The other day I heard a Christian brother, a Bible teacher and apologist, make a statement about the 12 steps that I disagree with. I have been following him for years. While I trust this brother and have benefited and will continue to benefit from his ministry and teaching; I believe his statement was just made out of ignorance of what the 12 steps are and the role they play in the life of a recovering alcoholic. I think it reflects the way that a lot of people in the church today think when it comes to addiction, alcoholism, recovery, the 12 steps, etc. I believe this because I thought the EXACT SAME WAY for years. I thought all I needed was me and Jesus.
The statement I took issue with was really just a side thought he made in passing. It was made in the larger context of spiritual warfare… demon possession, oppression and the like. He was making the case that Christians, genuine believers, can’t have a demon inside them, causing the addiction, and are therefore not in need of “deliverance”. They need to repent and trust Christ. On that we totally agree! Deliverance ministries have gotten out of control, seeing demons in everything. The deliverance ministry people would say that if you, a Christian, struggle with addiction and alcoholism, then you just have the demon of addiction or a demon of alcoholism. If you struggle with pornography then you have a demon of pornography, etc. Their answer is “you need to be delivered.” Our answer is that you, Christian, need to repent. Yes, spiritual warfare is real. Yes, Satan and demons are real. Yes, demonic possession and oppression do occur. But if you are a genuine believer in Christ, you have the Holy Spirit and cannot be possessed by a demon and you do not need deliverance. For the genuine believer, we struggle against our own sinful flesh. But that’s a whole other discussion for a different day.
Anyway, his statement was that people don’t need deliverance or 12 steps programs. He believes that 12-step programs “over-complicate the issue” and that it’s “11 steps too many. The only step we need is repentance.” And while I agree with his premise, again, I believe it’s a statement made in ignorance of what the 12 steps really are and what is their role in our lives as recovering addicts and alcoholics. The 12 steps are just an expansion of what repentance looks like.
Yes. As born again believers, indwelt by the Holy Spirit… because of the grace and mercy of Christ, all we have to do is repent and trust. But what does repentance look like? Do we do it alone?
Would repentance look like someone admitting/confessing they have a problem, need help that only God could do, and turning their life over to Him in faith and trust? Steps 1-3. Would it look like asking the Lord to heal you and change your heart and thinking as you confront the character defects in your life that lead you to desire alcohol in the first place? Steps 4-7. Should it involve making amends, trying to right past wrongs we’ve done? Steps 8-9. Would it look like a life continuing to seek God, grow in maturity, serving and helping others? Steps 10-12.
I needed help repenting. I wanted to stop. I was trying my best to walk in repentance. And I wasn’t receiving the help from the church I needed. I asked for help. I submitted myself to the leadership. I was trying. But they didn’t know how to help me – especially if I stumbled along the way. The advice I got was “When I wanted to stop, I told myself that I was done drinking, so I looked in the mirror and I told myself to just stop it! And I never picked up another drink again.” While I’m glad that worked for this brother… If I could have done that, if that would have worked for me any one of the thousand times I looked in the mirror through tears, hating myself, yelling at myself to stop… I wouldn’t have been begging them for help and I wouldn’t have put my family through the hell that I did. Nothing worked.
Thankfully, God answered my prayers and sovereignly forced me into AA. I honestly didn’t want it to work. I wanted help, yes. But, I wanted Him to free me another way. I thought it was weird and I didn’t want to be “one of those people”, you know – a true alcoholic. The meetings, the steps, and especially the sponsoring/mentorship were exactly what I needed! They were what God used in my life to help me bear fruit in keeping with the repentance that I was genuinely walking in and desperately wanted.
The 12 steps of AA are by no means inspired at the level of Scripture (all things submit to Scripture), nor are the program or its founders infallible, but I do believe God had a hand in creating them to help people. At its core and especially in the beginning, the program is based on Scripture and Christian living.
Steps 1-3 are repentance of the mind and heart. The rest of the steps show what it looks like to bear fruit in keeping with repentance. God does the work inside of us that we could never do ourselves, and we respond with trust and obedience. As a result, He makes us better people, with sobriety as a benefit of a changed life.
Don’t get me wrong or misunderstand what I’m trying to communicate. I love the church! The church has the answer – Jesus. And it is Him we preach and His gospel message we take into the world. My sponsor/mentor is a pastor. We talk all the time about how we (the church) can minister to and help broken, hurting people, especially those battling alcoholism and addiction. It’s just that the churches I went to for help had the right message, and we’re well-meaning brothers, but they didn’t know how to walk with me and help me recover. The people of AA gave me advice and then walked with me every painful step of the way.
It’s not some weird cult (I had my preconceived ideas too). People come and go as they please. There is no charismatic leader. It’s just a fellowship of men and women who share their experience, strength, and hope with others in a desire to remain sober, grow spiritually themselves, and to help others do the same. There is no charge or fees for admittance. The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking. The steps are suggestions, not rules or commands. They help us seek God and work through our own spiritual and emotional baggage. In other words… help us repent.
Can people get sober in the church apart from AA? 100% absolutely. The Holy Spirit is always at work in the lives of believers to sanctify us and make us more like Christ. And He uses His Word, His people (the Church) and MANY other ways to accomplish His work. I just know for me, in my life, I needed help walking in repentance; and God did that in me and for me by His Spirit, through His Word, and with the help of AA. So I will continue to preach Christ and Him crucified for the forgiveness of sins. And when recovering alcoholics come to me for help, I will preach to them Christ, who takes their sin and shame, I’ll teach them the Word of God, I’ll tell them to find a healthy church, and I’ll walk with them through the 12 steps, helping them bear fruit in keeping with repentance.
I have several hopes in writing this. I’m not out to bash the Church or people who don’t understand. I just want people to get the help they need. As part of the Church, I want to help the Church help others; walking with people as they repent and watch Christ change their lives. My hope is to help people have a better understanding of alcoholism and Christians who may be struggling. I hope this helps someone who may be struggling themselves to reach out for help. Jesus Christ is the answer! He has given us His Church and other people who will walk with you and help you repent. As always, I’m open to talk and discuss my journey with anyone.