A
correspondent recently drew our attention to a debate currently being
conducted on this subject - rather unusually - on the AA History Lovers group site (under the heading Each AA member MUST have a sponsor)
Some
extracts to whet the appetite:
“Can
someone tell me when AA adopted the doctrine that an alcoholic in AA
cannot function without a sponsor? Perhaps I wasn't paying attention,
but I don't recall hearing this in the 70s.”
“In
northern Indiana, by the latter 1970's it had become clear that
getting a sponsor was one of the seven most important things to
impress on newcomers, if you wanted to increase the percentage of
these new people who got sober and stayed sober.” …...
“Chapter
Seven in the Big Book tells us how to carry the message to newcomers.
And I understand that an alcoholic couldn't get into the alky ward in
Akron without an AA sponsor."
“My
question deals with modern sponsorship in the USA, in that we in
effect turn our wills and our lives over to the sponsor rather than
to the God of our understanding. At a conference a few years ago a
speaker from the East Coast, who said he'd been sober for
twenty-seven years, proudly announced that he never makes a decision
without calling his sponsor, who lives on the West Coast.
The
consensus today seems to be that every alcoholic coming through the
doors of AA is either too unintelligent or too brain damaged to
understand the Big Book and needs a sponsor to explain every word,
and then too guide him/her through his/her everyday life. It has even
been stated locally any number of times that anyone who tries to take
the steps without a sponsor's guidance isn't working the AA program.
I'm trying
to find out when this became AA doctrine.”
“......struck
a chord when he commented on the frequent sentiments shared on the
personal importance many AA members place on their relationship with
his/her sponsor and how that has apparently changed since AA began.
Some go so far as to generalize for all members in their sharing. and
give an impression that sponsorship is mandatory.
I relied
heavily on the AA message when I started my journey. It is still only
a suggestion that members work with a sponsor. My own experience is
that it was a good suggestion! My sponsor helped me understand AA and
helped me to learn to live the AA program of recovery.
However, I
remember reading the AA pamphlet on Sponsorship. It laid out pretty
clearly what was expected of the relationship that I was entering
with my sponsor. It did not emphasize any form of outrageous
dependency that some individuals seem to place on their relationship
with their sponsor. The AA literature even allows for multiple
sponsors but cautions about it. But it is a personal choice like
anything in AA. The literature states that it is still a suggestion
and not a necessity!
The best
proof of the fallacy that every member MUST have a sponsor is the
membership experience itself. The 2011 Membership Survey reveals that
81% of the membership has a sponsor. That's far from 'everyone'.
However, that by itself doesn't suggest that almost 20% of the
membership got sober without a sponsor.
Many
members lose their sponsor after years and just do not seek another
one.
Little is
said in AA about the evolution away from dependence on a sponsor for
those who enjoy it while early in sobriety but no longer feel the
same need later on.
Individual
sharing may often misunderstand or mischaracterize what is truly AA
versus what is simply their own individual experience or view. I also
hear sharing that sounds more codependent with a sponsor or vice
versa, sponsors who sound like control freaks. But that's another
story! When in doubt go to the literature which reflects the larger
conscience of Alcoholics Anonymous.”
.. and so
on and so forth.....
For
authoritative guidance one needs (No! You don't NEED to ask your
sponsor .. nor is it suggested!) look no further than Questions and Answers on Sponsorship (AA Conference Approved
literature)
There!
That wasn't too painful was it!
Cheerio
The Fellas
(Friends of Alcoholics Anonymous)
PS Thanks
to our correspondent for the info
