- Sermon - Mickey Anders

"Recovery - Step One"

By Dr. Mickey Anders

First Christian Church

Pikeville, Kentucky

February 12, 2006

I recently attended a training event at WestCare, which was entitled "Spirituality and Recovery." It made me think of preaching a series of sermons about the Twelve Steps. Perhaps the sermons will encourage someone somewhere to try the twelve steps to recovery which have worked for millions of people.

The Twelve Steps comes, of course, from Alcoholics Anonymous, which was begun in 1935 by Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith, known to A.A. members as "Bill W." and "Dr. Bob." The Twelve Steps were originally written by Wilson and other early members of AA to codify the process that they felt had worked for them personally. Later the Twelve Steps were modified slightly so that they would apply to problems other than alcoholism. The version I will use comes from The Twelve Steps: A Spiritual Journey by RPI Publishing, and recommended to me by the folks at WestCare.

I have never been an alcoholic and, therefore, I can't speak from that experience. But I do have my own issues. Don't we all?

I like the phrase used in the Living Free training, which has been offered many times in our county. They address their program to "people who are influenced or trapped by life-controlling problems - addictions, behaviors and relationships." I like that phrase "life-controlling issues" because it opens the matter up to include almost all of us.

I like the idea that the Twelve Steps are not just for the addict. Every one of us has a need to change our lives for the better. No matter how well or badly our lives are going, we can certainly stand a change for the better.

The Twelve Steps are worth our attention because they have been the tool to transform lives. Miracles happen at places like WestCare. Men who have given up hope of ever changing find hope. Men, whose families have given up on them, return as the sons those families knew before addiction.

Anything that can facilitate that kind of transformation is worth a closer examination. Change is never easy. Life transforming change is incredibly difficult and rare.

I vividly remember a profound experience several years ago when the Ashcamp facility was being used for juvenile boys. A group of the boys came to work that day on the Habitat house that was being built near there. My son and I had volunteered for the day as well, so I had the opportunity to get to know several of the Ashcamp boys who were working with me.

I couldn't help but be struck by their extreme politeness. I never heard so many "sir's." Instead of saying "Yes, sir" they would shout, "Sir, yes, sir!"

I asked several of them in turn my favorite question, "What are you going to do with your life?" Bill responded with a shout, "Sir! I am going back to school when I finish. Sir!"

I'll never forget that wonderful and surprising response. If the Twelve Steps can bring about that kind of burning desire for change, then all of us need to take a closer look. So I plan to tackle one step a week, maybe some of us can manage to change as well.

The first step states, "We admitted we were powerless over the effects of our separation from God - that our lives had become unmanageable."

The beginning of recovery seems to come from dealing with the control issue. Who is in control of our lives?

Most of us immediately respond that WE are in control. In fact, we sometimes claim to be in control in spite of the fact that our lives have spiraled out of control. We are under the delusion that we are in control, and it sometimes takes quite an intervention for us to admit that our lives are out of control.

One of the favorite phrases in the recovery community is the definition of denial. They say, "Denial is not a river in Egypt." Alcoholics are experts at denial.

The recovery community often talks about the elephant in the room. I found this poem entitled "The Elephant in the Room" by Terry Kettering.

There's an elephant in the room. It is large and squatting, so it is hard to get around it. Yet we squeeze by with, "How are you?" and "I'm fine," and a thousand other forms of trivial chatter. We talk about the weather. We talk about work. We talk about everything else, except the elephant in the room. There's an elephant in the room. We all know it's there. We are thinking about the elephant as we talk together. It is constantly on our minds. For, you see, it is a very large elephant. It has hurt us all. But we don't talk about the elephant in the room…

For the addict, only denial keeps them from the awareness that their lives are out of control. But for the rest of us, we maintain a better illusion of control. Even if we are able to function at a very high level in most areas of our lives, we often have one area that is out of control. Those are our life-controlling issues that we need to deal with.

I find this step to be the very hardest for me to grasp and to admit. Okay, I admit it - I am a control freak at times. Did you notice that "at times?" I don't like admitting it. I am still fighting off denial myself.

So this talk of being "powerless" and a life that is "unmanageable" doesn't sit well with me. I want to think that I am in control. I make the decisions. I choose my path.

But sometimes we must face reality and admit that our life isn't working with us in control. We sometimes have to get to the end of our rope and hit rock bottom. Our efforts have failed us. We admit that our own efforts do not always produce peace and serenity. Our lives are full of unwelcome behaviors and overwhelming emotions. It is then that we are genuinely ready for God's help.

The Apostle Paul was not afraid to admit his weakness. In Romans 7:18-19, he writes, "For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do."

Step One is really about coming to grips with our lives. There are times when we have to admit defeat and recognize that we need help. And Paul says that is the very time that we are strong:

"Three times I appealed to the Lord about this, that it would leave me, but he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” So, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities for the sake of Christ; for whenever I am weak, then I am strong (2 Corinthians 12:8-10)."

3O LORD, you brought up my soul from Sheol, restored me to life from among those gone down to the Pit.

Step One says, "We admitted we were powerless over the effects of our separation from God - that our lives had become unmanageable."

The first part of that step is recognizing our obsessive traits. Sometimes we try to manipulate situations to try to ease our pain. But quite often we only make matters worse by taking them into our own hands. Because of pain we act out our addiction, obsession or compulsion.

Our need to control comes from our pride. We like to think we are better than we are. But when we recognize that we are powerless and weak, then we are able to totally surrender to the redemptive power of God in our lives. 2 Corinthians 8:2-3 says, "Anyone who claims to know something does not yet have the necessary knowledge; but anyone who loves God is known by him." Proverbs 28:26 says, "Those who trust in their own wits are fools; but those who walk in wisdom come through safely."

Step One calls us to see our pain as a reason to turn to God instead of acting on our self-destructive tendencies. When we see our self-defeating tendencies, we must admit that they don't work and turn to God instead.

Our healing process begins when we are willing to acknowledge our problems and take the necessary steps to resolve them. A physical disease can only begin to be healed when we acknowledge its presence. In the same way, spiritual healing begins when we acknowledge the problem. A few adjustments on the outside will never heal our inner problems. Only God can heal the inside.

Perhaps the best Biblical illustration of Step One is the story of the Prodigal Son found in Luke 15. The Bible describes his self-destructive behavior with these words, "A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and traveled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living." When he was in control of his life, he squandered his inheritance.

And the Prodigal Son had to hit rock bottom, just as Step One suggests. The story continues, "So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs. He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything. But when he came to himself he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger! I will get up and go to my father.."

I think Step One is summarized best in those words, "He came to himself." Until we come to ourselves and turn away from the pig pen, there is no hope for our recovery.

The first step states, "We admitted we were powerless over the effects of our separation from God - that our lives had become unmanageable."

1) I am using materials from The Twelve Steps: A Spiritual Journey, A Working Guide for Healing in my study for this series of sermons.