• The Salvation Army work with drunks and derelicts is legendary and very successful as well. My introduction to their work first came through the pages of Harold Begbie, Twice Born Men (NY: Fleming H. Revell, 1909). This early book became very popular in an A.A. predecessor, the Oxford Group; and it was widely read by early AAs. In short, it discussed the outreach and successes in the slums of London. It laid out a pattern which offered the drunks and derelicts a new life in Christ, a Bible background to guide them, and an insistent challenge that, when well, they help others as members of “God’s Army.” And I will discuss it in another Salvation Army article shortly.

• The evangelical approach of the Salvation Army as it existed at the time of early Alcoholics Anonymous, and the program as described at the Yale Summer School of Alcohol Studies by Envoy J. Stanley Sheppard of the Salvation Army, is summarized below in this article.

• Then there is the Salvation Army, its Adult Rehabilitation Centers (“ARCs”), and its program of today—the description of which I leave to their own writings and people. But it is the County of Maui Salvation Army here in Hawaii which is enabling us to partner with them at their local outpost in Lahaina. This partnership will enable us effectively to bring to their leaders and those adherents who are not involved in an Adult Rehabilitation Center program a preceding introduction through their local outpost study group. And we may also be able to train recovery leaders there or some who return from an ARC so that these returnees are challenged to serve others in a typical Salvation Army manner. And this is a work-in-progress planning effort right now.

But I feel that Christians in recovery and those whom we have seen at the group in Lahaina can be helped throughout Maui through our partnership to consolidate: (a) Bible study, (b) prayer, (c) conversion to God through Jesus Christ, (d) Christian Fellowship such as that which existed in early A.A. and in First Century Christianity, and (e) the still-dominant 12-Step principles and practices such as those found in Alcoholics Anonymous today. And we will discuss that in another article also

This article—the one dealing with the Salvation Army of the 1940’s—will present for view the valued work of the Reverend Howard J. Clinebell, Ph.D., in his thorough study of counseling for recovery and prevention using psychology and religion. See Howard Clinebell, Understanding and Counseling Persons with Alcohol, Drug, and Behavioral Addictions: Counseling for Recovery and Prevention Using Psychology and Religion, rev. and enl. ed. (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1984).

Dr. Clinebell (now deceased) was Professor Emeritus, School of Theology at Claremont, California. He spent many years studying the Salvation Army, Rescue Missions, Alcoholics Anonymous, and various Christian recovery approaches and programs.

His Understanding and Counseling study makes these important points about the Salvation Army:

“. . . the Salvation Army has put its recovery principles into this series of nine Christ-centered steps paralleling some of the important Twelve Steps of A.A.-modeled recovery programs:

1. The alcoholic must realize that he is unable to control his addiction and that his life is completely disorganized.

2. He must acknowledge that only God, his Creator, can recreate him as a decent man.

3. He must let God through Jesus Christ rule his life and resolve to live according to His will.

4. He must realize that alcohol addiction is only a symptom of basic defects in his thinking and living, and that the proper use of every talent he possesses is impaired by his enslavement.

5. He should make public confession to God and man of past wrong-doing and be willing to ask God for guidance in the future.

6. He should make restitution to all whom he has willfully and knowingly wronged.

7. He should realize that he is human and subject to error, and that no advance is made by covering up a mistake; he should admit failure and profit by experience.

8. Since, through prayer and forgiveness, he has found God, he must continue prayerful contact with God, and seek constantly to know His will.

9. Because the Salvation Army believes that the personal touch and example are the most vital forces in applying the principles of Christianity, he should be made to work continuously not only for his own salvation but to help effect the salvation of others like himself.” (Clinebell, Understanding and Counseling 188-89).

And if you looked at the original Akron A.A. program, founded in 1935 as a “Christian fellowship,” you could see in the foregoing the footprints of Akron A.A. leader and cofounder Dr. Robert H. Smith and of the program as it was summarized for John D. Rockefeller, Jr., by his agent Frank Amos in 1938. [See DR. BOB and the Good Oldtimers (New York, Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc., 1980, 131.]

It is this view of the Salvation Army in the 1940’s which we present here in this article. It is this view which can help Christians in recovery better understand how they can be in 12-Step recovery programs today and still call on the role that God, His Son Jesus Christ, and the Bible played in the origins, history, founding, original program, and astonishing successes of the early A.A. “Christian fellowship.”

Please remember, the Salvation Army is only one of five principal Christian roots that impacted on A.A.’s founders and on its first program. But this mid-way description of the Salvation Army illustrates what the Salvation Army may have contributed then, and it offers some solid thinking to Christians in recovery today and to their leaders. In other words, the nine-point program mentioned above fits fairly congruously with the seven-point program of early Akron A.A. and even with the Twelve Step program published in 1939—as it was worded before the compromise with atheists and agnostics just prior to going to the printer.
For more information on this point, see our new four-session class, “Introductory Foundations for Christian Recovery,” on DVD (www,dickb.com/IFCR-Class.shtml)

God raised Jesus from the dead.

Acts 2:22, 24 (KJV):
Ye men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him. . . . Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death. . . . [See also Romans 10:9.]

Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead.

John 11:39-41, 43, 44 (KJV):
Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. . . .
Jesus saith unto her [Martha], Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?
Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, Father, I thank thee that thou has heard me.
And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.
And he that was dead came forth, . . .

Peter raised Tabitha from the dead.

Acts 9: 36, 37, 40, 41 (KJV):
Now there was at Joppa a certain disciple named Tabitha, . . .
And it came to pass in those days, that she was sick, and died: . . .
But Peter put them all forth, and kneeled down, and prayed; and turning him to the body said, Tabitha, arise. And she opened her eyes; and when she saw Peter, she sat up.
And when he gave her his hand and lifted her up, and when he had called the saints and widows, presented her alive.

Paul raised Eutychus from the dead.

Acts 20: 9, 10, 12 (KJV):
And there sat in a window a certain young man named Eutychus, being fallen into a deep sleep: and as Paul was long preaching, he sunk down with sleep, and fell down from the third loft, and was taken up dead.
And Paul went down, and fell on him, and embracing him said, Trouble not yourselves; for his life is in him.
And they brought the young man alive, and were not a little comforted.

What Jesus said after he was risen:

Mark 16:14-18, 20 (KJV):
Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen.
And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; . . .
And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
. . . they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.
And they went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.

Statements by A.A.’s cofounders and A.A. Number Three that offer the promise of belief about curing alcoholism:

Bill Wilson: “Henrietta, the Lord has been so wonderful to me, curing me of this terrible disease, that I just want to keep talking about it and telling people.” [Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th ed. (New York City, N.Y.: Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc., 2001), 191]

Dr. Bob Smith: “That was June 10, 1935, and that was my last drink. As I write, nearly four years have passed. The question which might naturally come into your mind would be: ‘What did this man [Bill Wilson] do or say that was different from what others had done or said? . . . . But this was a man who had experienced many years of frightful drinking, who had had most all the drunkard’s experiences known to man, but who had been cured. . . .” [Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th ed., 180]

“If you think you are an atheist, an agnostic, a skeptic, or have any other form of intellectual pride which keeps you from accepting what is in this book, I feel sorry for you. . . . Your Heavenly Father will never let you down!” [Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th ed., 181]

A.A. Number Three Bill Dotson: “That sentence [Bill Wilson’s statement quoted earlier on page 191], ‘The Lord has been so wonderful to me, curing me of this terrible disease, that I just want to keep telling people about it,’ has been a sort of a golden text for the A.A. program and for me. . . . [P]robably the most wonderful thing that I have learned from the program—I’ve seen this in the A.A. Grapevine a lot of times, and I’ve had people say it to me personally, and I’ve heard people get up in meetings and say it—is this statement: ‘I came into A.A. solely for the purpose of sobriety, but it has been through A.A. that I have found God.’” [Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th ed., 191-92]

What’s so hard about believing the statement contained in the “Foreword to Second Edition” of Alcoholics Anonymous [published in 1955] that “of alcoholics who came to A.A. and really tried, 50%” were permanently cured [“got sober at once and remained that way”—Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th ed., xx]? And that another “25%” relapsed but returned to be cured [“sobered up after some relapses”—Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th ed., xx]? What’s so hard about believing the following statement by Bill W.:

What is this but a miracle of healing? Yet its elements are simple. Circumstances made him willing to believe. He humbly offered himself to his Maker—then he knew.
Even so has God restored us all to our right minds. . . . He has come to all who have honestly sought Him. When we drew near to Him He disclosed Himself to us! [Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th ed., 57]

In his own hand, and on his own office stationary, Dr. Bob listed by name, sobriety date, and sobriety record the first pioneers who were cured. Three quarters of of those pioneers on Dr. Bob’s list were cured. They believed. And I believe that!

When you are in a denial stage and behave like a stranger to your closest relations, the level of addiction is perceived to be very high. The real ‘me’ is forgotten behind the smoke fumes. You are also in constant panic at the thought of not getting the next fix; afraid that you will not be able to cope in life if you don’t get the addicting drug. Something terrible or a disaster is what makes you come back to reality. Usually, such are the times that you realize what addiction is doing to you and you seek out help and support from others.

Spiritually defunct, the addict feels at a psychological loss in the world. You may lose faith in yourself and in your family because of which in the first place you turn to drug addiction. The first step is to acknowledge the fact that there exists a problem in addiction and that you want to live life normally as before. Then maybe you can look out for help and become a part of a movement like Alcoholic Anonymous (AA). It is the most popular community based program used to treat alcoholism. There are more than 98,000 groups across the world.

AA expects recovering alcoholics to admit their personal powerlessness over alcohol and seek help from a higher power which can be understood in any way that you as a member choose to. You can call this God, or prayers or meditation to any supreme source. Then you are asked to make a ‘moral inventory’ confess the wrongs that you have done, make amends, and carry the message to other alcoholics. Their most important tool is the social support they provide you as an addict trying to recover.

One of the professional approaches that can help you gain belief in your self is cognitive behavioral therapy. Here you are taught skills to manage the desire for drugs, for example, how to refuse drinks at a social gathering or enabling you to come out of the feeling of helplessness, loss and dependency among others.

Some alcohol rehabilitation centers also follow the ‘faith-based’ recovery program involving Christian and traditional and holistic approaches. The Christian program presents a Christ-centered, Biblical approach to recovery; while in the traditional program, the patient begins his journey of faith based on God as the source of happiness, nurture and belonging.

In the beginning abstaining from an addiction that has controlled the mind, body, and soul for so long may make you feel insecure and trigger doubt about the whole process. If you can endure and overcome those fears through the constant support of an enabler among your friends or family who will motivate you to believe in yourself you will be taking the first steps towards the road of recovery.

To Know more about Drug Addiction visit Pacific Hills Treatment Centers

Drug de-addiction is the means to recover for a drug addict, and the de-addiction completely changes the behavior pattern of the addict over a period of time. And all this can happen gradually by following what is popularly known as Stages of Change Model, or SCM. Under this model the drug addict’s mind and body undergo aggressive changes; and as the result his/her outlook towards the world begins to change, and he or she begins to think positively. Pacific Hills Treatment Centers brings about the positive change that helps the drug addict to come over drastic withdrawal reactions occurring in the body. Put in one statement, an addict starts to develop positive thinking and positive attitude towards the life.

The effective SCM model is used in the de-addiction therapy to alter broad range of behaviors in cases pertaining to weight loss, injury prevention, overcoming alcohol, and of course drug problems. SCM model for drug de-addiction procedures takes into account the fact that behavior changes in an addict do not happen in just 1-Day, or 1-Month, but it is a slow and on-going process which helps the individual to change his or her behavior. Erratic behavior changes are not recommended for the good of a drug addict who’s socially and psychologically weak from all aspects. There are six stages defined by Pacific Hills Treatment Centers under SCM, which gradually change the behavior of a drug addict, and lets him/her think in a positive manner. These stages are:

The Pre-Contemplation Stage – Here the addict is thinking that there’s his/her behavior is not problematic, and it needs no change.

The Contemplation Stage – The addict acknowledges that there’s problem behavior, but is still undecided about making any change.

The Preparation/Determination – The addict is determined to make the change in his/her behavior.

Action/Willpower – The re-hab center counselors’ work hard to bring the change in the addict’s behavior.

Maintenance – The re-hab center counselors’ devise the program to maintain the positive change in the behavior of an addict.

Relapse – The re-hab center counselors’ devise the program to prevent the addict return back to drugs, and returning back of the old conditions.

It is these six stages of behavior development in an individual which ultimately brings the change in an addict and he or she thinks in a positive manner, and also look at the thinks in a positive way. These changes are also responsible for tuning the body of an addict to become stronger physically, and all of it you get at pachills.com.

Fortunately, drug treatment today knows substance abuse to be the complex, predictable and definable disease that it is. In recent years, those within the community have begun to understand that drug addiction is not simply a consequence of moral failure.

Drug addiction is classified as a disease because it meets the criteria of all other terminal diseases;
- It has pattern of symptoms which are similar across all types of substance abuse,
- It is a chronic condition. It doesn’t go away,
- The person is subject to relapse.
- It is progressive. Addiction only gets worse with continued use, and ends with death.

The good news however, is that, while substance addiction is a terminal illness, its progression can be arrested at almost any stage and can be put into remission indefinitely - providing a specific program is adhered to faithfully. This recovery process is best applied to the life of an addict while they are undergoing residential drug treatment.

The highly successful Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous principles are known to be a collection of spiritual disciplines that have been helpful to people who seek to recover from drug addiction.

Pacific Hills Treatment Centers, Inc. is a premier drug treatment program, offering both the traditional spirituality track based on the 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous and a Christ-centered program for those who embrace the scriptures and Christ as their Higher Power. For further information, please call 1-800-662-2873 or go to www.pachills.com.

Tip-1 – Counseling & Continued Counseling–If you have joined drug rehab center for drug de-addiction, then counselors in the rehab center will take care about you. The counselors will chart out the counseling program for you in order to gradually reduce and eliminate the dependency on drugs, and ultimately make you completely de-addicted. But, once you are out of the rehab center, chances are that you might get addicted to drugs. Therefore, in such a case, continued counseling becomes very important, so that you stay away from the drug forever.

Tip-2 –Get into Discipline – Yeah… you should discipline your lifestyle and get over with old and worn out habits that otherwise made you drug addict. The real thing is that you have to develop a hobby, which will help you to bring to normal life. If you don’t develop the hobby or get preoccupied in some constructive job, it is likely that you get back to the bad world, of which you were the part once.

Tip-3 – Do Healthy & Aerobic Exercises – The best thing to do is to go for morning walk, and relieve all your tensions. Keep your mind free from all the worldly worries, as you’ve seen that these make you troubled and you as the result you became a drug addict. Swimming is a healthy aerobic exercise, and if you know swimming, and if your health permits, you can join a swimming club and get the best out of it.

Tip-4 –Discuss your Problems with Your Family – Your family is your immediate and best friend. You ought to be very open with them in discussing your problems. Do not hide from them, and let them know what kind of troubles you are facing.

Tip-5 –Follow Healthy Eating Habits – When you feel the urge of taking the drugs during recovery phase, all you can do is just take a candy. Make it a habit that when you feel the urge to take a dose of drug you put a candy ion your mouth. This is a kind of association building.

To know more about drug treatment visit Pacific Hills Treatment Centers

An alcohol rehab program can help reduce the dependence of a person on alcohol. It aids in getting rid of the addiction and treats the problem. Seeking the assistance of an alcohol rehab therapy can help you save your relationships, job and even improve the quality of your life. So, if you are battling the problem of alcohol abuse, then seeking the refuge of an alcohol rehab treatment would be the best thing to do.

When looking for an alcohol or drug rehab program, there is no dearth of options. There are countless rehabilitation centers that can offer you these programs. But, when you are struggling with something as serious as alcohol abuse, then you would want nothing short of the best. Thus, it is only obvious that you would to opt for the best alcohol rehab treatment for yourself.

Finding the right drug rehab treatment is not that difficult either. Even though the availability of several options can add to your confusion, you can still choose the best one. One of the first steps that you can take in this regard is consult your doctors. When it is about critical things like a drug rehab program, then expert advice is highly solicited. A doctor can guide you the best about which rehab program is good and which one is not. However, it is recommended that you seek the opinion of more than just one doctor before you give any particular program a final nod. Having multiple opinions ensure that you are choosing the best program.

You can also use the services of the internet to find out which program will best meet your needs. There are several forums and websites on the internet that are dedicated to the cause of drug rehabilitation. These forums will help you gauge the efficacy rate of various drug rehab programs. You can simply go through the reviews provided on various websites. Also, make it a point to go through comments posted on various programs. These comments can help you a great deal in determining how good or bad a particular program is.

Checking for accreditation is also a must. While there are numerous alcohol and drug rehab programs, there are only a few that come with the requisite accreditation. Accredited programs mean serious business and prove to be better than the ones that come without any kind of accreditation. But there are some unaccredited programs as well offering world class services and treatments.

Just a little bit if effort is all you need and choosing the right rehab program will not be all that difficult.
To know more about Alcohol Rehab Center visit Pacific Hills Treatment Centers

The first factor about an alcohol rehab program is the ambience provided to the addict. This is important because the calm and quiet of an ambience can have an immense effect in helping a person finding his own self and discovering answers to questions and confusion that drove him or her into the arms of alcohol and drugs. The facilities to take care of all the needs of a person can leave him or her with sufficient time to focus on what is being advised and said in the counseling sessions, therapies and one on one session and think more about them. After all whatever be the advice, if a person is not willing to adopt the change, he or she cannot be cured completely and the rehabilitation will not serve its purpose. The diet given to addicts too is a part of the rehabilitation program which is carefully though about to ensure that a patient receives all the vital nutrients that he or she needs.

The next important factor is the quality of doctors. Usually every rehab center will have experts in the field of psychology who can understand the addict and find out why he or she has chosen the path therapists who can handle the diagnosis of a person. Often treatment for drugs needs a therapist who knows how to negate the effect of all the drugs like cocaine, marijuana and other addictive substances. Proper diagnosis along with time driven checks to measure the addicted person’s progress and health is important to find out how well the addicted person is responding to the entire rehabilitation program
To Know more about Drug and Alcohol treatment Center visit Pacific Hills Treatment Center

• Alcohol Rehab Centers are the temples for treating the patients who are alcoholic, and who need nothing but just alcohol for their survival, which is reality is a life-threatening disorder. For them, the world is alcohol. To be true, an alcoholic person cannot say no to alcohol even if he or she acknowledges that it’s robbing them of their vitality, if not otherwise treated in a proper Alcohol Rehab Center.

• The centers for Alcohol Rehab are needed to remove the dependency of an alcohol addict on alcohol. Alcoholism is a disease which not only eats away the person who consumes the alcohol, but also the immediate family and friends. Only a professional Alcohol Rehab Center can help the alcoholic person to give him/her a fresh lease of life.

• Alcohol Rehab Centers provide treatment and counselling program for the drug addict person, and which is helped and backed by a complete professional unit comprising psychiatrist, social workers, counsellors, psychologists, besides the nursing staff.

• The rehab centers aim to help the drug addict to develop a habit of total abstinence from drugs and alcohol. The centers also run the detox program which will help the drug addict to detoxify his/her body.

• Alcohol Rehab Centers are also the effective source for initiating the relapse program for the alcohol and drug addict people so that they do not start consuming alcohol after they have left its consumption. It is an indispensable part of the rehabilitation program constituted at alcohol rehab center.

• The centers also provide psychological therapy to the drug addicts in order to change their thinking and develop their conscience. Under the therapy, the addict undergoes a spiritual and moral cleansing session and they are given repeated sessions on the harmful effects of alcohol and drugs.

• Alcohol Rehab Centers are also necessary as they form the link between a drug addict and the society in general. The centers play a crucial role developing the closeness between a drug addict and his family members and relatives. This is a cumbersome task, and the success of this task depends entirely on the alcohol rehab center.

• An Alcohol Rehab Center will provide re-educative learning sessions to the drug addict for educating him/her on the bad effects of alcohol, and what bad effects it brings to the society.

• An Alcohol Rehab Center plays a substantial role in the development of confidence in the drug addict. The alcoholic person will try his/her best to get back his/her lost self confidence at any cost.

• An Alcohol Rehab Center will also help a drug addict to earn his/her living by making him/her join the main strata of the society. In this way, the addict will begin to interact with healthy minded people.
To know more about Alcohol rehab center visit Pacific Hills Treatment Centers

In this series, we will briefly outline, summarize, and invite the student of Christian recovery to look at, the original seven influences Christian influences of Alcoholics Anonymous—one by one.

The Rescue Missions

In our major new work, The Dick B. Christian Recovery Guide, 3rd ed., by Dick B. and Ken B. (2010), and in the accompanying “Introductory Foundations for Christian Recovery” class by Dick B. and Ken B. (2010) on four DVD’s, we introduce the student of Christian recovery to the powerful influence of the rescue missions.

And we start with this influence first because it played such a powerful part in Bill Wilson’s own recovery. Wilson had been told by Dr. Silkworth at Towns Hospital that the Great Physician, Jesus Christ, could cure him. Bill’s friend Ebby Thacher had just made his personal surrender, accepting Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior, on November 1, 1934, at the Calvary Rescue Mission in New York. [See: Mel B., Ebby: The Man Who Sponsored Bill W. (Center City, Minn.: Hazelden Foundation, 1998), 65.] Bill decided to seek the same solution. He went to Calvary Mission about one month later. He knelt at the altar. He there made his decision for Christ after hearing Bible reading, prayer, hymns, and the altar call. And Bill twice wrote in his personal papers: “For sure, I had been born again.” [See Bill's “autobiography”: Bill W., Bill W.: My First Forty Years: An Autobiography (Center City, MN: Hazelden, 2000), 147. And see also: Dick B., The Conversion of Bill W.: More on the Creator's Role in Early A.A. (Kihei, HI: Paradise Research Publications, Inc., 2006), 110.] On December 11, 1934, he entered Towns Hospital for the fourth and final time, believing he needed to call on the Great Physician for help with his deteriorating alcoholism and accompanying depression. He cried out to God and immediately his hospital room filled with white light. He sensed the presence of God. And he was cured of his alcoholism on the spot. And for many years, he told the story specifically as follows: “The Lord has been so wonderful to me, curing me of this terrible disease that I just want to keep talking about it and telling people.” [See Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th ed. (New York: Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc., 2001) 191.]

New York’s Water Street Mission Healings by Jesus Christ

The rescue mission movement began in earnest when Jerry McAuley—a criminal and drunkard—turned to Jesus Christ for help, was saved, and never drank again. Jerry was well known as the Founder of the Water Street Mission and as the “Apostle to the Outcast.” His service was paralleled by that of his wife—a prostitute and drunkard herself—who was also saved and delivered. The story can be found in the book he wrote: Jerry McAuley, Transformed: or, the History of a River Thief, Briefly Told (n.p.: self-published, 1876). See also Stephen Burger, “Time to Reflect and Look Ahead,” http://www.agrm.org/i4a/pages/Index.cfm?pageID=3312; accessed 6/14/09.

Today, it is still possible to obtain an even more powerful book about the salvations and deliverance from alcohol that occurred at the hands of McAuley’s successor, S. H. Hadley.
This story can be found in J. Wilbur Chapman’s book, S. H. Hadley of Water Street (NY: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1906). Hadley himself had written a book four years earlier: Samuel H. Hadley, Down in Water Street: A Story of Sixteen Years Life and Work in Water Street Mission: A Sequel to the Life of Jerry McAuley (New York: Fleming H. Revell, 1902).

Documented Details by Samuel Hopkins Hadley,
Superintendent of the Old Jerry McAuley Water Street Mission for 19 Years

It was my good fortune to have an avid A.A. history researcher on the East Coast call my attention to the Chapman book on S.H. Hadley. And readers who might wonder if conversion by accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, and deliverance from alcoholism, were commonplace occurrences during the period of Dr. Bob’s youth and just prior to Bill Wilson’s youth, can find dramatic documentation in the Hadley materials.

S. H. Hadley himself was delivered from drunkenness, smoking, dishonesty, and gambling by accepting Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior for salvation and removal of his temptations. Hadley became superintendent of Jerry McAuley’s Water Street Mission. And there are innumerable accounts of drunkards who went to the altar, accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, asked God to relieve them of their alcoholism, and never drank again. In fact, even Hadley’s brother, Colonel H. H. Hadley, was saved and delivered in a similar manner.

Almost paralleling the techniques later used in early A.A. by Dr. Bob, there are accounts of how Hadley required the drunks to confess Jesus as their Lord, pray to God in the name of Jesus for help, and ask God that he take alcoholism out of their lives. This was done at the Mission altar after testimonies, prayers, Bible reading, hymns, and the altar call. In addition, like Dr. Bob, Hadley had laid great stress on the importance of 1 Corinthians 13 and the message of love.

Christians and others in recovery who want to see specific records of cures from alcoholism (and other life-controlling problems) by turning to God and accepting Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior will be richly rewarded by a study of the rescue missions, the Jerry McAuley story, and the details of the ministry of S. H. Hadley.

And this rescue mission influence is only one of the seven important Christian influences that preceded and impacted on the founding of Alcoholics Anonymous in 1935.

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