Impaired No More
Why Early A.A. Succeeded and How You Can
Too
By Dick B.
Copyright 2011
Anonymous. All rights reserved
The Core Ideas
·
Old Testament healings by the power of God: Ex
15:26; Ps 103:3.
·
The healings of Jesus: Matt 4:23; Acts 10:38.
·
Healings by the Apostles and other Christians:
Matt 10:1; Acts 3:1-16; 8:5-13; 14:8-10.
·
Christian organizations and individuals dealing
with alcoholism from the 1850’s to A.A.
1.
Rescue Missions.
2.
The Young Men’s Christian Association.
3.
Evangelists like Dwight Moody, Ira Sankey, F. B.
Meyer, Billy Sunday.
4.
The Salvation Army.
5.
The United Society of Christian Endeavor.
6.
The Oxford Group.
7.
Rev. Samuel M. Shoemaker, Jr.
·
The “streams” that flowed from the early days:
1.
New York: Rowland Hazard, Dr. Carl Jung, Dr.
William D. Silkworth,
Ebby Thacher, Bill W.,
Calvary Mission, Towns Hospital, Witnessing.
2.
Akron: James Newton, Russell Firestone, Oxford
Group 1933, Henrietta Seiberling and T. Henry Williams, prayer on the rug,
phone call from Bill.
3.
Bill W. and Dr. Bob meet at Seiberling Gate
Lodge--discuss alcoholism, conversion, power of God, and service to others.
·
How the first three (Bill W., Dr. Bob, Bill Dotson)
got sober by turning to God.
·
Alcoholics Anonymous deemed founded in June 1935
when Dr. Bob took his last drink.
·
Akron Number One--July 4, 1935, when A.A. Number
3 discharged from hospital.
·
The “Christian fellowship” Bill and Bob founded
and built between 1935 and 1939.
1.
The original, seven-point Akron program as
summarized by Frank Amos.
2.
The 16 practices of the A.A. pioneers in Akron.
3.
The “first 40” (Nov. 1937) and early A.A.'s
claim of a 75% success rate.
·
Alcoholics Anonymous (the “Big Book”) and
its Twelve Steps published.
1.
Three primary sources: Dr. Silkworth, William
James, Sam Shoemaker.
2.
Changes made in the “printer's manuscript” (The Book That Started It All)
3.
The first edition of Alcoholics Anonymous
published on April 10, 1939.
·
Cleveland A.A. organized May 11, 1939: The Big
Book, the 12 Steps, the Bible, the Four Absolutes, and “most of the Old
Program.”
·
The “nonsense gods” grew when Bill wrote the
A.A. group could be your “higher power.” [Building on the “committee of four”
compromise--A.A. Comes of Age, 166-67.]
