WHAT HAPPENED?
2
recover or are you going to get back out there and
finish the job?”. If they said they “were willing to go to any length”, they
were given a sponsor, a Big Book and began the process of recovery by taking the
Steps and experiencing the Promises that result from that course of action.
This process kept the newcomer involved in working with others and continued the
growth of our Fellowship. Our growth rate was approximately 7% and the number
of sober members of Alcoholics Anonymous doubled every 10 years.
With the advent of the rapid growth of
the Treatment Industry, the acceptance of our success with alcoholics by the
judicial system and endorsement of physicians, psychiatrist, psychologist, etc.
all kinds of people were pouring into A.A. at a rate greater than we had ever
dreamed possible. Almost without realizing what was happening, our meetings
began changing from ones that focused on recovery from alcoholism to “discussion
or participation” types of meetings that invited everyone to talk about whatever
was on their mind. The meetings evolved from a program of spiritual development
to the group therapy type of meeting where we heard more and more about “our
problems” and less and less about the Program of Recovery by the Big Book and
the preservation of our Fellowship by adhering to our Traditions.
What has been the result of all this?
Well, never have we had so many coming to us for help. But never have we had
such a slow growth rate which has now started to decline. For the first time in
our history, Alcoholics Anonymous is losing members faster than they are coming
in and our success rate is unbelievably low. (Statistics from the Inter-Group
Office of some major cities indicate less than 5% of those expressing a desire
to stop drinking are successful for more than 5 years; a far cry form the 75%
reported by Bill W. in the Forward to Second Edition). The change in the
content of our meetings is proving to be death-traps for the newcomer and in
turn, death-traps for the groups that depend on the “discussion or
participation” type meetings.
Why is this? The answer is very simple.
When meetings were opened so that untreated alcoholics & non-alcoholics were
given the opportunity to express their ideas, their opinions, air their problems
and tell how they were told to do it where they came from, the confused newcomer
became more confused with the diversity of information that was being
presented. More and more they were encouraged to “just go to meetings and don’t
drink” or worse yet, “go to 90 meetings in 90 days”. The newcomer no longer
was told to take the Steps or get back out there and finish the job. In fact,
they are often told, “Don’t rush into taking the Steps. Take your time.” The
alcoholics who participated in the writing of the Big Book didn’t wait. They
took the Steps in the first few days following their last drink.
Thank God, there are those in our
Fellowship, like Joe & Charlie, Wally, etc., who have recognized the problem and
have started doing something about it. They are placing the focus back on the
Big Book. There have always been a few groups that would not yield to the group
therapy trend. They stayed firm to their commitment to try to carry a single
message to the suffering alcoholic. That is to tell the newcomer that “we have
had a spiritual awakening as the result of these Steps and if you want to
recover, we will see that you have a sponsor who has recovered and will lead you
along the path the 1st 100 laid down for us”. Recovered alcoholics have begun
founding groups that have a single purpose and inform the newcomer that until
they have taken the steps and recovered, they will not be permitted to say
anything in meetings. They will listen to recovered alcoholics, they will take
the Steps, they will recover and then they will try to pass their experience and
knowledge on to the ones who are seeking the kind of help we provide in
Alcoholics Anonymous. As this movement spreads, as it is beginning to,
Alcoholics Anonymous will again be very successful in doing the one thing God
intended for us to do and that is to help the suffering alcoholic recover, if he
has decided he wants what we have and is willing to go to any length to recover,
to take and apply our Twelve Steps to our lives and protect our Fellowship by
honoring our Twelve Traditions.
What has been the result of all this?
Well, never have we had so many coming to us for help. But never have we had
such a slow growth rate which has now started to decline. For the first time in
our history, Alcoholics Anonymous is losing members faster than they are coming
in and our success rate is unbelievably low. (Statistics from the Inter-Group
Office of some major cities indicate less than 5% of those expressing a desire
to stop drinking are successful for more than 5 years; a far cry form the 75%
reported by Bill W. in the Forward to Second Edition). The change in the
content of our meetings is proving to be death-traps for the newcomer and in
turn, death-traps for the groups that depend on the “discussion or
participation” type meetings.
Why is this? The answer is very simple.
When meetings were opened so that untreated alcoholics & non-alcoholics were
given the opportunity to express their ideas, their opinions, air their problems
and tell how they were told to do it where they came from, the confused newcomer
became more confused with the diversity of information that was being
presented. More and more they were encouraged to “just go to meetings and don’t
drink” or worse yet, “go to 90 meetings in 90 days”. The newcomer no longer
was told to take the Steps or get back out there and finish the job. In fact,
they are often told, “Don’t rush into taking the Steps. Take your time.” The
alcoholics who participated in the writing of the Big Book didn’t wait. They
took the Steps in the first few days following their last drink.
Thank God, there are those in our
Fellowship, like Joe & Charlie, Wally, etc., who have recognized the problem and
have started doing something about it. They are placing the focus back on the
Big Book. There have always been a few groups that would not yield to the group
therapy trend. They stayed firm to their commitment to try to carry a single
message to the suffering alcoholic. That is to tell the newcomer that “we have
had a spiritual awakening as the result of these Steps and if you want to
recover, we will see that you have a sponsor who has recovered and will lead you
along the path the 1st 100 laid down for us”. Recovered alcoholics have begun
founding groups that have a single purpose and inform the newcomer that until
they have taken the steps and recovered, they will not be permitted to say
anything in meetings. They will listen to recovered alcoholics, they will take
the Steps, they will recover and then they will try to pass their experience and
knowledge on to the ones who are seeking the kind of help we provide in
Alcoholics Anonymous. As this movement spreads, as it is beginning to,
Alcoholics Anonymous will again be very successful in doing the one thing God
intended for us to do and that is to help the suffering alcoholic recover, if he
has decided he wants what we have and is willing to go to any length to recover,
to take and apply our Twelve Steps to our lives and protect our Fellowship by
honoring our Twelve Traditions.
Why is this? The answer is very simple.
When meetings were opened so that untreated alcoholics & non-alcoholics were
given the opportunity to express their ideas, their opinions, air their problems
and tell how they were told to do it where they came from, the confused newcomer
became more confused with the diversity of information that was being
presented. More and more they were encouraged to “just go to meetings and don’t
drink” or worse yet, “go to 90 meetings in 90 days”. The newcomer no longer
was told to take the Steps or get back out there and finish the job. In fact,
they are often told, “Don’t rush into taking the Steps. Take your time.” The
alcoholics who participated in the writing of the Big Book didn’t wait. They
took the Steps in the first few days following their last drink.
Thank God, there are those in our
Fellowship, like Joe & Charlie, Wally, etc., who have recognized the problem and
have started doing something about it. They are placing the focus back on the
Big Book. There have always been a few groups that would not yield to the group
therapy trend. They stayed firm to their commitment to try to carry a single
message to the suffering alcoholic. That is to tell the newcomer that “we have
had a spiritual awakening as the result of these Steps and if you want to
recover, we will see that you have a sponsor who has recovered and will lead you
along the path the 1st 100 laid down for us”. Recovered alcoholics have begun
founding groups that have a single purpose and inform the newcomer that until
they have taken the steps and recovered, they will not be permitted to say
anything in meetings. They will listen to recovered alcoholics, they will take
the Steps, they will recover and then they will try to pass their experience and
knowledge on to the ones who are seeking the kind of help we provide in
Alcoholics Anonymous. As this movement spreads, as it is beginning to,
Alcoholics Anonymous will again be very successful in doing the one thing God
intended for us to do and that is to help the suffering alcoholic recover, if he
has decided he wants what we have and is willing to go to any length to recover,
to take and apply our Twelve Steps to our lives and protect our Fellowship by
honoring our Twelve Traditions.
Thank God, there are those in our
Fellowship, like Joe & Charlie, Wally, etc., who have recognized the problem and
have started doing something about it. They are placing the focus back on the
Big Book. There have always been a few groups that would not yield to the group
therapy trend. They stayed firm to their commitment to try to carry a single
message to the suffering alcoholic. That is to tell the newcomer that “we have
had a spiritual awakening as the result of these Steps and if you want to
recover, we will see that you have a sponsor who has recovered and will lead you
along the path the 1st 100 laid down for us”. Recovered alcoholics have begun
founding groups that have a single purpose and inform the newcomer that until
they have taken the steps and recovered, they will not be permitted to say
anything in meetings. They will listen to recovered alcoholics, they will take
the Steps, they will recover and then they will try to pass their experience and
knowledge on to the ones who are seeking the kind of help we provide in
Alcoholics Anonymous. As this movement spreads, as it is beginning to,
Alcoholics Anonymous will again be very successful in doing the one thing God
intended for us to do and that is to help the suffering alcoholic recover, if he
has decided he wants what we have and is willing to go to any length to recover,
to take and apply our Twelve Steps to our lives and protect our Fellowship by
honoring our Twelve Traditions.
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