A New Way Out

Explanation of the Path and of the Objective

Our mission, beginning in 1991, has been to find out what role, if any, God, Jesus Christ, and the Bible had in early Alcoholics Anonymous. Having completed more than 18 years of research, our objective now is to show people the power and love of God present in the early A.A. Christian Fellowship program in Akron, Ohio; and to report the astonishing success rate in pioneer A.A. among seemingly-hopeless, medically-incurable, real alcoholics who went to any lengths to establish (or reestablish) their relationship with God and to be healed. Finally, our present desire is to bring that same power and love of God to those who still suffer from life-controlling problems and self-destructive behaviors, and to those who have the heart to serve and help those still in need.

Purposes of Our Guidebook and mid-July Conference in Irvine, California

To provide Christian recovery leaders and Christian recovery fellowship members, groups, and agencies with a guide in the recovery field that enables them to learn, utilize, add, and incorporate a history element in their particular endeavors. To facilitate their own growth in fellowship with their Heavenly Father. To enable them to help the afflicted receive healing and deliverance from the one, true, living God by coming to Him through His Son Jesus Christ. And to assure that Christian recovery leaders and other Christians active in the recovery arena know, are fortified with, are guided by, and are emboldened in their witnessing through, the accurate historical details as to effective Christian approaches to recovery in the past. Approaches such as those of the YMCA, Christian Endeavor, the Salvation Army, Gospel Rescue Missions, the Oxford Group, evangelists, and early Akron A.A. pioneers themselves. Approaches that employed Christian techniques of personal work to offer a way out of the power of darkness through salvation and coming unto the knowledge of the truth.

The Core Ideas in Our Guidebook That Will Provide the Full and Accurate Roots and Historical Sources of Effective Recovery You Need to Know

• The Religious Training and Background of A.A. Cofounders Robert Holbrook Smith and William Griffith Wilson as Youngsters in Vermont
• The Christian Organizations and Leaders That Contributed to the Original Pioneer Program of A.A. in Akron
• The Basic Ideas from the Bible That Were Translated to Akron A.A.
• The Early A.A. Christian Fellowship Founded in Akron on June 10, 1935, and the
  Exact Program of Recovery Its Members Followed
• The Documented, 75% Success Rate That Was Achieved in Akron by Following That Pioneer Program
• The Actual Cures and Recoveries the Early A.A. Members Achieved

A Birdseye Summary of the Original A.A. Program Founded on  June 10, 1935

• Abstinence

• Reliance on the Creator and coming to Him through Jesus Christ.
• Obeying God’s will and eliminating sinful conduct
• Growing in fellowship with God, His Son, and other believers through

Bible study, prayer meetings, Quiet Time, and reading Christian literature

• Helping other alcoholics get straightened out by these same means
• Recommended social and religious fellowship with other believers
• Recommended attendance at a religious service of choice each week

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Steps along the Way

·        A New Way Out is about growing—growing in information about your Christian roots; growing in understanding about how important those roots are to real fellowship with our Heavenly Father, His son Jesus Christ, and other believers; and growing in strength and confidence that “the Way” (Jesus Christ) is what you wish to follow and share with others who want to know and profit from “that Way” wherever they may be.

·        A New Way Out is available where you are—whether that be in a recovery fellowship, a Christian church or group, a jail or prison, a hospital or mental facility, a rehab or treatment program, an at-risk point in life, in therapy, or in a homeless situation.

·        A New Way Out begins with convincing yourself of this fact: “We Christians are not alone in the recovery arena.”

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

. . . . Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,

Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. [Romans 8:35, 37-39; KJV]

• A New Way Out for a recovered Christian in the recovery arena offers a path to: (a) Learning the Christian roots of modern recovery programs and groups (especially Alcoholics Anonymous) as those roots were brought to the table by A.A. cofounders Bill W. and Dr. Bob in Akron in 1935; (b) Standing confidently in your relationship with God [“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 that we desired of him.” (1 John 5:14-15; KJV)]; (c) Believing and following God’s promises as set forth in the Book of James [“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw night to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. . . . Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.” (James 4:7-8, 10; KJV)]; (d) being led by the Spirit of God (Rom 8:14); learning that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God (1 Cor 2:5); and glorifying God (1 Cor 6:10).
   

• A New Way Out for a recovered Christian--and as a path for those who want to become children of the living Creator--stresses: (a) Sufficiency does not lie in the wisdom, doctrine, or programs of men [“Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God.” (2 Cor 3:5, KJV). This was a point that Bill Wilson covered in A.A.’s “Basic Text” (Alcoholics Anonymous):

We agnostics and atheists were sticking to the idea that self-sufficiency would solve our problems. When others showed us that “God-sufficiency” worked with them, we began to feel like those who had insisted the Wrights would never fly. [Alcoholics Anonymous, 4^th ed., page 52-53]

(b) Our sufficiency is available because of the grace of God: “And God is able to make all grace abound toward you: that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work.” (2 Cor 9:8, KJV).

• A New Way Out can and should persuade Christians that it is not what others think or say about their chosen path; it is not whether some fellow recovery member or leader approves of their chosen path; nor is it whether they might be ridiculed, subjected to intimidation, or even censured. Christians need to learn, believe, stand on, and impart to those willing to listen, some assurances of victory for themselves and for the listener based on fundamental biblical truths: (a) “But without faith it is impossible to please him [God]: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” (Heb 11:6, KJV); (b) “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6, KJV); (c) “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.” (1 John 3:2); and (d) “Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.” (1 John 4:4, KJV)

Steps That Do Establish or Strengthen a Relationship with God

The message of A New Way Out is for all who wish to hear it and apply it. God can and will do for you what you could not do for yourself. God can do this wherever you are. Others need to know that you are standing on God’s love and Word. And, if they see the victory that is promised—either looking at your victory or believing that it can be achieved by loving and obeying and walking in fellowship with our Heavenly Father—they will have and will have deserved an opportunity to receive God’s blessings, healing, and deliverance through what Jesus Christ accomplished for them.

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  A New Way Out Leadership Conference with Dick B.!

Mid-July 2009 in Southern California

Please Join Us and “Be a Part of Something Great—to the Glory of GOD!”

Many people have already told us that “A Nationwide Recovery Conference with Dick B.”, May 15-16, 2009, really blessed their lives and have been asking, “What’s next?” As a result, Dick B. and Ken B. will be returning to the Southern California area July 12-18, 2009, and staying at the Fairmont Newport Beach Hotel in Newport Beach. [We are asking for your input, ASAP, as to whether this Conference should be a full day (preferably) or a half day; and as to which day would work best for you between Monday, July 13, and Friday, July 17. Based on the feedback we receive over the next several days, we will select the conference length and date, and let you know the final details.]

Our (Tentative) Mission Statement

Our mission: (1) To glorify God by providing historically-accurate information about the roles God, Jesus Christ, and the written Word of God (the Bible) played in the astounding, documented, 75% and 93% success rates (in Akron and Cleveland, respectively) among “seemingly-hopeless,” “medically-incurable,” “real” alcoholics who thoroughly followed the early A.A. program Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob and Anne Smith developed in the summer of 1935 in Akron, Ohio. (Please see, for example, key points from the Frank Amos report to John D. Rockefeller, Jr., set forth on page 131 of the A.A. General Service Conference-approved book, DR. BOB and the Good Oldtimers.) (2) To work with Christian leaders and workers in developing tools incorporating Dick B.’s research that will help Christians in the recovery arena become more effective in “carrying the message” to those who still suffer.

Our Plan

• To present a full-day (preferably) or one-half-day free conference for Christian leaders and workers in the recovery arena titled “A New Way Out Leadership Conference with Dick B.”
• To meet one-on-one and in small groups with those Christian leaders and workers during the week.
• To spend four-to-five hours “in-studio” filming Dick B. sharing about early A.A.’s successful “Program.”
• To be available throughout the week for larger, public meetings for those who would like to learn more about the godly aspects of the successful Akron program and how incorporating its principles into Christian recovery programs today can improve their effectiveness.

We Want and Need Your Help

In order for us to learn how better to be of service to you, we would like:

• To meet with you—individually, and/or with your key fellow-laborers.
• To have you answer some survey questions we are about to send out.
• To have you bring to the Conference and/or meeting(s) your outreach materials and plans.
• To have you tell us: (1) your specific recovery mission(s) and techniques; (2) what your needs and resources are; and (3) where you can use a boost with accurate and comprehensive historical information.
• To have you suggest how we may work with you in our area of expertise.
• To have you suggest a joint mission statement (if that would be helpful to you), a concise program plan, and opportunities for cooperative effort with us and with others like those who attended, supported, or heard of “A Nationwide Recovery Conference with Dick B.” in May 2009.
• To have you provide specific resources that can be used by others to point to your work.
• To provide us with funding, plans, and resources--as well as opportunities for meetings, talks, literature, media outreach—that will help us build godly cooperation among Christians in the recovery arena, in Orange County, Southern California, and beyond!

Our Objectives

• To develop a consensus among “experts” as to the best approach to Christian outreach to newcomers, counselors, therapists, treatment efforts, community agencies, clergy, churches, physicians, psychologists, and Twelve-Step leaders.
• To plan a specific common-cause approach embodied in a concise flyer, websites and blogs, radio programs, TV, treatment communities, a central library-study meeting in your area, and conferences for you and for Twelve Step program participants.
• To distribute your ideas and materials to those who attend.
• To enlist your continued participation in this effort and with your colleagues.
• To have you or your organization or entity send a contribution of $50.00 or more to Dick B., PO Box 837, Kihei, HI 96753-0837 to help defray our travel, food, and lodging expenses for our trip.

The Original Alcoholics Anonymous Program Founded June 10, 1935

By Dick B.

© 2009 Anonymous. All rights reserved

[Note: There were three distinctly different A.A. programs during the first 20-year period from 1935 through 1955. First came the original pioneer Akron A.A. Christian Fellowship recovery program founded by Bill W. and Dr. Bob in 1935, developed by November 1937, and producing a documented 75% success rate. Second, followed the entirely different recovery program written primarily by Bill W., embodied in the First Edition of Alcoholics Anonymous (the “Big Book”), and published in the spring of 1939. Its suggested program was grounded in the Big Book and the Twelve Steps. Finally, during the 1940’s, there were numerous offshoot programs culminating in the essays written by Bill W. and published in Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions in the mid-1950’s. The points discussed here and upon which is the focus are those used by the pioneers of early A.A. with such astonishing successes and their acknowledged permanent cures.] 

The Seven Original Program Ingredients Summarized in the Frank Amos Report

 The Frank Amos report to John D. Rockefeller, Jr., dated February 23, 1938, described the Akron “Program” founded in Akron, Ohio, in the summer of 1935. Amos said it was being carried out faithfully by the Akron group. The men in the group, he said, all looked to Dr. Bob for leadership. And the following points are the five requirements and the two “important, but not vital,” elements that Amos set forth in his report about the “Program” [DR. BOB and the Good Oldtimers (New York, N.Y.: Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc., 1980), 131]:

·         An alcoholic must realize that he is an alcoholic, incurable from a medical viewpoint, and that he must never drink anything with alcohol in it.

·         He must surrender himself absolutely to God, realizing that in himself there is no hope.

·         Not only must he want to stop drinking permanently, he must remove from his life other sins such as hatred, adultery, and others which frequently accompany alcoholism. Unless he will do this absolutely, Smith and his associates refuse to work with him.

·         He must have devotions every morning–a “quiet time” of prayer and some reading from the Bible and other religious literature. Unless this is faithfully followed, there is grave danger of backsliding.

·         He must be willing to help other alcoholics get straightened out. This throws up a protective barrier and strengthens his own willpower and convictions.

·         It is important, but not vital, that he meet frequently with other reformed alcoholics and form both a social and a religious comradeship.

·         Important, but not vital, that he attend some religious service at least once weekly.

And here are the actual principles and practices of the Akron Christian Fellowship during the period from June 10, 1935, to the publishing of the “Big Book” in the spring of 1939:

(1)   Qualifying: Newcomers were interviewed by Dr. Bob and qualified as to their concession that they had an alcoholism problem; their desire to quit permanently; and their commitment that they would go to any length to do so. (2) Hospitalization was a must for a period of some five to seven days. During this time, Dr. Bob would visit extensively each day, other sober alcoholics would tell the newcomer their stories, only a Bible could be read, and then came surrender time with Dr. Bob before release. (3) Just before the newcomer was discharged from the hospital, Dr. Bob would conduct his final visit, require that the newcomer profess a belief in God—not “a” God, God. Then the newcomer would get out of his bed, get down on his knees, and pray with Dr. Bob, accepting Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior in the process. (4) Upon leaving the hospital, the newcomer was given a Bible and told to help others. (5) Most went to live in the Smith residence or in the residences of other Akron people like Wally Gillam and Tom Lucas. They stayed as long as needed in order to get steady in their path. (6) There were Christian fellowship meetings every day, with Dr. Bob, Anne Smith, and Henrietta Seiberling, which included group Bible study, prayer, and Quiet Time observances; (7) In addition, each morning, alcoholics and their family members gathered at the Smith home for a Quiet Time conducted by Anne Smith, with prayer, Bible reading, seeking guidance, and discussion of portions of Anne Smith’s personal journal. (8) There was one “Oxford Group” meeting each Wednesday at the home of T. Henry Williams. These meetings, however, scarcely resembled conventional Oxford Group meetings, were called a “clandestine lodge” of the Group, and actually took on the form of “old fashioned prayer meetings.” And at these weekly meetings, there was a time in which newcomers were required to make a “real surrender” with Dr. Bob and one or two others upstairs, where the newcomer on his knees accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior, asked that alcohol be taken out of his life, and asked strength and guidance to live according to cardinal Christian teachings. The elders prayed with him after the manner of James 5:16. (9) There was extensive reading of Christian devotionals and literature provided by Dr. Bob and distributed at meetings. (10) There was particular stress on study of the Book of James, Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, and 1 Corinthians 13. (11) Meetings concluded with invitations to reach out to newcomers in the hospital and elsewhere, and then closed with the Lord’s Prayer. (12) There was frequent socializing in the homes, particularly on Saturday evenings. (13) Members knew each other well and actually kept address books with names, addresses, and where possible the telephone numbers. (14) In addition, rosters of the names and addresses, sobriety dates, and relapses if any were kept and still exist today—making possible the calculation of success rates.

What Key People in Early A.A. Had to Say

Reverend Samuel M. Shoemaker, Jr., was the rector of Calvary Episcopal Church in New York; was in close touch with Bill Wilson from the beginning; became Bill’s friend and supporter; and worked with Bill in preparing the Big Book manuscript and Twelve Step ideas of 1939. Moreover, Shoemaker had a hand in the Akron events of 1931 and 1933, and his books were read by Akronites and recommended by Dr. Bob’s wife. Bill dubbed Shoemaker a “cofounder” of Alcoholics Anonymous; and many Shoemaker words and expressions can be found in the Big Book and Twelve Steps. Further, some of Bill’s most basic ideas appeared first in Shoemaker’s 1923 book, Realizing Religion. Shoemaker wrote of the present need of religion, declared that people suffered from spiritual misery, and insisted that the root of the malady is estrangement from God—estrangement from Him in people that were made to be His companions. In words that became embedded in early A.A. thinking and language, Shoemaker wrote:

What you want is simply a vital religious experience. You need to find God. You need Jesus Christ.

 All three solutions—a conversion experience, finding God, and accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior—were the foundation stones of early A.A. principles and practices.

 A.A. Cofounder Bill Wilson. After hearing from his doctor, William D. Silkworth, M.D., that Jesus Christ could cure him of his alcoholism; and after going to the altar at Shoemaker’s Calvary Rescue Mission and making a decision for Christ; and after resolving to call on the “Great Physician” for help while in Towns Hospital, Bill had his vital religious experience, after which he never drank again. Bill’s message, still embodied in the Big Book, was:

Henrietta, the Lord has been so wonderful to me, curing me of this terrible disease, that I just want to keep talking about it and telling people.

 And this is exactly what Bill Wilson did for many months early in his sobriety. He rushed around to the slums, the Bowery, fleabag hotels, the rescue mission, Towns Hospital, and Oxford Group meetings with a Bible under his arm telling bums they needed to give their lives to God.

 A.A. Cofounder Dr. Bob Smith. Dr. Bob was also cured of alcoholism and wrote the following in the Big Book in the last line of his personal story:

             Your Heavenly Father will never let you down!

 A.A. Number Three Bill Dotson walked from the hospital a free man after hearing Bob and Bill’s witnessing and turning to God for help. Dotson is quoted in the Big Book as follows:

Bill was very very grateful that he had been released from this terrible thing and he had given God the credit for having done it, and he’s so grateful about it he wants to tell other people about it. That sentence, “The Lord has been so wonderful to me, curing me of this terrible disease, that I just want to keep telling people about it,” has been a sort of a golden text for the A.A. program and for me.

            The Potential and Need for a Great Spiritual Awakening in Recovery 

The foregoing three sets of facts need to be learned and known today. There is a vital need for a Great Spiritual Awakening in the recovery community, in recovery programs, among churches and clergy, and in recovery fellowships. There is a need to restore our Heavenly Father, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and the Word of God to the center of recovery programs, recovery efforts, and recovery literature. For the premise of early A.A.—still to be found in the Big Book—is that the alcoholic cannot manage his own life, that probably no human power can relieve him of his alcoholism, and that God can and will if He is sought. The basic ideas for A.A. came from the Bible, and the potential is described in Hebrews 11:6:

But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

 As A.A. Cofounder Dr. Bob explained to a member the meaning of the slogan “First things first,” Bob pointed to Matthew 6:33 in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount:

But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

The Remarks and Conclusions of the Rockefeller Group, A.A.’s Founders, and Dr. Silkworth that led to the formation of The Alcoholic Foundation on August 11, 1938, as Bill Wilson was moving forward with the preparation of Alcoholics Anonymous (the “Big Book”)

 In a report on the activities of the Akron Christian Fellowship, John D. Rockefeller, Jr.’s representative Frank Amos said the following:

During December, 1937, Mr. William G. Wilson arranged an appointment with W. B. Richardson at Rockefeller Plaza. Mr. Wilson told briefly the story of how, after many vain attempts to discontinue the use of alcohol, he had achieved what he believed was a permanent cure, through what he termed a religious or spiritual process.

A dinner conference was arranged. And those present were Messrs Scott, Richardson, Chipman, and Amos (the Rockefeller group); two other non-alcoholics, Dr. W.D. Silkworth (Bill Wilson’s physician and chief psychiatrist at Towns Hospital) and Dr. Leonard Strong (Wilson’s brother-in-law), and “the following ex-alcoholics, William G. Wilson, Henry G. Parkhurst, William J. Ruddell, Ned Poynter and Joe Taylor, all of New York and vicinity; Mr. John Henry Fitzhugh Mayo of near Baltimore, Maryland; Dr. Robert H. Smith and J. Paul Stanley of Akron, Ohio.” The conference lasted five hours.

Dr. Silkworth, Psychiatrist at Charles B. Towns Hospital, New York, which is rated as a leading hospital in this country for the treatment of alcoholics, made the statement that he had treated a number of these ex-alcoholics present, some of them several times, and that not one of them, in his opinion, could have been permanently cured by any means known to medical science or to Psychiatry.

He went on to state without reservation that while he could not tell just what it was that these men had which had effected their “cure,” yet he was convinced they were cured and that whatever it was, it had his complete endorsement. He stated that alcoholism is, medically, an incurable disease. These statements from an outstanding Psychiatrist and a leading authority on the treatment of alcoholism, made a very profound impression upon the non-alcoholics present.

A meeting was arranged for Mr. Wilson to talk to a friend of Mr. Amos and within two weeks this friend accepted without reservation the principles of the “cure” by a religious or spiritual approach. Over eight months have elapsed since that time, and there is every evidence that this party is permanently cured, although it is the policy of these ex-alcoholics through their own experience in working with other alcoholics, not to accept any alcoholic as permanently cured until a considerable period of time has elapsed. That period usually ranges from two to three years. The present leaders of the movement, all of them ex-alcoholics, have been teetotalers for periods ranging from two to four years.

dickb@dickb.com; 808 874 4876; PO Box 837, Kihei, HI 96753-0837

Gloria Deo

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Links to related Dick B. web sites

Alcoholics Anonymous History: http://www.dickb.com (Dick B.’s main web site)

Dick B.’s Personal A.A. History Blog Site: http://www.dickb-blog.com

Dr. Bob and Alcoholics Anonymous: http://DrBob.info

Freedom Ranch Maui, Incorporated, a non-profit educational corp., http://freedomranchmaui.org