Alcoholics Anonymous

What Early A.A. Was Really Like

Alcoholics Anonymous, Alcoholics Anonymous History, Bill W., and Dr. Bob. This A.A. history web site focuses particularly on the roles God, Jesus Christ, and the Bible had in early A.A.’s astonishing, documented, 75% and 93% success rates (in Akron and Cleveland, respectively) among “seemingly-hopeless,” “medically-incurable,” alcoholics who really tried to establish or re-establish their relationship with the God of the Bible through His Son Jesus Christ.

A.A. Co-founder Bill W.'s Helpful Quotes

"I'll do anything, anything at all. If there be a Great Physician, I'll call on him." [Bill W., My First 40 Years: An Autobiography by the Co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous (Center City, Minn.: Hazelden, 2000), 145.]

"For sure I'd been born again." [Bill W., My First 40 Years, 147.]

"Henrietta, the Lord has been so wonderful to me [Bill W.], curing me of this terrible disease, that I just want to keep talking about it and telling people." [Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th ed. (New York, NY: Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc., 2001), 191.]

"I [Abby G.] wanted to know what this was that worked so many wonders, and hanging over the mantel was a picture of Gethsemane and Bill [W.] pointed to it and said, 'There it is,' . . ." [Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd ed. (New York, NY: Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc., 1975), 216-17.]

The Success of Early A.A. as Reported in
Alcoholics Anonymous

“Of alcoholics who came to A.A. and really tried, 50% got sober at once and remained that way; 25% sobered up after some relapses, and among the remainder, those who stayed on with A.A. showed improvement.” [Alcoholics Anonymous: The Story of How Many Thousands of Men and Women Have Recovered from Alcoholism, 4th ed. (New York, N.Y.: Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc., 2001), page xx.]

The Alcoholics Anonymous Original “Program”
as Was Reported by Frank Amos in
DR. BOB and the Good Old-timers

· 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. [DR. BOB and the Good Old-timers (New York, N.Y.: Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc, 1980), 131.]

Much of this information you won't find in A.A.'s basic text (Alcoholics Anonymous) today or in our Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. But the simplicity of the original, early Alcoholics Anonymous Society (A.A.) will really astound you! And we are here speaking about the pioneer A.A. Christian Fellowship in Akron that--at the hands of Bill W. and Dr. Bob--developed A.A.’s spiritual program of recovery and was led by Akron physician Dr. Bob by common consent. This Akron “Program”—with its five required elements and two optional ones--was thoroughly investigated, and reported on to John D. Rockefeller, Jr., by Rockefeller’s agent, Frank Amos, who soon became one of A.A.’s first nonalcoholic trustees. [See DR. BOB and the Good Old-timers (New York, N.Y.: Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc., 1980), 128-36—especially 131.]

How It Worked

Abstinence was Number One. Usually there was hospitalization or at least medical help to save the newcomer's life. At the hospital, the only reading material allowed in the room was the Bible. Recovered Alcoholics Anonymous drunks visited the patient and told their success stories. Dr. Bob visited daily. And he would explain the “disease” or “illness,” as it was then understood. The newcomer had to identify as an alcoholic, admit that he too was licked, and declare that he would do whatever it took to recover.

Reliance on the Creator was Number Two. DR. BOB and the Good Old-timers records on page 144 the statement of Clarence S. (who brought A.A. to Cleveland) as to how A.A. co-founder Dr. Bob talked with him about God while he (Clarence) was still in the hospital:

“Then he [Dr. Bob] asked, ‘Do you believe in God, young fella?’ (He always called me ‘young fella.’ When he called me Clarence, I knew I was in trouble.)

“‘What does that have to do with it?’

“‘Everything,’ he said.

“‘I guess I do.’

“‘Guess, nothing! Either you do or you don’t.’

“‘Yes, I do.’

“‘That’s fine,’ Dr. Bob replied. ‘Now we’re getting someplace. All right, get out of bed and on your knees. We’re going to pray.’

“‘I don’t know how to pray.’

“‘I guess you don’t, but that’s all right. Just follow what I say, and that will do for now.

“‘I did what I was ordered to do,” Clarence said. “There was no suggestion.”

The Alcoholics Anonymous newcomer would very soon be given the opportunity to “surrender” upstairs in the home of an Akron AA. This “surrender” involved the newcomer’s confessing Jesus Christ as his personal Lord and Savior in a prayer session resembling what is described in James 5:14-16. (This confession of Christ by which the newcomer became born again has been confirmed as a “must” by four different and well-known A.A. old-timers—J. D. Holmes, Clarence Snyder, Larry Bauer, and Ed Andy.) At the time of the newcomer’s “surrender,” the "elders" (usually Dr. Bob, T. Henry Williams, and one other person) prayed with the newcomer that God would take alcohol out of his life, and joined him in asking God that he (God) would guide the newcomer so that he might live according to God's will.

Obedience to God’s will was Number Three. Successful Alcoholics Anonymous members in Akron during the early years were expected to walk in love and to eliminate sinful conduct from their lives. Many newcomers were too sick to venture far from Akron; so they lived with the Smiths (and later others) in Akron homes. Early A.A. members who recovered from alcoholism with the help of Dr. Bob and other Akron AAs did not do so in an afternoon or in four easy lessons. They shook. They shivered. They fidgeted. They forgot. They were ashamed, insecure, and guilt-ridden. But they learned from the Good Book what a loving God had made available to them and that obedience to God’s will was the key to receiving it.

Growth in Fellowship with their Heavenly Father was Number Four. At the homes in Akron, AAs had daily Quiet Time. This included Bible study, prayer, asking guidance from God, reading a devotional, and discussing selections from Anne Smith’s journal. They shared their woes and problems with Dr. Bob, with Anne (his wife), and with Henrietta Seiberling. They also had personal Quiet Times at their homes and elsewhere when they were not together with other AAs. Alcoholics Anonymous members had one meeting a week. There were no “drunkalogs.” There was no “whining.” There was no “psychobabble.” They prayed, read from the Bible, and had Quiet Time. They used The Upper Room or similar devotionals for discussion.

Intensive help for other alcoholics was the Fifth element. Following the surrender of newcomers upstairs at the weekly meetings, announcements were made downstairs about Alcoholics Anonymous newcomers who had been placed at hospitals. Religious comradeship and attendance at a church of choice were the two recommended, but not required, elements of the Akron program. Socializing followed an A.A. meeting. And it started all over again. There were sessions with Dr. Bob involving doing a moral inventory (which related to adhering to the Four Absolutes—honest, purity, unselfishness, and love), confession, prayer to have the sins removed, and plans for restitution.

What Happened?

Did the Akron program work? You bet it did. Alcoholics Anonymous in Akron achieved a documented, 75% success rate among the "seemingly-hopeless," “medically-incurable” alcoholics who really tried. That success was primarily among Akron A.A. members. And the fact that they had been cured by the power of God was widely publicized across America. Soon, Dr. Bob’s sponsee, Clarence S., brought the Akron program to Cleveland and achieved a documented, 93% success rate in Cleveland.

The same God (the Creator of the heavens and the earth), the same Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (the Son of the living God), and the same Bible (the Word of God) that helped early AAs in Akron and Cleveland recover from and be cured of alcoholism are still available today to help alcoholics and others suffering with “life-controlling” problems. The principles and practices of the early A.A. program in Akron and Cleveland were very similar to the basic principles that had also been working in the Salvation Army, the Rescue Missions, the YMCA, and Christian Endeavor. And they can and should be made available again today to those who still suffer.

And It Will Work Today!

Alcoholics Anonymous is certainly no longer a Christian fellowship (as it was in Akron); nor does it any longer require belief in God or even in anything at all. But, for those who do believe that the Creator of the heavens and the earth still can, and wants to, heal those suffering today, an accurate knowledge of A.A. history can help. That knowledge is vital too if the healing power of God is to be passed along to those in Alcoholics Anonymous who want it and who choose to receive it. As future A.A. nonalcoholic trustee Frank Amos reported to John D. Rockefeller, Jr., the early Akron A.A. program took abstinence, God, Jesus Christ, the Bible, a life-change decision, living consistent with that decision, witnessing to others, fellowship with others, and time--lots of it. It was that simple. There were no “Steps,” and there was no “textbook.” The early AAs in Akron had Bibles. They had several Oxford Group precepts. They abstained from drinking and worked hard to avoid temptation. They relied on the Creator and His Son Jesus Christ. They endeavored to obey to God’s will—both through eliminating sin and by living a life of love and service. They sought to grow in fellowship with the Father, with His Son Jesus Christ, and with each other through Bible study, prayer, asking God for wisdom, and studying devotionals and other Christian literature. That was the program that Bill W., Dr. Bob and his wife Anne, and the other early A.A. pioneers founded in Akron during the summer of 1935. And the principles of that program can still help, and are helping, those still suffering today. As Dr. Bob—whom A.A. co-founder Bill W. called “the prince of all twelfth steppers” because he had personally helped more than 5,000 alcoholics to recover—stated in the last line of his personal story on page 181 of the Fourth Edition of Alcoholics Anonymous:

Your Heavenly Father will never let you down!