Required Decisions for Christ in Early A.A.

A.A.’s Required Decisions for Christ in the Early Akron Program

The Real Surrenders, as They Called Them

Dick B.

© 2008 Anonymous. All rights reserved

In early Akron A.A., even if a newcomer had surrendered at the Akron City Hospital in a posture of kneeling at the bed with Dr. Bob, there was more to come. And as to the hospital surrender, see DR. BOB and the Good Oldtimers, 1980, p. 144.

All AAs were required to undergo a “real surrender” in the regular weekly meeting of the pioneer Akron A.A. Christian Fellowship. These were patterned after the practice in James 5:16. And the newcomers went upstairs with the “elders”—Dr. Bob, T. Henry Williams, and one or two others. There the new man and the elders made his decision for Christ, joined in prayer for the newcomer’s healing (asking that alcohol be taken out of his life), and further prayer for his living a Christian life in obedience to God’s will)

The Eye Witness Accounts of Four of the Oldtimers

J. D. Holmes confirmed the point. Thus the Hindsfoot Foundation reports as to J. D. Holmes (A.A. Number 10 who entered A.A. in 1936 and had one relapse):

“Preaching to newcomers that they had to accept Jesus as their personal savior, and that this was the way the program absolutely had to be worked, was also something that early A.A. eventually learned was not a good idea, and was not part of the essential twelve-step program. By the time the twelve steps were written, the early A.A. people realized that they needed to speak of God "as we understood Him" with the understanding that each A.A. member had to work out his or her own concept of a higher power. By the time the Big Book was published in 1939, the name of Jesus Christ was mentioned only once in the first 164 pages, on page eleven, where Bill W. said that, speaking honestly, when he first got sober, as far as he was concerned, Jesus was no more than a great moral teacher from a long dead era of history. And again, speaking honestly, as far as he could see, those who claimed to be Christians had never followed Jesus' real teaching very closely anyway.

But in Akron in September 1936, the early A.A.'s were still closely attached to the Oxford Group, and they assumed that alcoholics had to be persuaded to accept Jesus Christ as their personal savior before the program would work. So since J. D. had his problems with the spiritual part of the program, they preached Christ at him, even if they did it alcoholic-fashion by swearing at him while they were doing it. J. D. said that "Ernie G. and Paul S. were at his house one day trying to explain it to him, when Ernie said, 'Why, Jesus Christ is sitting right on the arm of that chair by you. Damn it, He wants to help you if you just reach out your hand.'

"Well, I did chuckle for a few minutes," J. D. said. "Then I got to thinking about it -- 'Maybe the guy is right.' And I began to give this thing a great deal of spiritual thought after that. You know how crudely Ernie talked. But I would listen to him trying to explain it to me a lot quicker than I would a polished man like T. Henry. Isn't that peculiar?"[1]

Ed Andy of Lorain, Ohio (who founded the first A.A. History Museum there), confirmed the required surrender to Christ.

In a telephone conversation which A.A. member Danny S. had from his California home with oldtimer Ed Andy (in which call I was a participant and listener), Ed said: “They would not let you in unless you surrendered to Jesus Christ on your knees.”[2]

Larry Bauer, an oldtimer from Cleveland, Ohio (who was sponsored by Clarence H. Snyder and had his picture taken alongside Dr. Bob’s daughter and Ed Andy) also confirmed the new birth.

Both by letter and phone call to me (Dick B.), Larry related: “They took me upstairs to be a born again human being and be God’s helper to alcoholics.”[3]

Clarence H. Snyder of Cleveland who got sober in February, 1938, was sponsored by Dr. Bob, and made his first decision for Christ with Dr. Bob at Akron City Hospital, then described his “real surrender” as follows:

Clarence said that he went upstairs to T. Henry Williams’s master bedroom with Dr. Bob, T. Henry Williams, and an Oxford Group member. These three men told Clarence to get on his knees, and they joined him on their knees around T. Henry’s bed. These three men then led Clarence through a “Sinner’s Prayer.” The language, as Clarence recalled it, was:

“Father, I come to you in Jesus’s name. Lord Jesus, I am sorry for my sins. Please forgive me for every wrong thing I’ve ever done. I thank you for dying on the cross in my place. I ask you to come into my heart. Be the Lord of my life. And I will love you and serve you till you take me home.”[4]

Clarence said the prayer was the very one Dr. Bob had used from the beginning of A.A. surrenders in Akron.[5]

When I was writing my first edition of The Akron Genesis of Alcoholics Anonymous, A.A.’s first archivist (Bill Wilson’s secretary) Nell Wing phoned me and told me to be sure to include the information about the required early surrenders. She even sent me a letter with all the places in DR. BOB and the Good Oldtimers where these surrenders were mentioned.

As the years rolled on, I was able to assemble and document the four testimonials quoted above. The one on J. D. Holmes came from the Hindsfoot website. The one on Ed Andy came from a personal conversation he had on the telephone with A.A. historian Danny W. and me. The next came from Larry Bauer who both wrote and phoned me the details. And the material on Clarence Snyder came to me directly from Clarence’s wife Grace Snyder and also from the book on Clarence that was subsequently published by Mitchell K.

Gloria Deo

dickb@dickb.com

http://www.dickb.com/index.shtml