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Alcoholics
Anonymous History
Alcoholics Anonymous, Its Christian Endeavor Root, and A.A. Co-founder Dr. Bob [Updating information on this highly significant A.A. Roots Source]
Copyright 2012 Anonymous. All rights reserved.
Preliminary Note on this Updated Article about Dr. Bob
and the United Christian Endeavor Society
[My May, 2012, update of this Previous article: At the
time the article was first written, it became the most thorough and
informative article ever published on both Alcoholics Anonymous and its
Christian Endeavor root as well as on what the scanty group of remaining CE
activists themselves knew. Seeing the article on the internet, the then
Executive Director of Christian Endeavor Society invited me to come to the
125th Anniversary of the United Christian Endeavor Society at the
Cannon Office building in Washington, D.C. I not only came and spoke, but I
realized that this recovery treasure information was virtually unknown to
the 60 or so that attended—even though
earlier celebrations had hosted many Presidents of the United States as
speakers. And several of the Presidents had been with Christian Endeavor in
their youth. Moreover, at one point, the worldwide membership of Christian
Endeavor soared to 4.5 million members located in many parts of the Globe.
Since my Washington, D.C. address and the writing of
this article, I conducted two vitally important pieces of research work on
Dr. Bob and his younger years in St. Johnsbury, Vermont. First, my son and I visited
St. Johnsbury, Vermont twice over a total period of three weeks. We were able
to find literally thousands of relevant records, manuscripts, books, sermons,
teachings, newspapers articles, and other writings that showed the immense
Christian upbringing Dr. Bob had as a youngster in Vermont. His upbringing
involved the Great Awakening of 1875 which preceded his birth but impacted on
the entire community of St. Johnsbury. It involved his Congregationalist
parents and their indoctrination of Bob with facts about salvation and the
Word of God. It involved the North Congregational Church of St. Johnsbury,
Vermont where the entire Smith family attended church services at least 4
times each week. The father was a Deacon, a member of the Executive Committee,
and a Sunday school teacher. The mother helped write a history of the church,
headed its Christian education program, sang in the choir, and was active in
many church activities. The Young Men’s Christian Association, as well as the
Young People’s Society of Christian Endeavor, played a major role in the
church; and the YMCA, of which Bob’s father was President, was also active in
St. Johnsbury Academy which Dr. Bob attended.
There is a great deal of additional carefully
researched information in Dick B. and Ken B., Dr. Bob of Alcoholics Anonymous: His Excellent Training in the Good
Book as a Youngster in Vermont. www.dickb.com/drbobofaa.shtml.
And the thousands of St. Johnsbury records pertaining
to Bob and his church, academy, family, and Christian Endeavor affiliation
were placed in a library which the pastor of the church, Jay Sprout,
graciously enabled us to establish there as the “Dr. Bob Core Library.” And
in those two places, “the rest of the story” is told—information scarcely
known to A.A. or AAs.]
A
New Historical Research Challenge
Whenever I find some solid evidence about A.A. history that no
historian has mentioned, I become interested and challenged. Further,
whenever I find that neither Bill W. nor the current A.A. publishing group
has made mention of the item, I become even more interested and challenged.
Finally, when I see that the evidence has a direct bearing on the early A.A.
program in Akron, as reported to Rockefeller by Frank Amos – our
trustee-to-be – the challenge becomes a priority. And if no one mentions a
challenge that smacks of religion, church, Christianity, Bible, or alcoholism
cure, I know that I’m on to an investigative quest that will be welcomed by
the many who just plain want to know. That’s the case here.
The
Christian Endeavor root of A.A. is such a challenge. No AA historian other
than Richard K. and I seems to have mentioned it at all. Nor did Bill Wilson
or his latter-day, well-paid publishing crew. More and more forcefully, the
“headquarters” crowd began pushing the idea “A.A. is not a religious society,
since it requires no definite religious belief as a condition of membership”
(See 44 Questions. New York: Alcoholics Anonymous World Services,
Inc., 1952, p. 19). This revisionist theme has nonetheless been rejected by
the many courts that have ruled against the faulty reasoning that a
fellowship dedicated to finding God and promulgating steps to a relationship
with God is not religious in purpose and character.
Yet
A.A.’s reticent co-founder Dr. Bob certainly pointed to A.A.’s Christian
Endeavor root. First, in an almost negative context, Dr. Bob said in his
personal story in the A.A. Big Book:
“From
childhood through high school I was more or less forced to go to church,
Sunday School and evening service, Monday night Christian Endeavor and
sometimes to Wednesday evening prayer meeting”
(Alcoholics
Anonymous, 4th ed., p. 173)
The
foregoing was supplemented with Dr. Bob’s further statement that he resolved
thereafter “never to darken the doors of a church” except where circumstances
made it seem unwise to do otherwise. However, more than a decade after A.A.’s
founding, Dr. Bob commented as to Bill and himself (The Co-Founders of
Alcoholics Anonymous: Biographical Sketches Their Last Major Talks. NY:
Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc., 1972, 1975, pp. 11-14):
“We
had both been associated with the Oxford Group, Bill in New York, for five
months, and I in Akron, for two and a half years. Bill had acquired their
idea of service. I had not, but I had done an immense amount of reading they had
recommended. I had refreshed my memory of the Good Book, and I had had
excellent training in that as a youngster. . . .
“I’m
somewhat allergic to work, but I felt that I should continue to increase my
familiarity with the Good Book and also should read a good deal of standard
literature, possibly of a scientific nature. So I did cultivate the habit of
reading. I think I’m not exaggerating when I say I have probably averaged an
hour a day for the last 15 years. . .
“At
that point, our stories didn’t amount to anything to speak of. When we
started in on Bill D., we had no Twelve Steps, either; we had no Traditions.
But we were convinced that the answer to our problems was in the Good Book. .
. .
“It
wasn’t until 1938 that the teachings and efforts and studies that had been
going on were crystallized in the form of the Twelve Steps. I didn’t write
the Twelve Steps. I had nothing to do with the writing of them. . . . We
already had the basic ideas, though not in terse and tangible form. We got
them, as I said, as a result of our study of the Good Book.”
I
found, after much further research, that Dr. Bob’s brief comment about his
church membership and attendance does not square with the facts—facts still
under further extensive investigation by my colleague Richard K. Nor were Dr.
Bob’s comments considered in full or in context with Dr. Bob’s other
statements and views about the Bible, his training in prayer and Bible study
as a youngster, and the ideas which he later developed as he worked with over
5,000 alcoholics subsequent to A.A.’s 1935 founding. In fact, the scanty
presence and wholesale omission of the details of Dr. Bob’s religious
training suggest intent to support those who often cry in A.A. meetings I’ve
attended that the Bible didn’t work and the Oxford Group didn’t work because
Dr. Bob was drinking while studying both..
I
will only summarize here my previously published, detailed evidence about Dr.
Bob’s youth and his statements about the Bible, his training in the Bible and
Bible study, his prayer life, his quiet times, and his church life. In
outline form, here are the points:
Dr.
Bob’s stated that he had attended three or four church services and meetings
each week at the North Congregational Church in St. Johnsbury, Vermont. He
said that when he resumed his religious studies, he had refreshed his memory
of the Bible and had received excellent training as a youngster in that in
church and through Christian Endeavor. His son told me his father had read
the Bible completely through three times in his “refreshment” period. His
daughter told me her father read the Bible every day. Dr. Bob told his son he
had read for an hour every night, drunk or sober, for many years. Dr. Bob
spoke of the immense amount of literature he read. Scads and scads of books were
found in his home, under his bed, and in the homes of his kids after the
books had allegedly have been thrown or given away. And we now know the broad
scope of the Biblical, Christian devotional, and other Christian literature
he read. You can know it just by looking at the many remnant books we have
found mentioned by family and friends or found in possession of his children.
There is no doubt that, from early AA’s beginnings, Dr. Bob set aside a quiet
time three times each day for Bible study, prayer, and reflection. He read
and circulated a large number of Christian books on the Bible, Jesus Christ,
prayer, quiet time, the sermon on the mount, the Book of James, and
1Corinthians 13. We also have Dr. Bob’s own frequent statement as to the
“absolutely essential” study by AAs of the Sermon, James, and Corinthians.
Also, Bob’s statement that AAs started the day with James, Corinthians, or
the Sermon. We also have examined with care Dr. Bob’s specific interest in The
Runner’s Bible where James is much discussed, his interest in at least
four well-known commentaries on the Sermon on the Mount, and his enthusiastic
circulation of Henry Drummond’s The Greatest Thing in the World
(an essay on 1 Corinthians 13).
I
have a news article from The Tidings (A Roman Catholic paper) printed
some eight years after A.A.’s founding. The article reported on the speeches
by Dr. Bob and Bill on the same platform in Los Angeles before 4500 at the
Shrine Auditorium. There, and once again, Dr. Bob explicitly urged that AAs
should cultivate the habit of prayer and of reading the Bible.
Despite
incomplete and erroneous reporting, we now know that Dr. Bob not only
attended Protestant Christian churches frequently—first as a youngster and
later in Akron at St. Luke, Westside Presbyterian Church, and finally St.
Paul’s Episcopal Church in Akron.
I
particularly want to mention here again the two illuminating remarks Dr. Bob
made about clergy and churches. His son quoted Dr. Bob’s statements to me
personally. Bob’s son said: (1) Dr. Bob’s real beef was with “sky pilots”—a
not uncommon, bit of sarcastic nomenclature pointed at some preachers of that
day. (2) Dr. Bob was far more interested in the “message” than the
“messenger”—an interesting pointer toward Dr. Bob’s avowed preference for Bible
study, prayer, seeking God’s guidance, reading Christian literature, and
using devotionals. And I believe these remarks help explain his supposed
aversion to church and underscore his fervent involvement in Bible study,
prayer, guidance, Christian literature, and using devotionals like The
Upper Room, Daily Strength for Daily Needs, and My Utmost for
His Highest. It may also explain his infrequent mention of his personal
church life—despite the fact that he and Anne were charter members of the
Presbyterian Church during A.A.’s founding years in Akron and until well
after the Big Book was published.in 1939. Morevoer, both his kids told me
personally and reported in their Children of the Healer that their dad
took his kids to Sunday school regularly. Of course, Dr. Bob specifically
recommended that early AAs attend a church of their own choice—something that
simply was no part of Bill Wilson’s life..
The
challenge? Did Dr. Bob’s younger days in church, his prayer meetings, and
Christian Endeavor impact on his later beliefs, actions, A.A. ideas, and the
“fixing” of drunks in Akron AA.? Another challenge: What was the background
of Christian Endeavor itself; and what ideas of that society bear resemblance
to those of pioneer AA? Still another challenge: What, in context, was Dr.
Bob’s real view of church, of clergy, of prayer, of prayer meetings, of the
Christian Endeavor program, and of the Bible itself?
Some
of the answers will be covered in our further, ongoing months of research and
writing.
Preliminary
Glimpses at Christian Endeavor
From
its Founding Through the days of Dr. Bob’s Participation
The
Genesis of the Christian Endeavor Society
The
first society was organized on February 2, 1881. (See Francis E. Clark. Christian
Endeavor in all Lands. Boston, MA: The United Society of Christian
Endeavor, 1886, pp. 35, 41, 621).
Rev.
Francis E. Clark, pastor of Williston Church in Portland, Maine, formed the
society in the parlor of his home at 62 Neal Street—the parsonage of
Williston Church. Members consisted of boys and girls in the “Mizpah
Circle”—a missionary circle for young people which was led by the pastor’s
wife. During the February Mizpah meeting, Clark framed a constitution for the
society and called it “Williston Young People’s Society of Christian Endeavor.”
He wrote that the “greatest stress was on the religious features;” the
society was to be “an out-and-out Christian society;” and the activities
“were to centre around the weekly young people’s prayer meeting.”
W.
H. Pennell, the teacher of the Young Men’s Bible Class, carefully explained
the society and its constitution and led all the young people present in
signing the new constitution. Several clauses of the constitution are
historically instructive and bear repeating here (For the further details on
the foregoing and following points and the constitution itself, see Francis
E. Clark. Memories of Many Men in Many Lands: An Autobiography.
Boston, MA: United Society of Christian Endeavor, 1922, pp. 77-87):
“Object.
Its object shall be to promote an earnest Christian life among its members,
to increase their mutual acquaintance, and to make them more useful in the
service of God. . . .
“Officers. The officers of this society shall be a President,
Vice President and Secretary. There shall also be a Prayer meeting Committee
of five a Social Committee of five, and a Lookout Committee of Five.
“Duties
of Officers. . . . The Prayer meeting Committee shall have in charge the
Friday evening prayer-meeting;
“The
Prayer-meeting. It is expected that all the members of the society will be
present at every meeting unless detained by some absolute necessity and that
each one will take some part however slight in every meeting. The meetings
will be held just one hour and at the close some time may be taken for
introductions and social intercourse if desired. Once each month an
Experience meeting shall. . . [the remaining portions of this sentence were
not shown in autobiography].”
About
Christian Endeavor Founder Francis E. Clark
Francis
Edward Clark was born on September 12, 1851 in the village of Aylmer,
Province of Quebec, or Lower Canada, as it was then called. His ancestors,
however, had lived in “the Old Bay State” for two centuries. His ancestral
lineage was peopled with deacons and pastors and descendents who were members
of the Orthodox Congregational Church. His young parents went to the Canadian
frontier on other pursuits, but both died when Francis was quite young. He
said, “All of my boyhood was spent in two Puritan families. . . . My mother
and brother were members of the Presbyterian church, in which I, too, was
dedicated to God’s service.” Very soon after his mother’s death, his uncle,
Rev. Edward Warren Clark, of Auburndale, Mass., came to Aylmer and took him
to the uncle’s Auburndale home. The uncle was the first pastor of the
newly-formed Congregational Church in Auburndale. Because of ill health, his
uncle was obliged to give up his pastorate. But he was elected chaplain of
the Massachusetts Senate and Overseer of Harvard College, soon becoming
chaplain of the Forty-seventh Regiment of Volunteers in the Civil War.
On
the uncle’s return from the war, the family moved to New Hampshire; and the
young Francis attended Claremont academy. From there, Francis was enrolled in
Kimball Union Academy in Meridian, New Hampshire. On graduation in 1869, he
entered the Dartmouth class of ’73. He graduated number 12 in his class and
had received a Phi Beta Kappa “key.” Incidentally, Francis commented at some
length on the excessive drinking during his years at Dartmouth—something that
is part of the Dr. Bob story at Dartmouth as well. In 1873, Francis decided
to study for the ministry and entered Andover, which he characterized as “the
great theological seminary of New England.” Andover was Congregational in
denomination. Near the end of his senior year at Andover, he was called to
the pastorate of the Williston Church of Portland, Maine (For the foregoing
materials, see Clark, Memories, supra, pp. 1-66).
A
Brief Digression: The Period of Dr. Bob’s Youth.
Perhaps
not by accident, A.A. literature has chosen to report little about Dr. Bob’s
youth. This may be a blessing for those of us who are taking a fresh start, a
fresh approach, and a fresh viewpoint. The question concerns just exactly
what Dr. Bob did as a youngster in the North Congregational Church at St.
Johnsbury and just exactly what he was seeing, hearing, learning, and
practicing in the Christian Endeavor Society at his church and even
elsewhere. Those questions are being researched right now!
Here’s
what AA does tell us about Dr. Bob’s youth. The facts provide an adequate
start and framework that can point us toward his early religious years and
religious training.
Robert
Holbrook Smith was born August 8, 1879 in the family home at Central and
Summer Streets in St. Johnsbury, Vermont. Judge and Mrs. Walter Perrin Smith
were his parents. The Judge had a distinguished career as Probate Judge,
state’s attorney, state legislator, superintendent of St. Johnsbury schools,
director of one bank, and president of another. He died in 1918; and he had
taught Sunday school for 40 years! Dr. Bob’s mother was said to have felt
“that the way to success and salvation lay through strict parental
supervision, no-nonsense education, and regular spiritual devotion.”
From
1885 to 1894, Bob went to Summer Street elementary school, two blocks from
his home. In 1894, Bob was 15 years old and entered St. Johnsbury Academy—an
independent secondary school “for the intellectual, moral, and religious
training of boys and girls in northeastern Vermont.” In his senior year at
St. Johnsbury, he met his bride-to-be Anne Ripley Smith at a dance in the
academy gym. Seventeen years later, they were married. Bob graduated from St.
Johnsbury Academy in 1898. He then set off for four years at Dartmouth
College, sixty miles south at Hanover, New Hampshire. He graduated in 1902
and by that time was an illustrious graduate of the college drinking
“fraternity.” Sadly—by comparison with the endless biographies, stories of, by,
and about, Bill Wilson and his life—A.A. has devoted only 23 pages to the
foregoing general facts in the official biography of Bob’s life (See DR.
BOB and the Good Oldtimers: A Biography, with recollections of early A.A. in
the Midwest. NY: Alcoholics Anonymous World Services., Inc., 1980, pp.
1-23). Regrettably, most of these pages contain little more of religious and
spiritual significance—mostly just a Dr. Bob drunkalog, and this not even in
the words of Dr. Bob.
As
to Bill Wilson, Bill himself, A.A., and a host of biographers have provided
us with details about Wilson’s birth behind a bar, his renunciation of
church, his atheism, his grandfather, his mother, his father, his sister, his
boomerang, his violin, his first love, his second love and wife-to-be Lois,
his Burr and Burton Academy days, a hobo motorcycle ride, stock market
meanderings, Lois’s Swedenborgian religion, the involvement of Lois’s family
in Swedenborgianism, and the pair’s marriage in the Swedenborgian church, as
well as some information about Bill’s Army days and law school attendance.
When
it comes to reporting details about Dr. Bob, A.A. has been favored with very
very little. There is nothing about Judge Smith’s religious convictions,
activities, and teachings to Bob. There is nothing about Grandma Smith’s
religious beliefs, activities, and communications with her son on those
matters. There is nothing about the family’s membership in St. Johnsbury’s
North Congregational Church. There is nothing about that church’s prayer
meetings, church services, Bible studies, and quiet hours. There is nothing
about the nature of its Christian Endeavor Society; and there is nothing
about CE activities of that particular church society. Nor is there any
mention of what Bob learned as a youth from the church, from the Bible, from
Christian Endeavor, from his parents, or from the religious ideas taught at
the academy he attended. And that is where part of our research is now
directed. Details are invited!.
Christian
Endeavor Growth From 1881 to 1902—the date of Dr. Bob’s graduation from
college at Dartmouth.
The
growth of Christian Endeavor from its twenty member society in Williston
Church in 1881 to its status at the time of Dr. Bob’s graduation from college
in 1902 is absolutely astonishing. Though Congregational in origin, Christian
Endeavor met the needs of youth and the need of churches of various
Protestant denominations to court, encourage, and instruct young people in
the service of Christ. Its influence on churches and youngsters became world-wide
in span and duration.
By
the time its founder Dr. Francis Clark had written his autobiography in 1922,
Christian Endeavor could say that eighty thousand organizations bore its name
(Clark, Memoirs, supra, p. 699). It could and did say that
three hundred thousand people attended one hundred and fifty different
sessions at its 1899 Convention in Detroit (Clark, Christian Endeavor,
supra, p. 368). It could and did estimate that about 250,000
Endeavorers every year join the evangelical churches of the world (Clark, Christian
Endeavor, supra, p. 338). An online encyclopedia archive on
Francis Clark recorded that, in 1908, United Christian Endeavor had 70,761
societies and more than 3,500,000 members scattered throughout the United
States, Canada, Great Britain, Australia, South Africa, India, Japan and
China
Let’s
compare, as to historical significance, Wilson’s much-discussed Washingtonian
Society of a century before A.A.’s founding. Society membership, said Wilson,
“passed the hundred thousand mark,” but, said he, it lost sight of its goal
of helping alcoholics. It became embroiled in Abolition and Temperance
matters, quickly faded from the scene after only a few short years of
activity, and had been long dead for a good many decades before A.A. was founded
(See Wilson’s remarks quoted in Pass It On. NY: Alcoholics Anonymous
World Services, Inc., 1984, pp. 325, 354, 366-367; Twelve Steps And Twelve
Traditions. NY: Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc., 1952, pp.
178-179). Furthermore, several perspicacious AAs were later to write that the
real failure of the Washingtonian movement was its non-reliance on God and
focus on temperance pledges.
Let’s
also look at the “Oxford Group”—the much discussed yet maligned “root” of
Bill Wilson’s enduring Twelve Steps. At the beginning, in 1922, its members
simply consisted of a small group of Rev. Frank Buchman’s traveling friends
who had formed what they called “A First Century Christian Fellowship” which
soon faded away as a group (See Garth Lean. Frank Buchman: A Life.
London: Constable, 1985, p. 97).
Now,
let’s look at a timeline of Christian Endeavor from its founding in 1881 to
the time of Dr. Bob’s graduation from Dartmouth in 1902. The growth,
tremendous size and outreach, and endurance of this Christian fellowship far
surpass anything else in the pre-AA history scene.
1881
– February 2, the first society was organized in Williston Church.
October
8, the second society organized in the North Church, Newburyport, Mass.
Before
1882 dawned, there were at least three or four other societies—one in a
Christian church in Rhode Island; another in the St. Lawrence Church of
Portland; another in Burlington, Vermont.
1882
– June 2 – the first convention was held in Williston Church with six
societies of less than 500 members represented and others known to exist.
1883
– 1891 – Societies were rapidly formed in Canada, Hawaii, Ceylon, Foochow,
Africa, England, Australia, Turkey, Japan, Spain, France, Samoa, Mexico, and
Chile. With large conventions in those years and many societies.
1892
– Eleventh Annual Convention was held at Madison Square Garden. Attendance:
30,000.
1893
– 1896 – Societies and conventions involved China, Japan, the Army, South
Africa, Switzerland, Germany, Laos, Scotland, Marshall Islands, India,
Hawaii, Guatemala, the Caroline Islands, Italy, Bulgaria, Mexico, and Burma.
1897
– Sixteenth International Convention in San Francisco. 25,000 journeyed
across the continental United States to be a part of the outreach and
activity.
1898
– 1902 – Societies and conventions were organized and met in India, Russia,
Philippines, Jamaica, Portugal, and Persia.
The
Washingtonians were washed up in only a few years and long before AA was a
twinkle in Bill Wilson’s eye. The Oxford Group finally did gain world-wide
notice through the 1930’s; faced stiff opposition from the Roman Catholic
hierarchy; ran afoul of thorny claims of Buchman’s supposed Nazi
affiliations, and the anti-war views of some at Oxford [not, however,
connected with Buchman’s people]. Unlike the Washingtonians, Christian
Endeavor, or A.A., the Oxford Group itself was basically a one-man charisma
show; and it soon found itself splitting in several directions a decade after
World War II.
Yet,
in the twenty years beginning with1891, Christian Endeavor had stayed afloat,
grown, gained support in many denominations, spawned similar societies in
others, and acquired tens of thousands of identifiable adherents. It had
literature, books, periodicals, newspapers, conventions, world conferences,
offices, officers and trustees, hymnals, summer schools, training schools,
and an ever-increasing support and growth rate. In sum, there was absolutely
nothing like Christian Endeavor that was similar in form, content,
significance, and size during the years prior to or at the time A.A.s
conception or actual formative years—nothing at all like the Christian
Endeavor Society which was to help instruct and train Dr. Bob in his youth,
and which emphasized Bible, Church, Prayer Meetings, Quiet Hours, God, Jesus
Christ, fellowship, service and witness (For details, see Clark, Christian
Endeavor, supra, pp. 34-88, 621-628). It is no surprise to me,
however, that (given today’s secularized treatment approaches) world-wide
Christian Endeavor picture has remained in the dark—completely unnoticed in
today’s “any god” or “not-god” recovery arena. The theme seems to be: If you
want to talk about Jesus, the Bible, and A.A.’s Christian roots, do it
somewhere besides A.A., a treatment center, or a government periodical.
The Christian Endeavor Society Pledge, Principles, and
Practices
The
Christian Endeavor Covenant and Pledge
The
active member’s pledge used in most societies is as follows:
“Trusting
in the Lord Jesus Christ for strength, I promise Him that I will strive to do
whatever He would like to have me do; that I will make it a rule of my life
to pray and to read the Bible every day, and to support my own church in
every way, especially by attending all her regular Sunday and midweek
services, unless prevented by some reason which I can conscientiously give to
my Saviour; and that, just so far as I know how, throughout my whole life, I
will endeavor to lead a Christian life. As an active member I promise to be
true to all my duties, to be present at and take some part, aside from
singing, in every Christian Endeavor prayer-meeting, unless hindered by some
reason which I can conscientiously give to my Lord and Master. If obliged to
be absent from the monthly consecration meeting of the society, I will, if
possible, send at least a verse of Scripture to be read in response to my
name at roll-call” (Clark, Christian Endeavor, supra,
pp.251-252).
Interesting
also are the first two of six covenants in the prison-societies of Christian
Endeavor:
“First.
I will accept Jesus as my Lord and Saviour.
“Second.
I will try to learn and do His will by forming the habit of praying and
carefully reading my Bible daily, and by thinking, speaking, and acting as I
believe He would in my place. . . .” (Clark, Christian Endeavor, supra,
p. 253).
Rev.
Clark said the covenant has thus been analyzed:
“First,
I will read the Bible.
“Second,
I will pray.
“Third,
I will support my own church.
“Fourth,
I will attend the weekly prayer-meeting of the society.
“Fifth,
I will take some part in it, aside from singing.
“Sixth,
I will perform a special duty at the consecration-meeting if obliged to be
absent” (Clark, Christian Endeavor, supra, pp 244-245).
Amos
R. Wells, a prolific Endeavor writer, editor, and leader, wrote the following
in his book The Endeavorer’s Daily Companion:
“Don’t
believe in daily prayer and Bible-reading?
“Don’t
believe in taking part in prayer-meetings?
“Don’t
believe in going to church?
“Don’t
believe in supporting your own church?
“Don’t
believe in doing Christ’s will?
“Don’t
believe in leading a Christian life?
“Don’t
believe in trying to do all these things?
“Don’t
believe in promising to try to do them?
“Why,
of course you do when it is put that way! This is all you promise in the
pledge—just to try to do them; and the pledge expressly says that you are not
to do them whenever you think Christ would excuse you from them. Certainly no
less excuse should satisfy you, pledge or no pledge” (Clark, Christian
Endeavor, supra, p. 245).
Though
we are getting ahead of ourselves in this article and as to later proposed
research, we believe any real student of Dr. Bob’s remarks will find that
A.A.’s co-founder was still doing the daily prayer and Bible-reading, was
still conducting prayer-meetings, was still going to church, was still
supporting his church, was still talking about doing his Master’s will, was
still emphasizing the leading of a Christian life, and was not only talking
about these things throughout his A.A. years, but was urging these things on
his “pigeons”—as he called the new AAs. There was no significant talk in
Christian Endeavor about the Four Absolutes of the Oxford Group; of a
life-changing “art” of self-examination, confession of sins to another
person, conviction, and “conversion” leading to a spiritual awakening. Nor
even about some of pioneer A.A.’s own favored ideas in the Book of James,
including James 5:16.
The
Christian Endeavor Pledge really describes the simple early A.A. Akron
program in bright colors. And, if you add to the CE program, A.A.’s
insistence on abstinence and hospitalization for real alcoholics, and toss in
some other Christian Endeavor principles and practices, you have the very
program that Dr. Bob, his wife Anne, Henrietta Seiberling, and the Williams
couple were holding forth for the deliverance of those early drunks. Let’s be
clear, however, that these remarks do not ignore or discount the important
Oxford Group backdrop and ideas that came to Akron from 1931 forward and
their influence on the little A.A. fellowship.
The
Christian Endeavor Principles
Rev.
Clark believed that the following four principles are the “roots of the
Christian Endeavor tree.” They are, he wrote, the essential and only
essential principles of the Christian Endeavor Society:
1. Confession of Christ.
2. Service for Christ.
3. Fellowship with Christ’s
people.
4. Loyalty to Christ’s
Church.
As
to each of the four, Clark said the following, among other things:
“Confession
of Christ is absolutely necessary in the Christian Endeavor Society. To
ensure this are the methods of the Society adapted in every particular. . . .
The true Christian Endeavorer does not take part to exhibit his rhetoric, or
to gain practice in public speaking, or to show what a logical prayer he can
offer to God; but he does take part to show that he is a Christian, to
confess his love for his Lord; and this confession is as acceptable made by
the unlearned, stumbling, lisping Christian as by the glib and ready
phrase-maker. . . The covenant pledge is simply a tried and proved device to
secure frequent confession of Christ. . . . Our form of confession is the
prayer-meeting. Here we acknowledge our faith. . . .”
“Another
universal principle of Christian Endeavor is constant service. If
confession is the lungs of the movement, service is its hands and feet. . . .
In the ideal society every member is responsible for some definite,
particular task. . . a society whose ideal, like Wesley’s is, ‘At it, and all
at it, and always at it.’”
“Again,
I have learned that our fellowship is an essential feature of
Christian Endeavor. . . . This fellowship is not an accident or a matter of
chance. It is an inevitable result of the movement. When the second society
was formed, nineteen years ago, the fellowship began. Then it became interdenominational,
interstate, international, intersocial, intercontinental, and, as some one
has suggested, since ‘Part of the hosts have crossed the flood, And part are
crossing now,’ it has become intermundane.”
“Once
more, a universal essential of the Society of Christian Endeavor is fidelity
to its own church and the work of that church. It does not and cannot
exist for itself. . . a true society of Christian Endeavor must live for
Christ and the church. Its confession of love is for Christ, the head, its service
is for the church, His bride. . . .”
Clark
concludes with this commentary on the fundamental, necessary features of the
world-wide movement:
“Confession
of our love for Christ—devoting ourselves to our Lord and Saviour, Jesus
Christ, so that we do not simply rely on His work of propitiation, finished
on the cross, but view Him as our living King, whose will is law in every
department of life.
“Proof
of it by our service for Him—receiving constant religious training for all
kinds of service involved in the various committees. . .
“Fellowship
with those who love Him—interdenominational spiritual fellowship, through
which we hope not for organic unity, but to realize our Lord’s prayer for
spiritual unity, that all who believe in Him may be one.
“Fidelity
to our regiment in which we fight for Him—strenuous loyalty to the local
church and denomination with which each society is connected.
For
more on the Christian Endeavor principles, see Clark, Christian Endeavor,
supra, pp.
89-102.
And we will speak shortly about the importance of “love and service,” in both
Christian Endeavor and in Dr. Bob’s view of Alcoholics Anonymous.
The
Bible – As Sourcebook, Subject of Study, and as to Quotation of Verses
In
early A.A., the Bible was the primary and essential source of the basic
recovery program ideas. AAs read and were told to read it daily. Circulated
literature centered on the Bible. Bible study was stressed, and the
Bible was read at the beginning of each meeting. When asked about a program
question, Dr. Bob would usually say: “What does it say in the Good Book?” He
also frequently quoted relevant verses to AAs and their families as A.A.’s DR
BOB does report. Until very recently when I was in Akron on research, Dr.
Bob’s Bible (with inscriptions by him, Bill Wilson, and Bill Dotson—AA Number
Three) was still brought to the front of the A.A. Number One (King School
Group) meeting room and there remained until the meeting was over. Each early
AA meeting had a topic, and the topic was usually based on some Bible idea,
segment, or application (See Dick B., The Good Book and The Big Book; The
Akron Genesis of Alcoholics Anonymous; Why Early A.A. Succeeded; When
Early AAs Were Cured and Why).
The
Bible occupied no less a prominent place in Christian Endeavor.
The
earliest Christian Endeavor journal was called The Golden Rule with
Rev. Clark as its editor-in chief (Clark, Christian Endeavor, supra,
pp. 82, 622; Memories, supra, pp. 92, 97-98). See also Matthew
7:12 for one rendition of that “golden rule.”
The
covenant pledge was, along with several other stated purposes, designed to
secure “familiarity with the Word of God by promoting Bible-reading and study
in preparation for every meeting” (Clark, Christian Endeavor, supra,
p. 94). As mentioned, the first point in the analysis of the covenant is “I
will read the Bible.” The pledge itself says: “that I will make it the rule
of my life to pray and to read the Bible every day. . .” “Every Endeavor
meeting has its topic, with many Scripture references and abundant helps.” “The
Golden Rule. . . offered as a premium at one time the well-known
‘International Bible,’ a famous teacher’s Bible with notes by eminent
scholars.” (Clark, Christian Endeavor, supra, pp. 244, 252,
261, 293).
Bible
study was often the subject of oratory at Christian Endeavor Conventions.
Speaking on some Christian Endeavor Principles, Rev. Russell H. Conwell—a
favorite convention speaker—said: “I believe that a pledge is a good thing. .
. . Hence I believe in the Christian Endeavor pledge to speak every week in
the meeting; it makes men. I believe in the advice of studying the Holy Bible
for itself; it makes men” (Clark, Christian Endeavor, supra, p.
606). Said to be the greatest preacher in England of his time, the Rev. Dr.
J. H. Jowett said at the British National Convention in Glasgow: “Let your
endeavor grow out of the great and studious contemplation of the great
mysteries in Christ;” and Jowett was speaking on “Christian Endeavor and
Bible-Study” (Clark, Christian Endeavor, supra, pp. 608-609).
Writing
on the non-denominational and international character of Christian Endeavor,
Count Bernstorff, an eminent German Christian, wrote: “There is only one
Christianity, because there is only one Christ. Is it English that one
insists upon conversion. . . . Is it English to avow a oneness of spirit with
Christians of other denominations. . . . Is it English that one should seek
after holiness. . . . Is it English that all Christians should work together
for the upbuilding of Christ’s kingdom? All these things are simple biblical
truths, and should be the universal spirit of Christendom. Indeed, they
constitute living Christendom” (Clark, Christian Endeavor, supra,
pp. 618-619).
There
is s vast amount of information about the Bible in the Christian Endeavorer’s
life and meetings; and some of it will be discussed here. Most of it is being
sought and researched right now. I leave you with this recent finding by
Richard K, contained in the foreword to Rev. Francis E. Clark’s World Wide
Endeavor:
“The
Pledge requires daily reading of the Bible and prayer. This covenant kept
makes spiritually-minded young people” [Rev. B.B. Tyler, D.D., Pastor, First
Church of Disciples of Christ, New York City] (Clark, World Wide Endeavor,
p. 7).
Richard
K. also located these remarks by J. F. Cowan in his title, New Life in the
Old Prayer Meeting. In his chapter entitled “More Bible and Less Topic.”
Cowan wrote:
“Shakespeare,
and Drummond, and Spurgeon, and Milton, and Meyer, and Moody, and other good
men may be quoted profitably in a prayer-meeting as sidelights on the Word of
God, but never to the exclusion of the Word of God. God’s Word is a lamp;
they are only reflectors. A hundred of the brightest reflectors are no
substitute for a lamp. Literary quotations are not out of place in a
prayer-meeting; but let us light the lamp before we hang up the reflectors.
“A
prayer-meeting with too much topic and not enough Bible is like a farm on
which some one should try to substitute moonlight for sunlight. Moonlight is
good for skating, and drives, and walks, but for raising corn and wheat, and
for all the vital processes of life moonlight would be a poor substitute for
sunlight. Let us have the sunlight first in our prayer-meetings, and after we
have got God’s thought then it is time enough to have men’s thoughts on God’s
thoughts. This is an age in which we are using too much peptonized
[pre-digested] spiritual food: too many of us are getting our knowledge of
the Bible at second hand, through books or daily devotions, through
Sunday-school lessons, and the ‘meditations’ of others in published form. We
need to get more of the Bible at first hand, and less of men’s thoughts on
God’s thoughts, meditating ourselves, and being devout without a model. There
is too much of the canning factory in our modern religious life, and not
enough of the garden and farm.”
Perhaps
many have wondered why Dr. Bob’s wife Anne wrote in, and widely shared from
her journal, that the Bible should be the main sourcebook of all. Also why AA
meetings started first with the reading of the Bible. Also, why Dr. Bob and
those who followed conventional meditation guidelines began their quiet time
first with the Bible. Such also was the suggested practice in the devotional
books the pioneers studied and used, and which laid out guides for quiet
time.
The
Prayer-Meetings – their content and importance
The
discussion above deals with the primacy of the Bible and also J. F. Cowan’s
remarks about that. Then too, in his chapter entitled “More Prayer in the
Prayer Meeting,” Cowan held forth equally simple principles as to prayer. He
wrote:
“To
be sure, no prayer-meeting leader should object to a personal testimony, or
to any contribution calculated to edify, but at the same time there is great
need in the average prayer meeting, of developing the volume of prayer. How
may this be done?
1. By helping the people to
understand what prayer is. There may be a great deal of prayer in the meeting
that does not go by the name of prayer. There may be much that goes by the
name of prayer that is not broad, symmetrical, Scriptural prayer. It may be
helpful, here, to analyze prayer into some of its constituent elements; for
example, as Mr. Moody did: (1) Adoration. . . (2) Confession. . . (3)
Restitution. . . (4) Thanksgiving. . . (5) Forgiveness. . . (6) Unity. . .
(7) Faith. . . (8) Petition. . . (9) Submission. The “Thy will be done”
spirit that characterizes true prayer.”
Dr.
Bob’s wife Anne reviewed a similar group of specific prayer definitions in Anne
Smith’s Journal, and she shared them with AAs and their families.
Moreover, many years after A.A.’s founding, Rev. Sam Shoemaker was speaking
to AAs at their International Convention. He defined a “spiritual awakening”
as having four elements—conversion, prayer, fellowship, and witness. He also
was quick to point out that “absurd names for God” and “half-baked prayers”
were not a legitimate part of the awakening. Consider too that Akron AAs were
exposed to much more about prayer than “half-baked” prayers. As I pointed out
in Dr. Bob and His Library, Dr. Bob read and circulated a large number
of books on prayer, quiet time, and how to pray.
Dr.
Amos R. Wells was Editorial Secretary of the United Society of Christian
Endeavor. His text-book on meetings and methods tell us much about the prayer
meetings. He wrote:
“What
are the results we may gain from the prayer meeting? They are five:
original thought on religious subjects; open committal to the cause of
Christ; the helpful expression of Christian thought and experience; the
cultivation of the spirit of worship through public prayer and through
singing; the guidance of others along these lines of service and life.
“How
can we get original thought on the prayer-meeting topics? Only by study
of the Bible, followed by meditation and observation. First, the Endeavorer
should read the Bible passage; then he should read some good commentary upon
it; then he should take the subject with him into his daily life for five or
six days, thinking about it in his odd minutes and watching for experiences
in his own life, or the lives of others, or of observing nature and looking
for illustrations on the subject from all these sources
“Are
we to read Bible verses and other quotations? Yes, all we please, if we will
make them the original expression of our own lives by thinking about them,
and adding to them something, if only a sentence, to show that we have made
them our own. Always give the writer’s name, or the part of the Bible from
which you quote. Commit the quotation to memory and do not read it” (Amos R.
Wells, Expert Endeavor: A Text-book of Christian Endeavor Methods and
Principles. Boston: United Society of Christian Endeavor, 1911, pp. 9-11;
Dick B., Dr. Bob and His Library, p. 114; The Books Early AAs Read
for Spiritual Growth, 7th ed., pp. 13-17).
A
recent find by Richard K. covers several Christian Endeavor subjects. Bible
study is certainly one. So is prayer; and the famous evangelist and Christian
Endeavor influence Dwight L. Moody wrote on the importance of prayer meetings
in his title Golden Counsels in his chapter, “How to Have a Good
Prayer Meeting’ (D. L. Moody. Golden Counsels. Boston: United
Society of Christian Endeavor, 1899, pp. 27-33).
We
now know that Dr. Bob’s wife taught early AAs and their families that the
Bible should be the main source book of all and that not a day should pass
without reading it. We know that Dr. Bob did read it every day. We know that
it was read at every one of the pioneer meetings and each morning at the
quiet times conducted by Anne Smith at the Smith home. And we know how often
Dr. Bob quoted Scripture to make some point to AAs. At the early A.A.
meetings, Bible “topics” were common, and many topics resembled those
suggested by and used in Christian Endeavor prayer-meetings. To be sure,
there were some limited “testimonies.” But Dr. Bob specifically commented
that their (the early AAs’) “stories” didn’t amount to much. However, there
certainly was group prayer in the pioneer Christian Fellowship meetings.
Actually, those meetings were, in effect, “old fashioned prayer
meetings.”—the essence of the Christian Endeavor program (See DR. BOB and
the Good Oldtimers, supra, pp. 56, 71-72, 96-97, 100-102, 111,
116, 118-119, 129-136, 139-142, 144, 150-151; Dick B., Anne Smith’s
Journal, 1933-1939). Dr. Bob’s son commented to me that the meetings were
like “old fashioned revival meetings.” Another pioneer, quoted in A.A.
literature, called them “old fashioned prayer meetings.”
And
that’s a fairly useful label to be used in contrasting Christian Endeavor
prayer-meetings to the kind of “Oxford Group” meetings and house-parties that
Bill and Lois continuously attended from the beginning of Bill’s sobriety in
1934. The emphasis in the Oxford Group meetings Bill attended in the East was
certainly not on prayer-meetings. It was on testimonies about how lives had
been changed through Oxford Group techniques and thereby “attested” that God
had done for them what they could not do for themselves. In Akron, however,
the emphasis in their Christian Fellowship meetings was on Bible reading,
group prayer, topics, and upstairs “surrenders” to Christ by newcomers. In
sum, Akron AA meetings focused on Bible and prayer in “old fashioned prayer”
or “old fashioned revival meetings” while Oxford Group meetings elsewhere
emphasized life-changing meetings and testimonies. The difference between
East Coast Oxford Group activity and the “clandestine lodge” of the Oxford
Group in Akron becomes even more clear when you look at what Bill said to T.
Henry and Clarace Williams when Bill was interviewing the pair in 1954. Bill
said to Mr. and Mrs. Williams:
“I
learned a great deal from you people [Mr. and Mrs. Williams], from the Smiths
themselves, and from Henrietta [Seiberling]. I hadn’t looked in the Bible, up
to this time at all” (From the transcript of Bill Wilson’s taped interview
with T. Henry and Clarace Williams on December 12, 1954, which transcript is
on file at General Services in New York. See also Dick B., The Akron
Genesis of Alcoholics Anonymous, pp. 136-137).
The
Quiet Hour – A regular Endeavor Observance and a Required AA Pioneer Practice
“Quiet
Time” was a “must” in early Akron A.A.; and, as trustee-to-be Frank Amos
reported it, “He [the alcoholic] must have devotions every morning—a ‘quiet
time of prayer and some reading from the Bible and other religious
literature.” Amos added: “The A.A. members of that time did not consider
meetings necessary to maintain sobriety. They were simply ‘desirable.’
Morning devotion and ‘quiet time,’ however, were musts” (DR. BOB,
supra, pp. 131, 136).
At
another point, Bill Wilson added: “I sort of always felt that something was
lost from A.A. when we stopped emphasizing the morning meditation.” (See DR.
BOB, supra, p. 178).
Unfortunately,
almost all A.A. writers and AA history writers have mischaracterized A.A.
quiet times. Possibly because they were steering wide and clear of Jesus
Christ and the Bible. Probably because they did not mention and did not want
to mention the prerequisite “born again” surrenders. Mostly because they did
not do their homework. In the first place, quiet time was and could be an
individual thing, a morning thing, or a group thing; and it often was all of
these. Secondly, some of the Oxford Group trappings of “journaling,”
“listening,” writing down thoughts, and “checking” were just not a
significant, if even relevant, part of Akron pioneer quiet times. Finally,
almost invariably, A.A. revisionist-writers have left out the absolute
necessity posited in Akron that one must become a child of God in order to
pray effectively to, and hear from, God, their “Heavenly Father.” See Dick
B., Good Morning: Quiet Time, Morning Watch, Meditation, and Early A.A.;
The Oxford Group and Alcoholics Anonymous; New Light on Alcoholism.
Notice particularly the Bible material in the second chapter of 1
Corinthians. The verses there speak clearly about spiritual wisdom imparted
by God and differentiate it from the “foolishness” that the “natural man”
(one who is not-born-again) can and does receive. The verses also point out
that the natural man cannot even understand the wisdom imparted by God
because it must be “spiritually discerned.” And Henrietta Seiblering often
quoted this material to AAs.
Expressed
in very simple terms, early AA “quiet time” involved these elements: (1)
First, a decision for Christ (often called a “complete” or “real” Surrender)
which enabled one to be born-again of God’s spirit and thus become one of
God’s children. (2) Study of the Bible. (3) Prayer-both group and individual.
(4) Use of devotionals like The Upper Room and The Runner’s Bible.
(5) Seeking God’s guidance for their lives—something He promises and can do
for those who have received the gift of the Holy Spirit and have become His
kids (See 1 Corinthians 12:1-13; Galatians 1:11-12; 1 Peter 4:10-11; James 1:5-8).
And
here are the CE guidelines which were part of Dr. Bob’s Christian Endeavor
training as a youngster. Even more can be found in materials by the Rev Dr.
F. B. Meyer and by the Evangelist Dwight Moody. The CE Founder Dr. Francis
Clark wrote:
“Undoubtedly
the effort that has done most to impress the deepest things of the Spirit of
God upon the Christian Endeavor movement is the so-called ‘Quiet Hour.’ . . .
. Because there may be some who read these pages who may not understand the
inner meaning of the Quiet Hour, or what the old writers understand by
‘practising the presence of God,’ the writer. . . tries to tell his young
friends just how the Quiet Hour may be spent. ‘Our Bible is open, perhaps to
the familiar passage which reveals the wondrous truth that man dwells in God,
and God in man, as John records it. Seek to realize this stupendous fact, for
all Scripture is a lie if it is not a fact. Say to yourself over and over
again: ‘God is here. God is here. God is within me. I am His child. God is my
Father’.” (Clark, Christian Endeavor, supra, pp. 525-526).
“So
it was proposed that those who wished should band themselves together in a
purely voluntary organization called ‘the Comrades of the Quiet Hour.’ The
name was chosen rather than the similar name of ‘The Morning Watch’ in order
to give the utmost freedom as to the time which should be devoted to
meditation and personal communion with God, though the morning was strongly
recommended. Those who became “comrades” agreed to spend fifteen minutes a
day not merely in Bible-reading and petition, but in genuine personal
communion with the Unseen. . . . Quiet Hour literature began to abound;
‘Quiet Hours’ led by some of the most eminent Christians in the land began to
be held in connection with the conventions both State and national. Now more
than 40,000 have been definitely enrolled. . .” (Clark, Christian Endeavor,
supra, p. 357).
See
also Francis E. Clark, The Presence of God; Living and Loving; The
Golden Alphabet; A Daily Message for Christian Endeavorers; and
The Great Secret; Belle M. Brain, The Morning Watch and Quaint
Thoughts; J. Wilbur Chapman, The Surrendered Life: Quiet Hour
Meditations And note that the foregoing titles were all published by
United Society of Christian Endeavor. Popular also in Christian Endeavor was
Brother Lawrence’s Practicing the Presence of God and F. B. Meyer’s The
Secret of Guidance. For even further literature that AAs independently
read on Quiet Time and the Morning Watch, see Dick B., Dr. Bob and His
Library, The Books Early AAs Read for Spiritual Growth, 7th
ed, and Good Morning: Quiet Time, Morning Watch, Meditation, and Early
A.A. Making Known the Biblical History and Roots of A.A
The
Christian Endeavor/AA Emphasis on Love and Service
There
is very frequent mention in Christian Endeavor literature of the importance
of love and service. And I cannot recall any similar phraseology or emphasis
in the thousands of Oxford Group writings I have read and analyzed. As to the
subject, Christian Endeavor’s Dr. Clark wrote:
“Christian
Endeavor is a watch
Whose
mainspring is love,
Whose
movement is service.
Whose
hands point to heavenly joys on the dial of eternity” (Clark, Christian
Endeavor, supra, p. 316).
The
following is a relevant, succinct description of Endeavor’s position:
"...it
is a fellowship based on a broad platform of service, love to Christ, and
work for Him. On this platform all can stand." ((Francs
E. Clark. World Wide Endeavor: The Story of The Young Peoples Society of
Christian Endeavor, From the Beginning and In All Lands. [Philadelphia,
PA: Gillespie, Metzgar & Kelley], 1895, p. 263).
In
his last, very brief, and much quoted address to AAs, Dr. Bob made the
following point—seemingly springing forward from his long-held and later
refreshed memory of earlier Christian Endeavor strong points:
“Our
Twelve Steps, when simmered down to the last, resolve themselves into the
words ‘love’ and ‘service.’ We understand what love is, and we understand
what service is. So let’s bear those two things in mind” (DR. BOB, supra,
p. 338).
The
last paragraph of A.A.’s own biographical sketch on Dr. Bob said:
“Dr.
Bob firmly believed that ‘love and service’ are the cornerstones of
Alcoholics Anonymous” (The Co-Founders of Alcoholics Anonymous:
Biographical Sketches. Their Last Major Talks). NY: Alcoholics Anonymous
World Services, Inc., 1972, 1975, p. 9).
The
Necessity for Believing on Jesus Christ:
The
Bible makes the following very specific comments about the way to salvation,
the abundant life, and everlasting life through Jesus Christ (and see John
3:1-8, 14-17; 10:9-10; 14:5-6):
“This
Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we are all witnesses. . . . Therefore let
all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus,
whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ” (Acts 2:32, 36).
“Be
it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of
Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God hath raised from the
dead, even by him doth this man stand before you whole. . . . Neither is
there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given
among men, whereby we must be saved” Acts 4:10, 12)
“That
if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in
thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For
with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession
is made unto salvation. . . .For whoever shall call upon the name of the Lord
shall be saved” (Romans 10:9-10, 13).
In
early A.A., a surrender to, and decision for, Christ was a “must”—though
you’d hardly know it from reading almost any history pertaining to Bill
Wilson or the fellowship as a whole. Yet when I was gathering material for my
Akron Genesis book, Bill Wilson’s secretary and A.A.’s first archivist Nell
Wing phoned me from New York to tell me specific pages in DR. BOB and the
Good Oldtimers which described the required surrenders. But the following
statements by several A.A. Akron pioneers verify and detailed the specifics
of the required early A.A. “surrender to Christ”:
“They
would not let you in unless you surrendered to Jesus Christ on your knees”
(From a recorded telephone conversation with Danny W. in Lancaster,
California, from A.A. old-timer Ed Andy of Lorain, Ohio. The statement was
made on January 9, 1993; see also, Dick B., The Golden Text of A.A.,
p. 31).
“They
took me upstairs to be a born again human being and be God’s helper to
alcoholics” (Letter from Larry B., A.A. old-timer from Cleveland, Ohio to the
author, dated September 18, 1992. Larry stated that this quote correctly
described his surrender; see also, Dick B., The Golden Text of A.A.,
p. 32).
Clarence
Snyder—who came into A.A. in February of 1938 and was sponsored by Dr.
Bob—said: “[I] went upstairs to T. Henry Williams’s master bedroom with Dr.
Bob, T. Henry Williams, and an Oxford Group member. These men told [me] to
get on [my] knees, and they joined me on their knees around T. Henry’s bed.
These three men then led [me] through a ‘Sinner’s Prayer’ . . . which was the
very one Dr. Bob had used from the beginning of A.A. surrenders in Akron”
(See Dick B., Turning Point, pp. 140-142; The Golden Text of A.A.,
p. 32; That Amazing Grace, p. 27; Clarence Snyder, Going Through
The Steps, p. 3; Mitch K., How It Worked, pp. 58, 70).
One
would expect to see in Christian Endeavor literature countless accounts,
examples, and discussions of decisions for, acceptance of, or surrenders to,
Christ, and the resultant born again standing as sons of God. But that is not
the case. Why?
I
am of the opinion that the “altar call” or “confession of faith,” or similar
invitations were not mentioned with great frequency because the Endeavorers
were frequently already Christians, had already made their profession of
faith in the church, and in fact were already part of the body of Christ.
The Christian Endeavor pledge and program were designed to keep young
Christians fired up in the church, keep them giving confessions of
Christ, keep them supporting their church, and keep them
serving their Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. That is not to say, however,
the Christian Endeavor did not make acceptance of Christ a ready opportunity.
There
is certainly discussion of decisions for Christ within Christian Endeavor.
See Clark, Christian Endeavor, supra, p. 537. Note also what
James DeForest Murch wrote in Successful C.E. Prayer-Meetings. The book
was designed to spruce up, diversify, and multiply the various possible
meetings Endeavorers could hold. As to possible evangelistic meetings, Murch
suggested:
“An
Evangelistic Meeting. Pattern your program after that of a modern revival
meeting. A live leader of song should have charge of the music. The songs
should be songs of soul-winning. Have a number of church-members to give
brief testimonies and urge the young people to make decisions for Christ. The
minister should be invited to make a closing exhortation and hear the
confessions of faith, if such is the usual order. Personal work prior to the
meeting itself will make it more effective in every way” (James DeForest
Murch, Successful C.E. Prayer-Meetings (Cincinnati, OH: The Standard
Publishing Company, pp. 66-67).
“A
Front-seat Meeting. Or this might be called a Reconsecration Meeting. . .
. At the close of the service let your minister give an invitation to all
those who want to reconsecrate themselves to their C.E. pledge to come
forward and occupy the front seats. Those who wish to accept Christ as their
personal Saviour should be included in this invitation. Those who have taken
the front seats should then kneel in prayer” (Murch, Successful C.E.,
supra, p. 72)
The
Reverend Dr. Charles M. Sheldon was an enthusiastic Christian Endeavor
supporter (Clark, Christian Endeavor, supra, pp. 283, 149, 330,
563, 595). He wrote the famous In His Steps, said to be the most
widely-read religious novel of all time, with over 8,000,000 copies sold. His
book was owned, read, and recommended by Dr. Bob, by his wife Anne Smith, and
by pioneer leader Henrietta Seiberling. Speaking about Christian Endeavor
evangelism and Sheldon’s suggestions, Rev. Francis Clark wrote in
Christian Endeavor, supra:
“The
Sunday-evening after –meeting is another rare opportunity for evangelistic
service, into which many pastors wisely press their Endeavorers. Dr. Charles
M. Sheldon, as has been before stated, advocates making this great young
people’s evangelistic service of the week for the actual bringing of men to a
decision for Christ, and in his own experience has proved the vast usefulness
of such a plan (p.330).
The
Foreword to Clark’s World Wide Endeavor includes this remark on
conversion by Rev. Theodore L. Cuyler, D.D., Pastor, Lafayette Avenue
Presbyterian Church, Brooklyn, New York:
“My
chief solicitude for the Christian Endeavor societies is that they be kept
strongly and tightly to their cardinal purpose, viz., the conversion and
training of souls for the Master” (Clark, World Wide Endeavor, p. 5),
In
the Christian Endeavor publication Golden Counsels, Dwight Moody made
a point that has been missed by so many A.A. historians, writers, and
commentators when they talk about “listening to God” without conceding or
understanding that the new birth must precede it:
“Claim
by faith the promises of the indwelling Christ. Until we are born again, and
he lives in us by the Spirit, all our efforts will be in vain. Keep in touch
with him. Get better acquainted with him. Talk to him in prayer. Let him talk
to you through the Bible” (Moody, Golden Counsels, supra, p.
20).
The
Practical Test: What would Jesus do?
There
is a recurring “underground” expression uttered by A.A. old-timer believers.
You will encounter it from time to time when they suggest as a solution for a
quandary, “What would the Master say?” In his last major address to AAs, Bill
Wilson told this “Dr. Bob story” on the point
“For
example, a fellow came to Dr. Bob and said, ‘I’m an alcoholic; here is my
history. But I also have this other ‘complication.’ Can I join A.A.? Bob
threw it out to all the other deacons, while the poor guy waited.
“Finally,
there was some kind of hearing on it among the self-appointed elders. I
remember how perfectly Bob put it to them. He reminded us that most of us
were practicing Christians. Then he asked, ‘What would the Master have
thought? Would he have kept this man away?’ He had them cold! The man came
in, was a prodigious worker, and was one of our most respected people” (The
Co-Founders of Alcoholics Anonymous: Biographical Sketches Their Last Major
Talks. NY: Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc., 1972, 1975, p. 30).
There
is a similar vein in the approach by Dr. Bob himself in his last major
address to AAs:
“I’m
talking about the attitude of every one of us toward our Heavenly Father.
Christ said, ‘Of Myself, I am nothing—My strength cometh from My Father in
heaven.’ If He had to say that, how about you and me? Did you say it? Did I
say it? No. That’s exactly wht we didn’t say. We were inclined to say
instead, ‘Look me over, boys. Pretty good, huh?’ We had no humility, no sense
of having received anything through the grace of our Heavenly Father” (Co-Founders,
supra, p. 19).
I
cannot and do not claim that the “what would Jesus do” idea in A.A. came from
Christian Endeavor language Dr. Bob had heard again and again. But I can say
how popular Charles Sheldon’s book was among the A.A. founders and pioneers.
I can say that the expression, “What would Jesus do” can be found in several
important Christian Endeavor writings. And I can say that nowhere is this
background idea and humble thinking more evident than in Christian Endeavor
leader Sheldon’s In His Steps.
Sheldon
begins his famous best-seller by quoting 1 Peter 2:21:
“For
even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us
an example, that ye should follow his steps.”
Much
of Sheldon’s book is about Henry Maxwell, pastor of the First Church of
Raymond; and early on, Sheldon quotes the preacher as follows:
“I
want volunteers from the First Church who will pledge themselves, earnestly
and honestly for an entire year, not to do anything without first asking the
question, ‘What would Jesus do?’
“Our
motto will be, ‘What would Jesus do?’ Our aim will be to act as He would if
He was in our places, regardless of immediate results. In other words, we
propose to follow Jesus’ steps as closely and as literally as we believe He
taught His disciples to do” (Charles M. Sheldon. In His Steps—first
published in 1897 (Old Tappan, NJ: Spire Books, published by Pyramid
Publications, Inc. for the Fleming H. Revell Company, 1963, p. 16).
In
His Steps repeats this same question over and over and over (pp. 21,
26, 28, 35, 38, 61, 63, 69, 73, 75, 84, 100, 104, 107, 110, 124, 134, 173,
174, 177, 183, 184, 188). The book illustrates the use of this simple test in
a host of life-situations. And the test is not without Biblical context.
Frequently, author Sheldon uses the question in connection with (1) Walking
obediently in Jesus’ steps (pp. 11, 124, 155, 189). (2) Following Jesus (pp.
11, 65, 124, 140). (3) The imitation of Christ – which brought into play the
Thomas a’Kempis book by that name, owned by the pioneers, used by them in
their Quiet Times, and even later handed out to St. Thomas Hospital patients
by Sister Ignatia. (4) Seeking the wisdom of God as Jesus did so often and as
believers are directed in the first chapter of the Book of James—a favorite
in early A.A.
Moody
wrote:
“Christ
Our Model. . . . Is it possible really to be like Christ? Doubt and unbelief
say, No. Faith says, Yes. God commands it, and therefore it must be possible.
But how? Because we can have the same life, the same mind in us as was in
Christ. . . . He will dwell in our hearts by faith, and our lives may thus
become the expression of his own. I do not say that here we shall ever be
like our model in measure or degree. But light is light. . . . A good
definition of sanctification or holiness would be, conformity to his example.
. . . Learn of Christ. Do not look to men. . . . It is said of the early
disciples that the rulers ‘took knowledge of them that they had been with
Jesus.’ Moses had a shining face after he had been with God” (Moody, Golden
Counsels, supra, pp. 17-20).
Christian
Endeavor, “Cures,” and Early A.A.
Though
recently published Alcoholics Anonymous literature has meticulously erased
Jesus Christ, the Bible, and over a decade of A.A. cures from specific
mention, AA pioneers were cured! Many said so. Reports about their
program cures said so. Countless news and journal articles said so.
And—whatever current A.A. scribes and history revisionists may say—cure is
the proper word. And cured they were. They believed in the power of God. They
believed they could be cured. And, if the following verses from such
devotionals as The Runner’s Bible provided a source for their
approach, they were believing what the Creator said:
“.
. . [For] I am the Lord that healeth thee” (Exodus 15:26).
“Bless
the Lord, O my soul. . . . Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth
all thy diseases” (Psalm 103:1, 3).
“I
have seen his ways, and will heal him” (Isaiah 57:18).
“For
I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds, saith
the Lord” (Jeremiah 30:17)
Most
in Akron heard these healing verses. Many may even have studied them from
devotionals such as Nora Smith Holm, The Runner’s Bible. NY: Houghton
Mifflin Company, 1915, pp. 107-119. See also Dick B. The Golden Text of
A.A.: God, The Pioneers, and Real Spirituality, pp. 22-26). As to much of
which, Bill Wilson had also commented:
Hence
if science passed a death sentence on the drunk, and we placed that fearful
verdict on our alcoholic transmission belt, one victim talking to another, it
might shatter the listener completely. Then the alcoholic might turn to the
God of the theologian, there being no other place to go” (See Dick B., The
Golden Text, supra, p. 21).
And,
in Akron, turn to the Creator for “Divine Help” is exactly what they reported
they had done. Many, including Bill Wilson, Dr. Bob, and AA Number Three
specifically reported they had been cured by reliance on the Creator. No
revisionist, secular, universalist writings can change that! See: Dick B., God
and Alcoholism: Our Growing Challenge in the 21st Century; Cured:
Proven Help for Alcoholics and Addicts; When Early AAs Were Cured and
Why; Richard K., Early A.A. – Separating Fact from Fiction: How
Revisionists Have Led Our History Astray; So You Think Drunks Can’t Be
Cured: Press Releases By Witnesses To the Cure; A New Light: “The
First Forty” (All three titles: Haverhill, MA: Golden Text Publishing
Company, 2003).
Through
collaborative research and writing, and in independent and ongoing
investigations, Richard K. and I can tell you that this “cure” historical
research is a work-in-progress. The facts are there. The cures are there. The
history is voluminous. The analysis and dissemination has only begun! You
yourself can do the verifying also. You can find hundreds and hundreds of
materials on early A.A. and Cure—even in its Alcoholics Anonymous World
Services office and archives. You will probably find little about such cures
in Oxford Group writings and certainly not in Washingtonian history. The rescue
of drunks was a proclaimed Washingtonian objective. But in both the
Washingtonians and the Oxford Group, the rescue was expected to come from
life-change or pledges or temperance meetings. “Cure of alcoholism” was, from
1935 to 1939 a phrase and a triumph reserved for those early AAs who sought
the Creator’s healing power for a cure and who accomplished it, proclaimed
it, and documented it.
That’s
not the A.A. picture today unfortunately. Reliance on God’s power was
implicit in a favorite Oxford Group expression: “Sin the Problem. Jesus
Christ the Cure. The result: A Miracle.” And even that phraseology should
interest those who define alcoholism as sin or those who think that the
Oxford Group could not and did not bring about cures.
Christian
Endeavor, however, was far ahead of its time in seeing a practical
application of the power of God to produce miraculous cures in our lives. To
be sure, however, one cannot ignore the great contemporaneous cures effected
through work by the Salvation Army as reported in Harold Begbie’s famous Twice-Born
Men. The work of the Oxford Group and of the Salvation Army are not the
subject of this article. But I will point out (since it might bear on Dr.
Bob’s own cure and views about God as the source) that Christian Endeavor spoke
glowingly of Dr. E. D. Starbuck’s cure remarks, published in his title, The
Psychology of Religion; and also of the work of Professor Coe who
confirmed it.
Christian
Endeavor had this to say:
“The
Christian Endeavor Society may also fairly claim from the beginning to have
put into practical operation the psychologist’s dictum already quoted, ‘No
impression without expression.’ Long before psychology was studied except by
the learned few, long before it had become a fad in certain quarters, the
Society attempted to put into practice its latest philosophy, and recognized
the vital importance of religious activity to supplement and round out
religious instruction.
“The
cure for helplessness that comes with storm and stress in the period of
adolescence, says Professor Starbuck, ‘is often found in inducing wholesome
activity. ‘Faith without works is dead.’ Let us call to mind that storm and
stress and doubt are expressed sometime during youth by something like
seventy per cent of all the persons studied. On the other hand, heightened
activity, which is characterized not only by interest in religious matters,
but by engaging in actual religious work, was experienced by only about
twenty per cent of all these persons. This is doubtless very much out of
proportion. Many persons have found the solution of their difficulties by
actually setting about doing things’” (Clark, Christian Endeavor, supra,
pp. 228-229).
The
foregoing quotes bespeak the pre-occupation of some religions and psychology
of that day (and perhaps even today) with “self-help,” “suggestion,”
“auto-suggestion,” “hypnotism,” “new thought,” “moral psychology,”
“relaxation techniques,” “inward transfer,” “re-education of the conscious
powers,” and “psychotherapeutics” See Elwood Worcester, Samuel McComb, Isador
H. Coriat. Religion and Medicine: The Moral Control of Nervous Disorders.
NY: Moffat, Yard & Company, 1908. These psychological approaches have
frequently been claimed as a new approach to Christian religion and sometimes
been mislabeled “conversion” cures. See Elwood Worcester and Samuel McComb. The
Christian Religion as a Healing Power. NY: Moffat, Yard and Company,
1909. The Emmanuel Movement stands as one example. See Leslie D. Weatherhead.
Psychology Religion and Healing. NY: Abingdon-Cokesbury Press, 1951.
But the cure that comes from “altering” or “re-educating the subconscious” is
not the cure that Christians ascribe to salvation, putting on the mind of
Christ, and acting with belief in and obedience to God’s Word. See as to
healing consummated in Christ: Isaiah 53:3-5; Matthew 8:16-17; 1 Peter 2:24;
as to the new man in Christ: 2 Corinthians 5:17-18; as to putting on the new
man—the mind of Christ: Romans 12:2, Ephesians 4:23, Colossians 3:10; and as
to claiming cure by belief: Mark 16:16-21; Hebrews 4:14-16; 1 John 5:4-5;
William Law. The Power of the Spirit. PA: Christian Literature
Crusade, 1971; E. W. Kenyon. Jesus The Healer. WA: Kenyon’s Gospel
Publishing Society, 2000; Ethel R. Willits. Healing in Jesus Name. Detroit:
Ethel R. Willits, Evangelist, 1931; James Moore Hickson. Heal the Sick.
London: Methuen & Co., 1925. The latter two Christian healing books were
owned, studied, and circulated to AAs by Dr. Bob.
We
hasten to say, in a moment, the Christian Endeavor people were involved in
temperance, and other issues, and there is no particular indication that
their Christian service work primarily for their churches led them into the
arena of curing drunks. Hence the emphasis in the foregoing quotation from
Rev. Clark is to “helplessness” due to stress, not the helplessness that
causes one to turn to God for help in overcoming alcoholism. That is not to
say, however, that Christian Endeavor people did not consider it possible:
“Then
they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and he saveth them out of their
distresses. He sent his word, and healed them. . . .” (Psalm 107:19-20).
“And
this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask anything
according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever
we ask, we know that we have the petitions we desired of him” (1 John
5:14-15).
Thus
Sheldon’s In His Steps and the tremendous evangelism of Dwight Moody
certainly establish their interest in bringing salvation to drunks and
watching them be healed of their addiction. In the eyes of these Christians,
drunks were not “powerless;” they were in need of a new birth accompanied by
spiritual, mental, and physical wholeness, forgiveness, and healing.
Something not accomplished by “mind cure”or pseudo “conversion,” but by
asking—as Christians and sons of God--for, and receiving healing from a
loving Creator.
Temperance
and Politics.
Some
proponents of A.A., and a good many others, are very proud of, and satisfied
with, A.A.’s refusal to become involved in liquor issues. Regrettably, this
has led some to draw conclusions that Christians interested in temperance
were almost certain to fail as a group and in the alcohol field because of
their focus on “outside” and “political issues.” You might try making this
idea fly in the social gospel and social action churches of today—where
freedom marches, gay and lesbian controversies, abortion issues, and anti-war
slogans occupy a good portion of religion’s time. Yet invariably, the faulty
and flawed example of the Washingtonian Movement is dredged up to establish
primarily that a religious fellowship like A.A. must not dare to step over
the line of “alcoholism only.” The Washingtonian movement was large for a
moment; involved for a moment in liquor, temperance, and politics; and then
perished “in a moment.” The Washingtonians are past history, not church
history.
Now
the Oxford Group people were sometimes involved in sobering up drunks as part
of their life-changing program; but the Group devoted its fair share of time
to politicians, war, and other topical issues. However, the Oxford Group
hardly lost its wallop when it turned itself from individual life-changing
and drunk-helping to “world changing through life-changing.” The Oxford Group
emphasis in 1938, and even before, shifted to the rescue of “drunken nations”
as Frank Buchman put it. And the name Moral Re-Armament which was then
adopted signified the change in direction. Once MRA was rejuvenated and
reorganized in 1940, the later days brought prominent national and
international leaders, many foreign nations, and a good many activist
Americans and British into the scene. This occurred between at least 1930 and
1950. Yet the Oxford Group did not perish either because it saved drunks or
because it sought to reconcile nations. In fact, some of its best-known
writers and long-surviving activists were not only drunks, but alcoholics who
were cured of drinking by the power of God. These included Rowland Hazard,
Victor Kitchen, Charles Clapp, Jr., F. Shepard Cornell, and later James
Houck.
Many
have said the Washingtonians failed in their movement primarily because they
never had God in the picture at all. Many also believe that the Oxford Group
eventually faded from the scene for the simple reason that its founder Dr.
Frank Buchman died and that its world-wide thrusts seemed of less importance
after World War II was concluded and the United Nations was founded. Also,
nobody can discount the insistent opposition of the Vatican to the whole
Oxford Group fellowship and its practices. The Oxford Group’s demise was not,
at that time, due to the lack of God. It was due to a good many other factors
including the split which caused Reverend Samuel M. Shoemaker to leave in
favor of church life and those who rejected some of Dr. Frank Buchman’s
authoritarian ideas.
Wilson
was fond of saying that the Washingtonians and the Oxford Group taught AAs
more about “what not to do” than “what to do.” But the statement was a
canard. The Washingtonians were long gone before Wilson picked up his first
drink. Their brief fireworks display involved nothing like the Akron-spawned
Christian fellowship. And the Oxford Group program unquestionably was
codified into the heart of Wilson’s 12 Steps and Big Book writings. And
Wilson ultimately said so.
Christian
Endeavor was involved in temperance, political, and war issues; but it never
forgot the Creator, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Bible, prayer, love and
service. Dr. Clark wrote:
“Temperance
is always a burning theme in Endeavor conventions in English-speaking
countries, and sometimes practical temperance measures are taken, as when the
Endeavorers of Boston, seeing that one of the rumsellers, like most of the
other shopkeepers of Boston, had hung out the sign, ‘Welcome Endeavorers!”
took him at his word, went into the saloon, and held a prayer-meeting before
the bar” (Clark, Christian Endeavor, supra, p. 196)
“TEMPERANCE
WORK. A society temperance pledge may be hung upon the wall, with the
signatures of all members upon it. Plan for temperance meetings long in
advance, and make them as strong as possible. Introduce into every temperance
meeting some account of recent temperance victories, and the progress of the
movement. Obtain addresses now and then from temperance enthusiasts. Learn
what are the temperance laws of your own State and community, and how they
are kept. How long since your town held a temperance mass-meeting? Plan one
and hold it. Why should not the temperance committee learn, for the
information of voters, the position as to temperance of the candidates before
the people for election” (Clark, Christian Endeavor, supra, p.
584).
Christian
Endeavor was founded in 1881. It very soon gained world-wide membership and
significance. It was and is embraced by far more Protestant clergy and
churches over the long-run than were the Washingtonians and Oxford Groupers.
It may properly be said, to the extent that Christian Endeavor ideas were a
major force in the foundation of Akron A.A., that Christian Endeavor
taught the pioneers what to do. And they did it with astonishing success.
Yet Christian Endeavor itself never laid a glove on them or even much on
drunks as such. The AAs applied the biblical truths and Christian practices
by personal decisions for Christ, by personal reliance on the Creator, by individual
and group Bible study, old fashioned prayers and prayer meetings, quiet
times, “works,” fellowship, love and service. Sounds a lot like the Christian
Fellowship that began helping drunks through the power of God in Akron, Ohio,
beginning June 10, 1935.
END
Note:
This is the first of several roundtable articles which will be written about
A.A. and Christian Endeavor. “More will be revealed,” as some AAs like to
say. Much more is being collected and read. Many books and materials are
under review. A good deal of personal investigation is taking place in New
England where Christian Endeavor began and where both Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob
were born, raised, and educated.
Bibliography
specifics can be found in title descriptions on the Dick B. website: http://www.dickb.com/titles.shtml.
Dick B. can be contacted by email (dickb@dickb.com), phone/fax: 808 874 4876; and
mail to PO Box 837, Kihei, HI 96753-0837. Richard K. can be contacted by
phone at 978 257 3066 and mail to 10 Primrose Way #8309, Haverhill, MA 01830.
A definitive bibliography can be found in Dick B., Making Known the
Biblical History of Alcoholics Anonymous (http://www.dickb.com/makingknown.shtml).
Most of the major historical books and articles pertaining to every phase of
A.A. origins, spiritual roots, spiritual history, and the early program are
already located at and available for view and study at the Griffith House
Library, The Wilson House, East Dorset, Vermont.
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Contact: Dick B. P.O. Box 837 Kihei, Hawaii 96753-0837 Ph/fax: (808)874-4876 dickb@dickb.com © 1999-2010 Paradise Research Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. |
Trademarks and Disclaimer: ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS®,
A.A.®, and Big Book® are registered trademarks of Alcoholics Anonymous World
Services, Inc. Dick B.'s web site, Paradise Research Publications, Inc., and
Good Book Publishing Company are neither endorsed nor approved by nor
associated or affiliated with Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.
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Gloria Deo
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