Dick B. discusses the needs of Christian recovery
meetings on the June 6, 2013, episode of the "Christian Recovery Radio
with Dick B." show
Dick B.
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You may hear Dick B. discuss the needs of Christian recovery
meetings on the June 6, 2013, episode of the "Christian Recovery Radio
with Dick B." show here:
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Episodes of the "Christian Recovery Radio with Dick
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An Excellent Series of Suggestions for Focus in Very Dynamic California
Meetings
The Growing and Diverse Needs of the New Christian Recovery Fellowship
Meetings
As many know, starting in May of 2009, we began sifting the
concerns of many long-sober AAs, NAs, treatment leaders, counselors, clergy,
recovery pastors, physicians, sober living facilitators, and other Christian
leaders in the recovery arena. At that point, at the large meeting in Irvine,
California, leaders from many areas of the United States and elsewhere were
concerned about the open rebuke given in A.A. meetings to those who mentioned
God, His Son Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, or the Bible. And there was a
resultant hunger for the real facts about how frequently all of these topics
were the subject of meetings, studies, and discussions in early A.A. Therefore,
when the International Christian Recovery Coalition was formed two months later
in 2009, lots of time was spent for a couple of years disseminating information
on the role that God, His Son Jesus Christ, and the Bible played in early A.A.
Thousands of our books, articles, radio and audio talks,
blogs, and forums focused on these aspects of Alcoholics Anonymous History.
Those aspects were: (1) The Christian origins of Alcoholics
Anonymous in the recovery work of many Christian organizations and people from
1850 forward. These included the Young Men’s Christian Association, rescue
missions, Congregationalists, Salvation Army, Evangelists like Dwight Moody and
Ira Sankey, Young People’s Society of Christian Endeavor, and later to some
extent among Oxford Group enthusiasts. (2) The virtually ignored but very clear
Christian upbringing in Vermont of Dr.
Bob, Bill Wilson, and Vermont “summer people” like Ebby Thacher, Rowland
Hazard, Shep Cornell, and Cebra Graves—also the entire families of Bill Wilson,
his parents, his grandparents, and those of Robert H. Smith (Dr. Bob). (3) Next
came the simplicity of the first three AA recoveries—abstinence, turning to
God, helping others—simply and successfully applied by Bill W., Dr. Bob, and AA
Number Three Bill D. (4) Very remarkable was the similarity of their surrenders
to the effective activities of groups like the Salvation Army, the rescue
missions, and the evangelists. (5) Finally, the actual 7 point Christian
Fellowship A.A. program of A.A. founded in Akron in 1935 and the sixteen
practices utilized by the members thereof became the original old school Akron
A.A. Christian Fellowship program of recovery—the true beginning of Alcoholics
Anonymous History.. See Dick B. and Ken B., Stick
with the Winners! http://mcaf.ee/s50mq.
Did the hunger of the affected and the afflicted for more
information about what A.A. was like when it was planted on solid biblical
gound grow? Certainly yes. To the extent that the International Christian
Recovery Coalition has grown and grown and grown to every state and many
countries just since July of 2009. See also www.ChristianRecovoryCoalition.com
and www.ChristianRecoveryRadio.com.
My son Ken and I began traveling to and speaking at groups
and meetings where we were welcome, invited, funded as to expenses, and
received for the facts we brought to light. Areas of great receptivity were The
Wilson House in East Dorset Vermont; The Dr. Bob Core Library in St. Johnsbury,
Vermont; the Seiberling Gate Lodge in Akron; the archivist at Dr. Bob’s Home in
Akron; the Snyder (Came to Believe) Retreats in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Florida,
California, and elsewhere; the families of Dr. Bob and Anne Smith and the
families of Henrietta Seiberling and T. Henry Williams. There were strong “come
and see” meetings in many parts of California—Oroville, Chico, Auburn, Livermore,
San Jose, Santa Cruz, Los Gatos, Escondido, Costa Mesa, Huntington Beach, Palm
Springs, Betty Ford Center, San Juan Capistrano, Irvine, Glendora, North
Hollywood, Carlsbad, and San Diego. And now, in New England, Rhode Island, New
York, Delaware, Georgia South Carolina, Florida, Ohio, Wisconsin, Indiana,
Illinois, Texas, Arizona, California, Oregon, Washington, Colorado, Alaska, and
Missouri. More on the way.
Different Strokes for Different Folks Became Important
But it soon became clear that there needed to be “different
strokes” for “different folks.” Some rapidly bought books, studied, discussed,
and held meetings about A.A.’s origins, histories, founders, Christian
upbringing, founding, and original program. They formed study groups, James
Clubs, Christian recovery fellowships, A.A. history and Bible study meetings,
NA history and Bible study meetings, sober living programs, Christian track
treatment programs, Christian counseling facilities.
And Now for the September Talks about Applying A.A. History Today
Now we go to The
First International Alcoholics Anonymous History Conference in September, 2013
and at Portland, Maine. A large number of participants and subjects will be
involved. We also will be stopping over in the South San Francisco Bay Area. And,
of course, the interests of those who are new and of those who have grown in
outreach and understanding are very different in May of 2013 than they were
before we begin in May of 2009. And in September, we plan to meet those interests
both in Maine and in Central California before we return to Maui.
However, the following wake-up call came today from two
Christian Fellowship groups in a large church in the San Francisco Bay Area.
And we intend to start attending to their needs as well, and those of others
who have grown in understanding, support, and outreach. Here is the
correspondence.
Today’s Letter to Me About What preliminarily seemed to interest the mature
California group
Dick:
“Your story, you giving your personal testimony and recovery
journey on Monday September 16th at 7:00 at a Turning Point meeting.
As for discussion topic meetings, focus on implementation,
given the history of AA with its early high success rates, its current state
with much lower success rates, what action steps can Christians in recovery
take to make a difference in the future of AA or other recovery groups?
What can we do to Biblically "salt" our language
in meetings to attract members while promoting the principle of unity?
Some thoughts of my own:
When I was a kid in the fifties and sixties there were
relatively few magazines, LOOK, LIFE, Post, MAD, Hot Rod, Playboy, etc.
Now we have magazines for every possible niche interest
area, Road Bikes, BMX Bikes, Mountain Bikes, Street Motorcycles, Dirt
Motorcycles, V Twin Motorcycles, Sport Motorcycles, Adventure Motorcycles,
Antique Motorcycles, etc.
Likewise in AA we have open meetings, closed meetings, men's
meetings, women's meetings, candlelight meetings, atheist meetings, agnostic
meetings, Gay and Lesbian meetings, Spanish Meetings, Professional's Meetings,
Hospital meetings, Cruise Ship meetings, Step Studies, Big Book Studies,
Breakfast Meetings, Singles Meeting, Beach Meetings, Speaker Meetings, Topic
Meetings, even a meeting in the Senate Cafeteria, and 12 step meetings for all
kinds of addictions and compulsions, etc.
So it is not surprising--given the contemporary
specialization happening elsewhere--that Christian AA Meetings evolved as well.
What implementation steps can we take to make Christian AA
meetings attractive to Christians and seekers in recovery alike?
What implementation steps can we take within traditional AA
meetings that may attract members to Biblically focused meetings?
We can share what has worked and not worked for us over the
last eight years.”
Your Comments, Suggestions, Questions, and Plans Are Welcome
Contact Dick B. dickb@dickb.com; 808 874 4876; PO Box 837, Kihei, HI
96753-0837
And if you’d like to join our “Agape Circle” and send
regular, modest, reasonable gifts each month to help meet expenses, your help
will be much appreciated. Several individuals and fellowships have helped make
our outreach more certain and effective by regularly contributing monthly
donations of $50.00 as members of our “Agape Circle.”—the love circle.
Gloria Deo
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