Sunday, September 23, 2012
Compelling Statements by A.A. cofounders Dr. Bob and Bill W.
Very probably, the two most compelling and useful statements ever made by A.A. Cofounders Bill W. and Dr. Bob are these:
1. On Page 181 of the 4th edition of Alcoholics Anonymous, A.A. cofounder Dr. Bob Smith wrote:
"Your Heavenly Father will never let you down!" www.dickb.com/drbobofaa.shtml
2. On page 191 of the 4th edition of Alcoholics Anonymous, A.A. cofounder Bill W. is quoted:
"Henrietta, the Lord has been so wonderful curing me of this terrible disease that I just want to keep talking about it and telling people." www.dickb.com/conversion.shtml.
Vermont A.A. History Slideshow Photos by Jim H.
Christian Recovery Radio Interview of
Jim H. of Auburn Washington by Dick B. on Jim’s More than 800 Slide-Show
Photographs of the Entire Vermont A.A. History Research and Discoveries
On
Dick B.
Copyright 2012
Anonymous. All rights reserved.
Though yet to be organized, labeled, and indexed, the Jim H. Vermont
A.A. History Slide-Show Photographs are available for view on the web right now.
See the links below and enjoy them as a preview of what’s to come soon
The Second Interview of Archivist Jim H. on September 24, 2012
Our guest will be Jim H. of Auburn, Washington. He
participated in and photographed every phase of the International Christian
Recovery Coalition’s Alcoholics Anonymous History and Christian Recovery
Movement workshops and studies of the beginnings in the State of Vermont. His
interview covers his recollections, photography work, slide-show photographs,
and comments on the workshops. The subjects are listed below. The links to the
slide-show photographs are set forth
below. And these are the topics that are the subject of Jim’s interview:
______________________________________________________________________________
Vermont
A.A.’s Treasure House of Christian
Beginnings
A Project of
International Christian Recovery Coalition
By Dick B.
© 2012 Anonymous. All
rights reserved
In Appreciation and in Summary
We all deeply appreciate the effort and devotion of A.A.
Archivist Jim H. of Auburn, Washington. Jim traveled and researched with us,
and drove us around Vermont to St. Johnsbury, Northfield, Manchester, East
Dorset, Rutland, East Dorset, Emerald Lake, and Burlington. He also drove us to
Gill, Massachusetts, where the Moody Mount Hermon School. Jim took pictures and
even some video throughout our trip, and has now posted on the Web hundreds of
pictures of cities, towns, schools, churches, academies, libraries, books,
articles, pamphlets, wall plaques, photos, histories, manuscripts, newspapers,
participants, hotels, motels, restaurants, and inns in every place our cadre of
recovery leaders and workers held workshops. There are still more photos to be
gathered from participants. There is still processing in progress and work to
be done on labels. But Jim’s efforts constitute the greatest single assemblage
of visual history of the role God, His Son Jesus Christ, and the Bible played
in the origins, history, founding, original program, and astonishing successes
in Alcoholics Anonymous history and the Christian Recovery Movement in New
England. Those photographed items show the stage set for the Christian
upbringing of A.A. cofounders as well as the “Christian fellowship” they
founded in Akron, Ohio, in June, 1935.
Preliminary Presentation of Vermont Historical Slide Show Photographs
http://goo.gl/U3cYE
http://goo.gl/11QJt
http://goo.gl/3xJkp
http://goo.gl/gx19v
http://goo.gl/hi8O7
http://goo.gl/a9mTS
http://goo.gl/0aXlo
http://goo.gl/xRGNL
http://goo.gl/AlFqd
Among the Historical Slide-Show Pictures Included:
As indicated, there is lots of work still to be done in
labeling, describing, identifying, etc. And there are many more photos to be
added from the work of other Workshop participants.
The following subjects and others are or will be included:
Burlington, Vermont: our arrival and kickoff of the
workshops on Sept. 2.
St. Johnsbury, Vermont: center of Dr. Bob’s boyhood
Christian upbringing, Sept. 3-5
Fairbanks
Inn--many historical photos
Fairbanks
Scales Plant--many photos and paintings
Fairbanks
family members, homes, patents, and gifts
Dr. Bob’s
boyhood home at 20 Summer Street (now 297 Summer Street)
Summer
Street School--where Dr. Bob attended
North
Congregational Church--where the Smith family attended
Pictures
of participants with Pastor Jay Sprout
Pictures
of the Dr. Bob Core Library and the resource binder subjects
Pictures
at dedication of the library by Pastor Sprout
Pictures
of the sanctuary, baptismal font, pews, organ, pulpit, and windows
Pictures
of the church itself--located on Main Street
Fairbanks
Museum--location of thousands of historical records, papers, and manuscripts
Young Men’s Christian Association
building and activities (building destroyed by later
fire)
Courthouse
where Bob’s father, Judge Walter P. Smith, was Probate Judge
Firehouse
and public offices across the street--where we obtained Bob’s birth certificate
Athenaeum--beautiful
library containing newspapers on microfilm and many items
St.
Johnsbury Academy and Grace Orcutt Library
Photos of
workshop participants and the restaurant where they dined together.
Village Welcome
Center and new location of Town Offices
Panoramic views of village, signs, and well-known historical
locations including banks, hotels, and railroad
The importance, significance, influence, and activities
involving the “Great Awakening” of 1875 in St. Johnsbury, Evangelists, the
YMCA, the Salvation Army, Congregationalism, churches, and the United Society
of Christian Endeavor are thoroughly covered and documented in Dick B. and Ken
B., Dr. Bob of Alcoholics Anonymous: His
Excellent Training in the Good Book as a Youngster in Vermont; and their
new book, Bill W. and Dr. Bob, The Green Mountain Boys of Vermont: The Roots of Early A.A.’s Original
Program
Northfield, Vermont--location of Norwich Military Academy
attended by Bill W. and Ebby Thacher--September 6
Kreitzberg Library--filled with
pictures, plaques pamphlets, records, books, histories,
curricula, religious emphasis,
chapel data, and more.
More data
pertaining to Bill W. still to arrive.
Gill, Massachusetts--location of Dwight L. Moody schools and
Mount Hermon home—Sept. 6
Schauffler Library--filled with
archives and books about the schools, the teachers, Vermont people and
evangelists and students who attended, visited, taught, or spoke. YMCA
activities; Christian Endeavor; school news; and Moody speeches and events
Place where Dr. Bob’s foster
sister, Amanda Carolyn Northrop, taught,
Place where Professor Henry
Drummond taught and delivered his famous talk on
1
Corinthians 13. Extensive material by him.
Place where Colonel Franklin
Fairbanks of St. Johnsbury, Vermont frequently visited, held meetings, and
became a trustee of the school where F. B. Meyer, the evangelist and Christian
Endeavor-YMCA leader spoke.
Place where Dr. Robert E. Speer,
author of The Principles of Jesus
(origin of A.A.’s Four
Absolutes),
taught and later became Vice President.
“Launching pad” from which Dwight
L. Moody and his partner Ira Sankey visited and
held revivals and meetings in
Burlington, St. Johnsbury, and other Vermont locations.
Manchester, Vermont--Sept 7-8
Location of
Burr and Burton Seminary, attended by Bill Wilson, Ebby Thacher, Bill’s
girl-friend Bertha Bamford, and
Reverend Perkins’s son Roger.
Location of
the home of Rev. Sidney K. Perkins, pastor of the First Congregational
Church where Ebby boarded with Rev.
Perkins and got to know his son Roger quite well.
Location of First Congregational
Church of Manchester, where Burr and Burton “scholars” (i.e., students)
attended each Sunday and for special events; and whose members actually help
found the East Dorset Congregational Church where Bill Wilson and his family
attended.
Location of the huge Burnham
“summer home,” where Lois Burnham, her brother
Rogers, her father
Dr. Clark Burnham, and other family members lived half of
the year as “summer people” and
then went on to spend much time at their bungalows at Emerald Lake, Vermont
(quite near East Dorset) where Bill met Lois and became engaged to her, and
where the Thacher family became good friends.
Location of the adjacent, large,
George Thacher “summer home,” where the Thacher
family
(including Ebby Thacher) lived half of the year; where Ebby got to know his
Oxford Group mentors Rowland Hazard, Shep Cornell, and Cebra Graves; and where
the Thachers also summered at Emerald Lake near the Burnham bungalows.
The Manchester Journal newspaper contains
many articles about these personalities
The Mark Skinner Library is where
our workshop people did a good deal of research on
Manchester, Burr and Burton, the
Congregational Church, Bill Wilson, Rev. Perkins, and the Burnhams, Thachers,
and Bamfords.
Zion Episcopal Church, where Bertha
Bamford’s father was rector; where there is a
memorial plaque
about Bertha and her death; and where Bill Wilson and Roger Perkins were pall bearers
at Bertha Bamford’s funeral.
The Manchester period, people, and events are well covered
in the Dick B. and Ken B. Book, Bill W.
and Dr. Bob, the Green Mountain Boys of Vermont; Dick B., The
Conversion of Bill W.: More on the Creator’s Role in Early A.A.; and some
excellent histories of Burr and Burton, First Congregational Church, and
Vermont people.
East Dorset and Emerald Lake, Vermont—Sept. 7 and 8
The East Dorset Congregational
Church, the Wilson House, the Griffith House and Library, and nearby Mount
Aeolus all played important roles in the Christian upbringing of Bill Wilson,
the church and Bill’s parents, the church and Bill’s grandparents, and the
Sunday school itself, as well as Bill’s Bible studies with his maternal
grandfather (Gardner Fayette Griffith) and his friend Mark Whalon.
The events are well covered in Dick
B., The Conversion of Bill W.; and
Dick B. and Ken B., Bill W. and Dr. Bob,
the Green Mountain Boys, as well as Dick B., The Dick B. Christian Recovery Guide, 3rd ed. (2010).
More photos
and reports are yet to come.
Rutland, Vermont—Sept. 8
This is the town to which Bill’s parents, Bill, and his
sister moved and where they lived from about 1902 to 1905.
We have photos of the Wilson home on Chestnut Street, the
Longfellow School where
Bill attended.
We also have photos of the nearby Grace Congregational
Church and are working with its pastor and others to see if there are records
of attendance or activity by any of the Wilsons during the period of their
Rutland residence.
Burlington, Vermont—Sept. 9: We researched extensively at
the Bailey Howe Library on the Central Campus of the University of Vermont at
Burlington. The library contains a wide variety historical records on Moody,
Congregational Churches, and other locations.
Gloria Deo
Saturday, September 22, 2012
Dick B. on Radio about Overlooked AA Big Book Personal Stories
The “Christian Recovery Radio with Dick
B.” Show
Dick B. Is Interviewed about His New Book:
God, His Son Jesus Christ, and the
Bible:
The Long-Overlooked Personal Stories
in the First Edition of Alcoholics
Anonymous
(archived at)
By Dick B.
© 2012 Anonymous. All
rights reserved
You Can Hear This Important Radio
Interview of Dick B. Right Now!
You may hear Dick B. discuss his new title, God, His Son Jesus Christ
& the Bible in Early A.A.: The Long-Overlooked Personal Stories in the
First Edition of Alcoholics Anonymous by Dick B. and Ken B. (Kihei, HI:
Paradise Research Publications, Inc., 2012), on the September 22, 2012, episode
of the "Christian Recovery Radio with Dick B." show here:
http://goo.gl/yvuVT
or here:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/christian-recovery-radio-with-dickb/2012/09/22/dick-b-discusses-his-new-book-on-the-1st-ed-personal-stories
Episodes of the "Christian Recovery Radio with Dick B." show
are archived at:
www.ChristianRecoveryRadio.com
Today’s Introductory Remarks by Dick B.
[These will shortly
be followed in our next article by a more detailed synopsis of the Christian
Recovery Radio.com Interviews given September 21 and 22 by both Ken B. and Dick
B. on their new book, God, His Son Jesus
Christ & the Bible in Early A.A.: The Long-Overlooked Personal Stories in
the First Edition of Alcoholics Anonymous (Kihei, HI: Paradise Research
Publications, Inc., 2012]
Dick B.’s Radio Interview covered the newly-released book by
Dick B. and Ken B., God, His Son Jesus
Christ, & the Bible in Early A.A.: The Long-Overlooked Personal Stories in
the First Edition of Alcoholics Anonymous (Kihei, HI: Paradise Research
Publications, Inc., 2012).
The personal stories by
“old-school,” early A.A. pioneers have been in limbo for decades. This means
they have been put on the shelf and ignored. Yet they show exactly how those pioneer
AAs practiced the early A.A. “Christian fellowship” program founded in June of
1935. Piece by piece, the stories were removed after the first edition and
their removal left AAs in a quandary as to what their original program looked
like and whether it could be applied today.
The early program is summarized on
page 131 of DR. BOB and the Good
Oldtimers. The 16 principles and practices of the early AAs are specified
and explained in The Dick B. Christian
Recovery Guide, 3rd ed. (2010).
In this interview, Dick B. reads
many excerpts from what is now A.A. General Service Conference-approved
literature (as of the release of Experience,
Strength & Hope: Stories from the First Three Editions of Alcoholics Anonymous
in 2003). Each excerpt is from a testimonial by an A.A. pioneer in his own
language and from his own point of view as to how he practiced the pioneer
“old-school” program. Also, how he turned to God for help. And how he freely
read the Bible, prayed, sought God’s guidance, and endeavored to obey God’s
will after having renounced liquor permanently. Once cured, these pioneers set
about helping others apply the same program and get well.
These are not war stories. These
are not “drunkalogs.” These are not recitals about the Twelve Steps and Big
Book because, in early A.A., there was no Big Book, and there were no Steps at
all.
We hope you will remember these
pithy statements long after you have forgotten the endless, wearying, drinking
tales that have become so commonplace in today’s 12 Step programs. You will
remember these personal stories because they speak of the power and love of
God. You will remember them because they show that the Lord cured early AAs of
their alcoholism. And you will remember them because they illustrate that the
successes of early A.A. were grounded on the help one drunk provided to another.
[Please be sure to read the next
article which will contain the summary of the new book by Dick B. and Ken B. as
they told of it in their ChristianRecoveryRadio.com interviews Sept 21-22]
dickb@dickb.com
Gloria Deo
Friday, September 21, 2012
Christian A.A. Big Book Stories Subject of Dick B. Radio Interview
Christian Recovery Radio Interview of A.A. Historian Dick B.
on
www.ChristianRecoveryRadio.com
By Dick B.
© 2012 Anonymous. All rights reserved
Dick B.’s Radio Interview on September 22, 2012, will cover
the newly-released book by Dick B. and Ken B., God, His Son Jesus Christ, &
the Bible in Early A.A.: The Long-Overlooked Personal Stories in the First
Edition of Alcoholics Anonymous.
The personal stories by “old-school,” early A.A. pioneers
have been in limbo for decades. Yet they show exactly how those individuals
practiced the early A.A. “Christian fellowship” program founded in June of
1935. Piece by piece the stories were removed after the first edition and their
removal left AAs in a quandary as to what their original program looked like
and whether it could be applied today.
The early program is summarized on page 131 of DR. BOB and
the Good Oldtimers. The sixteen principles and practices of the early AAs are
specified and explained in The Dick B. Christian Recovery Guide, 3rd ed., 2010.
In this interview, Dick will read many excerpts from what is
now A.A. General Service Conference-approved literature (as of the release of
Experience, Strength & Hope: Stories from the First Three Editions of
Alcoholics Anonymous.) Each excerpt will be from a testimonial by an A.A.
pioneer in his own language and from his own point of view as to how he
practiced the pioneer “old-school” program. Also, how he turned to God for
help. And how he freely read the Bible, prayed, sought God’s guidance,
endeavored to obey God’s will after having renounced liquor permanently. Once
cured, these pioneers set about helping others apply the same program and get
well.
These are not war stories. These are not “drunkalogs.” These
are not recitals about the Twelve Steps and Big Book because, in early A.A.,
there was no Big Book, and were no Steps at all.
You will remember these pithy statements long after you have
forgotten the endless, wearying, drinking tales that have become so commonplace
in today’s 12 Step programs. You will remember them because they speak of the
power and love of God. You will remember that the Lord cured them. And you will
remember that their successes were grounded on the help they then provided to
others.
Gloria Deo
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Monday, September 17, 2012
Carry this message. . .
Carry This Message
Dick B.
Copyright 2012
Anonymous. All rights reserved
What do you say to a “wet drunk”
Christian who wants to quit drinking after years of tries and failures? Here
are some starting suggestions
[In
the last day or so, I received emails from two different Christian men, who
live in two completely different locations, have two completely job situations,
both have the first name “Chuck,” are literally drinking themselves to death,
and want to know where to start. Each said he had read materials on our website
www.dickb.com. And each wanted suggestions.
Below I include my reply]
1. Thanks for
responding to Ken.
2. I would
appreciate your considering, commenting on, and then phoning about the
recommendations in my first letter, When you do, I will put you in touch with
the two Christian men on Oahu who have good sobriety, have sponsored many, and
might be willing to help you if you follow directions.
3. Please
answer my questions; and the item below is one I just sent to another man in
your situation. It applies to you, as well.
Dear Chuck:
1. My
response was somewhat delayed because my son and I have just returned from a 10
day series of workshops on the Christian (and successful) roots of A.A. in
Vermont.
2. Thank
you for the full response, and I would now welcome a phone call from you to see
how we can be of assistance.
3.
Meanwhile, I have three major study suggestions:
a. Go to
www.ChristianRecoveryRadio.com and download the 27 Stick with the Video winners
class. Select topics that appeal to you and view them.
b. Buy my
book God and Alcoholism through my son 808 276 4945
c. Buy The
Dick B. Christian Recovery Guide from my son. He will also send you a path to
follow.
4. As I
will firm up for you on the phone, you have confirmed the first requirement
which is an irrevocable decision to quit permanently and do whatever it takes.
5. When I
said go to a doctor, I was referring to a competent doctor to whom you tell
your drinking problem, tell him you are there to have him evaluate whether you
are at risk for seizures or DT ‘s if you quit without hospitalization, and will
then either prescribe medication specifically intended to prevent seizures and
heavy withdrawal symptoms OR send you t
o a medical detox in your area.
6. The real
issue, then, involves your own resources and decision to go the Christian way:
(a) Go to a Christian recovery program. (b) Decide to pursue recovery with 7
day a week effort which will involve perhaps a church service, a Christian
recovery fellowship, a Christian recovery counselor, a sponsor, and attendance
at A.A. meetings with involvement such as going early, staying late, asking for
help, making friends, getting phone numbers to call for help at times of
stress, fear, or compulsion, and avoiding liquor at all costs.
7. You need
a three-pronged approach: (a) Medical assessment and help immediately. (b) A
decision to seek Christian support and help and hang out with like-minded
believers. (c) Constantly praying to our Heavenly Father in the name of Jesus
Christ to strengthen you, heal you, guide you, and deliver you from the power
of darkness NOW (Colossians 2:7) (c) Utilizing the support of a 12 Step program without surrendering to the
nonsense gods, wisdom of the rooms, or pseudo “spirituality.”
Call me if you wish; and thanks again for writing.
God bless,
Dick B.
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