AA and One Another (by T)

This [author of the post is our regular contributor, T] is our fourth post in our series on what the Church can learn from AA and related recovery groups. I am grateful to Scot for being so gracious to host this series. (The other posts, in order of appearance are here, here and here).

For this post, I’d like to go a bit further with the subject of our last post, which looked at how, for both churches and AA, respective beliefs and prioritization of sacraments drive each group’s ecclesial practices and priorities. In other words, the practices in which we believe God is especially present has a significant impact on how we coordinate our corporate lives and efforts.  I don’t use the term “sacrament” in reference to any official list, but rather I use the term descriptively or pragmatically to name practices in which we believe God is especially present or active. For instance, I think that by participating in the gatherings of any church one can deduce, within a matter of a few meetings, what practices that church believes are most infused with God’s grace and power. For Catholics, the Eucharist is likely top of the list. (Not surprisingly, the doctrine of Transubstantiation takes the idea of God’s presence in the Eucharist to maximum levels). For most lower-church Protestants, the preaching of “the Word” is often the highest ranked sacrament, even if such churches would be loath to use the term. The whole of a church culture (even the design of its buildings and interiors) will bear out our beliefs here. The center of the Catholic mass is the same as the interior of the Church building: the altar for the Eucharist. And for Protestants, the sermon/pupit/pastor is the focus.

Now each of these sacraments has a basis in scriptural teachings and examples. God is routinely present and at work in preaching, and when we celebrate the Eucharist. And he is present in our praises, and in our baptisms, and . . . on and on and on, thank the Lord!

But this week I’d like to offer a thesis regarding which sacrament I think deserves our highest priority, and then discuss whether the practices of AA can help us practice this sacrament more often, more deeply and more widely in our churches.

What if the practice or activity in which God is most powerfully active isn’t preaching or the Eucharist, or singing, per se. What if the activity in which God is most powerfully active is the Body of Christ, loving another? Is that a sacrament that we could facilitate and practice more, even within our meetings? Certainly preaching and Eucharist can be done in love, but they are often practiced in such a way that the bulk of the congregation are receivers only, with no ability to give or practice much love towards others. Jews viewed the temple in Jerusalem as sacred, but what if we honestly viewed and served one another with the same reverence and expectancy of God’s presence? In a nutshell, I’m wondering if putting sacramental priority on the gathered people of God, especially as we love each other in a variety of ways, is biblically warranted and, if so, how we might structure our meetings accordingly to maximize our participation in that mode of God’s work and presence.

Before we delve too deeply in the how, it may be helpful to give at least a bit of space to the why. As I said, each of the other favored sacraments have scriptural teaching and examples to shore up their case of God’s presence within. What about the people of God, loving one another?  Personally, the biblical support here is too much for one post, but I will mention these: From I John 4: “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.” [emphasis added] From John 13 and 14: “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. . . If you love me, keep my commands. . . Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them. . . Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.” [emphasis added]

There are more besides this (the love chapter, for instance, compares love to faith, hope, prophecy, giving, etc. which is relevant here), but I have included these passages because they specifically promise the presence of God in the people of God, especially when they engage in loving people. More should likely be said here on the long line of scriptures that lead to the people of God in the New Testament replacing the Temple as God’s dwelling he has made for himself. If we are looking for God’s presence in the NT, the place to look is the people of God, especially as they love. On the one hand, we might be quick to say “Well, yes, of course . . .” and then move on to more concrete things such as teaching, praying, Eucharist, etc., which, again, are good things and can and should be done in love, at least by a few in each meeting. Nevertheless, it is hard to overemphasize the centrality and necessity of love in Christianity, though it is apparently easy for it to be excluded or underpracticed in favor of other more tangible forms of ministry.

At this point, you may be wondering what this has to do with AA. First, even though the steps don’t use the word love, they are designed to help the addict face their trail of broken relationships and make amends (review them again here to see what I mean). Relationships are often the “real world” that the addict feels he cannot return to, often because of the damage he or she has done there. The addiction is the escape. There is, addicts often fear, no hope for them in real relationships, only shame and (deserved) judgment, so they pursue what comfort they can in their addiction. The 12 steps reverse this course, back into the real, central world of relationships with God and others, making amends to people and surrendering to God. They slowly but surely help us become agents of healing in our interactions instead of continued destruction or absence. Is it crazy to think that typical Christian practices, (teaching, serving, singing, etc.) can be the escape for the Christian? Think about what a difference it would make, inside the Church and outside of it, if Christians routinely took inventory of themselves with a friend, and made amends for all their wrongs. The steps help us obey a too-rarely practiced teaching of our Lord: “If you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.” God prefers that we manage our relationships well than all our religious activities. He has said so many times. The steps keep pulling us to actually do this. This is the minimum of loving our neighbors as ourselves–making things where we’ve done wrong. But this minimum lays the foundation and gives freedom and energy for mountains of more love and service. And Jesus knows this.

But there is another way in which AA can help us beyond the steps. I mentioned earlier that even the physical layout of our meeting places tells us something about what we believe to be most sacred. The pulpit is the center of the protestant church house; the communion table is center for the Catholic. Perhaps the singing reigns for the charismatic. But AA is known for its circle of chairs; it has made a sacrament of “one another.” Let me say firmly that there is a Power, a Presence that is unleashed as we give ourselves space and encouragement to practice the many “one another’s” that cover the NT, especially when we do so for the broken “neighbor” right in front of us. There is a God whose preferred house is lowly people and their interactions, especially love. I think AA may have stumbled onto and prioritized God’s favorite way of working—through humble people willing to do his will, which is often serving others, loving those we come across, especially those at the bottom. Is it possible that AA has a higher, more sacramental view of ordinary people as the temple, as Christ’s body, than most churches? Does anyone practice the priesthood of the believer more than AA? Our practices bear out the truth of what we believe in most, or at least what we prefer. Do we want to adjust? If so, how? For my part, I am convinced that the people of God, gathered, equipped and encouraged to love one another (especially the hurting) in a variety of ways, is the sweet spot of God’s promised presence that I want to prioritize and pursue. This conviction is leading me to set up more circles of chairs, with an explicit goal to offer mutual support and love in a variety of ways as a central ecclesial practice. I have come to have more faith in the whole body and the power of the Spirit within them. As a leader, I seek to affirm the people as housing God’s presence, and encourage, equip and make space for them to love each other and outsiders in a variety of ways.

The final point I will mention here is the role of the sponsor. For years I thought of the idea of the sponsor to be chiefly a discipler. While this is true, I now think the main benefit of a sponsor, at least early on, is as a relational lifeline for the person just starting the turn of recovery. Such a person likely has few friends left who will support them in this change. They need someone who will stand by them, take their call at any hour, when temptation is winning or has won. They need a friend, a brother, a person who is always available to help, without any judgment, but with experience and hope.  The sponsor is like that shepherd who hears the call of the lost sheep and is willing to leave the 99 and go get that one. It is love. We do well to realize that the new believer has a similar experience, often with few friends who support their new direction. Having a culture of sponsorship is a practice of Christ-like love that we would do well to spread around more widely than we generally do.

This might be the final post in this series (not sure yet!). If so, it’s been a pleasure and help. Thanks to Scot and big thanks to all at Jesus Creed. Your interactions have helped me so, so much in this series and in many over the years.