One aspect of 12 step programs that is problematic for Christians, IMO

OVERCOMERS CHRISTIAN RECOVERY SUPPORT GROUPS

USING THE 12 STEPS AND SCRIPTURES



*The Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous with corresponding Scriptures

*These Steps work for any addiction or compulsion! Simply replace the work “alcohol” with your own presenting problem. Study of these Steps is essential to progress in this program. The principles they embody are universal, applicable to everyone whatever his/her personal creed. We strive for an ever deeper understanding of these Steps and pray for God’s wisdom to apply them to our lives.



**The Twelve Steps are reprinted and adapted with Permission of Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc. Permission to reprint and adapt the Twelve steps does not mean that AA is affiliated with Overcomers Outreach. AA is a program of recovery from alcoholism—use of the Twelve Steps in connection with programs and activities which are patterned after AA, but which address other problems, does not imply otherwise.



1. We admitted we were powerless over alcohol-that our lives had become unmanageable. “We felt we were doomed to die and say how POWERLESS we were to help ourselves; but that was good, for then we put everything into the hands of God, who alone could save us.” II Corinthians 1:9



2. Came to believe in a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. “A man is a fool to trust himself! But those who use God’s wisdom are safe.” Proverbs 28:26



3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him. “Trust in the Lord completely; don’t’ ever trust yourself. In everything you do, put God first, and he will direct you and crown your efforts with success.” Proverbs 3:5-6



4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves. “Let us examine ourselves and repent and turn again to the Lord. Let us lift our hearts and our hands to Him in heaven.” Lamentations 3:40-41



5. Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs. “Admit your faults to one another and pray for each other so that you may be healed.” James 5:16



6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character. “So give yourselves humbly to God… then, when you realize your worthlessness before the Lord, He will lift you up, encourage and help you.” James 4:7-10



7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings. “But if we confess our sins to Him, He can be depended on to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong.” I John 1:9



8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed and became willing to make amends to them all. “If you are standing before the altar…and suddenly remember that a friend has something against you, leave your sacrifice there and go and be reconciled…and then come an offer your sacrifice to God.” Matthew 5:23-24



9. Made direct amends to such people whenever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others. “You can pray for anything, and if you believe, you have it; it’s yours? But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive you your sins too.” Mark 11:24-25



10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong, promptly admitted it. “But how can I ever know what sins are lurking in my heart? Cleanse me from these hidden faults. And keep me from deliberate wrongs; help me to stop doing them. Only then can I be set free of guilt.” Psalm 19:12



11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out. “If you want better insight and discernment, and are searching for them as you would for lost money or hidden treasure, then wisdom will be given you, and knowledge of God Himself, you will soon learn the importance of reverence for the Lord and of trusting Him.” Proverbs 2:3-5



12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics and to practice these principles in all our affairs. “Quietly trust yourself to Christ your Lord and if anybody asks why you believe as you do, be ready to tell him, and do it in a gentle and respectful way.” I Peter 3:15

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Heb 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
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AA would have to be a religion in order to be a cult. It isn't . One might as well try to say that my local baseball team is a cult because they don't officially pronounce that Christ is God in any of their literature.

If I'm recovered and no longer an alcoholic I should be able to have "just one drink" or maybe just drink on the weekends like other non-alcoholics can do. At least thats how many people think and by throwing out the word "recovered" and replacing it with "recovering" it helps keep people striving to improve themselves and not falling into a dangerous complacency that can lead to relapse. There is also a big differnce between being in active addiction and being a recovering adict.

Originally Posted by themessagecarrier

The lay 12 step programs that can technically be called cults because they do not recognize Jesus as God, where never intended to be what they are today.
They used to say they were "Recovered Alcoholics", etc. So, they never had a problem of labeling themselves as addicts or alcoholics. Sure, if they never accepted Jesus Christ as their personal savior and did not do the rest of the steps then of course they are "still" "alcoholics, etc. You see, without Jesus and the steps their is no recovery, only relapses and repeated failures. That is why you see people with 20 years going out or doing some sin that ruins their life. Because, unless you have done the first nine steps and are living in the last three, their is no recovery, There is no easier softer way!

Many in AA are Christians and follow the path of Jesus Christ. They allow for others who are not sure about their faith to pick a higher power of their own. It is so that they will rely on some kind of God to them so they can work the 12 steps. I am not advocating this, I am nuetral on this. Just explaining what I think.

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Originally Posted by chaz345

My difficulty is that the whole "hello I'm ____ and I'm a _____" line of thinking, to me anyway, can cause people to take their identity from their addiction. For people who know who they are in Christ(which I suspect would be a very small number when we're talking about addicts) this probably isn't a problem, but for most I can see where it might be. I understand that the idea behind that thinking is to covey the idea that the issue is one which the person will always, to some degree struggle with or be tempted by, but I think one needs to be very careful to avoid taking their identity from their addiction. The addictive behavior is something they do, it is not who they are.

MY DEAR BROTHER,

i am not clear on what the difference is between my stating "Hello, my name is Ephraim and i am a drunk and a junkie" and my stating "Hello, my name is Ephraim and i am a sinner."

Given that sin is our PRIMARY ADDICTION, i believe it is just as important that i remind myself of the often very real possibility of relapsing back into chemical usage as it is to remind myself of the very real possibility of my reverting to actively engaging in my past sinful behaviors.

Chemical usage and sinful behaviors are BOTH what we do and what we are. It behoves us to neither forget or to engage in glossing the facts--both for our sobriety and for our Salvation.

ABBA'S FOOL,
ephraim

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