A.A. Origins – Beginning
Facts for an A.A. Newcomer
Start with “Old School”
Akron A.A. of 1935
By Dick B.
Copyright 2013 Anonymous. All rights reserved
Orientation
Needs to be Given
A
newcomer in recovery needs a simple explanation of the fellowship he or she has
chosen to enter. Call it “orientation.” Call it “beginner’s facts.” Or call it “a
beginner’s meeting.”
And
that beginner orientation offers the least controversial presentation if and
when it comes right out of Alcoholics Anonymous “General Service
Conference-approved Literature.”
The
article following this orientation on “old school” A.A. origins will present
beginning facts for an A.A .Newcomer explaining the “new” 1939 Twelve Step
program which Bill W. wrote and then published in 1939.
Old School
A.A. Starts Over a Period of Several Months Just Before Akron Group Number One
Was Founded
Much
of the understanding of the simple program of early Akron A.A. lies with the
requisite account of how the first three AAs got sober just before Akron Group
Number One – the original “Christian Fellowship”--was founded in June, 1935.
Regrettably this vital information was never adequately researched or reported
until after and when I began my 23 year trek into the roots – the origins – of A.A.
Each of the
first three AAs played a specific role in shaping the essentials of the old
program.
For a study, see Dick B. and Ken B., Draft of Revised and Expanded Fourth
Edition: The Dick B. Christian Recovery
Guide: Historical Perspectives and Effective Modern Application (Kihei, HI:
Paradise Research Publications, Inc., 2012), 167-73.
In a sense,
Bill W.’s contribution came first with his new birth at Calvary Rescue Mission where he accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. Next
with his “vital religious experience” (as it was first called) when, at Towns
Hospital, he cried out to God for help and had a blazing indescribably white
light filled his hospital room, after which he never drank again. And then with
the beginning of what Bill believed was his “commission” to carry the message
to all the drunks in the world. The
message commenced with what Bill called the great thought: “Bill you are a free
man! This is the God of the Scriptures. See Bill
W. My First Forty Years (Center City, MN: Hazelden, 2000,) 145-46; The Language of the Heart (NY: The AA
Grapevine, Inc., 1988), 284.
Dr. Bob’s
contribution came later but began much much earlier. In his Christian upbringing
in Vermont, Dr. Bob had received what he called “excellent training” in the
Bible. It was coupled with what he learned from his parents, his church and
Sunday school, the program of Young People’s Society of Christian Endeavor,
Bible studies, and the Young Men’s Christian Association. Years later, Bob
surrendered. He dropped to the floor with his friends at the home of T. Henry
Williams and prayed with them for his deliverance from alcoholism. The prayer,
all believed, was answered when Bill Wilson soon showed up out of the blue, met
with Dr. Bob for six hours, hit it off with Dr. Bob, and convinced Bob that he
had never grasped the idea of “service” that Bill had acquired through the
Oxford Group.
Finally, the
contribution of Bill D., A.A. Number 3 of Akron, was much more simple. Deep in the throes of
alcoholism, Bill D. was persuaded by Bill W. and Dr. Bob that there was a
solution, that he must give his life to God, and that he must then help others.
Bill D. did just that. He was immediately cured. He emerged from the hospital a
“free man” as Wilson put it. And Wilson announced that this discharge date,
July 4, 1935, marked the founding of the first A.A. group—Akron Number One..
Where to Learn
the Simple Seven Point Summary of the Early A.A. Program of 1935
With
the following A.A. publications before him, a speaker, leader, or sponsor can
enlighten the beginner with the following
1. Pioneers were guided by,
studied, and recovered with the Bible: Dr, Bob stated in 1948: “In the early days. . . our
stories didn’t amount to anything to speak of. When we started in on Bill D.
[A.A. Number 3], we had no Twelve Steps, either; we had no Traditions. But we
were convinced that the answer to our problems was in the Good Book” [the King
James Version of the Bible they used.] The
Co-Founders of Alcoholics Anonymous: Biblical Sketches Their Last Major Talks
(NY: Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc., 1972, 1975,) p. 13.
2. Their Seven Point biblical program
was summarized and published in DR. BOB and the Good Oldtimers (NY: Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc., 1980,)
p. 131. See the precise language also in Stick
with the Winners! How to Conduct More Effective 12-Step Recovery Meetings Using
Conference-Approved Literature: A Dick B. Guide for Christian Leaders and
Workers in the Recovery Arena (Kihei, HI: Paradise Research Publications,
Inc., 2012,) 25-37.
3. By November, 1937, forty
pioneers had been astonishingly successful. The details of precisely how a
cross-section had recovered were printed and published in the personal stories
in the First Edition of their Big Book, published in April, 1939. See
Alcoholics Anonymous: “The Big Book” The Original 1939
Edition Bill W. With a New Introduction by Dick B. (Mineola, NY: Dover
Publications, Inc., 2011), pp. 10-26, 180-396. Almost all of those stories were
removed from future editions, For a study, see Dick B. and Ken B., Pioneer
Stories in Alcoholics Anonymous: God’s Role in Recovery Confirmed (Kihei,
HI: Paradise Research Publications, Inc., 2012.) Years after these stories had
been removed, A.A. finally restored them
in Experience, Strength and Hope: Stories
from the First Three Editions of Alcoholics Anonymous (NY: Alcoholics
Anonymous World Services, Inc., 2003)
4. Each of the first three AAs
succinctly told, in his own words, the Solution he had found and these words
and the Solution were then recorded it in various editions of their Big Book. Here is what they said as
reported in Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th
ed. (NY: Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc., 2001):
Bill W. said: “Henrietta [wife of A.A. Number 3]. The Lord has been
so wonderful to me, curing me of this terrible disease, that I just want to
keep talking about it and telling people,” p. 191.
Dr. Bob said: “. . . we know that we
have an answer for you. It never fails. If you go about it with one half
the zeal you have been in the habit of showing when you were getting another
drink. Your Heavenly Father will never let you down!” p. 181.
Bill D. [A.A. Number 3] said: “That sentence, ‘The Lord
has been so wonderful to me, curing me of this terrible disease that I just
want to keep telling people about it,’ has been a sort of golden text for the
A.A. program and for me.,” 191.
In its chapter ‘There is a Solution,’ the 4th
edition of the Big Book said: “The great fact is just this, and nothing less: That we have had deep and effective spiritual
experiences which have revolutionized our whole attitude toward our fellows and
toward God’s universe. The central fact of our lives today is the absolute
certainty that our Creator has entered into our hearts and lives in a way which
is indeed miraculous. He has commenced to accomplish those things for us which
we could never do by ourselves.” p. 25. See Pioneer
Stories in Alcoholics Anonymous: God’s Role in Recovery Confirmed!, 75-86.
Gloria Deo
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