12 Step Program Research Paper

Words: 729
Pages: 3

As I child I had felt the call to be a minister. I grew up in a church where many denominational leaders worshiped. Ministry was modeled in this congregation as one of many vocations. Education was also modeled as worthy vocation. As I pursued my vision of ministry, I asked questions of the ministers such as: ‘What kind of classes should I take.’ The encouragement was to have a broad foundation in college in the liberal arts.
When I arrived at seminary, I was among the few who were not several generations of pastors. Nor was I a theological scholar. I wanted to be a pastor. Some of the requirements for the degree did not fit. My foundational question was ‘What does this have to do with my being a Christian, and a pastor?’
As I was gently steered towards leaving, I embarked on a journey as a substance abuse counselor. The first step was a job coaching class with a member of my church. He introduced me to the book What color is your Parachute by Rich Bolles. The one thought which
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I had a degree I wanted to finish. As I integrated the recovery program and saw the practical side of these steps, I realized that the ‘church’ had given hope to addicts. I wanted to demonstrate how the Twelve- Step program of A.A. could return the “favor” and help the church grow.
A key text in the background and foundation of A.A. development was the book Not-God: A History of Alcoholics Anonymous by Ernest Kurtz. What helped in this book were the references to various religious tradition established in Europe but brought to America.
The meeting between Ebby T. and Bill W recounted in both by Kurtz and Bill W. where Ebby found religion. The Oxford Group movement founded by Frank Buchman with the goal to revive Christian faith became the influence which shaped A.A. With the concepts grounded in Christian theology, I felt a case could be made to incorporate the self -help program into the life of the