We’ve finally reached the halfway point in this series on the Twelve Concepts. If you actually read Conference-approved literature on the Twelve Concepts for World Service, you will find that Concept VI has one of the shorter write-ups, despite the fact that its definition is longer than any other we have covered to date. This…
While doing our series on the Twelve Concepts for World Service, we have made an effort to show how these concepts may apply to more than just AA groups and elected service representatives. Instead, we have attempted to broaden our scope by also demonstrating how embracing the Twelve Concepts can improve the manner in which…
When we touched on the Third Concept last month, we spoke frequently of the “Right of Decision,” the right for AA groups and their members to act as delegates rather than servants. Embedded in Concept IV is the “Right of Participation,” which is similar in some ways yet still carries its own meaning and importance…
As we have done in previous months this year, we are following our article on the Fourth Step of AA/NA with an article on the Fourth Tradition. We noted in our article on the Third Tradition that, while Tradition One and Tradition Two may have been somewhat related to their corresponding steps, this is not…
If there’s one thing that many addicts and alcoholics have in common, it’s that we like to be lazy from time to time. Sure, you may get the occasional functioning addict who has the strange sensation to get loaded and get some work done. But for many of us, that first drink or first dose…
Since we waited until a little later in the year to start doing a series on AA’s Twelve Concepts for World Service, the first few have been posted relatively close together. Now that it is March and we are on Concept III, we are finally caught up and able to continue our normal monthly schedule…
We recently covered Concept I, the first of AA’s Twelve Concepts for World Service. In case you missed it, these are the ideals that were set forth by AA co-founder Bill Wilson when his fellow co-founder, Dr. Bob, suggested that AA’s worldwide expansion would necessitate a set of protocols for operation once both Bill and…
The Twelve Promises, also referred to as the Ninth Step Promises, are an interesting part of AA culture. They are not technically published as a list, but rather as a paragraph on pages 83-84 of the AA Big Book. Yet many have taken them and published them in list form on occasion, referring to them…
In 1962, the General Service Conference of Alcoholics Anonymous excepted co-founder Bill W.’s Twelve Concepts for World Service as the accepted interpretation of a world service structure that could benefit the whole of AA. This conference, established by the General Service Board, addressed the need of AA to establish these concepts in order to address…