Applying “Old School” A.A. in Today’s
12-Step Fellowships
By Dick B.
© 2011-2015
Anonymous. All rights reserved
What the First, Original, Akron
The Way the First 3
AAs – Bill W., Dr. Bob, Bill D. – Got Sober Before the Program. See The Dick B. Christian Recovery Guide, 3rd
ed., 2010, pp. 57-59
No Steps. No Traditions. No Big
Book. No drunkalogs. No meetings as we know them.
Each
believed in God, was a Christian, asked God for deliverance, and received it.
The Summary by Frank
Amos, Published in DR. BOB and the Good
Oldtimers, page 131
Five required points: (1) Permanent
abstinence. (2) Surrender of one’s life to God. (3) Obedience to God’s
will—eliminating sinful conduct, living love. (4) Growing in understanding
through Bible study, prayer, seeking guidance, reading religious literature.
(5) Helping others get well the same way. Two recommended points: (6) Social
and
religious comradeship. (7)
Attending a religious service once a week.
The Fourteen
Practices of the Akron
(1) Qualifying
the newcomer. (2) Hospitalization. (3) Belief in God, accepting Jesus
Christ as Lord and Savior. (4) Left
hospital with Bible and instructions to “go out and fix drunks as an
avocation.” (5) Most lived in residences of recovered Akron
The spiritual resources
used in that first, original Akron A.A. Program – See Dick B., Real Twelve Step Fellowship History: The Old
School A.A. You May Not Know, pp. 27-30, 85-92
(1) The Bible;
(2) Conversion to God through Jesus Christ; (3) Anne Smith’s Journal; (4)
Background ideas from (a) Professor
William James, (b) Dr. Carl Gustav Jung, (c) Dr. William D. Silkworth, (d) lay
therapist Richard Peabody, (e) New Thought writings of Emmet Fox, (f) Writings
of Rev. Sam Shoemaker; (5) Christian literature Dr. Bob circulated, (6) Quiet
Time, (7) Daily Devotionals, (8) Oxford Group 4 Absolutes and restitution practices,
(9) Biblical training and Christian upbringing of Dr. Bob as a youngster in
Vermont.
The major Christian influences that impacted on the work and plans of
the cofounders. See The Dick B. Christian
Recovery Guide, 3rd ed., pp. 8–26.
(1) Evangelists and
revivalists like Dwight Moody and Billy Sunday, (2) The Gospel Rescue Missions,
(3) YMCA lay workers, (4) The Salvation Army, (5) Young People’s Society of
Christian Endeavor, (6) Oxford Group books, (7) Writings of Rev., Sam Shoemaker,
Jr.
Documented 75% success rate of the original, serious, real alcoholics
who really tried. See The Dick B.
Christian Recovery Guide, 3rd ed., pp. 77-85
Dr. Bob’s own
hand-written list of 1939, now in Rockefeller Archives, New York
Where and What to Study and Learn
Bible – King James
Version
The Co-Founders of Alcoholics Anonymous: Biographical Sketches, Their
Last
Major Talks
The Good Book and The Big Book: A.A.’s Roots in the Bible
The James Club and the Original A.A.
Program’s Absolute Essentials
Why Early A.A. Succeeded (a Bible
Study Primer)
Belief in God and the
decision to come to Him through Jesus Christ
Hebrews 11:6, John 3:16, 14:6,
Romans 10:9
The
Conversion of Bill W.: More on the Creator’s Role in Early A.A.
Dr.
Bob of Alcoholics Anonymous: His Excellent Training in the Good Book as a
Youngster in Vermont
The Golden Text of A.A.: God, the
Pioneers, and Real Spirituality
A New Way In: Reaching the Heart of
a Child of God in Recovery with His Own,
Powerful, Historical
Roots
The Teachings of Dr.
Bob’s Wife, Anne Ripley Smith – “Mother of A.A.”
Anne Smith’s Journal 1933-1939: A.A.’s Principles of Success, 3rd
ed.
Children of the Healer: The Story of
Dr. Bob’s Kids
The Influence of
Professor William James and Dr. Carl Gustav Jung – Spiritual experience and
necessity for conversion
Real Twelve Step Fellowship History: The Old
School A.A. You May Not Know
The Conversion of Bill W.: More on
the Creator’s Role in Early A.A.
“Pass It On”: The Story of Bill Wilson and how the A.A. Message Reached
the World,
pp. 381-286
Influence of William
Duncan Silkworth, M.D. – Seemingly hopeless, “medically incurable”
Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th
ed., pp. xxv-xxxii
The Conversion of Bill W. More on the
Creator’s Role in Early A.A.
The Liitle Doctor Who Loved Drunks:
A Biography of William Duncan Silkworth, M.D
Christian Literature
Circulated by Dr. Bob and at Meetings
Dr. Bob and His Library, 3rd
ed,
The Books Early AAs Read for
Spiritual Growth, 7th ed.
Quiet Time – Bible
reading, Prayer, Seeking Guidance, Anne’s Journal
Good Morning: Quiet Time, Morning Watch, Meditation and Early A.A., 2d
ed.
The Oxford Group & Alcoholics
Anonymous: A Design for Living That Works, 2d ed.
Dr. Bob of Alcoholics Anonymous: His
Excellent Training in the Bible as a Youngster
In Vermont
Daily Devotionals
The Runner’s Bible by Nora Smith Holm
The Greatest Thing in the World
by Henry Drummond
The Upper Room (quarterly of the
Methodist Church
My Utmost for His Highest by
Oswald Chambers
The Four Absolutes –
Honesty, Purity, Unselfishness and Love
The Oxford Group & Alcoholics Anonymous
Anne Smith’s Journal 1933-1939,
The History of the
Early Program
The
Akron
Real
Twelve Step Fellowship History
Turning Point: A History of Early
A.A.’s Spiritual Roots and Successes
Basic Ideas of Early A.A. Fully
Available and Applicable Today as a Choice
Complete Abstinence
from Drinking Alcohol of Any Kind
Qualifying the
Newcomer
Hospitalization and
possible detoxification
Surrender of one’s
life to God, and becoming one of his children through Jesus Christ
Obedience to God’s
Will – Eliminating Sin and Living Love
Growth in understanding:
God, His Son, the Holy Spirit, Bible, commandments, salvation, healing,
guidance, forgiveness, love, the renewed mind, dealing with the Adversary, prayer,
thankfulness, fellowship, witness; and the return of Jesus Christ
Study of the Bible –
particularly Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, James, 1 Corinthians 13
Individual
and group prayer
Seeking God’s
guidance from the Bible and from His revelation
Studying
Christian literature on the Bible, prayer, thankfulness, love, forgiveness,
healing
Intensive personal
work helping others to get straightened out by the same path
Recommended social
and religious fellowship and attending a religious service weekly
Making & Using Links Between the Founders
& Present-Day A.A.’s Basic Text
Bible Basics: Book of
James, Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, 1 Corinthians 13, Book of Acts
Overview: Shoemaker’s
definition of spiritual awakening: prayer, conversion, fellowship, witness
The Solution: Establishing
a relationship with, or finding or rediscovering God now!
More about
Alcoholism: Conceding the one’s innermost self that he cannot drink at all
How It Works: [the
abc’s, ending] God could and would if He were sought
Chapter Five –
Surrender, Inventory, Confession, Conviction, Conversion, Amends,
Continuance in Step
10, Prayer and Meditation in Step 11, Witnessing and Practicing the principles
from the Bible through Step 12.
“Taking” the 12 Steps
as Clarence Snyder Taught Them
Reading the First
Edition Personal Stories – almost all of which are now deleted
Understanding the
importance of fellowship with like-minded believers, worship
Spiritual Tools Bill W. Had Before
Him When He and Rev. Samuel M. Shoemaker Expanded Bill’s 6 Word-of-Mouth Ideas
to 12 Steps
The Bible references and the references to sources are based
on the verses and the writings the early AAs actually used – not some
fabricated thoughts about relevant verses or ideas
Step One: Dr.
Silkworth’s view of problem of Alcoholism; and Psalms 23, 91; “O God Manage Me
because I can’t manage myself” prayer used by the Oxford Group, Shoemaker, and
Anne Smith
Step Two: Hebrews
11:6; God either is, or He isn’t; and Power greater than ourselves from Anne
Smith and Shoemaker; and Bill’s statements that only God could restore us to
sanity.
Step Three: “Thy will
be done” – Matthew 6:10; James 4:7 Shoemaker
Step Four: Inventory of
faults using the Four Absolutes – Matthew 7:1-5; Anne Smith, Oxford Group, Shoemaker
Step Five: Confession
of Faults – James 5:16, Anne Smith: to God, ourselves, another
Step Six: Conviction
of Faults – Oxford Group
Step Seven:
Conversion – John 3:16, Romans 10:9, James 4:10 - Shoemaker
Steps Eight and
Nine: Willingness and Restitution – John
7:17, Matthew 5:23-26; Shoemaker, Anne Smith
Step Ten:
Continuance: Shoemaker, Oxford Group, Anne Smith
Step Eleven: Quiet
Time – Psalm 5:1-3; Shoemaker, Oxford Group, Anne Smith
Step Twelve –
Awakening (Matthew 7:20-29), Pass It On (Mark 16:15-20), Practice the
Principles (Matthew 5:1-16, 38-48; Matthew 6:9-13, 33; 7:9-12, 16-20) –
Shoemaker, Oxford Group. In summary: Ten Commandments, Jesus’ Sermon on the
Mount, Book of James, 1 Corinthians 13, Four Absolutes taken from Speer’s The Principles of Jesus.
Further Specific Suggestions for
Christians and Those Who Want to Become Children of God in Today’s Fellowships
[The following are books by Dick B.; published by Paradise
Research Publications, Inc.; described in www.dickb.com/titles.shtml;
available through Amazon.com or Dick B.’s website www.dickb.com]
The Good Book and the
Big Book: A.A.’s Roots in the Bible
The Good Book-Big Book
Guide Book
Twelve Steps for You:
Take the Twelve Steps with the Big Book, A.A. History, and the Good Book at
Your Side, 4th ed.
By the Power of God: A
Guide to Early A.A. Groups & Forming Similar Groups Today
(Big Book, Twelve Step, and Bible Study Groups; James Clubs;
Bible fellowships, Christian Recovery Fellowships, Prayer Groups, Retreats, and
Churches)
Dick B. and Ken B., The
Dick B. Christian Recovery Guide, 3rd ed.
www.dickb.com/Christian-Recov-Guide.shtml
Dick B. and Ken B. “Introductory
Foundations for Christian Recovery 4 DVD’s and Guides
Dick B. with Ken B., The
Dick B. Handbook for Christian Recovery Resource Centers (available to
those participants in International Christian Recovery Coalition who establish
Christian Recovery Resource Centers http://bit.ly/erD3tW
The comprehensive, 31-volume "Dick B. A.A. History and Christian Recovery Reference Set": http://www.dickb.com/DickB-Reference-Set.shtml.
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