Introduction
Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) has long been regarded as one of the most influential
mutual support programs in the world. It truly is the origin of the peer-to-peer help
model. Rooted in spiritual principles, AA emphasizes the concept of a "Higher Power of
your own understanding." Ebby Thatcher first introduced this idea to Bill Wilson, the cofounder of AA. Ebby said, to Bill, “Why don’t you choose your own conception of God?”
(Alcoholics Anonymous, pg. 12). This idea was revolutionary to Bill and would start him
down a path toward permanent sobriety which he achieved the following month. This
idea became a bedrock of AA spiritual principles. This incident became so foundational
that AA historians have named it the GOMU moment, or “God of My Understanding”
moment.
Yet, for some, the spiritual journey does not stop within the AA rooms. These individuals
long for a deeper relationship with their Higher Power. They gravitate toward religious
programs and institutions which they had rejected while they were drinking. This creates
a fascinating phenomenon: individuals depart from AA, the program that connected
them to a Higher Power, to seek a deeper relationship with their Higher Power. In
essence they leave the program that helped them find God on a spiritual journey to
become more connected to God.
The Spiritual Landscape of AA
To understand this migration, it is important to understand AA's spiritual framework. AA’s
foundational text, “Alcoholics Anonymous” aka the “Big Book,” instructs members to
admit their powerlessness over alcohol and to rely on a Higher Power of their
understanding. This openness is intentional, designed to welcome people of all beliefs
and the atheist and agnostic. The Twelve Steps reference God or a Higher Power, but
with no codified definition. God can be the universe, fate, nature, or any other entity that
resonates with the individual. As is often heard in AA rooms, “We recommend you find a
Higher Power of your own understanding. But we highly recommend that power not be
you.”
This spiritual flexibility is both AA’s strength and, for some, its limitation. For many, the
ability to define their own Higher Power is liberating. For others, it leaves spiritual
hunger unsatisfied. While AA offers spiritual tools—prayer, meditation, inventory,
service—it does not prescribe dogma, ritual, or communal worship. The spiritual journey
within AA is often solitary, personal, and undefined.
They Were Coming for Me
Recently, a good friend celebrated his 37th (sobriety) birthday. He told the group
gathered about his early days in the program of AA. He talked about his home-group
and how individuals there had been sober for 30, 35 and 40 years. He thought to
himself, “don’t you ever graduate from this program?” He went on to say that it took him
a couple of years of going to meetings to realize that these people with double digit
sobriety weren’t coming to meetings anymore for themselves, they were coming for him
and the other newcomers in the group. They were giving away freely that which was
given to them. These old-timers in the group were keeping the group alive and thriving
by teaching others the AA design for living. The newcomers, after a few years, would
then become sponsors to more newcomers and so on and so on… My friend’s homegroup was actively participating in the reasons for service written by AA co-founder Dr.
Bob and found on page 181 in the book Alcoholics Anonymous. The first of those four
reasons was: “A sense of duty.” These old-timers believed they had an obligation to
pass on the life saving message of AA that had been given to them.
Will the Recovery Circle Be Broken?
What would happen to the program of AA if everyone who found God within the program
left AA to cultivate a deeper relationship with God? Who would be left to teach, instruct,
mentor and sponsor the newcomer? If sobriety was a gift from God, wouldn’t God want
that gift shared with others?
The parable of the talents, found in Matthew 25:14-30, tells of a master who entrusts
different amounts of wealth to three employees before departing upon a trip. He
instructs them to use his money wisely. Upon his return, the master rewards two
servants who invested his money and doubled it. However, the third employee was
reprimanded because he had taken his employer’s money and buried it. The parable's
core message is a call to diligently use and develop the gifts and resources that God
has given each person to manifest God’s plan in our lives and the lives of others.
Recovery, Transformation, and Ongoing Spiritual Growth
The journey from AA to a religious community is a transformational journey shaped by
longing, questioning, and the pursuit of truth. For many, AA provides the foundation for a
meaningful relationship with one’s Higher Power by AA’s emphasis on the principles of
the program, i.e., honesty, humility, connection and compassion. Religious communities
then build upon this foundation, offering a spiritual home, guidance, and depth.
It is important to respect everyone’s path. Whether one finds meaning within AA,
religion, or both, the search for God—however defined—is a testament to the resilience
and creativity of the human spirit.
Conclusion
The phenomenon of leaving AA to join a religious community is not one of abandoning
God, but of seeking God more deeply. However, if everyone in AA went on this spiritual
journey there would be no one left to instruct the newcomer. If AA was a gift from God
to help the sick and suffering alcoholic, wouldn’t God want to ensure that it was
available for the “child being born tonight, destined for alcoholism”? That availability isn’t
measured in buildings or books, but in people. It takes people to manifest God’s will.
