Some Comments on the “White Funeral” Presentations that Lament the “Demise”
of A.A. and Laud the One-Size-Fits-All Weekly Service of New Experimental
Christian Recovery
Dick B.
Copyright 2012
Anonymous. All rights reserved
International Christian Recovery Coalition is a rapidly
growing informal, no-cost, world-wide fellowship of Christian recovery leaders, workers,
newcomers, and concerned public who believe the best answers to the ravages of
alcoholism and addiction lie in old-school A.A.’s First Century Christian
principles and practices and their daily application in the recovery arena
today.
There are no barriers. There is no forbidden literature.
There is no one-size-fits-all craze. There is a recognition and motivation of
the combined body of Christ to offer the early Christian fellowship modes in
the Book of Acts to all manner of recovery efforts today.
In other words, International Christian Recovery Coalition
believes that all Bible-oriented Christian recovery efforts have a piece to
play. That piece emphasizes the role that God, His Son Jesus Christ, and the
Bible have played and can play today through the origins, history, founding,
original Christian fellowship of early A.A. and its successes. And it welcomes
the varied talents and approaches and programs of all kinds of Christian
recovery work. That includes the efforts in A.A. and Twelve Step Fellowships.
It includes the endeavors of clergy, recovery pastors, and pastoral counselors. It includes
qualification, counseling, intervention, detox, and referrals. It includes the “anonymous”
organizations and the “12-Step” organizations. It includes treatment, after
care, alumni renewal, family services, services for the youngsters,
transitional housing, residential treatment, out-patient treatment, and sober
living. It includes research, historical quests, and such elements of the media
as social networks, websites, blogs, forums, audios, videos, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, radio, and films.
In short, whatever will enable the suffering to learn about the power, love,
guidance, forgiveness, healing, and promises of God.
This particular article comments on an interesting piece of
writing about AA and Celebrate Recovery.
Appropriately, it has a focus on the Christian roots of the
recovery movement. And that is something we are covering extensively in our new
Christian Recovery Radio presentations. See
Unfortunately it misses the mark when it comes to the
potential in A.A.
Quite clearly, AA is no longer a Christian fellowship--as it
was in Akron during the 1930's. Quite
clearly there are increasing signs of secularization--perhaps even more in the
areas outside of A.A.--where academics speculate about not-god-ness and
"spirituality." See www.dickb.com/godandalcoholism.
However, there is a failure to recognize the tens of
thousands of Christians in present-day 12 Step fellowships and the strong and
growing Christian Recovery Movement that is gathering together those Christians
IN A.A. and other recovery fellowships.
And the fact that the history of A.A.'s Christian roots goes back to the Bible, the great
Evangelists like Moody and Meyer, the YMCA, the Gospel Rescue Missions, the
Salvation Army, and the Young People's Society of Christian Endeavor.
Present-day Christian recovery leaders are not flocking to
organizations like CR. They are taking
the very broad base of A.A. today and reporting to those who want God's help
that it is as present and recognized among A.A. Christians as it was in the
early Akron A.A. Christian Fellowship and the highly successful Cleveland A.A.
Akron.
Take the rich Christian roots and successes of early A.A.
Take the present-day foundational Big Book of A.A. Recognize the 24/7 widely
available A.A. of today. Apply the Christian roots. Learn the support for their
promulgation that exists in present-day literature. Recognize the weakness of
organizations that believe that one-day-a-week Christian Fellowship is and can
be a match for the First Century Christianity of the Book of Acts that was
quickly recognized and publicized about early Akron AA. And you have the
volunteer, no cost, informal fellowship of International Christian Recovery
Coalition. See www.ChristianRecoveryCoalition.com.
It is in the rapidly growing International Christian Recovery
Coalition that you will find the real
solution planting its roots through garden variety drunks, recovery pastors,
Christian recovery fellowships, Christian counselors and interventionists,
Christian therapists, Christian
physicians and psychologists, and Christian treatment programs.
There is hope and promise and victory awaiting those who
turn back to the Bible roots of A.A., learn them, apply them, and use them to
minister 24/7 personal love and service to the millions who still suffer from
alcoholism and addictions and life controlling problems. See www.dickb.com/goodbook.shtml.
God Bless, Dick B., Executive Director, www.ChristianRecoveryCoalition.com
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