Alcoholics Anonymous History
New Study Groups
Going Gangbusters
By Dick B.
© 2013 Anonymous. All
rights reserved
Updated March 10,
2013
In the past two or three years, a number of individuals,
groups, and meetings have established Good Book/Big Book, Good Book/12 Step,
A.A. Roots Revival, A.A. History, The James Club studying the links and origins
of early A.A. These have included Bible study, Big Book study, 12 Step study,
Early A.A. history studies, Reading the literature of early AAs, and reviewing the
impact on A.A. of other roots—Anne Smith’s Journal, Dr. Bob’s Library, the
Oxford Group life-changing program, the teachings of Rev. Sam Shoemaker, Quiet
Time, Silkworth, Jung, James, Peabody, and New Thought writers.
Most of the groups floundered for a time, not knowing where
to start, what to use, or what was permissible. Some wondered what A.A. would
think. Some wondered what their church would think. But once it was made clear
that there is no “conference dis-approved” literature, that it was OK to study
the very things our founders studied, that it was kosher to do the very things
our founders did and to read their pamphlets, real progress was made. Most of
the groups are just getting started and learning, but several have grown from
small to large in a short time.
Then I began producing specific guides I thought would help;
and they came along in this order: (1) The Good Book and The Big Book. (2) By
the Power of God. (3) Utilizing A.A.’s Spiritual Roots Today. (4) Why Early
A.A. Succeeded. (5) Making Known the Biblical History and Roots of Alcoholics
Anonymous. (6) When Early AAs Were Cured and Why. (7) The James Club and The
Original A.A. Program’s Absolute Essentials. (8) Twelve Steps for You
Turning Point, The Oxford Group and Alcoholics Anonymous,
and New Light on Alcoholism were the landmark books dealing with A.A.’s Oxford
Group/New York Genesis. The Akron Genesis of Alcoholics Anonymous was the
landmark dealing with A.A.’s Akron Genesis. Any and all of these, plus the
eight books mentioned above, plus a complete reference set of my 23 history
titles can be purchased in bulk, at a discount, and from
http://aa-history.com/bookstore.
As the need for specific plans grew, I wrote and posted on
several different websites various articles suggesting how to conduct study
groups, what resources might be needed, and what other books and materials were
recommended. Then, three old-timer Clarence Snyder sponsees asked me to compile
and edit their great guidebook on how to take the Twelve Steps the way that
Clarence Snyder did (See http://www.cametobelieve.org)..
You can find my articles on how to conduct study groups on a
number of sites other than my own. And you can certainly find them here:
http://www.dickb.com/index.shtml; http://www.dickb-blog.com;
http://MauiHistorian.Blogspot.com They will tell you what you need to do, how
to organize and conduct, what books to obtain for the group, and what resources
to have on hand. And most of the groups today are using one or more of the
following:
Alcoholics Anonymous, The Original 1939 Edition with
Introduction by Dick B. – Dover Publications.
King James Version of the Bible, or one of their choice like
NIV, or one of the three “twelve step” Bibles.
The James Club and The Original A.A. Program’s Absolute
Essentials http://www.dickb.com/JamesClub.shtml
Twelve Steps for You
http://www.dickb.com/12StepsforYou.shtml
The Good Book and The Big Book http://www.dickb.com/goodbook.shtml
They can and do buy these in bulk and at a discount from
And you can buy them from me, on Amazon.com, through
BarnesandNoble.com, and by asking any bookstore to order them for you.
Most groups also obtain a complete set of my 32 history
reference titles so that members can look up Anne Smith, Sam Shoemaker, the
Oxford Group, Akron, Dr. Bob’s Library, and Quiet Time, along with all the
others, at any time it helps the other study work.
These are continuing, growing, highly helpful groups—whether
conduct by individual AAs and 12-Step students, whether presented in groups or
meetings, whether incorporated in Christian Track and Christian Recovery
Treatment programs, or whether utilized by church-related or Christ-centered
groups. It’s something that hasn’t been done because most try to apply the
early principles from their own Bibles or through their own church or through
Christ-centered guidebooks, but without any knowledge or guide to the original
A.A. program. Yet that is the program that, in its very simple form, was the
key to the 75% to 93% cure rates in early A.A.
Our Just Released Key Guidebook – now in electronic form on
Amazon.com
We just completed and published a guidebook that covers all
the bases. It is already being snapped up for use. And its name is The Good
Book-Big Book Guidebook. You can see the cover, the description of contents,
and a review on Amazon.com, on my sites http://www.dickb.com/titles.shtml
It’s the key to running a group, and it’s directly tied to all the resources
mentioned above.
Since this article was first written, we have published two very
helpful books that we highly recommend:
“Stick with the
Winners!” http://mcaf.ee/s50q
“Pioneer Stories in
Alcoholics Anonymous” http://mcaf.ee/gj7iw
The Track Record To Date
People contact me from all over the United States, Canada,
and Great Britain, asking how to get linked to and/or participate in one of
these new Christian-oriented A.A. Groups. Therefore, I will be glad to inform
you of those already in progress and where they are located, but I will not
provide you with the names. If you wish to get in touch with one, you can send
me an email (dickb@dickb.com); and I will forward your request to the relevant
leader or group. And here they are:
Melrose, New York
Columbia, Connecticut
Groton, Connecticut
Kaneohe, Hawaii
Kihei, Hawaii
Kailua, Hawaii
Sebastopol, California
Woodland, California
Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada
Gilbert, Arizona
Yuma, Arizona
Seattle, Washington
Bellevue, Washington
Santa Ana, California
East Sussex, England
Miller Place, New York
Newmanstown, Pennsylvania
Dresden, Ohio
Spencerville, Indiana
Townsend, Delaware
Newark, Delaware
Wisconsin, Delaware
Sheboygan, Wisconsin
Amery, Wisconsin
Cornish, New Hampshire
Melbourne, Florida
Hollywood, Florida
Miami, Florida
Winter Park, Florida
Seminole, Florida
Orlando, Florida
Garden City, Idaho
Medina, Washington
Downey, California
Rohnert Park, California
Montreal, Quebec
Edgemere, Maryland
Schofield, Wisconsin
Hastings, Nebraska
Norfolk, Nebraska
Suffield, Connecticut
San Francisco, California
Baltimore, Maryland
El Paso, Texas
Euless, Texas
Leonardtown, Maryland
Edmond, Oklahoma
Norco, California
Austin, Texas
New York, New York
Cincinnati, Ohio
Van Nuys, California
Gresham, Oregon
Roanoke, Virginia
Kodiak, Alaska
Chesapeake, Virginia
St. George’s, Bermuda
Sun City, Arizona
Marietta, Georgia
Rancho Santa Margarita, California
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Ponte Vedra, Florida
Hitch Up Your Wagon
If you would like to join the growing number of individual
study groups, study group meetings, Christian A.A. study groups, Big Book-12
Step-Good Book study groups, churches instituting A.A. Christian History and
Biblical Study Meetings, Christ-centered or para-church groups who see the
applicability of early A.A. history, principles, and practices to the treatment
efforts of today, join the group!
We now have the guidebook for you: The Good Book-Big Book
Guidebook by Dick B.
The actual study books now being used: The James Club and
The Original A.A. Program’s Absolute Essentials; Twelve Steps for You; Anne
Smith’s Journal, Dr. Bob and His Library, When Early AAs Were Cured and Why,
and Why Early A.A. Succeeded.
The foregoing can be studied by you, in a group, at a
seminar, or in meetings – one by one - using the guidebook to help you. They
can be studied in sequence over a year’s period. They can be the topic of
teaching, discussion, application, and sponsorship. They can be used in
conjunction with a set of Dick’s 23 published historical reference books on
every aspect of early A.A. history.
They can be most usefully applied if you have on hand as
part of your study resources: Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th ed.; King James Version
of the Holy Bible; Poe’s Concordance to the Big Book; Young’s Concordance to
the Bible; and a Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary.
Optional helps: Copies of the Upper Room (obtainable from a
Methodist Church), The Runner’s Bible (Christian bookstore), My Utmost for His
Highest (Christian Bookstore), Drummond’s The Greatest Thing in the World (any
bookstore); The Christ of the Mount by E. Stanley Jones; Studies in the Sermon
on the Mount by Oswald Chambers; The Sermon on the Mount by Emmet Fox [bearing
in mind that Fox does not teach or believe in salvation by faith and gives a
“New Thought” twist to his writings]; The Life Recovery Bible [which is filled
with “private interpretation” and uses modern language which is not necessarily
accurate or helpful]; and Recovery Devotional Bible [which comes from the NIV
translation, attempts to combine the Steps and the Bible in practice, and is
short on useful remarks].
My own preference is that the student stick to the Bible
itself—the King James Version. This was the version used by the A.A. pioneers.
In one form or another, it was the Bible of choice for several centuries. And
it is not cluttered up with insertion of “Steps,” “Step ideas,” and
prophylactic opinions about Biblical commandments and verses. Stick to the
Bible. Then review my titles like The James Club. Then look at the early helps
such as The Runner’s Bible; and you’ll be studying what the pioneers studied
and understanding the three most important Bible segments as they understood
and applied them. Discussion and questions, if preceded by skilled teaching,
can then cover topics that the Bible itself covers, how they relate to A.A.
ideas, and how they can be implemented in daily life.
Obtain your Dick B.
books from amazon.com which carries them all in print-on-demand format and many
in their electronic form on Kindle Store. You may also purchase them on our
titles page. See www.dickb.com/titles.shtml.
Dick B., PO Box 837,
Kihei, HI 96753-0837; dickb@dickb.com. 808 874 4876
No comments:
Post a Comment