A New Way Out"
An Emerging Picture of Proposals and Potential Service from the California Meetings with Dick B. and Ken B., July 12-21, 2009
Address by Dick B. at the Association of Christian Alcohol and Drug Counselors (ACADC) Conference in Palm Springs, August 29, 2009
Conclusion
An Important, New Way to Expand Your Christian Recovery Outreach
The Dick B. Christian Recovery Guide also introduces the International Christian Recovery Coalition (www.ChristianRecoveryCoalition.com) as a means, through common effort, of expanding your Christian efforts in the recovery arena. We suggest, for example, that you and/or your organization enhance your outreach and your service by participating in such proposed Coalition projects as sponsoring:
l The completion of the "Dr. Bob Core Library" in St. Johnsbury, Vermont;
l The production of Quiet Time and study group guides;
l The work of distributing Dick B.'s books and Coalition literature free of charge internationally;
l The establishment of an International Christian Recovery Coalition resource center—perhaps even a "Samuel M. Shoemaker, Jr., Memorial Center";
l The placement of the "Dick B. Historical Treasures" in a location open to the public which will enable interested parties to verify for themselves the substantial evidence of the roles of God, Jesus Christ His Son, and the Bible in the early A.A.'s astonishing successes; and
l The utilization of TV, radio, DVD’s, the Internet, panels, seminars, conferences, and interviews to carry the message of "A New Way Out" both nationally and internationally.
Just as we have been blessed to have the specific sponsorship of Overcomers Outreach, Inc., in the publication of A New Way Out Guidebook by Dick B. and Ken B., and the sponsorship of Celebrate a New Life at Hope by the Sea in our present Conference and promotional flyer, we sincerely believe your participation in these Coalition efforts will advance both the objectives and the worldwide service potential of the International Christian Recovery Coalition leaders, sponsors, and other participants.
The Dick B. Christian Recovery Guide, 3rd ed., by Dick B. and Ken B., (150+ pages in spiral bound, 8 ½” x 11” format) is available for purchase for US$ 35.50 for shipment to the 50 states of the United States ($30.00 plus $5.50 for USPS Priority Mail shipping). The Guide is available for US$ 41.00 for shipment to Canada and Mexico, and for US$ 43.00 for shipment to countries other than the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. (Shipment to countries outside the U.S. is via USPS International Priority Mail.)
To purchase the new, third edition of The Dick B. Christian Recovery Guide (2010) by Dick B. and Ken B., please Click Here to go the center column of the front page of the http://www.dickb.com/index.html#Resource3 web site.
For further information, please contact Dick B. by email at DickB@DickB.com or by telephone at 1-808-874-4876 (keeping in mind the time difference between the mainland and Hawaii).
Gloria Deo
Historical Perspectives and Effective Modern Applications
Third Edition (March 2010)
Based upon
Dick B.’s lifetime of Bible study, legal scholarship and training, 24 years of continuous sobriety, work with more than 100 sponsees, 20 years of historical research, and 39 published titles.
By Dick B. and Ken B.
© 2009, 2010 Anonymous. All rights reserved
"Glorifying God by making known the roles played by God, His Son Jesus Christ, and the Bible in the astonishing success rates early A.A. claimed (75% overall and 93% documented in Cleveland) among "seemingly-hopeless," "medically-incurable," "last-gasp-case" alcoholics who really tried to follow the original recovery program developed by A.A. cofounders Bill W. and Dr. Bob in Akron, Ohio, beginning in the summer of 1935."
"Glorifying God by helping Christian leaders and workers in the recovery arena substantially enhance their effectiveness in reaching those who still suffer by including accurate information about the original Akron A.A. 'Christian fellowship' program, its principles and techniques, and its historical setting into their recovery efforts."
Prepared for
the International Christian Recovery Coalition
July 2009
(revised in August 2009 and March 2010)
The Dick B. Christian Recovery Guide was a major focus of:
l Our pre- and post-Conference meetings with Christian leaders and workers as individuals and small groups in Southern California during the week of July 13-19, 2009;
l Our video taping work with Bob Noonan in a professional television studio on July 16, 2009;
l “A New Way Out Leadership Conference with Dick B.!” on Saturday, July 18, 2009;
l Individual proposals, and common approaches and projects, of the International Christian Recovery Coalition; and
l International outreach efforts designed to bring a new, accurate, historical element (with modern applications) to churches, clergy, and recovery pastors; Christian recovery programs and Christian track programs; Christian support groups; Christian recovery efforts in correctional facilities, hospitals, homeless programs, and detoxes; 12 Step and recovery fellowships; VA and military facilities, and other government programs; Christian counselors, therapists, psychologists, psychiatrists, and physicians; sober clubs and sober houses; and archivists, historians, and speakers.
(The 3rd edition of The Dick B. Christian Recovery Guide was substantially revised and expanded in conjunction with the production of the “Introductory Foundations for Christian Recovery” class by Dick B. and Ken B. on four DVD's in March 2010.)
The Dick B. Christian Recovery Guide is intended as a supplementary resource. It does not aim to change the fundamental nature of any existing Christian recovery or approach. Rather, it presents an attractive, appealing, helpful, and effective segment—primarily historical and introductory in nature—that all can use: (1) to bring to their respective audiences accurate historical information about the roles played by God, His Son Jesus Christ, and the Bible in the astonishing, documented successes of early A.A.; and (2) to enhance substantially the effectiveness of their Christian recovery efforts by employing the successful, relevant techniques and lessons from the original Akron A.A. “Christian fellowship” program in helping those who still suffer with alcoholism, substance abuse, and other self-destructive behavior and life-controlling problems.
Suggested Additions to Christian Recovery Programs Proposed in This Guide
First, a concise, accurate, historical element containing discussions of:
l Christian treatments that were effective in dealing with alcoholism prior to A.A.'s founding;
l The Christian training of A.A.’s founders as youngsters in Vermont;
l The Christian beginnings of A.A. in Akron and New York, including discussions of how the first three AAs got sober;
l The founding of early A.A., its actual practices, and the "original" Akron “Christian fellowship” program;
l The astonishing 75% overall success rate early A.A. claimed and Cleveland's documented 93% success rate;
l Alterations of the original Akron program that made their way into the first edition of Alcoholics Anonymous ("the Big Book") published in April 1939;
l Ways to enable a newcomer to utilize the early Christian A.A. precepts in the present-day 12 Step programs; and
l Means by which Coalition leaders and workers in the recovery arena can adapt and apply this (new) information to their own approaches and still underline the importance of God, His Son Jesus Christ, and the Bible in Christian recovery efforts today.
Second, a "package" of proposed approaches tailored to the needs, ideas, and programs of Christian leaders and workers in the recovery arena, as well as Christians in recovery.
Third, a discussion of present-day approaches that downplay reliance on the power and love of the one true God in favor of (over) emphasizing the 12 Steps and 12 Traditions alone, “higher power” language, pseudo “spirituality,” self-made religion, and actual unbelief; and often criticizing church, religion, reliance on God, and even the mention of Jesus Christ or the Bible by those in today's recovery fellowships.
Table of Contents
Introduction (by Dick B.)
Miraculous Healings Are Recorded in the Bible and Are Still Occurring Today
Effective Christian Work with Alcoholics Before A.A.
The Background Factors from Dr. Bob’s Youth in St. Johnsbury (1879-1898)
The Background Factors from Bill Wilson’s Youth (1895 to 1913) and Later
The Akron Genesis of Alcoholics Anonymous
The New York Origins
The Crucible at the Smith Home in Akron During the Summer of 1935
The Highly-Successful, Original Akron A.A. Program, as Summarized by Frank Amos and Quoted in DR. BOB and the Good Oldtimers
14 Specific Practices Associated with the Original Akron A.A. “Christian Fellowship” Program Bill W. and Dr. Bob Developed
The Verification of Early A.A.'s Astonishing Success Rates
Documenting the Successes of the First 40 Pioneers
Helping the Newcomer with a Full Kit of Spiritual Tools
Some Suggested Tools with Which to Arm the Nestling about to Be Flung out of the Nest
Helping a Christian to Begin Recovery Today
"A New Way Out"
An Emerging Picture of Proposals and Potential Service from the California Meetings with Dick B. and Ken B., July 12-21, 2009
Address by Dick B. at the Association of Christian Alcohol and Drug Counselors (ACADC) Conference in Palm Springs, August 29, 2009
Conclusion
An Important, New Way to Expand Your Christian Recovery Outreach
The Dick B. Christian Recovery Guide also introduces the International Christian Recovery Coalition (www.ChristianRecoveryCoalition.com) as a means, through common effort, of expanding your Christian efforts in the recovery arena. We suggest, for example, that you and/or your organization enhance your outreach and your service by participating in such proposed Coalition projects as sponsoring:
l The completion of the "Dr. Bob Core Library" in St. Johnsbury, Vermont;
l The production of Quiet Time and study group guides;
l The work of distributing Dick B.'s books and Coalition literature free of charge internationally;
l The establishment of an International Christian Recovery Coalition resource center—perhaps even a "Samuel M. Shoemaker, Jr., Memorial Center";
l The placement of the "Dick B. Historical Treasures" in a location open to the public which will enable interested parties to verify for themselves the substantial evidence of the roles of God, Jesus Christ His Son, and the Bible in the early A.A.'s astonishing successes; and
l The utilization of TV, radio, DVD’s, the Internet, panels, seminars, conferences, and interviews to carry the message of "A New Way Out" both nationally and internationally.
Just as we have been blessed to have the specific sponsorship of Overcomers Outreach, Inc., in the publication of A New Way Out Guidebook by Dick B. and Ken B., and the sponsorship of Celebrate a New Life at Hope by the Sea in our present Conference and promotional flyer, we sincerely believe your participation in these Coalition efforts will advance both the objectives and the worldwide service potential of the International Christian Recovery Coalition leaders, sponsors, and other participants.
The Dick B. Christian Recovery Guide, 3rd ed., by Dick B. and Ken B., (150+ pages in spiral bound, 8 ½” x 11” format) is available for purchase for US$ 35.50 for shipment to the 50 states of the United States ($30.00 plus $5.50 for USPS Priority Mail shipping). The Guide is available for US$ 41.00 for shipment to Canada and Mexico, and for US$ 43.00 for shipment to countries other than the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. (Shipment to countries outside the U.S. is via USPS International Priority Mail.)
To purchase the new, third edition of The Dick B. Christian Recovery Guide (2010) by Dick B. and Ken B., please Click Here to go the center column of the front page of the http://www.dickb.com/index.html#Resource3 web site.
For further information, please contact Dick B. by email at DickB@DickB.com or by telephone at 1-808-874-4876 (keeping in mind the time difference between the mainland and Hawaii).
Gloria Deo
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)