Dick B. on the Importance to A.A. History of Dr. Bob's Birthplace, Church, and Academy in St. Johnsbury Vermont

Faces and Voices of Recovery some time ago featured an interview of Author and A.A. Historian Dick B. when he and his son were in St. Johnsbury, Vermont. They were interviewed in the boyhood home and birthplace of A.A. cofounder Dr. Bob Smith on Summer Street in St. Johnsbury.

The author Dick B. visited Dr. Bob's boyhood home, his family church--North Congregational Church of St. Johnsbury, the Athenaeum Library where Dr. Bob studied, the St. Johnsbury Academy and its library where Dr. Bob matriculated. And he proposed to Dr. Bob's Birthplace people a vigorous plan for making this community and its A.A. treasures better known and visited by AAs and others in the recovery community.

A.A.'s St. Johnsbury, Vermont is an historical treasure of A.A., Dick B. said:

You can see the interview on

http://ww.facesandvoicesofrecovery.org/resources/in_the_news/2007/2007-10-19_AA_Stjohnsbury.php

Christian Radio Interview by Dick B. of long-time Connecticut A.A. and Christian Recovery Leader Gary A.

Dick B. interviews Christian Recovery leader Gary Agnew on the July 30, 2013, episode of the "Christian Recovery Radio with Dick B." show

 

On

www.ChristianRecoveryRadio.com

 

Dick B.

© 2013 Anonymous. All rights reserved

 

You Can Hear This Radio Show Right Now

_____________________________________________________________________________

 

You may hear Dick B. interview Christian Recovery leader Gary Agnew on the July 30, 2013, episode of the "Christian Recovery Radio with Dick B." show here:

http://mcaf.ee/wd509

or here:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/christian-recovery-radio-with-dickb/2013/07/30/dick-b-interviews-christian-recovery-leader-gary-agnew

Episodes of the "Christian Recovery Radio with Dick B." show are archived at:

www.ChristianRecoveryRadio.com

 

______________________________________________________________________________

 

Introduction

 

Over my years of travel, research, and talks, I have met many experienced AAs and Christian recovery leaders and workers; and featuring these folks on radio is a top priority. Today's guest is Gary Agnew of Columbia, Connecticut. Gary is now retired, but his resume is long and admirable. He is the author of two books and of a power point presentation on the history of A.A. He is a participant in the International Christian Recovery Coalition, and will be attending "The First International Alcoholics Anonymous History Conference" in Portland, Maine, September 6-7, 2013. Gary is acutely aware that there is a Christian Recovery Movement afoot and is certainly a part of it. He handled a ministry at My Father's House for 5 1/2 years. He has been a supervisor for the staff of counselors at a Veterans Administration facility. He currently does outreach work in the prison system; and that is his passion now that he is retired. For many years now, Gary has been in touch with me, has purchased and read all of my books, has actively shared his viewpoints on Christian recovery from alcoholism and addiction, and has supported our efforts to disseminate the facts about the role of God, His Son Jesus Christ, and the Bible in early A.A.'s astonishing successes, and the role they can play today for those who want and need God's help. It will be a pleasure to hear Gary tell us the facts. Take it away, Gary.

 

 

Synopsis of Gary’s Interview – “Stick with the Winners!”

 

Gary is 30 years sober, and has been in the treatment field for 22 years. As to God’s Word, Gary has freely used 12-Step Bible study in facilities where he has worked. He’s noticed that clients—if they refuse to participate—returned from their drinking sprees sooner; and those who participated, had toted up the longest sobriety ever.

 

Gary worked for a time in My Father’s House and there conducted Bible study. He is the author of two books: (1) God’s Word and 12 Steps , covering religion and A.A. history—particularly Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount, the Book of James, and St. Paul’s 1 Corinthians 13. The title is “Watch What He Does With This”—portraying a sense of Jesus’s place in life. (2) “Spiritual Journal Guide to Recovery.” And. as he goes through each of the Twelve Steps, he asks three questions: (a) What have you done? (b) What are you doing? (c) What will you do?

 

Gary has carried the spiritual message to the Veterans Administration and to prisons. He was a superintendent of counselors at the Veterans Administration, and did much outreach to those in prison. His work in that realm centered around Brooklyn, Connecticut.

 

At The First International Alcoholics Anonymous History Conference in Portland, Maine, September 6 and 7, 2013, Gary will be attending and a participant. He will be presenting an hour and ten minutes “History of Alcoholics Anonymous” power point production with music. His book is handed out with notes and discussions. And he points to the fact that there is not just one clear way to recovery.

 

Two significant questions about the frequent objections in present-day A.A. and 12-Step meetings when there is mention of God, Jesus Christ, and the Bible. These two issues were tendered to Gary for a statement of his experience and how he handles such attempted objections and intimidations:

 

(1)   As to the astonishing, documented 93% success rates achieved in the early Cleveland A.A. program, Gary simply asks “Why would you want to deviate from a program like that!”

 

(Cleveland AAs, of course, brought with them from the early Akron A.A. Christian Fellowship the Big Book, the Twelve Steps, the Oxford Group “Four Absolutes,” the Bible, and “most of the old program”—hospitalization, giving your life to God, obeying God, growing in understanding of Him and His Son through prayer, Bible study, Quiet Time, reading Christian literature; and then helping others get straightened out with the same Christian technique.)

 

(2)   What about head-turning, and voiced rejections of Christian remarks in meetings? Gary simply points out that even the Apostles were not always accepted with open arms. How would you handle the rejections of your religious statements? His answer? Accept them! For the reason that you can say to yourself and others: “I have a life.” And I “Stick with the Winners!” (alluding to the new book by Dick B. and Ken B., 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) http://mcaf.ee/s50mq.

 

And the winners, of course, were the Akron A.A. Christian fellowship pioneers—Bill W., Dr. Bob, Dr. Bob’s wife, Henrietta Seiberling, T. Henry and Clarace Williams, Cleveland founder Clarence H. Snyder, and Sister Ignatia of St. Thomas Hospital

The "higher power" Iceberg. Steam the Other Way. No Titanic for A.A.

The A.A. “higher power” Iceberg. Steam the Other Way. No Titanic for A.A.

 

By Dick B.

© 2013 Anonymous. All rights reserved

 

Academia and a small group of the clergy have been pushing “nonsense gods” ever since A.A.'s Akron Christian Recovery program was founded in June 1935.

 

What are these “nonsense gods?” They are “higher powers” that are called light bulbs, "Somebody," "Something," a tree, a Coke Bottle, the Big Dipper, the back end of a city bus, a chair, a table, a radiator, Gertrude, Ralph, and any "power greater than yourself."

 

Rev. Sam Shoemaker, called by Bill W. a "cofounder of A.A.," tried to help AAs and Christians become aware of this idolatry. He decried "absurd modern names for God,"[1] "self-made religion," and "half-baked prayers."[2] Shoemaker made comments along these lines in his talks at the International A.A. Conventions in St. Louis (1955)[3] and Long Beach (1960).[4] You can find his solution in one of his earliest books, Realizing Religion.

 

In that early book Realizing Religion--introducing many ideas Bill W. was later to incorporate in his Twelve Steps and the language of his Big Book of 1939--Shoemaker made the spiritual battle plain.

 

He pointed to the need for "finding" God. He discussed becoming "born again." He discussed the "turning point." He discussed the need for a "vital religious experience."[5]

 

Shoemaker's simple explanation of man's spiritual problem--spiritual misery--certainly didn't point to light bulbs or chairs as a solution. Who would pray to a chair for relief from alcoholism! Who would try to find "power" in Ralph? Who would claim to understand that a "higher power" could be understood and relied upon to produce the miraculous of cure of alcoholism? Who would assert that the A.A. "solution" on page 25 of the Big Book entailed the back end of a city bus entering into your heart in a way that is truly miraculous? Absurdities all!

 

We now know from Bill W.'s own discussion on pages 166-67 of the A.A. General Service Conference-approved book Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age that this whole shift to a ridiculous "broad highway" for alcoholics and addicts resulted in part from Bill’s having yielded to the irreligious begging of his partner Hank Parkhurst. Although Bill stated that he (Bill W.) “had consistently used the word ‘God’” in “the original draft” of the Twelve Steps, he went on to state that—as a result of the compromise he reached with Hank, Fitz, and Ruth--they removed the word “God” from Step Two and “decided to describe God as a ‘Power greater than ourselves.’” Bill further stated: “In Steps Three and Eleven we inserted the words ‘God as we understood Him.’” Rev. Sam Shoemaker had often used language similar to “a Power greater than ourselves,” and he had used a version of the expression “God as we understood Him” in Children of the Second Birth, and The Way to Find God. But Bill admitted that his changing of the wording of Steps Two, Three, and Eleven from his original, unmodified use of the word “God” to the wording of those Steps as they are found in the first and following editions of the Big Book was done to appease “our atheists and agnostics” (of whom there were practically none in the earliest A.A. days before the Big Book was published in April 1939).

 

Shoemaker made it clear that God as he (Shoemaker) understood Him was Yahweh (as He calls Himself in the Scriptures)[6]--the Creator,[7] the Maker,[8] and God Almighty[9] (as He is described in the Scriptures). Bill W. stated, in reporting what happened when his hospital room at Towns Hospital “blazed with an indescribably white light” in mid-December 1934:

 

And then the great thought burst upon me: ‘Bill, you are a free man! This is the God of the Scriptures.’” And then I was filled with a consciousness of a presence. A great peace fell over me, . . .[10]

 

It was “the God of the Scriptures” to whom Bill W. was referring in 133 occurrences of the word “God” in pages 1-164 of the fourth edition of the Big Book.[11] It was “the God of the Scriptures” to whom Bill was referring in his 81 uses of capitalized pronouns in those same 164 pages.[12] And it was “the God of the Scriptures” to whom Bill was referring in his 12 mentions of the word “Creator” (with a capital “C”),[13] his two mentions of “Maker” (with a capital “M”),[14] and his mentions of “the Father” and of “the Father of Light.”[15] As A.A. cofounder Bill W. put it, for the alcoholic to be delivered from alcoholism—“The only condition is that he trust in God and clean house.”[16] As A.A.’s other cofounder, Dr. Bob, put it in his personal story in the Big Book:

 

Your Heavenly Father will never let you down![17]

 

Rev. Samuel M. Shoemaker, a cofounder of AA, wrote these ideas in Realizing Religion--a decade before there even was an Alcoholics Anonymous. Shoemaker said: (1) Man suffers from spiritual misery. (2) Motor drives will not relieve it. (3) The spiritual misery is man's separation from God who meant man to be His (God's) companion. (4) “What you need is a vital religious experience,” Sam wrote. (5) “You need to find God.” (6) “You need Jesus Christ.”

 

And early Akron AAs responded to these ideas.

 

There were no “higher powers.” The “higher powers” were the product of people like Emmet Fox who claimed the doctrine of salvation in the Bible was bogus. In those early years, only a few people like William James, Ralph Waldo Trine, Fox, and Victor Kitchen--who talked "new thought" language--were introducing the idea of a "higher power"--a phrase  that will not be found in the Bible which early Akron AAs stressed.

 

Now, an American researcher and a British clergyman are holding a “higher power conference” to find out the various ways in which this weird phrase is understood. The answer? It is a diversion. It is idolatrous, And it is impotent. It surely is not understood because it's nonsense!

 

                                                                        Gloria Deo

---

[1] Excerpt from Sam Shoemaker’s talk at the International A.A. Convention in Long Beach in 1960 in Dick B., New Light on Alcoholism: God, Sam Shoemaker, and A.A., Pittsburgh ed. (Kihei, HI: Paradise Research Publications, Inc., 1999), 332.

[2] For “half-baked prayers,” see Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, 265.

[3] A transcript of Sam Shoemaker’s talk at the International A.A. Convention in St. Louis in 1955 is found in Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age (New York: Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc., 1957, 1985), 261-70.

[4] For some excerpts of Sam Shoemaker’s talk at the International A.A. Convention in Long Beach in 1960, see Dick B., New Light on Alcoholism, 330-35.

[5] See Dick B., Turning Point: http://www.dickb.com/Turning.shtml.

[6] See, for example, the following verses in Rotherham’s Emphasized Bible (EB):

                “. . . Yahweh . . . This is my name to times age-abiding, . . .” (Exod 3:15)

                “. . . my name Yahweh . . .” (Exod 6:3)

                “I am Yahweh, that is my name, . . .” (Isa 42:8)

                “. . . my name is Yahweh.” (Jer 16:21)

                “. . . Yahweh is his name.” (Exod 15:3)

                “. . . Yahweh is his name.” (Jer 33:2)

                “. . . Yahweh is his name.” (Amos 5:8)

                “. . . Yahweh is his name.” (Amos 9:6)

[7] See, for example, the following verses:

                “. . . Yahweh, the Creator of the ends of the earth, . . .” (Isa 40:28 EB)

                “I am Yahweh, your Holy One, the creator of Israel, your king.” [Isa 43:15 The Jerusalem Bible (JB)]

[8] See, for example, the following verses:

                “. . . Let us kneel before Yahweh our maker; For he is our God, . . .” (Ps 95:6-7 EB)

                “The rich and the poor, meet together, the maker of them all, is Yahweh.” (Prov 22:2 EB)

“At that day shall a man look to his Maker, and his eyes shall have respect to the Holy One of Israel.” (Isa 17:7 KJV)

“That thou hast forgotten Yahweh thy maker, Who stretched out the heavens And founded the earth? . . .” (Isa 51:13 EB)

[9] See, for example, the following verses:

                “And God Almighty bless thee, . . .” (Gen 28:3 KJV)

                “And God said unto him, I [am] God Almighty: . . .” (Gen 35:11 KJV)

                “And God Almighty give you mercy . . . (Gen 43:14 KJV)

“And God spake unto Moses,—and said unto him, I, am Yahweh: I appeared, therefore, unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, as GOD Almighty,—although, by my name Yahweh, was I not made known to them;” (Exod 6:2-3 EB)

[10] See The Language of the Heart: Bill W.’s Grapevine Writings (New York: The AA Grapevine, Inc., 1988), 284.

[11] For this count of the occurrences of the word “God” in the fourth edition of the Big Book, and for the counts of the capitalized pronouns and of the biblical descriptions of God, see: “Occurrences of the Word ‘God’ and Related Words on Pages 1-164 in Alcoholics Anonymous, 4^th ed. (n.p.: n.p., December 17, 2013)

[12] I.e.: “He,” “His,” “Him,” “Thou,” “Thy,” and “Thee.”

[13] See pp. 13, 25, 28, 56, 68, 72, 75, 76, 80, 83, 158, and 161 of Alcoholics Anonymous, 4^th ed., 2001.

[14] See pp. 57 and 63 of Alcoholics Anonymous, 4^th ed., 2001.

[15] See page 62 and 14, respectively, of Alcoholics Anonymous, 4^th ed., 2001.

[16] Alcoholics Anonymous, 4^th ed., 98.

[17] Alcoholics Anonymous, 4^th ed., 181.

Google DickB. ****

Lots of sites on Author and A.A. Historian Dick B.

dickb ****

The "higher power" Iceberg. Don't give up the ship. Just turn away full steam ahead. No Titanic for AAs

Academia and a small fragment of the clergy have been pushing nonsense gods ever since A.A.'s Akron Christian Recovery program was founded in 1935.

What are these nonsense gods? Higher powers that are called light bulbs, "Somebody," "Something," a tree, a Coke Bottle, the Big Dipper, the back end of a city bus, a chair, a table, a radiator, Gertrude, Ralph, and any "power greater than yourself."

Rev. Sam Shoemaker, called by Bill Wilson a "cofounder of A.A.," tried to help AAs and Christians aware of this idolatry. He decried "absurd names for God," "self-made religion," and "half-baked prayers." You can find his remarks in the transcripts of A.A. International Conventions in Long Beach and St. Lois. You can find his solution in one of  his earliest books, Realizing Religion.

In that early book Realizing Religion--introducing many ideas Bill W. was later to incorporate in his Twelve Steps and the language of his Big Book of  1939--Shoemaker made the spiritual battle plain.
He pointed to the need for "finding" God. He discussed becoming "born again." He discussed the "turning point" (See Dick B. http://www.dickb.com/Turning.shtml). He discussed the need for  a "vital religious experience."

Shoemaker's simple explanation of man's spiritual problem--spiritual misery--certainly didn't point to light bulbs or chairs as a solution. Who would pray to a chair for relief from alcoholism! Who would try to find "power" in Ralph? Who would claim to understand that an "higher power" could be understood and relied upon to produce the miraculous of cure of alcoholism? Who would assert that the A.A. "solution" on page 25 of the Big Book entailed the back end of a city bus entering into your heart in a way that is truly miraculous? Absurdities all!

We now know from Bill's own discussion in Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, that this whole shift to a ridiculous "broad highway" for alcoholics and addicts began when Bill yielded to the irreligious begging of his partner Hank Parkhurst. Bill eliminated "God" from the proposed Second Step. He corrupted "God" in the Third and Eleventh Steps by adding "as we understood Him" --even though the phrase came from the writings of Rev. Sam Shoemaker in Children of the Second Birth, and The Way to Find God. And Bill admitted it was done to appease atheists and agnostics (of whom there were practically none in A.A.)

Shoemaker made it clear to Alcoholics Anonymous that the God he (Shoemaker) understood Him was Yahweh, the Creator--Almighty God as he was named and described in the Scriptures. So did Bill W. during his blazing extraordinary white light experience in Towns Hospital. And their frame of reference--their Heavenly Father--was suitable for delivering AAs.

Rev. Samuel M. Shoemaker, a cofounder of AA, wrote these ideas in Realizing Religion--a decade before there even was an Alcoholics Anonymous. Shoemaker said: (1) Man suffers from spiritual misery. (2) Motor drives will not relieve it. (3) The spiritual misery is man's separation from God who meant man to be His (God's) companion. (4) "What you need is a vital religious experience," Sam wrote. (5) "You need to find God." (6) "You need Jesus Christ."

And early Akron AAs  responded to these ideas.

There were no "higher powers." The "higher powers" were the product of people like Emmet Fox who claimed the doctrine of salvation in the Bible was bogus. In those early years, only a few people like William James, Ralph Waldo Trine, Fox, and Victor Kitchen--who talked "new thought" language--were introducing the idea of a "higher power"--a phrase  that will not be found in the Bible which early Akron AAs stressed.

Now, an American researcher and a British clergyman are holding a "higher power conference" to find out the various ways in which this weird phrase is understood. The answer? It is a diversion. It is idolatrous, And it is impotent. It surely is not understood because it's nonsense!

                                                                        Gloria Deo



Don't steam ahead into the "higher power" iceberg. And don't give up the ship--reliance on Almighty God. Just turn away full steam ahead, saying "no Titanic for AAs," and get well.

On radio today, author Dick B. discusses "The Neglected Sponsor" and What He Really Needs

Dick B. discusses the neglected A.A. sponsor on the July 28, 2013, episode of the "Christian Recovery Radio with Dick B." show

On

www.ChristianRecoveryRadio.com

Dick B.

© 2013 Anonymous. All rights reserved

 

You Can Hear This Radio Show Right Now

 

You may hear Dick B. discuss the neglected A.A. sponsor on the July 28, 2013, episode of the “Christian Recovery Radio with Dick B.” show here:

 

http://mcaf.ee/3gmhd

 

or here:

 

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/christian-recovery-radio-with-dickb/2013/07/29/dick-b-discusses-the-neglected-aa-sponsor

 

Episodes of the “Christian Recovery Radio with Dick B.” show are archived at:

 

http://mcaf.ee/3gmhd

 

 

 

Introduction

 

Today's radio program is all about sponsors and sponsorship. Its subject will be presented also at our conferences this year in: (1) Portland, Maine; (2) the San Francisco Bay region; (3) the Phoenix and Tucson areas of Arizona; and (4) Roseville, California. There is a recognized need for solid guidance today on learning the 12 Steps, on how to take them, and on how to take others through them. Also on why one needs a sponsor, and on what the sponsor needs to know. Then, on what the sponsor should pass along to sponsees. And finally what the newcomer needs to hear from his sponsor and his Fellowship, and then learn. Today, a potential sponsor has many tools that did not exist when A.A. was founded. But the early Akron AAs had Dr. Bob, his wife Anne, Henrietta Seiberling, T. Henry Williams and his wife Clarace, and later, Clarence Snyder. Dr. Bob was their leader. All were Christians and Bible students. All knew their Bibles and much of the Oxford Group literature and Christian literature and devotionals they used. Bill W. was thoroughly trained by the Episcopal Rector Sam Shoemaker. And all were highly intelligent teachers and guides. But a great deal of the Akron program and its origins and ingredients of recovery are virtually unknown today. The Bible has vanished as the standard. The records are there. We've written about them. But most potential sponsors know little if anything about them. Today's talk will explore many qualities, training items, and needs that sponsorship entails; and we believe, if followed, they will greatly enhance the knowledge and success of the fellowship, groups, meetings, sponsors, newcomers, and speakers.

 

The Neglected A.A. Sponsor, and What He or She Needs

 

By Dick B.

© 2013 Anonymous. All rights reserved

 

Many of us who come into A.A.are enthused over it and eager to get on with recovery. But we see and know far too little about sponsors and sponsorship.

 

Within three or four days after I entered the rooms of A.A., I got and started working with a sponsor with only six months of sobriety. His sponsor had suggested he approach me and become my sponsor. What did not seem apparent to either of them was the fact that I was sick, confused, frightened, and starting into a detox I knew nothing about and did not expect. In a matter of two or three days, I had three gran mal seizures, almost died, and was sent to treatment by my physician.

 

When I was discharged, after 30 days of treatment, I had to face the wreckage of my past. I was a basket case. And after thirty plus days of brain damage, misery, continuing insomnia from sleeping pill addiction, troubles, and fear, I checked into the VA psych ward in San Francisco.

 

I had been imbued with so many statements about helping others that I got permission from the VA staff to take patients to A.A. meetings all over San Francisco during my two months of hospitalization. Worse, I found a newcomer, somewhat crazy, who was a drug addict; and I proceeded to “bless” him with my sponsorship. I was on top of the world. But the mentally ill recovering addict knew little about A.A., about his illness, or about his serious impairments. And I knew little about my inadequacy!

 

And, truth be told, when I later returned to A.A. from the psych ward, I realized that in my home county there were very very few who were serving as sponsors and really accomplishing much with the men they were trying to help.

 

What was the problem? With me. With my sponsor. And with these other kind helpers?

 

Now a concert pianist seeks good teachers and practices, practices, practices before he goes on stage or on tour. This I know because my mother was a concert pianist.The rock star does likewise. The football coach serves his internship on junior varsity, varsity, second string, assistant coaching, and finally the pinnacle. But he had better keep observing, studying, and improving or his contract will be pulled. So too, in a general sense, with physicians, accountants, marketers, authors, mechanics, bridge builders, contractors, and medical technicians. But most do not deal with life and death sickness, or with seemingly inextricable life problems, or they lack some kind of qualified teacher and instruction. And there is nothing about A.A. and the dire consequences of inadequate sponsorship that seems to suggest that top assistance is there required in helping sick alcoholics and addicts.

 

The point of this article is that help is on its way for the sponsor who sees the problems and wants to help others effectively.

 

A sponsor needs a good sponsor. So does the good sponsor. And the longer A.A. survives, the more information becomes available and could go into the mind and training of a good sponsor.

 

Let’s look at some areas where there is a noticeable shortfall. At the outset, the newcomer needs to find and work with a qualified sponsor. But he is hard put to make a judgment call. For the neglected area of sponsorship makes it bereft of many essential capabilities. First, the capability of being a sponsor who has learned about A.A. history; learned the many changes in and programs of A.A. itself, and knows A.A.’s Big Book thoroughly, how to apply its “practical program of action,” what the “solution” is, or how to take a newcomer through the suggested steps of recovery.

 

There is need for a sponsor who is familiar with our conference-approved literature, the relationship of A.A. to the Bible, the Oxford Group, “A First Century Christian Fellowship,” Reverend Samuel M. Shoemaker, William D. Silkworth, M.D., Dr. Carl G. Jung, and Professor William James. The “good sponsor” needs to know the details about the upbringing of Dr. Bob and of Bill Wilson, the writings and teachings of Dr. Bob’s wife Anne, the unique role of Henrietta Seiberling, the special help given by T. Henry Williams and his wife Clarace, the claimed and documented cures in early A.A., and the statements about them.

 

The “good sponsor” needs to learn about the Four Absolutes and where they came from; the original Akron A.A. program summarized on page 131 of DR. BOB and the Good Oldtimers; the sixteen practices of the early pioneers; the so-called six word-of-mouth ideas mentioned by Bill Wilson; the original manuscript of the 1939 Big Book, the changes made in it, the last-minute pre-publication changes in the original Big Book manuscript’s Step language by four people whose stated purpose was to accommodate atheists and agnostics.

 

There is need to know the literature early AAs read, the Akron Genesis of Alcoholics Anonymous, Quiet Time, the special importance of the First Edition of Alcoholics Anonymous, of The Co-Founders of Alcoholics Anonymous, DR. BOB and the Good Oldtimers, “Pass It On,” “Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, and The Language of the Heart.

 

The “good sponsor” will be ill equipped if he doesn’t become acquainted with the conversion of Bill’s grandfather Willie Wilson and his cure of alcoholism. For this event imbued in Bill the idea that alcoholism could really be cured for good by a vital religious experience. The “good sponsor” needs to know Dr. Silkworth’s advice to Bill about the “Great Physician” Jesus Christ; to be aware of the recently investigated roots of A.A. in Vermont; to pass along the successes of Akron A.A.; and to emphasize the rapid founding and growth of Cleveland A.A. and its top success rate of 93%.

 

Before tiring our listeners and seeming to pose an impossible task, let’s ask this: How many writers, historians, therapists, treatment programs, substance abuse training and continuing education courses, counselors, 12 Step speakers, “trusted servants,” clergy, physicians, sponsors, and potential sponsors, or peer guides are given even an introduction to the neglected areas of necessity. The answer is that the thousands of hours that some counselors must spend training; the curricula for clergy, physicians, social workers, treatment facilitators, and others; and even A.A. literature can do the job. But the job itself is ignored, given short shrift, or scantily handled.

 

Mundane, readily available, and of major importance are the efforts the good sponsor needs to make: (1) Learning the Big Book. (2) Learning other A.A. General Service Conference-approved literature. (3) Learning the roots of A.A. (4) Learning the history of the recovery movement and its high points. (5) Learning the personal stories in the First Edition of the Big Book. (6) Reading a good Step Guide such as Our Legacy. (7) Listening to a Joe and Charlie Big Book Seminar. (8) Learning exactly who to take and then to take newcomers through each of the Twelve Steps. (9)  Learning the “spiritual” and the “religious” beginnings of A.A. (10) Learning and teaching what early Akron AAs found in the Book of James, Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, and 1 Corinthians 13. These tools were read in early A.A., but rarely if ever even mentioned today. (11) Learning to qualify the newcomer. (12) Learning to send the newcomer at the outset for medical advice or hospitalization. (13) Teaching, teaching, teaching the things so learned. (14) Taking sponsees to quality A.A. meetings and quizzing them about content as to Big Book, Step, history, and statements about God. (15) Encouraging sponsees to go to district and area functions, roundups and conferences, recreational functions, seminars, and international conventions. (16) Learning and conducting tests teaching the newcomer how to identify alcoholism from such resources as (a) Big Book pages 30-31, 44, (b) the Big Book chapter “More about Alcoholism,” (c) the famed “Twenty Questions,” and (d) my own simple four-part test of “drink, drunk, disaster, return for more.” (17) Reading the Big Book and Step guides with sponsees. (18) Teaching sponsees about A.A.’s roots, the upbringing of its cofounders, the institutions and people who contributed ideas to the early program, how the first three AAs got sober, the prayer session in Akron which put Dr. Bob on the road to recovery, the miracle of Bill Wilson’s appearance in Akron, the conversion experiences of Bill Wilson with his grandfather, Bill W.’s born again experience at Calvary Rescue Mission, and his “vital religious experience”—called by him a Towns Hospital room blazing with an indescribably white light,” Bill’s sensing the presence of God, Bill’s thinking: “Bill, you are a free man. This is the God of the Scriptures.” Bill’s abandoning all doubts about the existence of God (no longer warranting the comments today  that Bill was an atheist or agnostic after his experience), Bill’s new found obsession with helping all the drunks in the world get well. Bill’s initial witnessing with a Bible under his arm, going to the streets and hotels and wards telling drunks to give their lives to God, and Bill’s formulating the key to his own story on page 191 of the fourth edition of Alcoholics Anonymous: “Henrietta, 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 about it.” (19) Establishing in the mind the simple formula of the first three AAs for getting cured—as all declared they were. The formula was: (a) Quitting drinking permanently after hitting bottom. (b) Entrusting one’s life to the care, protection, and direction of God. (c) Helping others get well by the same means.

 

Bill Wilson once wrote: Physicians and clergy are the experts. We are simply their assistants. And when someone pipes up in a meeting about his doctor or his minister and then is scolded by someone else that this is an “outside issue,” that “someone else” should be informed at or after the meeting that his comments run counter to A.A. history and counter to vital recovery aspects.

 

Once again, the question: Is all this too much to expect of sponsors? The answer is that it worked and it works. But the price is high: Licensed counselors need the kind of material just mentioned. So do physicians and therapists. So do treatment facilitators. So to those who produce huge and helpful seminars and conferences like those pertaining to Steps and Big Books—yet they just don’t get close to meeting the complete need.

 

The answer today is that half a loaf is no better than none.

 

The doctor with an infected scalpel, the minister who paraphrases his Bible, the nurse who is high on drugs, the counselor who learns far more about 12 modalities of treatment than about A.A., the treatment program or government facilities that hire underpaid, under-trained, and under-informed nurses and counselors all contribute to what might well be called unethical or unprofessional or certainly undesirable conduct in their fields.

 

The answer is that Bill W., Dr. Bob, Bill D. of Akron, Dr. Bob’s wife, Henrietta Seiberling, Reverend Samuel M. Shoemaker, and Clarence Snyder all devoted their entire lives to helping drunks. And neither Bill W., Dr. Bob, Bill D., nor Clarence Snyder ever drank again after his sobriety date. All were avid readers. All were on the firing line. All were highly educated. Most were good teachers. And none ever presumed to know all about alcoholism, addiction, God, the Bible, treatment, medicine, or religion. They just kept growing!

 

Gloria Deo

Roseville California Roundup Dec 31 and Jan 1 when author Dick B. will speak on The Good Book and The Big Book: A.A.'s Roots in the Bible

We were pleased today to receive a phone call from the Recovery Pastor of Adventure Church in Roseville, California - near to California's state capital in Sacramento.

He invited my son Ken B. and me to come from Maui to Roseville for a roundup to bring members of the community in more touch with the church and with its recovery focus.

I was asked to give a major talk on my book and topic--The Good Book and The Big Book: A.A.'s Roots in the Bible www.dickb.com/goodbook.shtml. And also do some other presentations related to our work on the role of God, His Son Jesus Christ, and the Bible in the origins, roots, forerunners of the 12 Step movement, Christian upbringing of Bill W. and Dr. Bob, and how the first three AAs got sober by deciding to quit permanently, give their lives to God, and help others.

This golden period took place before the first Alcoholics Anonymous group Akron Number One was founded on July  4, 1935. And at that time, there were no Steps, no Traditions, no Big Books, no war stories, and no meetings as we know them today. Those old-timers believed that the answer to their problems was in the Bible. They stressed study of the Book of James, Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, and 1 Corinthians 13.

We look forward to the presentations, the opportunity to disseminate this all but lost information, and to meet with others in the Sacramento-Roseville Area at this critical holiday time and do so in an organized area roundup.

In His Service,

Dick B.
dickb@dickb.com; 808 874 4876; 808 276 4945

Roundup in Roseville California where Author Dick B. will be making several presentations on The Good Book and The Big Book Dec 31-Jan1

We were pleased today to receive a phone call from the Recovery Pastor of Adventure Church in Roseville, California - near to California's state capital in Sacramento.

He invited my son Ken B. and me to come from Maui to Roseville for a roundup to bring members of the community in more touch with the church and with its recovery focus.

I was asked to give a major talk on my book and topic--The Good Book and The Big Book: A.A.'s Roots in the Bible www.dickb.com/goodbook.shtml. And also do some other presentations related to our work on the role of God, His Son Jesus Christ, and the Bible in the origins, roots, forerunners of the 12 Step movement, Christian upbringing of Bill W. and Dr. Bob, and how the first three AAs got sober by deciding to quit permanently, give their lives to God, and help others.

This golden period took place before the first Alcoholics Anonymous group Akron Number One was founded on July  4, 1935. And at that time, there were no Steps, no Traditions, no Big Books, no war stories, and no meetings as we know them today. Those old-timers believed that the answer to their problems was in the Bible. They stressed study of the Book of James, Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, and 1 Corinthians 13.

We look forward to the presentations, the opportunity to disseminate this all but lost information, and to meet with others in the Sacramento-Roseville Area at this critical holiday time and do so in an organized area roundup.

In His Service,

Dick B.
dickb@dickb.com; 808 874 4876; 808 276 4945

Maximize the Value and Message of the Dick B. 29 Volume A.A. History Reference Set. And do so free. Our gifts to You

How to Maximize the Value, Use, Information, and Message of the Dick B. 29 Volume A.A. History Reference Set and Do So Free. Our gifts to You

 

Dick B.

 

For some time we have kept the acquisition price for my 29 volume A.A. History Reference Set discounted to the very low amount of $249.00 with free shipping within USA. Many have availed themselves of the bargain for their personal use, for their institution or organization, for study groups, for research, and for keeps!

 

We still urge you right now—in preparation for our series of three conferences on A.A. history in Portland Maine, Livermore California, Foster City California, Tucson Arizona and Phoenix Arizona in September and early October—to acquire the set while its discount saving makes it available to you for only $249.00 and still continues.

 

Additional Ways to Supplement Free the Information in the Dick B. 29 Volume A.A. History References Set Once You Acquire It. And do so free!

 

·        In my Articles: Through finding and reading the more than 1500 articles written by Dick B. and posted on his main website, such websites as Silkworth.net and aabibliography, and many others. These articles have frequently supplemented the materials and subjects in one or more of my books. They have frequently updated  book materials. They have frequently provided much additional information valuable in understanding and using volumes in the set. All of these 1500 plus articles can be seen and downloaded by you free!

 

·        Through my three search buttons on my main website (www.dickb.com)

There is a Google search available that can quickly take you to a site listed on Google that covers a subject or idea in my books, articles, blogs, and other resources of interest to you after finding them in my books or on your own.

There is a Google search available that will find anything amongst the huge amount of historical material posted on my own main website. www.dickb.com.

          There is a Google search available that will take you to anything in my books themselves that is a subject of study, interest, or research. www.dickb.com.

          All free!

 

·        Through any of my frequent newsletters. These may notify you of conferences and broadcasts and publications on subjects in my book. They may add new information on a particular subject. They may tell you what others are saying about the material. And they may identify further findings about A.A. History or the Christian Recovery Movement. Sign up for our newsletter list on my main website www.dickb.com. All free!

 

·        Through any of my several blogs. On “Blogger,” I have posted thousands of items on A.A. history and the Christian Recovery Movement. The main blog is http://MauiHistorian.Blogspot.com. There you will find close to 100,000 posts, now followed by a number of friends, and available to  you free by subscription or by just clicking in. There are other members of this blog team dealing with International Christian Recovery Coalition, Alcoholics Anonymous History, and Alcoholics Anonymou History Blog.com

 

Several other blogs can be found on WordPress, on Tumbler, on In the Rooms, on Hub Pages, on Linked-in, on Stumble, on Cyber Recovery Social. On Daily Recovery, on Bluiditi, on Recovery Internet Fellowship.

 

All free!

 

·        On my Facebook, Twitter, and Google Plus postings. Free!

 

·        And by simply phoning me (808 874 4876) or my son Ken (808 276 4945) or by emailing me at dickb@dickb.com. Free!

 

Why So Much of This Supplementary Material is Free

 

Over the last 24 years, many many benefactors have made donations, often tax free when arranged. There is a new Agape Circle by which one psychiatrist, one clergyman, one publisher, one treatment program owner, one businessman, one owner of four restaurants, and four different churches (in Livermore, Brentwood, Westminster, and San Diego) with others on the way all send modest monthly amounts to me helping to meet expenses. And we welcome these sustaining funds.

 

Past and present book sales have produced some of the large and necessary funding.

 

Some of my retirement money has been used.

 

And sometimes honoraria are paid to us where we speak, or travel-meals-lodging expenses are paid to reimburse us for our many travels within the United States.

 

Join in, if you like. We certainly like.

 

And your dollars will go a long way when you invest $249.00 in the 29 volume reference set, and then use the many supplementary methods listed above.

 

Gloria Deo