The Good Book and the Big Book: A.A.'s Roots in the Bible - the most popular Dick B AA history ever!

There are two wonderful ways to plant yourself firmly in the factual picture of how the Bible influenced the predecessors of A.A., the Christian upbringing of A.A. cofounders in Vermont, and the way in which they were cured before there were any Steps, Traditions, Big Books, war stories, or endless discussion meetings. Also how those biblical principles are embedded in A.A. history, General Service Conference-approved literature, and the practices of Christians in 12 Step fellowships today.

First, the most important and popular Alcoholics Anonymous History book on the Bible and the Big Book has stood the test of time for over 20 years. Distributed early on by Christian Book Distributors. Available in print-on-demand and electronic book format. Listed on amazon.com and Barnes and Noble--to name a few. Thousands of copies sold or distributed. Widely read as authoritative literature on A.A.'s roots for which AAs hungrily seek today.

It is Dick B., The Good Book and the Big Book: A.A.'s Roots in the Bible. 2d ed.  www.dickb.com/goodbook.shtml. Thousands sold or distributed free in the past twenty years.

Second, building on his quest for precise details on A.A.'s spiritual roots that emanated from the Bible and could help Christians and those hungry for God's help in 12 Step fellowships, Dick B. has made available at bargain price his 29 volume A.A. History Reference set covering all bases relevant to A.A. History and Recovery. The entire set sells for only $249. with free shipping in the USA. See order form on www.dickb.com.

Alcoholics Anonymous Recovery Quotes of Great Importance

There are a few quotes by the first three AAs which appear to be very important to your recovery, which were  uttered in Alcoholics Anonymous General Service Conference-approved literature, and which are nonetheless deserving of far more knowledge and belief than most still suffering alcoholics and addicts have today.

These are the great quotes and the questions:

1. Who said that the Lord had cured him of this terrible disease and that he just wanted to keep talking about it and telling people? And where, in A.A. Conference-approved literature, is this vital declaration quoted?

2. Who said that he felt sorry for atheists and agnostics who had some sort of intellectual pride and skepticism that kept them from accepting what A.A. was telling them? And where, in A.A. Conference-approved literature is this declaration made?

3. Who told AAs that their Heavenly Father would never let them down? And where, in A.A. Conference-approved literature is this statement made?

4. Who told AAs what he believed was the "golden text of A.A." for him and for the entire fellowship? And where, in A.A. Conference-approved literature can you find this remark?

Go to www.dickb.com, make a Google search of that website, and find the spokesman.

Speakers at the recent Portland Maine International Alcoholics Anonymous History Conference in September

The Top Notch 12-Step/A.A. Leaders Who Spoke at Maine Conference

Of

The First International Alcoholics Anonymous History Conference Sept. 2013

 

Dick B.

© 2013. Anonymous. All rights reserved

 

 

Participants in the September 6-7 First International Alcoholics Anonymous History Conference on Friday and Saturday in Portland, Maine were blessed to hear extensive presentations by top notch, hands-on 12 Step recovery leaders – well versed in A.A. history – at our recent International A.A. History Conference. Moreover, all were given further summary time after their presentations and at a later point to speak further on their topics.

 

These speakers traveled from afar to share their knowledge, experience, and practices emanating from A.A.’s origins and historical roots in New England and particularly in Vermont from the 1850’s to present-day 12 Step recovery practices. They came from Toronto and Collingwood Canada, from Texas, from Colorado, from the State of Washington, from Connecticut, from the States of Maine and Hawaii, and from Missouri. They gathered in the historical location of Young People’s Society of Christian Endeavor in Portland where a large portion of the program ideas of early Akron A.A.’s recovery program poured into the old school Akron A.A. Christian Fellowship Group Number One founded by Bill Wilson, Dr. Bob Smith, and attorney Bill Dotson on July 4, 1935.

 

As the months roll by, you will see a number of materials presented by the speakers. And here, I will simply summarize the heart of their talks.

 

The history conference was grounded on the 29 volumes of A.A. history reference titles published by Dick B. and Ken B. and on display at the meetings..

 

Father Bill W. is a long-recovered Episcopal priest who traveled from Austin, Texas to speak at length on his intense interest in Quiet Time and the Eleventh Step. Father Bill W. has been doing alcoholism and addiction recovery treatment work for many many years. He was president and chief executive officer of Austin Recovery—the largest treatment center in Texas. He retired briefly to become a chaplain there. But Bill is an author, an A.A. historian, a researcher, and a Christian recovery leader. He is one who has written on many aspects of the Big Book, the  Steps, and religion. He has traveled from Austin to many of our conferences, including those in Irvine, California; Westminster, California; Brentwood, California; and Portland, Maine Father Bill is now Chair of the Episcopal Diocese of Texas Recovery Committee; and he and his colleagues have established and are conducting study groups that practice “listening to God” and other aspects of A.A. Eleventh Step and Quiet Time traditions. Father Bill is a benefactor member of the Agape Circle, which helps support our work. He frequently communicates with Dick B. and Ken B. on Christian recovery, 12-Step work, and various treatment modes. Bill is a participant in International Christian Recovery Coalition.

 

Jim H. recovered A.A. and archivist from the State of Washington. Jim has been part of our historical research team which traveled throughout all of Vermont, Akron, Cleveland, as well as Massachusetts and Portland gathering photos exceeding about 1000 in number which will enable viewers to see for themselves the many treasures available to AA history lovers, researchers, and leaders who travel to those historical places and repositories or who wish more visual information about them. At his own expense, Jim has been a tireless history researcher, sponsor, A.A. service worker, and is presently a participant in A.A.’s national archivist conference each year. He has also drive Ken and myself to many areas were we have researched, photographed materials there, interviewed people we met, and established a website with A.A. historical photos. Jim has long been interested in A.A. history, A.A. archives, and the Christian roots of A.A. itself. He is a participant in International Christian Recovery Coalition.

 

Gary A.. long-recovered A.A. and retired counselor at prisons and with veterans for many years, is from the State of Connecticut. Gary has been in touch with us for many years and has devoted an immense amount of time learning, filming, and circulating video materials on where A.A. came from and got its ideas. And now he has put together an excellent videos series on A.A. historical materials, locations, and people who had so much to do with A.A.’s spiritual beginnings. His videos tell the early A.A. history briefly, graphically, accurately and well. And they have become the seed for a video series that Ken and I will be putting together on the entire early A.A. history picture in a way that has never been done to serve the recovered population and those who still suffer. Gary is a participant in International Christian Recovery Coalition..

 

Robb Hicks, M.D. is a neuro-scientist who has researched and now practices techniques for the prevention of relapse among alcoholics and addicts of all types based on medical knowledge recently expanded.  He maintains his office in St. Louis, Missouri. His practice offers help to impaired physicians. He maintains a website and belongs to relevant professional organizations. He had just spent over a week with Ken and myself on Maui learning in depth many aspects of the spiritual and other history of Alcoholics Anonymous. He traveled from Maui to Maine to make his medical knowledge available at the A.A. History Conference; and he joined us on our short, but intense visit to Dr. Bob’s home village of St. Johnsbury, Vermont. Dr. Hicks there met with the village leader of the new history museum. He audited the community TV interview of Ken and myself in St. Johnsbury. He attended a luncheon conference of Vermont Christian leaders intent on bringing the Christian roots and history of early A.A. to the fore. He joined us in meeting with a prosecutor at the St. Johnsbury court system who has suggestions on how to produce more effective recovery among alcoholics and addicts soon to be arraigned and sentenced. And he joined us in meeting with Covered Bridge—a residential A.A. treatment facility in St. Johnsbury which is planning on working with the prosecutor and courts and also holding historical meetings and spiritual meetings in its facility. Robb also visited North Congregational Church of St. Johnsbury and viewed the Dr. Bob Core Library and other historical records available for view in that church.

 

Dr. Hicks took the occasion to conduct extensive discussions with conference participant John Mooney, M.D., a professor of psychiatry at Harvard—a Christian physician who attended the earliest of the Dick B. heritage seminar weekends at the Wilson House in East Dorset, Vermont; has long worked to see Dick’s books lodged in the Harvard library system; who has frequently sent Dick scholarly materials written by his Harvard colleagues, and who is a benefactor of the work of Dick B. and Ken B.—belonging to the recently formed Agape Circle which supports their research, writing, and speaking work. The two distinguished physicians and recovery leaders were able to converse extensively on the relevance of their respective fields to recovery and the mental health field, and to review Dr. Mooney’s intense interest in Quiet Time and meditation based on Orthodox traditions and practices.

 

Mark G. is a long-time A.A. member who is a businessman and an ardent A.A. recovery worker. He lives in Collingwood, Ontario. He has been a speaker at several of our conferences and interviews. He has prepared extensive workbooks and guides which he uses, with his Canadian colleagues, to take AAs in large numbers through a demanding and vigorous recovery program patterned on the work of Dr. Bob and the Akron A.A. Christian Fellowship founded in Akron in 1935. Mark frequently takes sponsees to Akron, calls his team the “Akronites” because so much of their work with newcomers and those still suffering is based on Akron A.A. history and practices. He is also a Christian recovery leader and member of our International Christian Recovery Coalition, and has led many suffering alcoholics and addicts to a relationship with God through Jesus Christ during his many years of work with newcomers. He has been interviewed more than once by Ken and myself on the Dick B. radio show on ChristianRecoveryRadio.com.

Mark is a no-nonsense worker in the recovery trenches using the program of A.A. and the early A.A. Christian recovery program as the medium for success.

 

Tim K. is a recovered alcoholic; employed in and residing in Colorado; has just been married; took his enthusiastic bride to our Portland Maine Conference; spoke there; and went with us to St. Johnsbury, Vermont to learn and enhance his knowledge of Christian A.A. recovery techniques. Tim is a shepherd of the Came to Believe retreats in Colorado that are held for AAs and their families—taking them through the Steps in an afternoon, and helping them to come to believe. He spoke at length at our Conference on these retreats, on their guidebook, on their locations in the United States and other countries. His great grand-sponsor was A.A. Co-founder Dr. Robert Holbrook Smith. He has a special interest in acquiring, studying, stewarding, and reporting on the copy of the DR. BOB and the Good Oldtimers printers manuscript—which contains many of the markings and notations like those found in the Original A.A. Big Book Printer’s Manuscript copy just published by Hazelden. Tim has been interviewed on our Christian Recovery Radio program, and he is actively working to report on and help grow the “Clarence Snyder Retreats” that have existed in so many places for so many years now. He is a participant in International Christian Recovery Coalition.

 

Chris P. is a businessman, a long-recovered CA member, a Christian recovery leader, and a highly successful sponsor of addicts willing to use the Big Book, 12 Steps, the power of God, and the Bible to overcome their malady. Though associated with the same Traditions that A.A. has, Chris P.’s large group in Toronto was told by Cocaine Anonymous that it could not exist as a CA group because it was Christian in its character and historical presentations. Chris and his group worked tirelessly to assemble all kinds of evidence as to the number of agnostic organizations, atheist organizations, and spinoff groups in A.A. that were not besmirched with the attempt to label them unacceptable. Finally, after months of preparation, Chris and his group went before the powers that be and effected a 100% reversal that allowed them to meet and proceed. This courageous, rightful, persistent effort was carried on in part to alleviate similar restrictions occurring in other 12 Step groups and fellowships. And it stands as a mountain top achievement that simply says it is as appropriate for Christian 12 Step groups to study their Christian, biblical, religious history, roots, founding, and application today as it is for the atheist, Buddhist, humanist, gay and lesbian, airline pilots, and Matt Talbot groups to claim immunity from suppression and intimidation on the theory that Christians in recovery are somehow barred from using their own history and techniques in their groups today despite mountains of evidence that their beliefs and practices are totally consistent with the very programs, principles, practices, techniques, beliefs, and literature their founders used when today ‘s anonymous groups began. Chris presented literature as to precisely what his group does.

He is a participant in International Christian Recovery Coalition. Chris is an Agape Circle benefactor of our work.

 

Wally P. is a long-recovered Christian businessman and active A.A. and Christian church member who established this conference, arranged for its meetings, welcomed the participants, and enabled the extensive use of his church’s premises for two day s of historical talks and exhibits and discussions. Wally is a benefactor and a member of the Agape group. He attended the formative meeting of International Christian Recovery Meeting in Irvine, California in May of 2009. He joined the research team that toured all of Vermont to gather accurate history on A.A.’s roots, the upbringing of cofounders Bill and Bob, and their religious training and Bible studies. AAs all over the world can be grateful for Wally’s dedicated interest in learning, reporting, researching, and enabling application of A.A.’s historical features in recovery today.

 

Of  course, Dick B. and Ken B. gave extensive factual information about the history, origins, founding, programs, changes, and applicability of old school A.A. today. And this has been and will be reported further elsewhere.

 

Furthermore, almost every one of the speakers at the Maine Conference has been interviewed one or more times on the Christian Recovery Radio show conducted by Dick B. and Ken B.; or, if they have not yet spoken, they will soon be interviewed to enable them to speak further and for themselves on the purpose and accomplishments of the Portland Maine International A.A. History Conference and the role they play in A.A. history today.

 

Gloria Deo

My Response to a Nice Letter from Milkman Mike about the Importance of Vermont and St. Johnsbury History

Thank you. We just completed a huge series of talks, meetings, and conferences in Portland Maine and in St. Johnsbury Vermont. There are tremendous A.A. history resources in this new era of A.A. history in Vermont and New England. The First International Alcoholics Anonymous History Conference was just held in Portland--the home of Young People's Society of Christian Endeavor, in which Dr. Bob and his parents were very active. St. Johnsbury has hardly been recognized for its important A.A. historical treasures. Yes, Dr. Bob's boyhood home is there; but the historical resources are not there. So is his Summer Street School on the same street where a huge St. Johnsbury history--including our work--is aborning. Also, North Congregational Church of St. Johnsbury on Main Street houses our Dr. Bob Core Library which contains thousands of books and papers about the Smiths, Congregationalism, Christian Endeavor, Rescue Missions, Salvation Army, The Great Awakening of 1875 in Vermont, and the evangelists like Moody, Meyer, and Folger, the North Congregational Church, the YMCA, the Athenaeum, the Museum, the Courthouse, the St. Johnsbury Academy, and the remarkable parallels between the Christian upbringing of Dr. Bob in St. Johnsbury and of Bill Wilson in East Dorset, Manchester, Emerald Lake, Northfield, and other areas in the Vermont scene. To ignore Vermont, as has been done for so long, is to short change yourself on the real spiritual roots, origins, history, and successes of the old school Akron AA Christian Fellowship program

Early Akron A.A.'s true religious and spiritual history is just now coming alive. It involves the conversion and cure of Bill Wilson's grandfather in East Dorset; Bill's family's participation in East Dorset Congregational Church, Bill's reading the Bible with his grandfather Fayette and his friend Mark; Bill's attendance at conversion, temperance, and revival meetings; Bill's membership in the church and Sunday school; Bill's four-year Bible study course at Burr and Burton Seminary, Bill's presidency of the school's Young Men's Christian Association, Bill's daily attendance at chapel at the Seminary, the required visits of the students to Manchester Congregational Church activities, Ebby's roots in Manchester, Rowland-Shep-and Cebra connections with Ebby and with Bill in this area, Bill's training at Norwich University. And the almost exact parallel between Bill's Christian training in East Dorset, Manchester, and Northfield and Bob's in St. Johnsbury. We have just published a book on these parallels -- "Bill W. and Dr. Bob: The Green Mountain Men of Vermont." It's an eye opener for those in the recovery arena who seek and receive the help of the Creator in their path to victory.

We have conducted four research tours with qualified archivists and tem members now, and they have blanketed the Vermont area. The whole biblical picture of A.A. roots is coming to the for--in the historical community, the TV community, the residential treatment community, the Christian churches, the court system, the academies, the required chapels and Bible studies, and the immense emphasis on church and Sunday school attendance, prayer meetings, YMCA cooperation, academies, Christian Endeavor, and the long history of Congregational and evangelistic influences in Vermont and New England.

 

 

God bless,

 

Richard G. Burns, J.D., CDAAC

Author and A.A. historian, retired attorney, Bible student (pen name “Dick B.”)

46 published titles & over 1,450 articles on A.A. history and the Christian Recovery Movement

Exec. Dir., International Christian Recovery Coalition

Christian Recovery Resource Centers - Worldwide

Christian Recovery Radio

www.DickB.com

DickB@DickB.com

(808) 874-4876

PO Box 837, Kihei, HI 96753-0837

 

Ps 118:17 (NJB):

I shall not die, I shall live to recount the great deeds of Yahweh.

 

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Blockbuster Old School AA Workshop Talks in Arizona Oct 11-12 by AA Historians and Authors Dick B. and Ken B.

Blockbuster Old School AA Workshops by Dick B. and Ken B.

Scottsdale, Phoenix, and then Tucson – Friday Oct 11 and Oct 12

 

Dick B.

© 2013 Anonymous. All rights reserved

 

Fresh from their lengthy series of conferences and research trips in Portland Maine and St Johnsbury Vermont September 4-17, 2013, AA Authors and Historians Dick B. and Ken B. have been invited to conduct four talks in Arizona on The Akron and Cleveland Old School AA Workshop Subject. Featuring AA Literature and Historical Sources: Why Early A.A. Succeeded-The Path They Thoroughly Followed and Rarely Failed (75% to 93% success rate).

 

This blockbuster series about applying the highly successful Akron and Cleveland AA Programs in recovery today will span two days on October 11 and 12, 2013.

 

Continued updates on http://MauiHistorian.Blogspot.com prior to the events.

 

First Old School AA Workshop – Scottsdale, Arizona – October 11, 2013 – Friday – Main Talks at 6:30-8:30 PM. Stay tuned for program, location, and topic details in the next few days.

 

Second Old School AA Workshop – Tucson, Arizona – October 12, 2013 – Saturday – Main Talks at 6:30:8: PM. Stay tuned for program , location, and topic details in the next few days.

 

Feel free to contact Dick B. in Kihei, Maui, Hawaii for information and details. Phone 808  874 4876; dickb@dickb.com; PO Box 837, Kihei, HI 96753-0837.

 

These Arizona features for Arizona and visiting AAs and recovery leaders are the first for Dick B. and Ken B. in many years.  In fact, The First Nationwide A.A. History Conference took place in Phoenix with Dick B., Dr. Bob’s son Robert Smith, and Dr. Bob’s Home Archivist Ray G. quite some years back. And these current events will alert this vibrant area and populous to the tremendous benefits for recovery efforts today of learning and applying Old School Akron and Cleveland AA in the recovery scene today.

 

God Bless, Dick B.

AA Authors and Historians Dick B. and Ken B. to Conduct Old School A.A. Workshop, Saturday, Tucson, 6 :30-8:30 PM

 

 

 

(Sponsored By Friends of Bills Friend Group)

 

The Akron and Cleveland

Old School AA Workshop

Featuring AA Literature and Historical Sources

Why Early A.A. Succeeded

The path they thoroughly followed

and rarely failed

(75%-93% success rate)

 

Of alcoholics who came to A.A. and really tried, 50% got sober at once and remained that way; 25% sobered up after some relapses; and among the remainder, those who stayed on with A.A. showed improvement. [Alcoholics Anonymous, 4^th ed., xx]

Records in Cleveland show that 93 percent of those who came to us never had a drink again. [DR. BOB and the Good Oldtimers, 261]

Guest Speakers AA Historians

Dick B & Ken B  Maui Hawaii

Saturday  October 12^th

6:30-8:30PM

The Tucson Women’s Club

6245 E Bellevue

Tucson AZ 85712

(North of Trader Joes at Speedway and Wilmot)

Contact:  OldSchoolRecovery@gmail.com

 

Summary of the Original Akron

 A.A. Program

 

1.      An alcoholic must realize that he is an alcoholic, incurable from a medical viewpoint, and that he must never drink anything with alcohol in it.

 

2.      He must surrender himself absolutely to God, realizing that in himself there is no hope.

 

3.      Not only must he want to stop drinking permanently, he must remove from his life other sins such as hatred, adultery, and others which frequently accompany alcoholism. Unless he will do this absolutely, Smith and his associates refuse to work with him.

 

4.      He must have devotions every morning—a “quiet time” of prayer and some reading from the Bible and other religious literature. Unless this is faithfully followed, there is grave danger of backsliding

 

5.      He must be willing to help other alcoholics get straightened out. This throws up a protective barrier and strengthens his own willpower and convictions.

 

6.      It is important, but not vital, that he meet frequently with other reformed alcoholics and form both a social and a religious comradeship.

 

7.      Important, but not vital, that he attend some religious service at least once weekly. **

 

[** Source: DR. BOB and the Good Oldtimers, 131]

 

 

 A.A. Cofounder Bill W.'s Quotes:

 

I'll do anything, anything at all. If there be a Great Physician, I'll call on him. [Bill W., My First 40 Years: An Autobiography by the Cofounder of Alcoholics Anonymous (Center City, Minn.: Hazelden, 2000), 145]

 

For sure I'd been born again. [Bill W., My First 40 Years, 147]

. . . “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.” [Alcoholics Anonymous, 4^th ed., 191]

 

Rarely have we seen a person fail who has thoroughly followed our path. [Alcoholics Anonymous, 4^th ed., 58]

 

Without help it is too much for us. But there is One who has all power-that One is God. May you find Him now! [Alcoholics Anonymous, 4^th ed., 59]

 

AA Authors and Historians Dick B. and Ken B. to Speak in Phoenix on Old School AA Workshop Oct 11, 2013

 

 

 

(Sponsored by Fellowship Of The Spirit Group)

 

The Akron and Cleveland

 Old School AA Workshop

Featuring AA Literature and Historical Sources

 

Why Early A.A. Succeeded

The path they thoroughly followed

and rarely failed

(75%-93% success rate)

 

Of alcoholics who came to A.A. and really tried, 50% got sober at once and remained that way; 25% sobered up after some relapses; and among the remainder, those who stayed on with A.A. showed improvement. [Alcoholics Anonymous, 4^th ed., xx]

Records in Cleveland show that 93 percent of those who came to us never had a drink again. [DR. BOB and the Good Oldtimers, 261]

Guest Speakers AA Historians

Dick B & Ken B  Maui Hawaii

Friday  October 11^th

6:30-8:30PM

First Baptist Church of Scottsdale
7025 E. Osborne Road
Scottsdale, Arizona 85256

 

Contact:  OldSchoolRecoveryPhx@gmail.com

 

Summary of the Original Akron

 A.A. Program

 

1.      An alcoholic must realize that he is an alcoholic, incurable from a medical viewpoint, and that he must never drink anything with alcohol in it.

 

2.      He must surrender himself absolutely to God, realizing that in himself there is no hope.

 

3.      Not only must he want to stop drinking permanently, he must remove from his life other sins such as hatred, adultery, and others which frequently accompany alcoholism. Unless he will do this absolutely, Smith and his associates refuse to work with him.

 

4.      He must have devotions every morning—a “quiet time” of prayer and some reading from the Bible and other religious literature. Unless this is faithfully followed, there is grave danger of backsliding

 

5.      He must be willing to help other alcoholics get straightened out. This throws up a protective barrier and strengthens his own willpower and convictions.

 

6.      It is important, but not vital, that he meet frequently with other reformed alcoholics and form both a social and a religious comradeship.

 

7.      Important, but not vital, that he attend some religious service at least once weekly. **

 

[** Source: DR. BOB and the Good Oldtimers, 131]

 

 

 A.A. Cofounder Bill W.'s Quotes:

 

I'll do anything, anything at all. If there be a Great Physician, I'll call on him. [Bill W., My First 40 Years: An Autobiography by the Cofounder of Alcoholics Anonymous (Center City, Minn.: Hazelden, 2000), 145]

 

For sure I'd been born again. [Bill W., My First 40 Years, 147]

. . . “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.” [Alcoholics Anonymous, 4^th ed., 191]

 

Rarely have we seen a person fail who has thoroughly followed our path. [Alcoholics Anonymous, 4^th ed., 58]

 

Without help it is too much for us. But there is One who has all power-that One is God. May you find Him now! [Alcoholics Anonymous, 4^th ed., 59]

 

Bill W., Dr. Bob, and the Cure of Alcoholism:

Bill W., Dr. Bob, and the Cure of Alcoholism:

“The Rest of the Story”

 

A Four-Video Project Proposal by Dick B. and Ken B.

© 2013 Anonymous. All rights reserved

 

Key points:

 

1.      A.A. claimed an overall 75% success rate for its early days [Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th ed., “Foreword to Second Edition,” xx]. And the third A.A. group in the world founded in Cleveland on May 11, 1939, claimed a documented 93% success rate during its first three years (May 1939 to June 1942) [DR. BOB and the Good Oldtimers, 261]. The Cleveland A.A. group used the Big Book and its 12 Steps, and kept “most of the ‘old program,’ including the Four Absolutes and the Bible, . . .” [Mitchell K., How It Worked, 108.]

2.      This video series will focus on:

a.       The “old-school” way of carrying A.A. cofounders Bill W. and Dr. Bob’s message of a cure for alcoholism to those who still suffer.

b.      “Training the trainers” about the original Akron A.A. seven-point program which Bill W. and Dr. Bob began developing over the summer of 1935 [DR. BOB and the Good Oldtimers, 131], and how its principles and practices can be applied in today’s recovery arena to enhance substantially the effectiveness of Christian recovery efforts.

3.      Dick B. has sponsored more than 100 men in their sobriety, has been researching the history of Alcoholics Anonymous for more than 23 years, and has authored 46 titles and more than 1,500 articles on A.A. history and the Christian Recovery Movement.

 

Well-known historian of A.A. Dick B. and his son Ken have begun producing a ground-breaking new video series which will include:

 

·         A series of four videos, each about one hour in length and comprised of a number of short segments five-to-fifteen minutes in length;

·         An instructor’s guide;

·         A student guide; and

·         The Dick B. Christian Recovery Guide by Dick B. and Ken B.

 

A Big Book sponsor’s guide and a 12-Step guide will also be recommended.

 

The series will be titled:

 

“Bill W., Dr. Bob, and the Cure of Alcoholism: The Rest of the Story.”

 

The goal of this video series is to reach those who are endeavoring today to cure alcoholism--long thought to be “medically-incurable” by the doctors of Bill W. and Dr. Bob’s day (1934 to 1939), and still thought to be “medically-incurable” by many doctors more than 70 years later.

 

The facts of history have demonstrated to us and countless others that Bill W. and Dr. Bob received from God in the mid-1930’s a way to cure hardcore alcoholics, and it worked.

 

Those facts also show that Bill W. allowed that cure to be diluted by the time it was first presented publicly in the “basic text” of the Alcoholics Anonymous Society, the book Alcoholics Anonymous (affectionately known as “the Big Book”), first published in April 1939.

 

Dick B. and Ken B. are currently developing a professional-quality video series and accompanying instructional materials which will tell “the rest of the story.” That story will include the roles played by God, His Son Jesus Christ, and the Bible in early A.A.’s astonishing successes with “medically-incurable” alcoholics who thoroughly followed Bill W. and Dr. Bob’s suggested path to recovery.

 

In plain and simple terms, Dr. Bob described A.A.’s first group in the world, known as “Akron Number One,” as “a Christian fellowship.” [See DR. BOB and the Good Oldtimers, 118.]

 

The long-ignored and unreported part of the story of early A.A.’s history is about precisely how Christianity became a part of the cure of alcoholism (and of the often-related abuse of “high-powered  sedatives” and other drugs) developed by Bill W. and Dr. Bob.

 

The elements of the “Bill W., Dr. Bob, and the Cure of Alcoholism: The Rest of the Story” video series are these:

 

1.      The Christian upbringings of A.A. cofounders Bill W. and Dr. Bob in Vermont;

2.      The similarities between the principles and practices seen in the Gospels and the Book of Acts, and those found in the early A.A. program in Akron (and, to a significant extent, in the early A.A. program in Cleveland—which began on May 11, 1939);

3.      The strong revival in pre-A.A. days of “First Century Christianity” in America from the mid-1850’s to the mid-1930’s, as illustrated by the Christian predecessors who were successful in helping alcoholics, addicts, and derelicts before A.A. began, and who influenced early A.A.’s principles and practices (especially in Akron), including:

a.       The Young Men’s Christian Association;

b.      The Congregational Churches of Vermont (and, more broadly, of New England);

c.       The Gospel Rescue Missions;

d.      Great Christian evangelists such as Dwight L. Moody and F. B. Meyer;

e.       The Salvation Army;

f.       The program of the Young People’s Society of Christian Endeavor, in which Dr. Bob was involved as a youth (and in which his parents, Judge Walter P. Smith and Susan H. Smith, were also involved); and

g.      “A First Century Christian Fellowship”--formed in 1922 by Dr. Frank N.D. Buchman, a Lutheran minister (also known as “the Oxford Group” beginning in September 1928)—of which Bill W. and Dr. Bob were members when they met.

4.      How the principles and practices of the Gospels and the Book of Acts, of A.A.’s Christian predecessors, and of early Akron A.A. can be applied today to carry more effectively the message to those who are still suffering.

 

All of these historical factors can play a major part today in the application of the principles and practices of Jesus Christ in the Gospels, and of the Apostles (and others) in the Book of Acts (i.e., “First Century Christianity”), in today’s recovery scene based on currently-available, in print, A.A. General Service Conference-approved literature. Practices such as prayer, Bible study, “Quiet Time,” reading of Christian literature, witnessing, conversion to God through His Son Jesus Christ, daily meetings, and major emphasis on service to God and others about us.

 

This video series will show how applying these principles and practices can arrest the decline in successes, the decline in numbers, the growth of secularism, and other problems prevalent in today’s 12-Step programs.

 

The greatest verification of the efficacy of “old-school” Akron A.A. can be found in: (a) the belief in God, (b) the long biblical training; and (c) the compassionate service to others by the first three AAs. Each man hit a desperate bottom. Each turned to God. Each stated that he had been cured or healed by the power of God. Each believed the answer to his problems was in the Bible. Each served God and others alcoholics for the rest of his life. And each never used liquor (or abused high-powered sedatives) again.

 

AA Number One, Bill W., for example, is quoted in the current edition of Alcoholics Anonymous, as follows:

 

“. . . [T]he 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.” [Alcoholics Anonymous, 4^th ed., 191]

 

AA Number Two, Dr. Bob, believed he had been cured by prayer, stated that he and Bill W. had found a cure for alcoholism, and ended his personal story in the Big Book with the declaration:

 

Your Heavenly Father will never let you down! [Alcoholics Anonymous, 4^th ed., 181]

 

And AA Number Three, attorney Bill D. of Akron—following his almost-instantaneous cure after months of hospitalization, and having been strapped to his hospital bed on and off—said:

 

That sentence [which Bill W. had spoken to Bill D.’s wife, Henrietta], “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 a golden text for the A.A. program and for me. [Alcoholics Anonymous, 4^th ed., 191]

 

And these earliest A.A. successes occurred before there was a Big Book, before there were any 12 Steps or 12 Traditions, before there were any recitals of “drunkalogs,” and before there were any “additions” by Alcoholics Anonymous.  

 

As Albert Scott (chairman of the trustees for Riverside Church) stated at a meeting of representatives of John D. Rockefeller, Jr., with Bill W., Dr. Bob, Bill W.’s brother-in-law, Leonard Strong, Dr. William D. Silkworth, and a few of the other New York and Akron AAs around the end of 1937:

 

“Why, this is first-century Christianity!” . . . “What can we do to help?” [‘Pass It On,’ 184] 

 

Perhaps you or someone you know can provide talent, skills, ideas, and/or financial assistance for the completion of this effort. If you would like to help with this new project, or would like to know more, please contact Dick B. by email at DickB@DickB.com or Ken B. on his cell phone at 1-808-276-4945.

 

Dick B.’s main Web site: www.DickB.com

Dick B., Executive Director

International Christian Recovery Coalition

www.ChristianRecoveryCoalition.com

“Christian Recovery Radio with Dick B.”

www.ChristianRecoveryRadio.com

Information about A.A.  cofounder Dr. Bob

www.DrBob.info

 

Gloria Deo