Let Go ~ Let God

Before I begin discussing the 12-step process of recovery, I have decided to do a short introduction about the original 12-step program, Alcoholics Anonymous.  I knew that it had been founded in America in 1935 by Bill W. and Dr. Bob.  But a quick turn through Wikipedia presented some information I hadn't known before - information that stunned me, as I will discuss later.  I read two articles and both are well documented (most often from original AA sources), so for the purpose of the blog and my sanity, I won't go back to the original sources.

Accordingly, AA's early beginnings and many of its founding principles came from a non-denominational Christian group called the Oxford Group.  The Group began in 1921 by American Christian missionary Dr. Frank Buchman.  Originally called A First Century Christian Fellowship,  it's name was changed to the Oxford Group in 1931 and, again, to Moral Re-armament in 1938.  It was modeled after first century Christian communities and a personal call to discipleship. 

Some members of the Group were, by their own admission, problem drinkers, and they found that by following the tenets of the Group, they were able to maintain their sobriety for the first time in their lives.  One of these men, Ebby Thacher, invited his old drinking buddy, William Wilson, to attend a meeting.  Wilson, though not a proponent of religion, chose to attend because of the amazement he felt at Thacher's sobriety.  Shortly thereafter, he checked himself into a hospital.  While there, he had what he called a God experience.

Bill joined the Group and there he met Dr. Robert Smith, a surgeon and group member who could not stay sober.  After working together for 30 days, Dr. Smith was sober and ready to join Bill in helping other alcoholics, most of whom had failed in treatment elsewhere.  They began to meet as a sub-group (calling themselves the Groupers) and added the caveat of anonymity.  There developed a schism in the Group over issues of anonymity and finances.  The Groupers separated themselves from the Oxford Group in 1937.

The two men, now known as Bill W. and Dr. Bob, along with other early members, published a book in 1938 with the somewhat cumbersome title of: Alcoholics Anonymous: The Story of How More Than One Hundred Men Have Recovered from Alcoholism.  The book became known as "The Big Book" and has changed very little in the 73 years since then.  It's title was the source of the new group's name: Alcoholics Anonymous.  Since then, AA has helped millions of people regain and maintain their sobriety.

This quote from the Wikipedia article, Alcoholics Anonymous describes the purpose and scope of the AA program well:

"The scope of AA's program is much broader than just abstinence from drinking alcohol. Its goal is to effect enough change in the alcoholic's thinking 'to bring about recovery from alcoholism' through a spiritual awakening. A spiritual awakening is achieved by following the Twelve Steps, and sobriety is furthered by volunteering for AA and regular AA meeting attendance or contact with AA members. Members are encouraged to find an experienced fellow alcoholic, called a sponsor, to help them understand and follow the AA program. The sponsor should preferably have experience of all twelve of the steps, be the same gender as the sponsored person, and refrain from imposing personal views on the sponsored person.Following the helper therapy principle, sponsors in AA benefit as much, if not more, from their relationship than do those they sponsor. Helping behaviors correlate with increased abstinence and lower probabilities of binge drinking."

Twelve-step programs modeled after AA have help those suffering from other addictions such as narcotics, cocaine, pornography, over-eating, and gambling.  Since addictions are family diseases, twelve-step programs such as Al-anon, Al-teen, and Al-tot have helped family members and friends of those struggling with addition.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints also developed a twelve-step program based on the steps of Alcoholics Anonymous.  The Church's program was developed under the auspices of LDS Family Services and was called the Addiction Recovery Program.  The main difference between the ARP and AA is that the Church program identifies Jesus Christ as the higher power and credits His atoning grace with the power to heal, rather than turning to "god as you understand him."  This is the stunning part of my learning about the original Oxford Group or A First Century Christian Fellowship.  I thought the LDS Church was putting Jesus Christ into the program.  From the article on the OG, I learned that the Church was putting Jesus Christ back into the program!  The Group was a Christian program originally and, while AA's making the concept of god more generic helped it reach out to non-Christians and non-believers, in truth, it is Jesus Christ who does the healing and it always has been.  Just because some people don't believe in Him doesn't mean that He doesn't believe in them and love them and bless them in their honest efforts to be sober and industrious men and women. 

What we will be talking about for the next few weeks is not just about getting "sober" or freeing ourselves from addiction.  It is about turning our lives over to Jesus Christ and letting Him create in us new hearts.  Developing the addiction took time and walking away from the Light of Christ.  Conquering the addiction will take time, faith, and effort to turn around and walk back towards the Light.  Please join me in this walk of healing and discipleship.

Text © 2012 Gebara Education

Picture of Let Go, Let God from www.zazzle.com

Picture of Chrisian plaque from www.jesusfamilytomb.com

Picture of AA logo from multiple sources