A.A. History: Where to Find it. How to Use It

The origins, history, founding, original program, and astonishing successes of early A.A. as it was established in Akron in 1935 are a vital part of recovery, of leads, of study of the Big Book, of taking the Twelve Steps, and of helping others.

Where can you find these vital facts?

First, go to A.A. General Service Conference-approved books like DR. BOB and the Good Oldtimers, "Pass It On," Pamphlet P-53, and Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age.

Second, soon there will be a real rebirth of the First Edition of Alcoholics Anonymous, published in 1939, and from which almost all of the important stories have been removed. Therefore, one can study the new Hazelden publication of the original printer's manuscript and see the program as it was presented and then changed at the last minutes in 1939. Also, Dover Publications will shortly publish an affordable reprint of the First Edition with a good introduction to its importance, written by me. Finally, a dedicated oldtimer A.A. is about to prepare his commentary on the First Edition and work with us to make it available.

Third, I can think of no better materials of ours than the following three resources: (1) "Introductory Foundations for Christian Recovery" - 4 DVD classes. See www.dickb.com/IFCR-Class.shtml. (2) The Dick B. Christian Recovery Guide, 3rd ed., 2010. See www.dickb.com/Christian-Recover-Guide.shtml. (3) One or more of my historical titles such as When Early AAs Were Cured and Why, The Conversion of Bill W., and Dr. Bob of Alcoholics Anonymous. See www.dickb.com/titles.shtml.

God Bless, Dick B.

New Need for Information on Comprehensive Christian Recovery Resources

Tens of thousands of alcoholics, addicts, A.A. members, concerned Christians, professional recovery workers, old-timers, and desperate family and other concerned friends and associates have contacted me over the past 20 years. They usually ask how they or their loved ones can get God's help. And do so within existing A.A., Christian, treatment, and counseling boundaries.
Twenty years ago, with A.A. drifting away from its Christian origins, history, founding, original program, and successes and some members, professionals, and religious focusing more and more on nonsense gods, "spirituality," and meetings, the cries for help were critical.
Did recovery people respond adequately? The answer, for the most part, is that they did not.
Publishing houses leaped to print Recovery or Twelve-Step Bibles - thousands of them.
Christian counselors sought licensing for Christian recovery counselors.
Attempts at Christian treatment and Christian track treatment programs were established.
Some clergy and Christians panned A.A.
Some AAs panned clergy and Christianity
A.A. "official" publications began announcing that you didn't have to believe in anything at all in order to recover from alcoholism.
All were probably well-meaning. All were offering half-measure solutions. And all were totally uninformed about the Christian recovery movement origins in the Salvation Army, YMCA, Rescue Missions, Evangelists, and Young People's Society of Christian Endeavor. They didn't know much if anything about the original A.A. Christian fellowship program of 1935 and its successes. And they grasped at slender, irrelevant straws--talking about the Oxford Group, the Washingtonians, the Emanuel Movement, Emmet Fox. Anything but how the original AAs got well believing in God and coming to Him through Jesus Christ.
After 20 years of travel, research, interviews, gathering of materials, holding conferences and meetings, and talking to old-timer Christian AAs, we found a hunger for A New Way Out--a way which would foster reliance on God, honor the support A.A. provides, emphasize helping others, and returning to historical, spiritual tools like the Bible, Prayer, Quiet Time, Christian Fellowship, and Daily Devotions. Simple. Easy. Effective. But almost lost.
We offered and still offer several answers: (1) International Christian Recovery Coalition www.ChristianRecoveryCoalition.com. (2) Christian Recovery Resource Centers http://bit.ly/erD3tW. (3) The Dick B. Christian Recovery Guide, 3rd ed., 2010 www.dickb.com/Christian-Recov-Guide.shtml. (4) "Introductory Foundations for Christian Recovery" www.dickb.com/IFCR-Class.shtml. (5) The new Dick B. Handbook for Recovery Resource Centers. http://mcaf.ee/f6ed4. (6) A complete reference set of 29 of Dick B.'s titles on A.A. History and Biblical roots. See www.dickb.com.
The most important step now is to recognize the elements of a comprehensive Christian recovery effort: (1) Interview, inquiry, assessment, referral. (2) Immediate medical diagnosis and precautions against seizures and acute withdrawal problems. (3) Possible licensed Christian counseling. (4) Possible Christian intervention with Christian follow-through. (5) Possible Christian treatment or Christian track treatment that is adequate! (6) Family and children care emphasis--like old-time A.A. (7) Coordination with Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. (8) Coordination with Christian recovery meetings. (9) Bible study. (10) Prayer. (11) Quiet Time help. (12) Literature help. (13) After Care. (14) Alumni activity. (15) Church or religious comradeship. (16) Christian Recovery Fellowships. (17) Study groups. (18) Help in entering a new life in the community, employment, financial stability, education, vocational training, fitness, fellowship, and regular study and fellowship meetings. (19) Heavy emphasis on helping others. (20) Reliance on God for guidance, forgiveness, love, healing, fellowship, and revelation.
Dick B., dickb@dickb.com 808 874 4876.

Why Give Away Free 350 Cases of New Dick B. Books

Dick B. A.A. History
We Are Giving Away 350 Cases of New Books By Dick B.!
Free!*
(* $30.00 for Shipping and Handling)

Here's Why

Since we decided to make available 350 cases of my new A.A. history books (1 title in each case; often about 44 books per case), one long-time A.A. friend and 12-Stepper ordered 30 cases right away. Two AAs in NY each ordered nine (9) cases—for a total of 18 cases. And many others have contacted us to order one-to-five cases.The cases of books are free. We mail them via U.S. Postal Service Media Mail to conserve expense. We ask for $30.00-per-case to cover the cost of Shipping and Handling to get the cases from our storage on Maui to the Post Office and then to you. U.S. Postal Service Media Mail usually takes from four-to-six weeks to get to most destinations on the mainland because it goes by boat rather than by air.

Recipients are free to do with the books as they wish.

Why are we doing this?

First, because the entire purpose of A.A. and 12-Step fellowships is to "pass it on." In the past, a number of benefactors have paid to have our books printed, and we have thousands still on hand in inventory in Maui. Now that we have moved most of our titles into Print-On-Demand and therefore no longer have to warehouse large quantities of books in Maui, we have decided it is time to make those books we still have in storage available in large quantities at virtually no cost. This means that recipients can study them, donate them, distribute them, and let others have them in these days when times are tough financially. This is a once-only situation because 29 of my titles are now in print-on-demand—including the nine (9) titles we have in inventory here in Maui—and we have no need for the inventory which others generously funded. The cases of books we have in storage in Maui are yours free. We are only asking $30.00 per case to cover Shipping and Handling.

Second, there are quite a few titles on hand that have been much in demand. For example, The Good Book and The Big Book: A.A.'s Roots in the Bible (www.DickB.com/GoodBook.shtml) has been my most widely-read and sought-after book. Thousands have been printed, and sold or given away. Here is a list of the titles and number of cases of each we had on hand as of July 2009—and we have sold or given away some of those cases since then:

http://mcaf.ee/f6ed4

You will find instructions on that page as to exactly how to order one or more cases right now. The distribution is slow because we work with volunteers; and the books are in storage, so we have to go get them, re-tape the boxes for shipping, re-label them, affix postage, and transport them to the Post Office for shipping. (If you would like to read about each of the nine titles listed in the inventory above, please go here: http://www.dickb.com/titles.shtml.)

Third, there are more and more James Clubs, 12-Step groups, conferences, treatment folks, Christian recovery fellowships, churches, and individual 12-Steppers who want to bless others with free books; and that is what we hope to see.

The deadline for this offer is March 31, 2011—the end of the first calendar quarter in this year.
After that, these cases of books will be available only through purchase via my Web site: www.DickB.com.

May this effort bless those who choose to help others by distributing our rich and important history that has been researched, published, and disseminated for the last 20 years.God Bless,

Dick B.,
H/O: (808) 874-4876; or Ken B.'s cell: (808) 276-4945
DickB@DickB.com
www.ChristianRecoveryCoalition.comPO Box 837, Kihei, HI 96753-0837

A.A. Big Book First Edition to Have New Birth

Alcoholics Anonymous First Edition of 1939 about to be given a new birth.

Three different aspects--original printers' manuscript to be reviewed, reprint of A.A. 1939 First Edition with introduction that makes its purpose evident, and a work-in-progress sponsor guide by an oldtimer speaker.

Stay tuned for this fresh, forthcoming new opportunity to use the 1939 A.A. 12-Step program and its personal stories that give such a great view of how the A.A. program was applied then.

This new birth series will be coming soon from three different publication sources, and then accompanied by my articles and intros that pull the picture together - A.A. 1939 style.

There's the "old school" original Akron A.A. Christian Fellowship about which I have written so much.

Now there will be the 1939 A.A. Big Book approach which has been slashed to pieces by deleting almost all the personal stories, and also--despite what many say--changed!

dickb@dickb.com; www.mauihistorian.blogspot.com; www.dickb.com

Dick B. Reference Set (29 vol) to Harvard Divinity School

Entire reference set (29 vols) by A.A. Historian Dick B. just donated to Harvard Divinity School by Harvard Professor, Psychiatrist, Alumnus.

These 29 volumes contain the major portion of the research, writing, and published books by Dick B., who is a writer, historian, retired attorney, Bible student, CDAAC, and an active and recovered member of the fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.)

www.dickb.com/titles.shtml

Dick B. A.A. History - 350 Cases of New Books Free - Why!

Since we decided to make 350 cases of my new A.A. history books (1 title in each case; often about 44 books per case), one long-time AA friend and 12-Stepper has ordered 30 cases. Two AAs in NY have each ordered 9 cases (total of 18). And many others have contacted us to order one to five cases.

The cases are free. We mail them media mail to conserve expense. We ask for $30. per case to cover the cost of shipping and handling here on Maui. And they go by "slow boat" which is what media mail amounts to. But the recipients are free to do with them as they wish.

Why did we do this?

First, because the entire purpose of A.A. and 12-Step fellowships is to "pass it on." In the past, a number of benefactors have paid to have our books printed, and we have thousands still on hand in inventory in Maui. It's time to make those books available in large quantities at virtually no cost. This means that recipients can study them, donate them, distribute them, and let others have them in these days when times are tough financially. This is a once only situation because all 29 of my titles are now in print-on-demand and we have no need for the inventory which others generously funded. They are yours free - only the $30.00 per case s & h

Second, there are quite a few titles on hand that have been much in demand. For example, The Good Book and The Big Book: A.A.'s Roots in the Bible www.dickb.com/goodbook.shtml has been my most widely read and sought after book. Thousands have been printed and sold or given away. All the remaining, in-stock, available inventory titles are specifically described in http://mcaf.ee/f6ed4. And that site tells you exactly how to order them now. The distribution is slow because we work with volunteers and the books are in storage, have to be obtained, transported to the Post Office, taped and labeled, stamped, and then sent.

Third, there are more and more James Clubs, 12-Step groups, conferences, treatment folks, Christian recovery fellowships, churches, and individual 12-Steppers who want to bless others with free books; and that is what we hope to see.

The deadline is March 31st. This only lasts as an offer until the end of the quarter. After that, my materials will be available only through purchase via my website www.dickb.com; amazon.com; barnes and noble; and ordering through a book store.

May this effort bless those who choose to help others by distributing our rich and important history that has been researched, published, and disseminated for the last 20 years.

God Bless, Dick B., C: 808 276 4945; dickb@dickb.com; www.ChristianRecoveryCoalition.com;
PO Box 837, Kihei, HI 96753-0837

The "Mustard Seed" Project Starts Now - A New Way Out

The Maui Christian Recovery Resource Center

a project of

The International Christian Recovery Coalition
P.O. Box 837, Kihei, Maui, HI 96753-0837
(808) 874-4876 or (808) 276-4945
DickB@DickB.com
www.ChristianRecoveryCoalition.com

The “Mustard Seed” Project Starts Now—A New Way Out


My son, Rev. Ken B., and I have just completed three exploratory Christian recovery efforts:

Over the past 2 ¼ years, we have traveled widely in California and Oahu taking the temperature of the Christian recovery needs, existing enthusiasm, and potential for Christian recovery growth.

· We have spoken at more than 25 conferences and meetings to learn the facts and resources.

· We attended and spoke at the Association of Christian Alcohol and Drug Counselors (ACADC) Institute in Palm Springs. We introduced the Christian Recovery Resource Centers project and learned how licensed Christian recovery counseling might fit in.

· We just returned from giving a lecture as part of “The Alcohol and Other Drugs Awareness Hour” lecture series held at the Annenberg Center for Health Sciences on the Eisenhower Medical Center campus in Rancho Mirage, California. (This lecture series is also known as the “Betty Ford Center Alcohol Awareness Hour.”) The talk was open to the patients, alumni, and staff of the Betty Ford Center's rehabilitation program, as well as to the general public. We were privileged to learn the broad scope of a top-notch treatment program—including possible intervention, assessment, detox, counseling, treatment, family and children programs, fitness facilities, aftercare, and alumni work. We also learned a great deal about the interaction of the programs with Alcoholics Anonymous and professionals.

The bottom line is that we are more convinced than ever that a new, onrushing, Christian recovery movement is in progress. It needs to be A.A.-friendly, Bible-friendly, and Treatment-friendly; and it needs to be founded on a knowledge of the Christian roots of A.A. It also needs to work harmoniously and interactively with 12-Step programs, Christian recovery facilities and programs, medical and intervention skills, family and child orientations, biblical truths, prayer habits, fitness, aftercare, sober living, and a new life plan—“A New Way Out!”

So we returned to sunny, beautiful, Kihei, Maui, Hawaii.

And we were blessed to have two different families interact with us upon our return—both very much in need of help with the usual difficulties surrounding alcoholism and drug addiction,. They have cried out for Christian help.

The parents and the children in need are Christians. The parents are amenable to a full-bore approach that utilizes medical help and evaluation; Christian churches and fellowships; 12-Step program principles, practices, and participation; comprehensive treatment embracing professional counseling, intervention, and an emphasis on Bible study and prayer; and solving the problems that occur during the course of obtaining and securing sobriety.

We will begin now! We hope soon to have a local office for meetings. We hope to attract committed Christian helpers in the medical (including psychiatry and psychology), religious, counseling, substance abuse, community resource, fitness, and sober living fields—all the while encouraging all to learn the Christian origins and highly-effective program of early A.A., and the application of early A.A.'s principles and practices in the 12-Step fellowships today.

We will act as para-counselors who meet with those in need; assess their problems; apprise them of resources—Christian and otherwise—which will be helpful to their recovery; and suggest references in the areas of intervention, detox, counseling, fellowships, 12-Step programs, treatment, aftercare, and community assistance.

Our capabilities stem from Dick B.’s 24 years of continuous sobriety; his writings about, and knowledge of, the recovery movement, and A.A. history and fellowships; his long work with suffering alcoholics and addicts in the 12-Step scene; and his work with Rev. Ken B. in Bible fellowships consisting almost exclusively of Christian AAs seeking to get well with the help of the power and love of God.

What do we ask? Spread the word. Watch for developments. Suggest resources. Volunteer to help us meet needs. Provide needed transportation, community assistance, and appropriate referral opportunities.

For more information concerning “Christian Recovery Resource Centers and Persons” worldwide, please see:

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

We look forward to hearing from you.

Dick B., J.D., CDAAC
Writer, Historian, Retired attorney, Bible student, recovered alcoholic
Executive Director, the International Christian Recovery Coalition
www.DickB.com

What Our Christian Recovery Resource Centers and Persons Can Do For You

From The Dick B. Handbook for Christian Recovery Resource Centers and Persons Worldwide

What You May Not Find or Hear When You Cry Out for Help
And
How Our Christian Resource Centers or Persons May Help

A Preliminary talk with a recovered Christian alcoholic, addict, or co-dependent, possibly an AA or NA who has overcome problems with the power and love of God and can share with you.

Where to go for professional, licensed Christian alcohol, drug, and codependency counseling, and what to read about it if you wish.

Whether immediate medical diagnosis, assistance, and detoxification are needed, and
where to find it – even in the Emergency Room.

How to locate and evaluate the possibility of an intervention by a skilled interventionist
who will use love first; not just break down the patient or family; but insure that a willing
alcoholic or addict, or family or friend will also seek God’s help and be able to find it.

Learn why the original A.A. Christian Fellowship program founded in Akron in 1935—and its predecessors in the YMCA, Salvation Army, Rescue Missions, Revivals, and
Young People’s Christian Endeavor Society—was so enormously successful through
reliance on the help of God.

Recognize that help can only begin if:

The alcoholic or addict believes he or she is licked, really wants help, and is willing to listen and cooperate to overcome all his or her problems.

The family, friends, relatives, employers, teachers, and others don’t think they
can—by themselves--“fix” or “force” or “persuade” the alcoholic or addict to seek help.

The afflicted alcoholic or addict concedes, through learning, that he or she is beyond his own help or the help of others, that he or she has a glimpse at how to find out if there is an uncontrolled alcohol and/or drug problem; wants to quit permanently, get well, end the misery, decide to act, determin to do whatever it takes, and discipline himself to stick with the effort.

The afflicted and the affected stop tolerating recidivism, relapse, and revolving
door treatment and go for the gold—complete recovery, hard-won, once and for all.

There is a glimpse at the idea that nothing changes if nothing changes—that the afflicted and affected need new friends (not former tempters or dealers); new
playgrounds (bars, or dark and slippery places); new ideas about their problems;
and new tools to use to overcome temptation, guilt, shame, fear, anger, dishonesty, and trouble.

In our opinion, believes or is willing to believe in and seek God; understands what it means to become a child of the one true living Creator—and how to become a
Christ and come to God in that way; understands the importance of appropriate
prayer; recognizes the need for Bible training; sees the necessity for keeping
company with healthy, convicted, loving fellow believers; and wants to have
fellowship with God, His Son Jesus Christ, and like-minded children of God.

Understands that “old school” (the original) A.A. program was astonishingly simple,
successful, and based on reliance on God, cleaning house, and then helping others.

Understands that “old school” A.A. is quite compatible with 12-Step programs today even for those who want God’s help because A.A. General Service Conference-approved
Literature (the Big Book, 12 Steps, and selected literature) talk about God, Jesus Christ,
the Bible, prayer, healing, religious growth, and church. They also now condone people
with other beliefs, no beliefs, or outright rejection of God. No matter! The support of A.A. is a treasure without price if one knows the pitfalls.

Understands that there is idolatry, secularism, an array of “nonsense gods,” a good deal
of Christian bashing, religion bashing, church bashing, and A.A. bashing today that is
perhaps more compelling toward leaving A.A. and returning to the hog wallow again.

Understands that a comprehensive Christian recovery today may require committed
utilization of all the following items – many just mentioned.

Qualifying the alcoholic and addict as conceding his helplessness, understanding that
Determined and disciplined effort are needed to overcome it, and insisting that all
The former temptations, dangerous habits, and the like must be dumped!

Medical assistance or detoxification

Perhaps competent Christian intervention and referral

Early insistence on belief in God and accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour.

Early introduction to the Christian origins, history, founding, original program, successes, and changes in the recovery movement and 12-Step groups.

Perhaps competent licensed or lawful Christian counseling.

Perhaps competent Christian pastoral counseling.

Perhaps competent Christian chaplaincy at institutions where the patient may be.

Continued medical monitoring.

Effective Christian residential or outpatient treatment.

Concurring Christian treatment for family, children, codependents

Participation at A.A. or 12-Step programs and meetings and cooperation there.

Participation in Christian Recovery Fellowships – now proliferating around the world.

Bible instruction and study
Prayer instruction and meetings

Individual Quiet Times – Prayer, Bible, Devotionals, Seeking guidance, Sharing

Competent Big Book and 12-Step instruction for those pursuing 12-Step as well.

Christian Aftercare

Supervised Christian sober living

Church or Bible Fellowship

Unselfish, unremunerated, vigorous work with unrecovered alcoholics, addicts, and codependents. This is the missing link today. Call them 12-Step calls. Call them Sponsors. Call them Disciplers. Call them Twelfth-steppers. Call them compassionate recovered drunks or druggies. They need to help others. They can help others. And they are missing a major ingredient of the original recovery movement ideas.

Assistance in obtaining assistance in the community – for veterans, elderly, children, mentally impaired, disabled, indigent, homeless, abandoned, incarcerated, needing
Financial counseling and relief, facing legal and criminal proceedings, divorce and
Child custody matters, marital and family counseling, psychiatric help.

A plan for new dedication to serving and glorifying God and His Son Jesus Christ;
turning to the Bible and God’s revelation for details on salvation, healing, forgiveness, guidance, comfort and consolation, peace and love, the principles and teachings of
Jesus Christ, and the results described in the Book of Acts regarding early Christianity.

Headline: Illinois cuts drug treatment to save and My reply

Treatment is not the only answer to alcoholism and drug addiction. It can be an adjunct. Folks are slipping away from the lessons and solutions learned by the early A.A. fellowship founded in 1935. And AAs themselves are slipping away from the spiritual origins. The result is to rely on scholars, scientists, professionals who are moving away from reliance on God and toward the human solution which failed to bring about the healing of alcoholics and led to the spiritual solution that desperate "medically incurable" worst-of--the-worst cases sought and developed. As long as there is government money to throw at a problem like alcoholism, there will be sixty folks trying to make money work. Today, it is unpopular to hear people talk about the help available from God and a fellowship like A.A. But I sought both and any other help I could afford. Almost 25 years later--of continuous sobriety--I would never mourn the loss of treatment. I'd worry about the loss of God and A.A. www.dickb.com/Godandalcoholism.shtml

Rumor of My Demise Highly Overstated - in fact ridiculous

One aging AA who has spent years trying to suppress my A.A. history writings (without success) has just launched a new straw man. He claims I am about to enter a nursing home.

Not true. This provides me with another opportunity to state:

1. There are no nursing homes on the beach or oceanfront at my Kihei, Maui, condo.

2. There are no nursing homes out on the ocean where we watch the whales dive and sport daily.

3. There is no nursing home where I am speaking Saturday at the Betty Ford Awareness Program.

4. There is no nursing home at the U.S. post office where we are busy shipping out the 350 new book cases to bless folks in Canada, UK, and US who are seeking them.

5. There is no nursing home at the print-on-demand facility where we daily send your orders for new books out of the total 42 I have written.

6. I was told, though, to be kind to my children because they would select my nursing home. For that reason, I am the epitome of kindness to kids - and will be for many years to come.

God Bless, Dick B., Executive Director, International Christian Recovery Coalition.
www.ChristianRecoveryCoalition.com

Four, fair-minded A.A. history workers who helped me

Through the years--twenty in fact--I have worked with and benefitted from the labors of four AAs who deserve mention in these days when so many folks are dividing themselves into camps and barring the activities of others. One talented historical writer with immense sobriety has often spoken of the need for "freedom of speech" when it comes to writing about A.A. And these men provide a venue for just that.

Here they are in the order of my experience:

Ozzie L., of East Dorset, Vermont. Ozzie was the founder of the Wilson House. After he completed renovation of that historical museum, he set to work on the Griffith House where Bill Wilson was raised. Ozzie worked tirelessly until his death building book cases, research areas, and antique reminders of the Wilson days. But in my case, he decided to welcome my entire collection of 23,000 historical items, find a place for them, and catalogue them. And, fair minded as he was, he also welcomed the treasures of many others who had gathered or written on A.A. history. Today, the Griffith Library, East Dorset, Vermont, is the crown jewel repository of unbiased A.A. history presentations.

Diaz of Oklahoma. He began building the aabibliography website from scratch. And he gathered materials relevant to A.A. history from a myriad of sources - Oxford Group literature, the Bible, Rev. Shoemaker materials, devotionals, and historical writings by AAs of all stripes and colors. Diaz worked very very hard on a shoestring to build his website into one of the most comprehensive historical repositories on the web. He too has been impartial and fairminded in publishing the works of many, including myself, who are not always in agreement. But it was historical content that Diaz sought and posted. And it is still a great A.A. history resource.

Cory F. of Minnesota. He aligned himself with the 2000 A.A. International Convention activities in Minneapolis. He arranged for all sorts of A.A. speakers, including me. And then he arranged for the formation of Archives 2000 on the internet. Cory too was hardworking--moving forward on a shoestring. He welcomed writings from a great variety of A.A. historians, including me. And it mattered little to him whether they were Roman Catholic, Protestant, or Jewish. If they had said something relevant, he selected the best of the writings and posted them for all to see. In addition, he gathered many historical archival materials and began posting them. He was a bird dog when it came to hunting down historical treasures. And he too was fair-minded--a pleasure to work with.

Jim who worked tirelessly on Silkworth.net. He had previously posted historical materials on another A.A. site, but found materials, including mine, being barred. Then Jim began an organizing and gathering of all kinds of historical manuscripts, writings, and articles, including mine. He helped the huge expansion of the Silkworth site to something in addition to an excellent historical resource about Dr. William D. Silkworth. He has probably the best historical website of them all. And he lays everything from every source before the viewer's eyes, in an extremely organized display, and censors nothing--though colleagues often try to push him in other directions. Today, though he no longer works alone, Jim is a man of faith. He is a man of integrity. He is courteous, kind, and fair. And his open-minded willingness to tell things the way the are instead of the way someone says they were is a tribute to the history gang of which I am a part.

The foregoing are my opinions. They endeavor to preserve the anonymity of the four stellar workers. And in my judgment they reflect what I believe is absolutely necessary if the revelation of long obscured, ignored, distorted, and missing variety of A.A. history is to become available and applicable to the recovery of the afflicted and the affected today. These four deserve our gratitude, and they sure have mine! Dick B.

International Christian Recovery Coaliltion Speakers Bureau

The International Christian Recovery Coalition

Announces the Establishment of

The International Christian Recovery Coalition Speakers Bureau


We will have much more information for you soon. It will detail who the speakers are, what they can bring to you about the Christian origins, history, founding, original program, and great successes of early Alcoholics Anonymous. And what they can share with you about the subsequent changes in, and adaptability of, A.A.—particularly relative to the modern recovery arena. And especially what they provide in the way of facts about the role that God, His Son Jesus Christ, and the Bible have played in the recovery movement, and the role they can and should play today for those today who are afflicted with and affected by alcoholism, addiction, at-risk behaviors, and other life-controlling problems. There IS a solution through the power and love of God, and these speakers can tell you all about it.

Members of the International Christian Recovery Coalition Speakers Bureau

David Powers, Leader of Rock Recovery Ministries, ABC Living, and Soledad House for the Rock Church of San Diego, Christian Recovery Resource Center, San Diego.

Rev. Robert Tucker, PhD, DMin, President of the New Life Spirit Recovery, Inc. treatment, counseling, and church center, Huntington Beach, California, Christian Recovery Resource Center, Huntington Berach.

Jim Gaffney, counselor, pharmacist, therapist, and former Recovery Pastor for Mariners Church in Irvine, California, Christian Recovery Resource Center, Nyack, New York.

Rev. James Moody, Manna House Ministries, Christian Recovery Resource Center, Jamestown, Tennessee

Chaplain/Pastor Leonard Grubb, Christian Recovery Resource Center, Mentor, Ohio

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

Dick B., A.A. writer, historian, Christian Recovery Resource Center Hqs, Kihei, Maui, Hawaii

Mark Galligan, Christian A.A. believer, Christian Recovery Resource Center, Collingwood, Ontario, Canada

Robert Turner, M.D., Association Professor Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina.

Roger McDiarmid, Christian A.A. believer, Huntington Beach, California

Repeat: 350 cases of new Dick B. Books Free!

Repeat: 350 cases of Dick B. A.A. History Books Free
In the first quarter of 2011, International Christian Recovery Coalition is making it possible for you to acquired one or more cases of A.A. writer, historian, Bible student Dick B.'s books that are listed on the inventory on http://mcaf.33/f6ed4. This will tell you the books and how to obtain them.The available cases contain these books: (1) By the Power of God. (2) Dr. Bob and His Library. (3) God and Alcoholism. (4) Good Morning! (5) New Light on Alcoholism (Shoemaker). (6) The Books Early AAs Read for Spiritual Growth. (7) The Good Book and the Big Book: A.A.'s Roots in the Bible. (8) Turning Point: A History of Early A.A.'s Spiritual Roots and Successes. (9) Why Earl A.A. Succeeded (a Bible study primer).The only requirement for obtaining each case is a donation of $30.00 per case to cover shipping and handling media mail.These 350 cases can enhance your own outreach, your own meeting or group, your library, your Christian fellowship, and your own study conferences.Again, just go to http://mcaf.ee/f6ed4.

A.A. History - Christian Recovery Resource Centers

After the nationwide conference of Christian leaders and workers in the recovery community at Mariners Church in Irvine, California, in May of 2009, the need became clear that A.A., the Alcoholics Anonymous Fellowship, 12-Step Fellowships, and a host of others involved in Christian recovery efforts needed information!

Information about A.A. origins, history, founding, original program, astonishing successes, changes in 1939 and application today. This meant telling the afflicted and the affected the role that God, His Son Jesus Christ, and the Bible played and can play in the entire recovery movement.

International Christian Recovery Coalition (www.ChristianRecoveryCoalition) was founded to help share the information about A.A. and its Christian roots for the benefit of those who want God's help in recovery today.

Only a month ago, the Coalition established the Christian Recovery Resource Centers Worldwide (http://bit.ly/erD3tW). And we have been hard at work encouraging the establishment of Christian Recovery Resource Centers and have now just formed a Speakers Bureau further to help spread the facts.

Already, the following have established Christian Recovery Resource Centers over a wide area.
They are:

James Moody and Manna House Ministries in Jamestown, Tennessee
Dr. Rober Tucker and New Life Spirit Recovery, Inc. in Huntington Beach, California
David Powers and Rock Recovery Ministries, ABC Sober Living, and Soledad House, San Diego
David Sadler and Golden Hills Community Church recovery, Antioch, California
Wally Lowe, Christian Recovery Resource Center Satellite, Vero Beach, Florida
Bruce Aspgren, Rocking a Ministry, Caldwell, Texas
Dick B., Christian Recovery Resource Centers Main Office, Kihei, Hawaii
Paul Popiel, A.A. believer, Pacifica, California
Robert Turner, M.D., Associate Professor, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston SC
Mark Galligan, Christian A.A. believer, Collingwood, Ontario, Canada
Chaplain/Pastor Leonard Grubb, Painesville, Ohio
Grant Sharp, Quest Ministries, Sheffield, S Yorks, United Kingdom
Jim Gaffney, Former recovery pastor and pharmacist, Nyack, New York

In just over a month, we now have resource centers in California, Tennessee, Florida, Texas, South Carolina, Ontario Canada, Sheffield United Kingdom, Ohio, Maui, and New York. We expect very soon to hear from groups in Glendora, California; Oroville, California; Huntington Beach, California; Carlsbad, California; Columbia, Missouri; Honolulu; Kentucky; Pennsylvania; and Texas

350 cases of Dick B. A.A. History books Free: More Details

We have made available to International Christian Recovery Coalition over 350 cases of A.A. history books (new) by Dick B. These are available until March 31. And they are free, with the exception that those who want the cases need only donate $30.00 per case - which will cover the cost of media mail for each case within the U.S. plus the cost of packing, transporting, and taking to the post office each case so ordered.

On this blogsite, we have already written details on the importance of this free distribution as one of several projects of the International Christian Recovery Coalition (www.ChristianRecoveryCoalition.com).

On this blogsite, we have also posted exact instructions on how to obtain the free cases; and we also welcome inquiries by email to dickb@dickb.com and by phone to Ken B. 808 276 4945.

Now Dick B. and his son Ken B. have spent 20 years researching and publicizing the entire picture of A.A. history. They have published 42 titles and over 500 articles, as well as audio posts and comments on social forums. Dick has spoken at many conferences and seminars across the United States. But there is no substitute for an actual copy of these books--free. In fact, a case of these books-free. In fact, more than one case--free. The only expense is $30.00 per case for shipping and handling.

Many ask which of the many Dick B. history books are among the 350 cases available for free. And the following URL address on the International Christian Recovery Coalition website provides specific details on the book inventory available for you.

Check http://mcaf.ee/f6ed4. These are the last free, new books, that we have stored on Maui and that we are making available for those who want to read them, distribute them, use them in a fellowship or meeting or conference, of sell in order to fund your own outreach.

Please don't miss this special opportunity to help others with solid information - now available to you for free. This is not a discount sale. This is a free distribution enabling International Christian Recovery Coalition to spread the word www.ChristianRecoveryCoalition.com

Again: Here are the free book inventory of available cases-- details: http://mcaf.ee/f6ed4.

Again: For those who want more details, we have sent out newsletters to those on our mailing list and will gladly email details to you if you contact Dick B. at dickb@dick.com

God Bless, Dick B. www.dickb.com.

350 cases of Dick B. Books to be Distributed Free

The International Christian Recovery Coalition
www.ChristianRecoveryCoalition.com

Announces

A Major, First Quarter 2011 Project

to Help Executive Director Dick B. Give Away

about 350 Cases of Dick B. Books FREE*
(*A $30.00-per-case charge applies to cover USPS Media Mail shipping and packing within the 50 States of America. Please contact Dick B. for possible shipment to other countries.)

by March 31, 2011


Since 1990, over 170,000 books by author Dick B. have been printed. In years past, Dick B. had to pay (or secure funding) for the preparation, printing, shipping from the printer, storing, and distribution of his book to the thousands of people who wanted to learn the comprehensive history of the origins, history, founding, original program, and astonishing successes of early A.A. He still has some 15,000 brand new books stored on Maui, packed in cases which contain anywhere from 12 to 72 books per case, depending on each book's thickness. (Here is the July 2009 Inventory: http://ChristianRecoveryCoalition.com/Inventory.shtml.)

Thanks to new Print-On-Demand developments, 29 of Dick’s 42 titles are now available via Print-On-Demand, including all of the titles in inventory on Maui. As a result, storage, shipping, packing, mailing, (most) labor, and travel expenses have been eliminated; and distribution has been expedited by a print-on-demand company directly affiliated with Amazon.com which handles many of the book purchases online.

The Planned Distribution Project for the First Quarter of 2011

If you would like to purchase one (or more!) case(s) of the new Dick B. books for your own use and study, for your groups and meetings, for free distribution to others (which we’d like to see happen), and/or for resale to raise funds for your groups, ministries, and service, here is what to do:

Pay online: If you would like to pay online and use PayPal, or a credit card or a debit card, please go the area of the center column of the front page of the www.DickB.com Web site near the bottom of the page that looks like this:

Help Support Our Work
First, if you have benefited from and wish to support this work financially, you can now make your donations online by clicking here!


Credit or Debit Card, or PayPal Accepted. (PayPal is the gateway BUT NO PAYPAL ACCOUNT IS REQUIRED.)

Click on the “Donate” button. Enter the multiple of $30.00 reflecting how many cases you would like to purchase. (E.g., if you would like to purchase two cases, enter $60.00). Then finish completing the form.

Pay by email: If you would like to pay by Visa or MasterCard by email, please split the payment information up over at least two email messages. We will need the credit or debit account number, the card's expiration date, the exact name on the card, and the billing address and the telephone number associated with the card.

Pay by phone: Please call Ken B. at (808) 276-4945. (Please call after 8:00 AM, H.A.S.T.)

Pay by regular mail: Please send your check or money order, made payable to “Dick B.”, to:

Dick B.
PO Box 837
Kihei, HI 96753-0837

Once we have received your payment, we will arrange for the case(s) of books to be shipped to you via U.S. Postal Service Media Mail with Delivery Confirmation. (** Please note: USPS Media Mail usually takes 4-6 weeks to reach mainland destinations from Maui, Hawaii.) If you provide your email address, we will provide the Delivery Confirmation Number to you by email once we have shipped the books to you.

Thank you.

Dick B.'s email: DickB@DickB.com
Dick B.'s main Web site: www.DickB.com

Gloria Deo

The "Whole Picture" of Christian Recovery Today

To our friends: My son Ken just wrote a letter to two who inquired about our projects. Because his letter properly reflects what we hope to do with you and what we hope you will do, being thus informed, I have slightly edited it and am sending it along. God Bless, Dick B.
______________________________________________________________________________

Aloha to you from Maui, Hawaii!

The International Christian Recovery Coalition Approach to
Christian Recovery Today

Addressing from the beginning the “whole picture” of Christian recovery today :Building on my dad's 20 years of research, writing, and speaking about the roles played by God, His Son Jesus Christ, and the Bible in early A.A.'s astonishing successes, we have lately begun to focus on helping Christian leaders and workers in the recovery arena better visualize and more effectively address the “whole picture” of Christian recovery. That is:

The “front end”

1. The “front end”—in which an alcoholic or addict, who has fully conceded his problem and declared his desire to quit permanently, is given the opportunity to learn about, and accept or reject, God's help in their need for recovery; this can include:

1a. Christian counseling—in which the individual is introduced or re-introduced to the idea that God, the Creator of the heavens and the earth, has more than enough power and love to help that individual overcome his or her addiction(s); and/or1b. Intervention--in which the individual is confronted with his or her addiction problem(s) in a godly way and is given the option of pursuing God's help in overcoming the addiction(s); and/or1c. Detox (or other emergency help from a doctor) to prevent or lessen seizures, acute withdrawal, and other serious problems that may accompany getting off of drugs and alcohol.

The “early stages”

2. The “early stages”—in which the alcoholic or addict is given the opportunity to pursue intensive Christian treatment and/or other forms of help during the critical early days of the fight to overcome addiction:

2a. A Christian or Christian-track treatment program;2b. Active involvement in a Christian church that has gained an adequate understanding of the struggle of Christians in overcoming alcoholism and/or drug addiction;2c. Active involvement in Christian recovery groups—that may include participation in A.A. or N.A. (and their meetings, basic text study, and 12 Steps), but with the help of one or more Christian “mentors” who help them “survive” that “grief” they may experience when they share in meetings their personal stories of how they established their relationship with God (Big Book, p. 29), including having accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior, and having studied the Bible.

The “later stages”
3. The “later stages”—in which the alcoholic or addict is offered the opportunity to participate in Christian after-care and “sober living” facilities with Bible studies, prayer groups, Quiet Times.

Summary of the “whole” Christian recovery “picture”
The preceding are just a few of the aspects of the “whole” Christian recovery “picture” that my dad and I have been studying, developing, and presenting to the Christian leaders and workers in the recovery arena throughout the world via the International Christian Recovery Coalition (http://ChristianRecoveryCoalition.com/) since its founding in July 2009.The vital importance of The Dick B. Christian Recovery Guide, 3rd ed., in reviewing the highly-successful techniques of early A.A. and their applicability today

At the same time that we launched the International Christian Recovery Coalition, we also published in July 2009 the first edition of The Dick B. Christian Recovery Guide by Dick B. and Ken B. (http://ChristianRecoveryCoalition.com/Christian-Recovery-Guide.shtml). The first 12 chapters (which include the “Introduction”) summarize and document the results of my dad's 19 years (to that point) of research, writing, and speaking on the 75% success rate early A.A. claimed for the original Akron A.A. “Christian fellowship” program founded by Bill W. and Dr. Bob over the summer of 1935; and on the documented 93% success rate of the early Cleveland program founded by Clarence S. in May 1939. The remaining seven chapters address the “So what?” question; i.e., how can the knowledge of the roles played by God, His Son Jesus Christ, and the Bible in early A.A.'s astonishing successes improve the effectiveness of Christian leaders and workers in the recovery arena in carrying an accurate message to those who still suffer?

The “Introductory Foundations for Christian Recovery” class that unites A.A.'s Christian origins with A.A. in its early days and A.A. todayIn March 2010, we videotaped the “Introductory Foundations for Christian Recovery” (“IFCR”) class by Dick B. and Ken B. on four DVDs (http://DickB.com/IFCR-Class.shtml). It presents on video the fruits of my dad's 20 years (to that point) of work on early A.A.'s success and the application of early A.A.'s principles to today's recovery scene. And, in conjunction with preparing the IFCR class, we did a major revision of The Dick B. Christian Recovery Guide—the 3rd edition (http://christianrecoverycoalition.com/christian-recovery-guide.shtml). (The Table of Contents of the 3rd edition is presented in the center column of the front page of the www.DickB.com Web site). The third edition provides considerable documentation and addition background information concerning the material we presented in the IFCR class.

The Christian Recovery Resource Centers Worldwide projectMost recently, about December 15, 2010, we launched the “Christian Recovery Resource Centers,” worldwide, as a project of the International Christian Recovery Coalition (http://ChristianRecoveryCoalition.com/Christian-Recovery-Resource-Centers.shtml), and more information about the Centers is presented on the front page of the Coalition's Web site.

The new Speakers Bureau of the International Christian Recovery Coalition

Through the years, my dad and I have met a number of very knowledgeable, experienced, and talented Christian recovery leaders in the United States and Canada—many with long-term sobriety and A.A. participation. As we are establishing new Christian Recovery Resource Centers, we are also enlisting an excellent group of speakers who can carry the message wherever and however it is needed—whether by speaking at groups, by recording and making available their talks, or by utilizing newew techniques such as DVD’s, Skype, YouTube, and Webinars.

The giving away* of entire cases of new Dick B.’s books during this first quarter of 2011And this month (February 2011), we launched our latest International Christian Recovery Coalition project involving helping Dick B. give away free* entire cases of new Dick B. books. (* A $30.00 donation is required to cover the cost of mailing each case of books via USPS Media Mail; and the cost of getting someone to carry the cases from storage to the Post Office, to label them, to affix postage, to re-tape the boxes, etc.) We have about 350 cases of new Dick B. books that we would like to put in people's hands by the end of the first quarter of 2011 (March 31, 2011).

The information gap in today’s recovery effortsOne of the reasons I wanted to present to you the information above is that, in our travels around the United States over the past 2 1/4 years—particularly in California and on Oahu—we have seen that there are many Christian individuals, groups, and organizations involved in “Christian recovery.” Yet none of them, at least among those of which we are aware, is currently addressing all aspects of the “whole picture” of Christian recovery.

The “whole picture” includes the Christian predecessors of early A.A., the early A.A. program, and the more modern Christian recovery efforts. The vast majority of Christian efforts today lack full and accurate information about A.A.'s Christian origins. This gap involving a lack of knowledge concerning A.A.'s Christian roots, A.A.'s Christian leaders, and the original Akron A.A. “Christian fellowship” program has meant, for example, that many churches are either hostile to today's A.A. and N.A. because they have focused on Bill W.'s personal life rather than on the message he carried (Big Book, page 191); and/or because they have focused on the “higher powers,” “foul language,” and other shortcomings that abound in much of today's A.A. and N.A. Many other churches have compromised Christian doctrine to accommodate A.A., and this “watering down” of the Christian message and need in A.A. carries its own set of consequences.

The heart and major value of what “Christian Recovery Resource Centers” doThe heart behind the “Christian Recovery Resource Centers” is to provide a means of addressing effectively several kinds of problems facing leaders and workers in the recovery arena. For example:

What to do with, and how to answer, urgent cries for God’s love and help; noting that the resources that are presently available are neither networked effectively nor even well-understood

1. What do you say to people who approach you for help in overcoming alcoholism and addiction in your area? How many of the various kinds of Christian and secular recovery resources are you aware of in your local community or area? For example, court and correctional resources, homeless resources, domestic violence/codependency resources, Christian counseling and intervention resources, detox and medical resources, Christian and Christian-track treatment programs, Christian “sober living” resources, Christian recovery/Good Book-Big Book study groups, James Clubs, Bibles studies, prayer groups, Quiet Time groups, and churches that are A.A.- and N.A.-friendly (without compromising Christian doctrine or trying to “Christianize” A.A. or N.A.), and so forth.2. What can you do for people outside your local community or area who want God's help in overcoming alcoholism and addiction? Do you know where to send them, whom they may call, and how they can get started?3. Do you have a full set of materials that address the work that God has already done through the years—beginning with records in the Bible; and including the Christian predecessors of A.A. (e.g., the Salvation Army, the Young Men's Christian Association, rescue missions, and the evangelists and revivalists of the Nineteenth Century); the original Akron A.A. “Christian fellowship” program of 1935-1939, and the early Cleveland program of 1939 and following; and modern Christian recovery efforts (such as those of the Rock Church in San Diego and of The Crossing Church in Costa Mesa).

Options available to you if you want to establish a Center and/or get underway right now
If becoming a “Christian Recovery Resource Center” immediately appears to be out of the question because the one-time required donation of $500.00 seems too much for your current budget, please consider:a. Acquiring one (or more!) cases of new Dick B. books ($30.00 per case); and/orb. Purchasing The Dick B. Christian Recovery Guide, 3rd ed., by Dick B. and Ken B. ($30.00 + $5.50 for USPS Priority Mail shipping); and/or c. Acquiring a “site license” for the “Introductory Foundations for Christian Recovery” class for Groups and Organizations by Dick B. and Ken B. on four DVD's ($199.95 + Shipping).These resources will give you a “running start.”In GOD's love,Ken B.

A.A. - What do you do? What can you do? As a Christian

Suppose you believe you have a serious drinking or drug abuse problem. You've had blackouts. You've been ashamed of behavior. You've been arrested. You've been fired. You've been jailed. You've been hospitalized. Any or all of the above. And you want God's help in overcoming the seemingly hopeless condition. What do you do? What can you do? Where do you go? To whom do you talk? Where do you start?

Today this dilemma is common. We get calls and messages all the time from folks who have been intervened on, been in treatment, been counseled, been in a 12-Step Fellowship, been in a rehab. Yet here they are with the same old problems--and they are multiplying rapidly.

The International Christian Recovery Coalition was founded about two years ago by Christian leaders and others in the recovery arena who were frustrated by what did not work, and by the flack they received if they mentioned God, Jesus Christ, the Bible, religion, or their church. Even if they mentioned A.A. or N.A. or 12-Steps in their church!

Today, the Coalition has several solid projects under way which can answer your questions:

First, a no-cost participation in the International Christian Recovery Coalition. See www.ChristianRecoveryCoalition.com

Second, The Dick B. Christian Recovery Guide, 3rd ed., 2010. See www.dickb/Christian-Recov-Guide.shml.

Third, the "Introductory Foundations for Christian Recovery" Class. See www.dickb.com/IFCR-Class.shtml.

Fourth, a Christian Recovery Resource Center. See http://bit.ly/erD3tW

Fifth, one or more - even a free case of Dick B. Books or the entire reference set www.dickb.com

What are the answers to the questions if you have someone in your family--a spouse, a child, an uncle or aunt, a grandparent, a niece or nephew--who is suffering from obvious alcoholism or addiction and you don't know where to start? Or what if you are a concerned friend or partner; a pastor; a counselor; a physician, a therapist, a law enforcement person, a judge, a probation officer, and you've seen the failures. Your afflicted person has too and want's God's help? What do you do?

We have been receiving questions like this from all over the world for at least ten of the twenty years we have been writing, speaking, and listening. And we can and do offer the assistance listed above. More important for now: You can phone, email, or write us: 808 874 4876, dickb@dickb.com, or Dick B., PO Box 837, Kihei, HI 96753-0837.

And now you can contact any of the growing number of Christian Recovery Coalition Centers being established around the world each day. http://bit.ly/erD3tW.

"We Christians are not alone in the recovery arena!" And you do not need to be either.

Gloria Deo

Christian Recovery Resource Centers - Latest News 2/9

The International Christian Recovery Coalition (www.ChristianRecoveryCoalition.com) was founded about two years ago. Its headquarters office is in Kihei, Hawaii; and its Southern California office is at New Life Spirit Recovery, Inc., in Huntington Beach, California.

2010 marked a fact gathering, Coalition growing, an Introductory Foundations for Christian Recovery Class (www.dickb.com/IFCR-Class.shtml) and a revision and publication of The Dick B. Christian Recovery Guide, 3rd ed, 2010 (www.dickb.com/Christian-Recov-Guide.shtml), plus extensive conferences, speaking engagements, meetings, and individual talks.

2011 marked several huge projects enabled by the continued growing strength of the Christian Recovery Coalition and some powerful spokespeople that have emerged - fully qualified to talk on our Mission and on the history of the Christian recovery movement.

The maor first quarter projects for 2011 are, and continue to be:

First 2011 Project:

Establishment of Christian Recovery Coaliltion Centers worldwide--an effort involving lots of informing, contacting, and orienting. And since January 1st, 10 Christian Recovery Coalition Centers have now been established - with more on the way very soon. They are:

Manna House Ministries, with James Moody, Jamestown, Tennessee

Rock Recovery Ministries, ABC Sober Living, and Soldedad House, with David Powers, San Diego, California

New Life Spirit Recovery, Inc.--treatment, counseling, counselor certification training, and a church, with Dr. Robert Tucker, Huntington Beach, California

Golden Hills Community Church Recovery Fellowship, with David Sadler, Antioch, California

Rocking A Ministry, with Bruce Aspgren, Caldwell, Texas

Newest centers:

Christian Recovery Resource Center Satellite Office, Wally Lowe, Vero Beach, Florida
7835 1st Street SW. Vero Beach, FL 32968

Paul Popiel, A.A. believer, Pacifica, California
504 Manor Drive, Pacifica, CA 94044
(650) 359 6794

Maui Christian Recovery Resource Center Main Office, Dick B. and Ken B., Kihei, Hawaii
PO Box 837, Kihei, HI 96753-0837
(C) 808 276 4945

Christian Community Missions, Chaplain/Pastor Leonard Grubb, Painesville, Ohio
773 Mentor Avenue, Painesville, Ohio
(C) 216 496 0406

Mark Galligan, A.A. Christian Believer, Collingwood, Ontario, Canada
13 Telford Road, Collingwood, Ontario, CA L9Y5H5
O: 705 445 9135
H: 416 453 6250
MagicJack: 716 240 5243
Skype: mark.galligan1

Second 2011 Project

Publication of The Dick B. Handbook for Christian Recovery Resource Centers

Third 2011 Project

An International Christian Recovery Coalition Speakers Bureau - underway now

Fourth 2011 Project

Huge free distribution (at cost of shipping only), via media mail of 350 cases of brand
new Dick B.'s leading A.A. History Books. Each case, or more cases, can be obtained free by those who provide a shipping donation of $30.00 per case, for as many cases as desired. Recipients are free to use each case to distribute books free individually, to distribute cases free to groups or fellowships or recovery programs, to provide books free to study groups, to lodge books free in archives and churches and centers, to raise funds for their respective Christian recovery outreach projects, and for meetings and conferences.

This free distribution project begins today, February 9th; and those that want to be sure of obtaining cases will need to complete their requests by the end of the quarter on March 31st.
Those desiring cases need only start the process by emailing dickb@dickb.com; phoning Dick B. at 808 276 4945; or writing to Dick B., PO Box 837, Kihei, HI 96753.

Once these 350 cases are gone, that will be the end of this free distribution project. So make your offer as early as possible.

Christian Recovery Resource Centers Established since Jan 1, 2011

The last two years have seen a growing number of participants in the International Christian Recovery Coalition and its dedication to spreading information about the role that God, His Son Jesus Christ, and the Bible played in the origins, history, founding, original program, and astonishing successes of the early A.A. Christian Fellowship founded in Akron in June, 1935.

Building on that beginning, the International Christian Recovery Coalition www.ChristianRecoveryCoalition.com, established two new projects underway for the first quarter of 2011.

Christian Recovery Resource Centers Worldwide is the first project for 2011. See http://bit.ly/erD3tW for details, program, getting on board, and Centers already established.

The Christian Recovery Resource Centers established since the beginning of the project on January 1, 2011 are these:

Manna House Ministries, Jamestown, Tennessee
Rock Recovery Ministry, ABC Sober Living, and Soledad House, San Diego, California
New Life Spirit Recovery, Inc, Huntington Beach, California
Golden Hills Community Church, Antioch, California
Rocking A Ministry, Bruce Aspgren, Caldwell, Texas
Christian Recovery Resource Center Satellite Office, Wally Lowe, Vero Beach, Florida
Paul Popiel, A.A. believer, Pacifica, California
Maui Christian Recovery Resource Center Main Office, Kihei, Hawaii

International Christian Recovery Coalition will soon establish a Bureau of Speakers who will be availble to magnify, grow, and enrich the Christian Recovery Coalition Centers.

In the next few days, International Christian Recovery Coalition will announce and begin a program to distribute at cost of mailing free cases of Dick B. Christian Recovery Books to those who contact Dick B. before the end of the first quarter of 2011 on March 31, 2011.

A.A., Religion, "Your Faith" 1939 Article about Dr. Bob

I Saw Religion Remake A Drunkardby D.J. DefoeSeptember 1939 "Your Faith" Magazine, page 84

Through Liquor, this physician had lost his practice, his reputation and his self-respect. Then one night in a gathering in a private home, he found the way of escape.


WHEN a doctor starts drinking, he's usually on the skids for keeps. His profession gives him so much privacy, so great exposure to temptation both from liquor and from drugs, and his need of a stimulant to lift him from depression becomes so extreme, that many a good doctor has dropped into oblivion for no cause other than his own thirst for drink. I could tell you about more than one doctor who came to no good end through liquor. Their stories are alike in their early furtiveness, then a brazen attitude of liquor - might -do-things-to some-men - but - I'm-different, then a broken desperation to try to keep up appearances and pretend nothing has happened, and finally exposure—and failure—and disgrace. One brilliant ex-surgeon a suicide; another exile from home; two others forgotten by their friends; so runs the history. But Dr. X handled his liquor problem differently. He came close enough to degradation to see how the jaws of hell reaching out for him. But then something interfered and saved him. Today Dr. X—and I dare not give his name, or even the name of the city, for reasons you will soon discover—is alive and happy and is probably a better and more popular doctor than ever before. What saved his life and reputation? What force made him into a new man? It was simply religion, brought home to him in a way he could use it. Simply the new habit of living his religion, and the discovery that he could utilize the power of prayer. We used to see Dr. X around a lot. He was cheery, straightforward, friendly, and successful. His field was a particularly intricate form of surgery and he did well at it. Then for quite a while we missed him. I saw his wife now and then, and noticed—even a man can things like that—that she seemed a little shabby and not especially happy. We began to hear ugly rumors. That's bad for any doctor. We heard he was losing his practice. When a doctor begins drinking, not many people are willing to trust their own lives to his skill with a knife. Last year I met Dr. X for the first time in several years. He was a new Dr. X. Straight as an Indian. Clean eyes. An honest I-can-lick-the-world look in his face. He gripped my hand in a vise and said hello in a way that gave you something to tie to. We were at a party. Someone offered Dr. X a drink. Then I remembered what had happened to him and wondered what he would do. "I don't drink," he said evenly. "Some men can take a drink, or two drinks, and stop. I can't. I had that ability once, but not now. If I'd take as much as a swallow of alcohol now, I'd disappear—and you wouldn't see me for three weeks." From him and from others I got his whole story, a bit here, a bit there. Here it is. He had been drinking for longer than anyone but his wife suspected. For a while he was able to keep the matter a secret. But he missed a couple of appointments and got into some trouble. First his competitors knew it. Then his friends around the hospital got wise. Finally even his oldest patients began to leave him. He had always been dignified and aloof, and when he was straight you hesitated to go up to him and tell him he was drinking too much. Usually he drank alone, silently, hungrily, in a sodden fashion of one who wants to forget. Just a deadly, steady sopping up of the poison. It was ghastly. In his saner moments he must have known the way he was headed. But a stubborn pride—and pride of that sort in a wayward person is a terrible thing—held him from seeking help.
Finally a friend he trusted got him to attend a little meeting in a living room one evening. It was a simple affair. Not dress-up at all. Here was a factory foreman who looked happier than almost anybody in town. When the time came to talk he told how he had been cured of drunkenness by prayer. His wife told how unbelievably happy their life was now. They didn't have much money—you could see that—but they had something that money alone had never brought them. They had love, and self-respect, and they had each other. Dr. X was surprised to find that everyone in this little group had some sort of a fight to make, and had won. He began to look at these people in a new way. They had been weak and now they were strong. Unconsciously he began to envy them. He surprised himself by starting to say something. He admitted he had a tremendous hunger for liquor, and sometimes it got him down. He found that just merely talking about his trouble seemed to bring relief. As long as you conceal your difficulties, no one can help you. But once you bring your trouble out in the open, you can invite help and encouragement from friends. And you can benefit by the strengthening power of prayer.
Merely getting on his knees and asking for help wasn't the whole story of Dr. X's reformation. Many a drunk knows there's a wide difference between promising to go straight and sticking to it! What enabled him to hold fast to his resolution was the discovery that he, who had just started to climb back to sobriety and respectability, had the ability to help other desperate and disheartened drunks to live decent lives too. In fact, that's a big part of the cure. When Dr. X gets an inebriate started on a new life of decency, he sees to it that the man gets on his feet now and then and talks to other people in the same predicament. Telling yourself and the world that you're going to go straight helps you to remind your subconscious mind that you are going straight. There have been a lot of ex-drunks that have come within Dr. X's influence since that fateful night he was turned back from a drunkard's grave. Forty-three of them, no less, owe their new lives to him. He'll leave a party or a dinner, almost leave an operation, to go and sit up all night with some drunk he probably never saw before but who he knows needs help. He has worked out a little system. Usually he puts the drunk to bed in a hospital, where he can sleep off his liquor quietly but can't get any more. There the sick man—for a drunk really is a sick man—receives regular care, and hot meals, and also some measure of discipline and restraint. There he has privacy, and time to think. "But you can't do much for a man until he hits bottom and bounces back up, can you?" I asked. "A man doesn't necessarily have to hit bottom, but he has to come close enough to it to see where he's going if he doesn't stop drinking," replied Dr. X quietly. "And he's got to want to be helped before we can do much with him or for him" When a drunk in the hospital starts to sober up, Dr. X closes the door and starts to talk to him. "I know where you hide your bottles," he'll say. "I know every sneaky little thing you do to get liquor when you're not supposed to have any. I've been there myself. And I want to tell you, my fine young friend, it's getting you nowhere. You're rotten. You're ashamed of yourself. Now let's do something about it." So there in that white, silent hospital room they read the Bible together. Then they pray. Very simply. First the Doctor, then, falteringly, the man himself. He finds his voice gains in confidence. He finds it is easy to talk to God, and talk out loud. He finds a huge load is lifted off his chest. He begins to feel he could hold his head up again. He gets a fresh look at the man he might be. The whole idea becomes real and feasible to him. He becomes enthusiastic and eager about going straight. He promises to read the Bible, and Dr. X leaves him. Then, like as not, the sick man slips up, and badly. Success is not that easy. Those nerves that have been accustomed to bossing the mind and the body can't be straightened out without a last tough fight. The patient begs for just one more last little drink, and when the nurse refuses, he is angry at Dr. X and may storm about and threaten to go home. Fortunately, the foresighted Dr. X had carefully removed the patient's pants and shoes and locked them up in his own locker in the surgeons' room of the hospital. And then, because he knows the fight the sick man is going through, Dr. X comes back in time to bring new comfort and new cheer and to again call forth the searching and ever-available help of prayer. And in a couple of weeks the man, rested and refreshed and with the eyes alight as a result of decent living, goes home to his friends and his family that had almost given him up for dead.
"No, I don't dare let you tell about this," Dr. X said to me when I asked him for a signed interview. "We can't publicize these cures. These men are outside the realm of every day medicine. They have tried everything and been given up as hopeless. We don't succeed every time ourselves. We can't brag. Every case is a new battle." "But if word got out that we can do anything at all for a drunk, then derelicts would come into this town by the TRAINLOAD. We couldn't handle them. We couldn't handle a dozen. Two is a lot. One at a time is plenty. I can't talk to one of these fellows for more than an hour or two without feeling spent and tired, unless I talk like a parrot, and talking like a parrot wouldn't do them any good". "Do you remember when Christ turned around in the crowd and asked, 'Who touched me?' and some woman confessed she had touched his robe because she wanted to be cured? Christ felt some of his power pass out from him at that touch. It's the same way with helping people. You're giving something. It tires you. "We fellows who are doing this sort of thing feel we have hold of something, but we don't dare use our names in connection with it. Look up the new book, Alcoholics, Anonymous which we helped write. We studied around for a long while to find how we could tell our story without using our names. That book was the answer. It tells some actual stories—my own among them—but no names are given. Even the publisher doesn't know our names."
"But Dr. X," I insisted, "Why not let these drunks pay you something for what you do for them? After all, they have been a burden to their friends. You put them back where they can earn a living again and live a decent life. You deserve any kind of fee you want to charge." "No, we can't commercialize the idea," the doctor said firmly but kindly. "That would spoil everything. We've got to keep our work as a gift to anyone we are able to help. "Moreover, I'm not sure we could set up a sanitarium and cure people effectively in any wholesale manner. I'm convinced this idea has to grow, one cure at a time." I tried to argue still further. "But Christ was willing to let folks invite him in for supper and the night," I suggested. "You and your wife have food to buy, and rent to pay, and overhead expenses in the way of taxes and insurance and shoes for your daughter. It's your own fault if you don't let these reformed drunks help pay their own way." "I'm satisfied," he said with a quiet smile that permitted no debate. "My wife and I are happier than we have ever been in our lives. We can keep going very nicely as long as I get a few operations from time to time, as I am doing. I'm doing a good job of living, and am happy," he ended. Then he handed me this final thought. "I have found that no one can be permanently happy unless he lives in harmony with the rules set down in the Good Book," he said. "Try it some time! You don't need to wait till you're down and out before you ask for help. There's help waiting for you right now, if you just ask God to help you."
† † †
The gifts of friendship have only the value thatfriendship gives them.—The Advance.
YOUR FAITH

New Christian Recovery Resource Center Added

Christian Recovery Resource Centers Worldwide are a project of the International Christian Recovery Coalition. The resource centers site is http://bit.ly/erD3tW. The Christian Recovery Coalition site is www.ChristianRecoveryCoalition.com.

One by one, Christian leaders and workers in the recovery community are establishing Christian Recovery Resource Centers. And today, another established a center:

Br. Bruce Aspgren heads the Rocking A. Ministry in Caldwell, Texas.www.rockingaministry.com Bruce and his Rocking A Ministry have just established a Christian Recovery Resource Center.

Synonyms for God in the A.A. Big Book

Lots of misunderstanding about the words "higher power" could be cleared up for believers if they do a quick study on a good Concordance like the Poe Concordance and check out the following usages in the Big Book: "Creator," "Maker," "Father," "Spirit," "God" [over 400 times counting the capitalized pronouns and the foregoing descriptions taken from the Good Book], "Heavenly Father," and the statement that it means, of course, that we are going to talk about "God." Today, though the strange phrase "higher power" is used only twice in the basic text, unbelievers and others have converted it into "light bulb," "radiator," "something," "somebody," "it," "his," "her," "radiator," "Santa Claus," and on and on. Yet when Bill Wilson and Bill Dotson both said on page 191 that the "Lord" had cured them of their terrible disease, and when Dr. Bob said on page 181 that "Your Heavenly Father will never let you down," they were simply referring to Yahweh, the Creator, who was available to cure them. And when later, Bill wrote to Father John C. Ford, S.J., and said that he didn’t much care what the Buddhists did with the Twelve Steps, he was expressing in the 1950′s the openness which he had declared when he said that even the A.A. "group" could be your higher power. In the Big Book, both uses of the phrase "higher power" were in the context of "God" and no other. Stay tuned for "as you understand Him" which came from Rev. Samuel M. Shoemaker, Jr. For me, being "rocketed" requires the jet propulsion and power of Almighty God and not some idolatrous and lesser "god" which matter is discussed in Psalm 115. That doesn’t make A.A. "Christian." It simply covers what the founders meant when they were stating "Who" had cured them, and "Who" produced the documented 75% to 93% success rates in Akron and Cleveland among the seemingly hopeless "medically incurable" real alcoholics who numbered 40 and who had gone to any lengths to abstain and rely on the Creator for the power, guidance, and healing. May this help those who believe to understand exactly what our founders believed when they made their statements.

A.A. Origins, A.A. Early History, A.A. Founding, A.A. Changes

There is a huge movement afoot. It is a movement to learn A.A.'s real, early Christian roots.

It grew out of the complete absence of reported history by A.A. itself, by writers, and by some dedicated A.A. historians.

There was no significant history emanating from A.A. until Bill Wilson finally wrote Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age in the mid-1950's. Even this account, was edited by two priests. It was written after A.A. Co-founder Dr. Bob and his wife Anne Ripley Smith were both dead. It left out the major elements that led to A.A., that involved the cure of the first three AAs, and that included the Bible, the Book of James, Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, and 1 Corinthians 13.

Bill Wilson began to realize the vacuum in the 1950's when he began dictating his own story--that did not get published until years later. Bill began taping some of the founders and others who were present in the early days. This work did not bear fruit until the 1980's after Bill himself was dead and most of the pioneers were dead and gone.

Is all this important to A.A. today, to recovery today, and to those hungry for God's help today?

For twenty years, my son and I have researched piece by piece the various elements of the A.A. roots and A.A. history, tried to link them into a comprehensive whole, and challenged others to continue the quest for an accurate picture.

Importance? Of course. It highlights the role that God, His Son Jesus Christ, and the Bible played in the origins, history, founding, original program, and early successes. It highlights the substantial change of course in the last moments before the Big Book's publication in 1939. It highlights the actual cure and claims of cure by the early AAs for the first decade. It helps students to understand how to learn, appreciate, and apply the early contributions of the following:

Bill Wilson, Calvary Rescue Mission, and the forerunners (evangelists, Salvation Army, YMCA lay workers, rescue missions, and Young People's Society of Christian Endeavor, and the Christian upbringing of A.A. founders as young men in Vermont).

Also, Dr. Bob Smith, Bob's wife Anne Smith, the Bible, the Christian Bible devotionals, Quiet Time, the Oxford Group life-changing principles from the Bible, the emphasis by Dr. William Silkworth on the Great Physician Jesus Christ, the emphasis of Dr. Carl Jung and Professor William James on conversion, and the practical approaches in hospitalization, surrenders to God, acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, study of the Bible, prayer meetings, reading of Christian literature, use of Bible devotionals, and daily seeking of guidance from God.

There's much much more. But the following will chart the beginning steps for students and AAs alike:

1. The Conversion of Bill W. and Dr. Bob of Alcoholics Anonymous (www.dickb.com/titles.shtml)

2. The Akron Genesis of Alcoholics Anonymous (www.dickb.com/Akron.shtml)

3. Anne Smith's Journal 1933-1939 (www.dickb.com/annesm.shtml)

4. Good Morning!: Quiet Time, Morning Watch, Meditation, and Early A.A. (www.dickb.com/goodmorn.shtml).

5. Dr. Bob and His Library (www.dickb.com/drbob.shtml)

6. Real Twelve Step History (www.dickb.com/realhistory.shtml)

7. The Good Book and the Big Book: A.A.'s Roots in the Bible (www.dickb.com/goodbook.shtml)

8. The Oxford Group & Alcoholics: A Design for Living That Works (www.dickb.com/Oxford.shtml).

9. New Light on Alcoholism: God, Sam Shoemaker, and A.A. (www.dickb.com/newlight.shtml)

10. The Dick B. Christian Recovery Guide (www.dickb.com/Christian-Recov-Guide.shtml).

Those who tackle these roots--one-by-one--can then begin to put the facts together. They can and should also turn to important A.A. General Service Conference-approved books like Pass It On, DR. BOB and the Good Oldtimers, Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, and Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th edition. If they do so, they will be able to carry a message that informs today, fills a void today, applies today, and serves today.

The reader will be starting his efforts to help newcomers with material so little heard or discussed or applied in meetings, groups, and conferences today. It is the material that produced the astonishing cures of alcoholics during the original Alcoholics Anonymous Fellowship period from 1935-1938.

The Good Book and The Big Book: A.A.'s Roots in the Bible

Read the book today that has shown thousands how the Bible influenced A.A.

You can find it discussed in detail on www.dickb.com/goodbook.shtml.

The Good Book and the Big Book: A.A.'s Roots in the Bible is Dick B.'s most sought after book on Alcoholics Anonymous history.

It is available on Dick B.'s website and can be seen displayed and reviewed on amazon.com

Publishers of Books and Chapters on A.A. History by Dick B.

Publishers of Books and Chapters on A.A. by Author Dick B.
(as of February 2011)

Dick B. is a writer, historian, retired attorney, Bible student, CDAAC, and an active, recovered member of the fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous. He lives in Kihei, Maui, Hawaii. The author began writing and publishing books on the history and roots of Alcoholics Anonymous in 1990. By February 2011, Dick had published 42 titles, including two chapters in symposia. And the following publishers have, in the order listed, published his titles including two chapters he has contributed to published works by other A.A. historians and scholars.

The Bishop of Books, Wheeling, West Virginia

Glen Abbey Books, Seattle, Washington

Good Book Publishing Company, Corte Madera, California

Paradise Research Publications, Inc., Kihei, Maui, Hawaii

Tincture of Time Press, a division of Paradise Research Publications, Inc., Kihei, Hawaii

Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, Michigan

Hazelden Educational Services, Center City, Minnesota

Came to Believe Publications, Winter Park, Florida

ABC-CLIO, Santa Barbara, California

Dover Publications, Inc., Mineola, New York


The Dick B. titles are listed in Books in Print. At least 29 of his titles are available online from Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com. And they can be purchased through the main Dick B. website at www.DickB.com, and www.DickB.com/Titles.shtml.

Young People's Christian Endeavor Society-Foundation for A.A. Ideas

The following is an excellent article on the impact of Young People's Christian Endeavor Society on the early A.A. Christian Fellowship founded in Akron in June, 1935:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young_People's_Society_of_Christian_Endeavour
A.A. cofounder Dr. Bob and his parents were very active in Christian Endeavor. The particular group was aligned with the North Congregational Church of St. Johnsbury, Vermont where Dr. Bob and the entire Smith family were pillars and regular attenders. The principles and practices that Dr. Bob learned as a youngster in Vermont, by reason of his Christian upbringing, his training in the Bible, and the ideas of Christian Endeavor became an integral part of the principles and practices of the early A.A. Christian Fellowship. This is also discussed in my book, Dick B., When Early AAs Were Cured and also in my book, Dick B. Dr. Bob of Alcoholics Anonymous. See www.dickb.com/titles.shtml. God Bless, Dick B.

Banners for International Christian Recovery Coalition

Many who are already participants in the International Christian Recovery Coalition and/or who wish to support the Coalition and publicize its site and work have been in line to learn of banners which they can post on their facebooks, websites, twitters, and emails. And that is now available.

The information as to the banners and how to appropriate and post them can be found on

http://christianrecoverycoalition.com/images/banners/index.shtml