From Don C., RAS, Recovered Christian Author,
Interventionist, Counselor
donc@iloveaa.com
Request for Details on Your Christian Recovery Program
From Dick B.
Executive Director, International Christian Recovery
Coalition
PO Box 837, Kihei, HI 96753-0837
DickB@DickB.com; 1-808-874-4876
www.ChristianRecoveryCoalition.com
The International Christian Recovery Coalition makes no
attempt to certify or endorse or recommend a particular program or technique
for recovery from alcoholism, drug addiction, or other life-controlling
problems. (Please see www.ChristianRecoveryCoalition.com.) It does receive
phone calls, emails, and letters from all over the world. Typically, inquiries
are from mothers, wives, and relatives of an afflicted person. The inquirer
states he or she is a Christian; and states that the afflicted person: (1) may
be or want to be a Christian; (2) is in dire straits with a
seemingly-medically-incurable problem; (3) is in revolving treatment; and (4)
is at his or her bottom. The inquirer asks if we know of Christian
interventions, treatment, counseling, after care, sober living, and/or
family-concerned efforts; and if we know Christian leaders or workers or
fellowships who can help.
International Christian Recovery Coalitions “Participants”
are located in every state and several other nations (http://christianrecoverycoalition.com/ICLC-Participants.shtml).
They pay no dues and charge no fees in connection with their Coalition
participation. They seek to tell others the role that God, His Son Jesus
Christ, and the Bible played in the origins, history, founding, original
“Christian fellowship,” and successes of early A.A. They also endeavor to show
how the lessons learned from “old-school” successes can be applied in the
recovery arena today. Most “Participants” are conversant with, or actually
operating, Christian recovery efforts. And we try to keep them in touch with
each other, with treatment resources, and with inquirers who want Christian
help for themselves or their afflicted people.
This is to request that you send us by mail, phone, email,
brochure, or information flyer details on the following questions we deem
important when we suggest possibilities to Coalition “Participants,” to
Christian leaders and workers in the recovery arena, and to the afflicted
today.
1. Is your
CEO or Program Director a Christian? Yes I am.
2. How many
of your staff members are Christians, and what are their roles in treatment? My
wife and are Christians. I am Executive Director and my wife Dawn Cobb handles
administration responsibilities.
3. Do you offer a full, substantive Christian
recovery program? No. We provide outpatient counseling and interventions, and
utilize my book "12 Steps: NOT For Dummies" for those who seek our
help.
4. Does
your program teach about the Christian organizations and individuals who
preceded A.A. and helped drunks, such as: (a) the Salvation Army; (b) rescue
missions; (c) the Young Men’s Christian Association; (d) great evangelists like
Moody and Sankey; and (e) the Young People’s Society of Christian Endeavor? Yes
we do point our clients to Salvation Army Lytton Springs ARC recovery program,
occasionally to the local Gospel mission.
5. Does
your program teach about the Christian upbringing of A.A.’s cofounders Bill W.
and Dr. Bob? Yes we do. My book also points repeatedly to AA's Christian
founder's methodology.
6. Does
your program teach about the original A.A. “Christian fellowship” program
founded in Akron in 1935? Does it teach the summary of that program reported by
John D. Rockefeller, Jr.’s representative Frank Amos and published on page 131
of A.A.’s DR. BOB and the Good Oldtimers. We teach about the original AA
program, although I am not familiar enough with John D. Rockefeller or Frank
Amos to teach about their teachings.
7. Does
your program teach about the 16 Christian practices which characterized the
original A.A. “Christian fellowship” program and which are summarized in The
Dick B. Christian Recovery Guide, 3rd ed. (2010)? Not yet. I do have your book
DBCRG and will take a look at that.
8. Does
your program teach about the astonishing success rates of the original Akron
program and of the Cleveland Fellowship which began in 1939? Yes we do. 78-93%
success rates NEED to be taught.
9. Does your program teach about how even
today’s A.A. General Service conference-approved literature explicitly covers
and tells the details about the roles played by God, His Son Jesus Christ, and
the Bible in early A.A.’s astonishing successes? No, because I didn't know
that. I'll do more research.
10. Does your
program teach about how all of the original AAs who were not already children
of God were required to profess a belief in Almighty God and to come to Him
through His Son Jesus Christ? Yes we do.
11. Are you
willing to incorporate material such as that which was touched on in questions
4-10 above in your curriculum, whatever your technique, program, or approach?
Yes we are. Like I said, we already incorporate some of it.
12. Do you
conduct a full-time, substantive Christian recovery program which emphasizes:
(a) God; (b) His Son Jesus Christ; (c) the Holy Spirit; (d) the Bible; (3)
prayer; (f) Quiet Time; (g) Christian devotionals; (h) Christian recovery
literature; (i) Bible study; (j) faculty or facilitators who have substantial
Christian recovery training as clergy, recovery pastors, chaplains, Christian
recovery program directors, and/or Christian recovery fellowship program
leaders; (k) the power, love, healing abilities, guidance, forgiveness, and
deliverance aspects of Almighty God and His Son Jesus Christ? (l) the renewed
mind; and mj) walking by the Spirit of God rather than by the flesh. For the
most part, yes we do.
13. Do you
have worship services, Bible study, prayer meetings, Christian counseling, and
recovery background classes on your premises? We only provide Christian
counseling at this time. Recovery background is covered in my book.
14. Are you
holding yourself out as a full-time, complete, healing Christian recovery
program or facility? No. We are not that yet.
15. Would you
consider examining and perhaps even using the material researched and written
by author Dick B. as a writer, historian, retired attorney, Bible student,
CDAAC, and active recovered AA for over
26 years of continuous sobriety, and publisher
of 46 titles and 1,250 articles on
Alcoholics Anonymous history and the Christian Recovery Movement? Of course,
Dick. When I was Men's Director at the Redwood Gospel Mission, I was discussing
this with you. At the time the Mission was experiencing serious financial
difficulties, like it usually is, and so I was not able to implement your
program, although I did distribute the books you sent me to the program
members.
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