Early A.A.'s 14 Successful Practices in Akron

The 14 Practices the Early Akron AAs Used to Achieve Astonishing Successes

Qualifying every newcomer: Must want permanent sobriety; will go to any length to get well.

Hospitalization a must: five-to-seven days; medications; Bible in the room; visits by Dr. Bob and other sober AAs; confirming the patient’s belief in God and acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

Discharge from the hospital; given a Bible; told to go out and help others/

Housing by old-timers in their homes: Food, shelter, Christian fellowship, teaching, counsel, love, and service.

Anne S.’s morning Quiet Time: Prayer, Bible, discussion, sharing from Anne’s personal journal.

Daily use of Christian devotionals: e.g., The Runner’s Bible, The Upper Room, Victorious Living.

Reading Christian literature circulated by Dr. Bob, Anne, and at meetings: e.g., The Greatest Thing in the World; The Soul’s Sincere Desire; The Christ of the Mount; Love: The Law of Life.

Learning from Anne Smith’s personal journal. (See Dick B., Anne Smith’s Journal 1933-1939.)

Regular weekly “clandestine” Oxford Group meeting: Prayer, Bible, guidance, discussion,
“real surrenders,” arranging hospital visits, the Lord’s Prayer, and socializing.

Intense study of the Bible, especially the Book of James, Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, and 1 Corinthians 13, with daily fellowship meetings in the Akron homes.

The required “real surrender” with elders: (1) Confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior; (2) Ask, in Jesus’ name that alcohol be taken out of his life; and (3) Ask for removal of sinful conduct and for guidance in living according to Christian principles.

Visits with newcomers in the hospital by the pioneers, and daily by Dr. Bob.

Regular social and religious comradeship--much like daily Christians’ fellowship in Book of Acts.

Regular visits and phone calls with other believers and families in homes--using address books with street addresses and phone numbers, keeping rosters, sometimes listing drinking duration, relapses

These are covered in more detail in the forthcoming revised edition of the Dick B. Christian Recovery Guide, 3rd ed., 2010.