Christian Recovery Summit 1, Sep 17, Costa Mesa CA, Complete Program

The International Christian Recovery Coalition

www.ChristianRecoveryCoalition.com

Presents

The North American Summit Conference Meeting #1

Saturday, September 17, 2011, 9:00 AM to 1:45 PM

The Crossing Church

2115 Newport Blvd., Costa Mesa, CA 92627

(949) 645-5050

http://www.thecrossing.com/

Theme

Using Akron-Cleveland Christian Recovery Model Principles

to Enhance Substantially Today's Christian Recovery Efforts

Contact:          Dick B., Executive Director

                        International Christian Recovery Coalition

                        PO Box 837, Kihei, HI 96753-0837

                        www.ChristianRecoveryCoalition.com

                        Email: DickB@DickB.com

                        Cell: 808 276 4945

The Program

The Crossing Church, Costa Mesa, California

[Friday Evening, September 16, 7:00 p.m. to 9:15 p.m.

(** We hope you can make these “pre-Conference” meetings, too)

            Address by Dick B. at the Lifelines Meeting of The Crossing Church, Costa Mesa, CA

            Workshop meeting with International Christian Recovery Coalition Participants]

Saturday, September 17, 9:00 a.m. to 1:45 p.m.

Pre-meeting music, signing in, viewing exhibits, and hospitality

Commencing prayer

Welcome by Host Church

Theme presentation by Dick B., Executive Director, International Christian Recovery Coalition

           

“Christian Recovery Resource Centers and Persons” Worldwide—on the Move!

           

            Learning about the astonishing success of the original Akron A.A. “Christian            fellowship” program and how to apply its principles and practices today; and

            how the early Cleveland program built upon the original Akron program and

            set the stage for Christian recovery opportunities today

Break and Music (10 minutes)

Vision presentation by Ken B.

           

“Christian Recovery Resource Centers and Persons”: Supplying Critically-Important, Missing Pieces in Modern Christian Recovery Efforts

Lunch Break on the Premises (30 minutes)

First Speakers Panel:

John Barton, Historian, Writer, Orange, New Jersey

Randy Moraitis, Executive Pastor of Ministry, The Crossing Church, Costa Mesa, California

Russell Spatz, attorney, Alive Again, Miami, Florida

Bobby Nicholl, Director of Admissions and Interventions, Celebrate a New Life at Hope by the Sea,

            San Juan Capistrano, California

Jerry McDonald, Interventionist, Certified Counselor, long associated with the Betty Ford Center,

            Rancho Mirage, California

Danny Whitmore, A.A. Historian, former leader of the Roots Revival Group and of Clarence Snyder

            Retreats in Southern California

Break (10 minutes)

Second Speakers Panel:

Roger McDiarmid, International Christian Recovery Coalition Speakers' Bureau, Huntington Beach,

California.

Robert Tucker, Ph.D., Exec. Dir., New Life Spirit Recovery, Huntington Beach, California;

            President, Association of Christian Alcohol & Drug Counselors

Dale Marsh, Recovery Pastor, Oroville Church of the Nazarene, Oroville, California

Wally Lowe, Christian Recovery Resource Center Satellite Office, Vero Beach, Florida

Jeff McLeod, Executive Director, Overcomers Outreach, Inc., Whittier, California

Concluding: International Christian Recovery Coalition Future Plans: Dick B. and Ken B.                     

Closing Prayer

Our Sponsors and Endorsers

Christian Denominational Recovery Programs

United Methodist Special Program on Substance Abuse and Related Violence

Rev. Cynthia W. Sloan

Program Associate,

United Methodist Special Program on

Substance Abuse and Related Violence (SPSARV)

New York Office location: 475 Riverside Drive, room 338

New York, NY 10115

phone: 212-870-3699, fax: 212-870-3932

North Carolina Office location:

325 Meadowbrook Drive

Matthews NC 28104-4309

phone: 704-882-0282

email: csloan@gbgm-umc.org

website: http://www.umspsarv.org

Become a “Fan” on SPSARV’s Facebook page

SPSARV Advance Number: 982598

Episcopal Diocese of Texas Recovery Committee

Fr. Bill Wigmore, Chaplain & Former President
Austin Recovery
8402 Cross Park Drive
Austin, TX. 78754
Tel: 512.697.8674
Email: RevBillW@gmail.com

website: www.AustinRecovery.org

Individual Benefactors

Bob J., Kihei, Maui, Hawaii

Philanthropist and long-time Christian recovery and A.A. history collector and benefactor

Rick S.

            Long recovered Christian recovery work supporter

Preparing to publish his Alcoholics Anonymous, 1^st Edition Sponsor’s Guide     publications, website, and recorded talks

Jeff Jay and Debra Jay, Grosse Point, Michigan

Nationally known authors, lecturers,

interventionists, authors of Love First: A Family’s Guide To Intervention—Updated

Tools and Techniques to Help Loved Ones Heal from Addiction, 2d ed., rev & exp.

(Center City, MN: Hazelden, 2008)

Robert P. Turner, M.D., M.S.C.R.

Associate Professor of Neurosciences, Pediatrics, and Biostatistics, Bioinformatics, & Epidemiology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina

Christian Churches

The Crossing Church, Costa Mesa, California, Host, September 17, 2011, Conference

Golden Hills Community Church, Brentwood, California, Host, September 24, 2011, Conference

Endorsing Christian Recovery Libraries and Archives

Griffith Library, The Wilson House – birthplace of Bill Wilson, East Dorset, Vermont

           

Bonnie Burke (formerly, Bonnie Lepper), President

23,000 historical items donated by Dick B., A.A. meetings, Quiet Time, seminars

            Conducted Tours at East Dorset, Vermont (Wilson House, Griffith Library, East Dorset

Congregational Church—where both the Wilson and the Griffith families and

Bill W. attended—and nearby cemetery where Bill and Lois Wilson are buried)

            Conducted Tours to St. Johnsbury, Vermont (Dr.  Bob’s birthplace and boyhood home,

                        North Congregational Church—where all of Dr. Bob’s family attended,

                        The Athenaeum—the village library containing many historical records,

                        St. Johnsbury Academy—where Dr. Bob attended, his father was an Examiner,

                        and his mother had been student, teacher, school historian & Exec. Comm. member)

Dr.  Bob Core Library—North Congregational Church (UCC), St. Johnsbury, Vermont.

            Jay Sprout, Pastor

            The entire family of Dr. Bob attended this church and was active in its affairs.

North Congregational Church sponsors this Conference in the context of housing the “Dr. Bob Core Library.”

Ray G., Newton Falls, Ohio, and Seminole, Florida

Traveling archives; and, for 21 years, the Archivist and a Managing Board Member, Dr.

Bob’s Home, Akron, Ohio; A.A. speaker and exhibitor of A.A. historical Items all over the United States and Canada, and on sobriety cruises

The St. Paul’s Episcopal Church Library, Akron, Ohio

            Mark Pruitt, Rector

This is the church in which Dr. Bob became a communicant before his death.

Its former rector, Dr. Walter Tunks, was a major figure in the beginning Akron days of A.A.

            The library is a source of A.A. historical materials.

Christian Intervention, Treatment, Recovery Ministries, Counseling, Sober Living

New Life Spirit Recovery

            Robert T. Tucker, Ph.D., D.Min., Registered Addiction Specialist, MCA & M-RAS)

Founder and Executive Director, New Life Spirit Recovery Christian Treatment Center;   President, Association of Christian Alcohol & Drug Counseling (aka: ACADC Institute)

            18652 Florida Street, Suite 200

Huntington Beach, CA 92648

 (714) 841.1906 or Call Toll Free (866) 543.3361

            http://www.newlifespiritrecovery.com/OC_Recovery.html

Rock Recovery Ministry, ABC Sober Living, Soledad House

            David Powers, Rock Church recovery leader

            810 Emerald Street

            San Diego, CA 92109

            Contact: david@abcsoberliving.com

619.925.1879

http://www.rockrecovery.org/

Association of Christian Alcohol and Drug Counselors Institute, Redlands, California

            Pastor Mike Belzman, Ph.D., Chairman and Founder

Jeff Jay and Debra Jay, Grosse Point, Michigan

Nationally known authors, lecturers,

interventionists, authors of Love First: A Family’s Guide To Intervention—Updated

Tools and Techniques to Help Loved Ones Heal from Addiction, 2d ed., rev & exp.

(Center City, MN: Hazelden, 2008)

Publishers

Hazelden Publishing and Educational Services, division of Hazelden Foundation

            Center City, Minnesota, www.Hazelden.org; publisher of recovery books, including:

The Book That Started It All: The Original Working Manuscript of Alcoholics Anonymous

            Bill W.: My First 40 Years

            Silkworth: The Little Doctor Who Loved Drunks

Dover Publications—publisher of Alcoholics Anonymous: The Original 1939 Edition,

with an Introduction by Dick B.: http://store.doverpublications.com/0486480593.html

Our Exhibitors and Displays

United Methodist Special Program on Substance Abuse and Related Violence (SPSARV)

            http://www.umspspserv.org

New Light Spirit Recovery, Huntington Beach, California

            http://www.newlifespiritrecovery.com/OC_Recovery.html

Association of Christian Alcohol and Drug Counselors Institute, Redlands, California

Hazelden Publishing and Educational Services, division of Hazelden Foundation

            www.Hazelden.org

Our Panelists

First Panel:

John Barton, Historian, Writer, Orange, New Jersey

Randy Moraitis, Executive Pastor of Ministry, The Crossing Church, Costa Mesa, California

Russell Spatz, Attorney, Frequent Speaker, Alive Again, Lost Sheep Fellowship, Miami, Florida

Bobby Nicholl, Director of Admissions and Interventions, Celebrate a New Life at Hope by the Sea, San Juan Capistrano, California

Jerry McDonald, Interventionist, Certified Counselor, Long Associated with the Betty Ford Center, Rancho Mirage, California

Second Panel:

Roger McDiarmid, International Christian Recovery Coalition Speakers Bureau, Huntington Beach, California

Robert Tucker, Ph.D., Executive Director, New Life Spirit Recovery, Huntington Beach, California; President of Association of Christian Alcohol and Drug Counselors Institute.

Dale Marsh, Recovery Pastor, Oroville Church of the Nazarene, International Christian Recovery Speakers Bureau, Oroville, California

Wally Lowe, Christian Recovery Resource Center Satellite Office, Vero Beach, Florida

Jeff MacLeod, Executive Director, Overcomers Outreach, Inc., Whittier, California

Acknowledgements

Our Conferences Could Not Have Taken Place Without The Following Leadership and Help

Randy Moraitis, Executive Pastor of Ministries, The Crossing Church, Costa Mesa, CA

Matt Pierce, Pastor of Recovery Ministry, Golden Hills Community Church, Brentwood, CA

David Powers, Rock Recovery Ministries Leader, Rock Church, San Diego, CA

The Lifelines Band, Costa Mesa

The Musicians at Golden Hills Community Church

Roger McDiarmid, Huntington Beach, California

Our Sponsors

Our Endorsers

Our Exhibitors

For Further Participation in and Support of the Projects of International Christian Recovery Coalition

The Dick B. and Ken B. The Dick B. Christian Recovery Guide, 3^rd ed., 2010

            http://christianrecoverycoalition.com/christian-recovery-guide.shtml

           

The “Introductory Foundations for Christian Recovery Class’

http://dickb.com/IFCR-Class.shtml

            4 DVD presentations by Dick B. and Ken B.

            Instructor’s Guide

            Student’s Guide

Christian Recovery Coalition Centers and Persons Worldwide

http://christianrecoverycoalition.com/christian-recovery-resource-centers.shtml

Dick B. with Ken B., The Dick B. Handbook for Christian Recovery Resource Centers

The 29 Volume Dick B. A.A. History and Christian Recovery Movement History

           

            http://www.dickb.com/titles.shtml

           

The International Christian Recovery Coalition Website

www.ChristianRecoveryCoalition..com

The International Christian Recovery Coalition Blog

            http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=6025837827646017677

International Christian Recovery Forums Website

            http://www.christianrecoverycoalition.com/forums/

Other Christian Recovery Resources

FREE: Over 500 articles by Dick B.:www.DickB.com/Articles.shtml.

FREE: Over 175 recorded audio talks by Dick B.: DickB.com/Audio-talks.shtml.

FREE: Follow Dick B. on Facebook, on Twitter, and on the Dick B. Blog.

            FREE: The Dick B. Newsletters. If you would like to subscribe, you can find the

details at the bottom of the center column in this website: www.dickb.com

        FREE: Programs on the DickBChannel on YouTube,  http://goo.gl/rCtH6

A.A. and Religion Today

A.A. and Religion Today

Dick B.

© 2011. Anonymous. All rights reserved

A.A. is a religion. But that’s not the point to be made.

I think it fair to say that those who claim A.A. is not  a religion are probably those who do not want A.A. to be a religion. Also those who don’t realize that it doesn’t matter a whit whether A.A. is or isn’t a religion. Days, months, and many recent years have been fruitlessly devoted to arguing that A.A. is not a religion.

What A.A. literature says: Take a look first at the Third Edition of A.A.’s basic text and personal stories, which contain these statements:

            “They had told of a simple religious idea and a practical program of action” (3^rd ed., p. 9)

            “It began to look as though religious people were right after all” (3^rd ed., p. 11)

“Of necessity there will have to be discussion of matters medical, psychiatric, social, and religious” (3^rd  ed., p. 19)

“Not all of us join religious bodies, but most of us favor such memberships” (3^rd ed., p. 28)

“Is it possible that all the religious people I have known are wrong?” (3^rd ed., p. 56)

“If we belong to a religious denomination which requires a definite morning devotion, we attend to that also” (3^rd ed., p. 87)

“If not members of religious bodies, we sometimes select and memorize a few set prayers which emphasize the principles we have been discussing (3^rd ed., p. 87)

“Be quick to see where religious people are right” (3^rd ed., p. 87)

“The big A.A. book had not been written and there was no literature except various religious pamphlets” (3^rd ed., p. 291)

“Dr. Bob always emphasized the religious angle very strongly, and I think it helped” (3^rd ed., p. 292).

“Our more religious members call it ‘God-consciousness’.” (3^rd ed., p. 570)

These quotes are thoroughly discussed and documented in Dr. Bob and His Library, 3^rd ed.; Anne Smith’s Journal, 3^rd ed.; The Akron Genesis of Alcoholics Anonymous, 2d ed.; The Good Book and The Big Book: A.A.’s Roots in the Bible; 2d ed,; The James Club and The Original A.A. Program’s Absolute Essentials; Real Twelve Step Fellowship History, God and Alcoholism, and The Conversion of Bill W.  

There you will find hundreds of documented statements about early A.A. and the Bible, its old fashioned prayer meetings, required conversions to Jesus Christ, its Biblical references, and even the very name (“James Club”—from the Book of James in the Bible) that AAs favored as the name for their Society. See our new website which is growing in information about Dr. Bob’s religious training as a youngster in St. Johnsbury, Vermont. There, from his family, his church, his Sunday school, his Christian Endeavor participation, the YMCA influences, the revival and conversions, and the widely known contemporary work of the Salvation Army and Christian rescue missions, Dr. Bob furthered his Christian upbringing at St. Johnsbury with its daily chapel and required Bible study and church attendance.

Put these facts and quotes together, and it becomes apparent that the original A.A. program’s required conversion to Christ, its old fashioned prayer meetings, its emphasis on Bible study, its use of Christian literature and devotionals, and its witnessing outreach. All these factors justified the members in calling it a Christian Fellowship. That’s what Dr. Bob called it.

Not a sect. Not a denomination. Not a church. Not even a church building—Christian, yes; religion, yes; effective, yes. And still Christian today? No! But available to Christians and those of many and no beliefs? Yes.

Co-founder Dr. Bob’s own personal story set the frame and religious challenge:

“If you think you are an atheist, an agnostic, a skeptic, or have any other form of intellectual pride which keeps you from accepting what is in this book, I feel sorry for you. . . . Your Heavenly Father will never let you down!” (3^rd ed., p. 181)

Co-founder Bill Wilson explained in the following words his own cure by the power of God:

“Henrietta, the Lord has been so wonderful, curing me of this terrible disease, that I just want to keep talking about it and telling people” (3^rd ed., p. 191)

The point is not whether A.A. is a religion. It is. Nor is the point that A.A. is allied with some particular sect or denomination. It isn’t. The point is that its own Bible roots, its own religious practices, its own history of religious conversions, and the words of its own founders show that this “unique” religion was and is in fact a religion—whatever importance that fact may have in helping the still suffering alcoholic to be cured. In fact, early members called themselves a “Christian Fellowship.” Likened to the meetings described in the Book of Acts, the organization could hardly escape the religious label. And like the activities of the Apostles in the Book of Acts, the Society was originally, and widely, known and called “First Century Christianity.”

The “religion” findings and rulings in six court decisions: The United States Court of Appeals

for the Ninth Circuit has now joined four other courts in ruling that Alcoholics Anonymous is a

religion.and therefore that government compulsion of A.A. attendance violates the First

Amendment of the United States Constitution.

Recently, Stanton Peele, Ph.D., J.D., and Charles Bufe with Archie Brodsky published their title Resisting 12-Step Coercion: How to Fight Forced Participation in AA, NA, or 12-Step Treatment (Tucson, AZ: See Sharp Press, 2000). Summarizing the court decisions to that date, the authors wrote:

Griffin v. Coughlin (1996). New York’s highest court, the Court of Appeals, prohibited (in and 5-2 decision) the Corrections Department from making a prisoner’s participation in the Family Reunion Program conditional on his attendance in the prison’s Alcohol and Substance Abuse (ASAT) Program. The court ruled that such participation violated the Establishment Clause (pp. 110-11)

Kerr v. Farrey (1996). The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (Wisconsin, Illinois, and Indiana), reversing a district court decision, unanimously held “that the sate . . .impermissibly coerced inmates to participate in a religious program, thus violating the Establishment Clause.” An inmate was threatened with being sent to a higher security prison and with rejection of his parole applications for refusing to attend Narcotics Anonymous meetings (p. 114)

Warner v. Orange County Department of Probation (1999). The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed 2-1 a district court ruling that recommending an inmate plaintiffs participation in Alcoholics Anonymous as a condition of probation violated the Establishment Clause (p. 118)

Evans v. Tennessee Board of Paroles (1997). The Supreme Court of Tennessee, responding to petitions from two inmates, regarding their failed parole hearings, found unanimously that the trial court erred in dismissing one of the inmates—Anthony Evans’—claim for injunctive relief as to the Board’s requirement that he participate in Alcoholics Anonymous. The court remanded the case to the trial court to determine  whether AA was religious in nature, while citing case evidence that this was indeed the case (p. 124)

            The four decisions do not stand alone on this matter of A.A.’s religious character.

De Stefano v. Emergency Housing Corp (2002). The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit determined that A.A. is a religious activity and accordingly OASAS funding of providers who mandate patient participation in A.A. and, by extension, other government funding of providers who mandate participation in A.A. is a violation of the principle of separation of Church and State (This is a summary taken from Volume 8 of Visions, July, 2002, published by NAATP).

“Appeals court says requirement to attend AA unconstitutional” Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer [San Francisco Chronicle, September 8, 2007]

“Saturday, September 8, 2007

“Alcoholics Anonymous, the renowned 12-step program that directs problem drinkers to seek help from a higher power, says it's not a religion and is open to nonbelievers. But it has enough religious overtones that a parolee can't be ordered to attend its meetings as a condition of staying out of prison, a federal appeals court ruled Friday.

“In fact, said the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, the constitutional dividing line between church and state in such cases is so clear that a parole officer can be sued for damages for ordering a parolee to go through rehabilitation at Alcoholics Anonymous or an affiliated program for drug addicts.

“Rulings from across the nation since 1996 have established that ‘requiring a parolee to attend religion-based treatment programs violates the First Amendment,’ the court said. ’While we in no way denigrate the fine work of (Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous), attendance in their programs may not be coerced by the state’."

The authoritative status of these six decisions has yet to be decided by the United States Supreme Court as far as the First Amendment aspect is concerned. But the factual determinations are persuasive on the question of whether or not A.A. is a religion.

Tribunal after tribunal has taken a look at the Big Book and its 400 references to God; a look at the Twelve Steps and their unmistakable references to God and the Biblical phrase
“Father of light,” the prayers in A.A. meetings; and the language which puts the steps on a path to a relationship with God. And, though there has been sympathy for the A.A. cause by various courts in various jurisdictions, the majority see A.A. as a religion; and so do I. In fact, when I was practicing law, a distinguished California court ruled that a humanist organization was a religion. The dictionary places A.A. in the religion category by very definition. But newer A.A. literature keeps pumping out irrelevant and illogical statements that A.A. is “spiritual but not religious,” that you may need a “higher power” as part of the program, and that this “higher power” can be Something or Somebody. Even a rock. Or nothing at all.

A.A.’s basic text provides a conclusive answer to the reasoning mind: Compared to the ruling that a humanist organization is religious, even these obfuscations do not remove A.A. from the religion category. In fact, I have found no significant writing between 1935 and 1939 that alters the Big Book declarations. They explicitly speak of “that Power, which is God” (3^rd ed., p. 46), saying, (1) “Each individual, in the personal stories, describes in his own language and from his own point of view the way he established his relationship with God” (3^rd ed., p. 29), (2) “many hundreds of people are able to say that the consciousness of the Presence of God is today the most important fact of their lives” (3^rd ed., p. 51), (3) “Our real purpose is to fit ourselves to be of maximum service to God and the people about us” (3^rd ed., p. 77), and (4) “How can I best serve Thee—Thy will (not mine) be done” (3^rd ed., p. 85). The explicit call concerning the steps is: There is One who has all Power. That One is God. May you find Him now. At the conclusion of suggestions for “taking the Steps,” the Big Book asserts that although the alcoholic cannot relieve himself and probably no human power can. “God could and would if He were sought.”

 In fact, many an AA goes into a church and kneels to say his “Third Step Prayer.” Bill adds: “We never apologize to anyone for depending upon our Creator. We can laugh at those who think spirituality the way of weakness. . . The verdict of the ages is that faith means courage. All men of faith have courage. They trust their God. We never apologize for God’ (3^rd ed., p. 68).

And how much more time will be spent by good-hearted people denying the obvious. The real question is not what A.A. is or what it isn’t. The real point posed by Hebrews 11:6 and by Rev. Sam Shoemaker and by Bill Wilson in the Big Book is: that God either is, or He isn’t. Bill added, “We had to have God’s help” (p. 62). The alcoholic has a choice. According to A.A.’s basic text, he can choose to believe that God is, and rewards those who diligently seek Him; or he can go on to the disaster, destruction, and even death yielding to temptation and resuming self-destruction. 

A Probable Suffering Newcomer Viewpoint

My own experience: I didn’t come into A.A. looking for a religion. I already had one—the Christian religion. I didn’t come into A.A. thinking I was joining a church. I already belonged to one—a community church in Marin County, California. I didn’t come into A.A. to get born-again of the spirit of God. I had already accepted Jesus as my Lord and believed that God raised him from the dead (Romans 10:9). I didn’t come into A.A. to “find God.” God was not lost, but I sure thought I was. I came into A.A. because I was thoroughly licked—just as many do, whether suffering from alcohol or other drug addictions. I think that an understanding of alcoholism was the farthest thing from my mind or my mission. I had had a week’s blackout. I had undergone nine months of incredible depression and excessive drinking. I was inundated with all kinds of legal problems—professional, domestic, business, tax, and criminal. Confusion, fear, anxiety, bewilderment, and loneliness dominated my every thought.

I simply came into A.A. at the suggestion of my former wife and figured it was the last house on the block. The words “God,” “religious,” “higher power,” “spirituality,” and “church” were not part of the picture I saw and heard, whatever those words meant to courts or to other AAs.. I did see the word “God” in the Twelve Steps hanging on the wall and decided I was on the right track. I was surrounded at every meeting by people who greeted me, welcomed me, gave me their phone numbers, and offered help.

What were my objectives? To learn what an alcoholic is? No! To learn who God is? No. To join and follow some new religion? No. To achieve a new social status? No.

I simply had one objective at the beginning—to get out of the mess I had made, to feel better than I did, and to have my life restored to one of honor, good health, and some kind of prosperity. And, like many, I wanted it to happen at once—now! Quickly I got the point that alcohol and sleeping pills might possibly be at the heart of my troubles, and that quitting these was part of the game. My understanding of the miseries of alcoholism was hastened when I had three grand mal seizures in the first week, was taken to ICU in an ambulance, and wound up in a 28 day treatment program—but only after I had met and grabbed a sponsor who insisted that I was to attend an A.A. meeting every day. That’s something I did before I had the seizures. And that’s something I did for many years after I left the treatment center.

Turning to God later became a necessity. At first to whip the overwhelming fear, the depression, the anxiety, and the seemingly insuperable problems. But that reliance on my Creator grew from a weakling’s abstention from alcohol to a realization that I could and should turn to God for

answers to all my problems, for the peace that passes understanding, and a complete healing

of the urge to drink and rely on sedatives.

Yet, as I relied on Good more and more and found myself recovering more and more, I did so with my sponsor and his sponsor battling my religious inclinations at every opportunity. That was 25 years ago. I am fully enthusiastic about A.A. I am fully recovered, and I have been healed of alcoholism—this despite the fact that modern A.A. literature says you can’t be cured. And to make a long story short, I wasn’t cured by quitting drinking. I wasn’t cured by going to meetings. I wasn’t cured by studying the Big Book and taking the Twelve Steps. I wasn’t cured by finding some absurd “higher power,” or by attaining “spirituality,” or by relying on a light bulb or a tree or a group or “something” or “somebody.” Or Santa Claus. No. I was cured by Almighty God; and so were the early A.A. pioneers between 1935 and 1938. And they said so. Plainly!

The earliest message in pioneer A.A. and the optional message today: Early AAs had to be told about and renounce alcohol as their nemesis, their temptation, their poison. Most had to be hospitalized to avoid the seizures that I had naively walked into with no warning or detox. Most had to be introduced to God at the earliest possible moment. Dr. Bob’s most significant question at the close of brief early hospitalization was: “Do you believe in God?” And there was only one satisfactory answer. Next came the required confession by mouth and the belief in the heart that God had raised Jesus from the dead. That said the Scriptures is what I needed to do to become one of God’s kids, be saved and made whole, and start on the path to a righteous relationship with God and Jesus Christ.

When Ebby Thacher witnessed to Bill Wilson and said “I’ve got religion,” Bill noticed what had happened. Ebby declared to Bill that God had done for him what he hadn’t been able to do for himself. Just as his friend Ebby had done, Bill went to Calvary Rescue Mission, knelt at the altar, accepted Christ, wrote “I’ve got religion,” and also wrote “For sure I had been “born again.” At Towns Hospital, Bill reached out to Jesus Christ as the Great Physician, had a “white light” experience, and never drank again. But he couldn’t get anybody sober. At Akron, he met Bob who believed in God, was a Christian, was a Bible student, was a man of prayer, and who recognized the importance of Bill’s concept of “service.” Taking the Bible of his youthful activities in Christian Endeavor, Bob worked with Bill in the summer of 1935 and developed a simple program—abstinence, reliance on God, obedience to God’s will, growing in fellowship with God through Bible study, prayer, guidance, and helping others get straightened out. “Love and service”—the slogan of Christian Endeavor—was the essence of the program described by Bob.

Bob wrote: “Your Heavenly Father will never let you down.” And to those who believed it, their Heavenly Father healed them. Fifty years later, I grasped the same message. I quit drinking and sedatives forever! I turned to God. I used the Twelve Steps to turn me to a life of obedience to God’s will. I returned to Bible study, prayer, and asking God for guidance. And I plunged into A.A. That meant doing everything AAs did—meetings, sponsoring, Big Book study, taking the Twelve Steps, participating in every kind of A.A. activity, serving as a leader and helper in groups, and trying to apply the Steps in all my affairs. To the more than 100 men I have sponsored, I tried to carry that message.

Many who did these things—many only 21 years of age when I started sponsoring them—are enjoying the abundant life today that God provides to those who believe in Him, love Him and others, and serve. It worked in 1935. It works today. And the Bible is filled with the promises and instructions that establish exactly how it works. Moreover, it can work in A.A.

You don’t have to leave A.A. or consider it a religion or look at it as a church or get swallowed up in secularism and universalism to make our Creator the number one item in your life. Your Heavenly Father will never let you down!

END

Gloria Deo

Dickb@dickb.com

A Coalition Participant Asks about Christian history-recovery conferences abroad

Nathan Haley Will there ever b anything like this in Australia???

about an hour ago ·

Richard G Burns Thanks to the four persons who marked "like." And Nathan: I believe I am the only person who has organized several conferences (two in Mill Valley, CA--where I then lived); one in Arizona; one in Delaware; one in Irvine, CA; several recently in Northern and Southern California; several in Oahu; and now these two. It doesn't take a great deal of money because usually the locations are free the quarters are free, someone pays for the airfare and ground transportation, and some of the meals. The real burden is the labor of love that takes much preparation and must deal with "bleeding deacons" who just don't want to hear much about God, His Son, and the Bible these days--not in recovery, that is. But there are tens of thousands hungry for the information. We put on our first one when I was less than 4 years sober. As for Australia, it just would take someone to generate the funding The unique topic is: A.A. History; Christian recovery history, Christian leaders working in the recovery arena; and applying old-school A.A. principles and practices in 12 Step and other recovery approaches today.

2 minutes ago ·

Seeking information about Christians being able to defeat alcoholism and drug addiction

Richard G Burns

Curious about alcoholism and drug addiction? Wondering if recovery techniques are still available to Christians? Want to get some Christian recovery information from about 25 leaders, speakers, and panelists who are successfully helping the afflicted the "old school" Christian Fellowship way in early A.A.? Come to one or both of the free, open to public, Summit presentations in California during September--17th at Costa Mesa; 24th at Brentwood. You'll be glad you did!

· · 5 minutes ago near Kihei

• Aishrenelle Rein likes this.
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    Richard G Burns Locations, times, programs, content are and will continue to be posted on International Christian Recovery Coalition site www.ChristianRecoveryCoalition.com, and its blog and forums.

    

    International Christian Recovery Coalition

    www.ChristianRecoveryCoalition.com

    International Christian Recovery Coalition: An informal fellowship of Christian Leaders and Workers in the recovery arena

    4 minutes ago · ·
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