A.A. Conference-approved Foundation for Early A.A. History

The Case for A.A. Meetings Providing History From Conference-approved Literature

Old School A.A. First Century Christianity Recovery Approaches

Dick B. and Ken B.
Copyright 2012 Anonymous. All rights reserved

There are two strong bases for bringing these to the attention of Christian Recovery Leaders in a simple, fairly brief, concrete form. They are:

1. The Resemblance of effective early A.A. to 1st Century Christianity
All the objective observers (Five Rockefeller people in all; the early Oxford Group Fellowship and Shoemaker; and Dr. Bob’s Christian Fellowship name for Akron) make it clear they felt they were renewing the elements of First Century. This meant Christianity as set forth in Acts 2 and 4. It also meant these Christian elements would produce children of God who were able to walk by the spirit in complete health and recovery from alcoholism.

2. The Elements of Conference-approved literature that fully support those who
wish to believe, use, and practice old school A.A. in today’s recovery fellowships.
The seven-point program and 16 practices of early A.A. embodied a modern-day application of First Century Christianity in the program Bill and Bob developed in the Akron A.A. program of 1935.
If you take those points as well as the 28 Oxford Group principles that Bill and Shoemaker worked out for the 1939 program, you can use A.A. General Service Conference-approved literature to show the original intent of both Akron and the original Big Book to rely on God for recovery.
Also, if possible, to have that happen through a born-again, conversion, and new birth perhaps accompanied by the “vital religious experience” of the type William James, Carl Jung, Rev. Samuel Shoemaker, and Dr. William Silkworth believed would bring about necessary relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

The Proposed Four, Brief, Instructive Classes That Will Train 12 Steppers in How to
Learn, Utilize, and Apply Old School A.A. in Today’s 12 Step Fellowships.

1. The biblical origins of Christian recovery that can be found in: (a) Old Testament- “I am the LORD that healeth thee;” (b) Jesus taught the Word
Daily in the Temple; (c) The Apostles received the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1 and 2); Peter and John healed the lame man in the name of Jesus Christ (Acts 3) (d) The Apostles fellowshipped together, brought people to Christ, prayed and heard the Word together, broke bread together, healed, and saved thousands.

2. The Christian conversion and healing successes beginning in the 1850’s with (a) Great evangelists like Moody, Meyer, and Sunday. (b) Young Men’s Christian Association brethren. (c) Jerry McAuley and the Water Street Rescue Mission (d) the Salvation Army whose Begbie book was so popular in early A.A. (e) The Young People’s Society of Christian Endeavor which laid out most of the First Century practices that Dr. Bob learned and which became so much a part of the early Akron A.A. (f) The earlier Oxford Group life-changing principles that became embedded in the Big Book and actually sobered up early Oxford Group people.

3. (a) The Christian upbringing of the co-founders Bob and Bill; (b) the way the first
three Christian AAs got sober by simply turning to God; (c) the founding of A.A
(d) The 7 point early Akron A.A. Christian Fellowship program,

4. (a) The 16 practices the early Christian AAs  followed, the 75 to 93% success they had.(b) Present-day Conference-approved materials on spiritual (c) experience, finding God, and that “God could and would if he were sought;” and the early Big Book manuscript and stories that make the Christian and biblical origins of the 1939 program explicitly and therefore applicable for those today who want God’s help.