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Index of 12 Steps, 12 Traditions, 12 Concepts

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Serving the 3 Legacies

The 1728 Sponsorship concept in Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is deeply connected to AA’s Three Legacies: Recovery, Unity, and Service. These legacies form the foundation of the 12 Steps, 12 Traditions, and 12 Concepts of World Service, integrated in the 1728 Sponsorship approach.

Recovery

  • 12 Steps: Guides personal recovery and spiritual growth.

Unity

  • 12 Traditions: Ensures the unity and cohesion of AA groups, fostering a supportive community.

Service

  • 12 Concepts: Provides principles for effective service and governance, encouraging members to participate in AA’s broader mission.

12 Steps

The 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous was created as a structured program to help individuals achieve and maintain sobriety. The steps developed by AA co-founder Bill Wilson are designed to provide a spiritual framework for recovery. They address the need for personal accountability, the importance of spiritual awakening, and the process of making amends for past wrongs. The steps guide members through self-examination, acknowledgment of their powerlessness over alcohol, and a reliance on a higher power, fostering long-term change and personal growth. The goal is to create a path to lasting sobriety and a fulfilling life free from addiction.

  • We admitted we were powerless over alcohol—that our lives had become unmanageable.
  • Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
  • Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
  • Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
  • Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
  • Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
  • Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
  • Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
  • Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
  • Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.
  • Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
  • Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

12 Traditions

The 12 Traditions were created to ensure the unity and effectiveness of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) groups. As AA grew rapidly in its early years, it became clear that guidelines were needed to maintain cohesion and focus on the primary purpose of helping alcoholics achieve sobriety. The Traditions address anonymity, group autonomy, and avoiding public controversy. They help preserve the fellowship’s integrity, prevent internal conflicts, and ensure that each group operates with the same core principles, promoting a unified and supportive environment for recovery.

  • Our common welfare should come first; personal recovery depends upon AA unity.
  • For our group purpose there is but one ultimate authority—a loving God as He may express Himself in our group conscience. Our leaders are but trusted servants; they do not govern.
  • The only requirement for AA membership is a desire to stop drinking.
  • Each group should be autonomous except in matters affecting other groups or AA as a whole.
  • Each group has but one primary purpose—to carry its message to the alcoholic who still suffers.
  • An AA group ought never endorse, finance, or lend the AA name to any related facility or outside enterprise, lest problems of money, property, and prestige divert us from our primary purpose.
  • Every AA group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions.
  • Alcoholics Anonymous should remain forever nonprofessional, but our service centers may employ special workers.
  • AA, as such, ought never be organized; but we may create service boards or committees directly responsible to those they serve.
  • Alcoholics Anonymous has no opinion on outside issues; hence the AA name ought never be drawn into public controversy.
  • Our public relations policy is based on attraction rather than promotion; we need always maintain personal anonymity at the level of press, radio, and films.
  • Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all our Traditions, ever reminding us to place principles before personalities.

12 Concepts

The 12 Concepts of World Service were created to ensure the effective and democratic operation of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) at all levels. They provide a framework for decision-making, delegation of authority, and maintaining the integrity and unity of AA’s global fellowship. 

  • Final responsibility and ultimate authority for AA world services should always reside in the collective conscience of our whole Fellowship.
  • The General Service Conference of AA has become, for nearly every practical purpose, the active voice and the effective conscience of our whole society in its world affairs.
  • To ensure effective leadership, we should endow each element of AA—the Conference, the General Service Board and its service corporations, staffs, committees, and executives—with a traditional “Right of Decision.”
  • At all responsible levels, we ought to maintain a traditional “Right of Participation,” allowing a voting representation in reasonable proportion to the responsibility that each must discharge.
  • Throughout our structure, a traditional “Right of Appeal” ought to prevail, so that minority opinion will be heard and personal grievances receive careful consideration.
  • The Conference recognizes that the chief initiative and active responsibility in most world service matters should be exercised by the trustee members of the Conference acting as the General Service Board.
  • The Charter and Bylaws of the General Service Board are legal instruments, empowering the trustees to manage and conduct world service affairs. The Conference Charter is not a legal document; it relies upon tradition and the AA purse for final effectiveness.
  • The trustees are the principal planners and administrators of overall policy and finance. They have custodial oversight of the separately incorporated and constantly active services, exercising this through their ability to elect all the directors of these entities.
  • Good service leadership at all levels is indispensable for our future functioning and safety. Primary world service leadership, once exercised by the founders, must necessarily be assumed by the trustees.
  • Every service responsibility should be matched by an equal service authority, with the scope of such authority well defined.
  • The trustees should always have the best possible committees, corporate service directors, executives, staffs, and consultants. Composition, qualifications, induction procedures, and rights and duties will always be matters of serious concern.
  • The Conference shall observe the spirit of AA tradition, taking care that it never becomes the seat of perilous wealth or power; that sufficient operating funds and reserve be its prudent financial principle; that it place none of its members in a position of unqualified authority over others; that it reach all important decisions by discussion, vote, and, whenever possible, by substantial unanimity; that its actions never be personally punitive nor an incitement to public controversy; that it never perform acts of government, and that, like the Society it serves, it will always remain democratic in thought and action.

Grapevine Articles that Deal with Sponsorship:

Here are some specific Grapevine articles that relate to the concept of sponsorship, which can be helpful for those interested in the comprehensive 1728 Sponsorship approach:

  • “The Tools of Sponsorship” (February 2022): This article discusses the various tools and methods sponsors use to effectively guide their sponsees through recovery. It emphasizes the importance of action over merely discussing feelings and thoughts, aligning well with the proactive approach of 1728 Sponsorship. [Read more here](https://www.aagrapevine.org/magazine/2022/feb/tools-sponsorship).
  • “The Challenge of Sponsorship” (June 1989): This piece explores the difficulties and rewards of sponsorship, highlighting how the personal connection between sponsor and sponsee is crucial for successful recovery. It delves into the balance of providing support while encouraging independence, a key aspect of 1728 Sponsorship. [Read more here](https://www.aagrapevine.org/magazine/1989/jun/challenge-sponsorship).
  • “The Idea of Co-sponsorship” (October 1962): This article introduces the concept of co-sponsorship, where more than one sponsor might help guide a sponsee. This reflects the collaborative nature of the 1728 Sponsorship approach. It addresses the benefits of sharing the responsibilities and insights among multiple sponsors. [Read more here](https://www.aagrapevine.org/magazine/1962/oct/idea-co-sponsorship).
  • “Unbending Sponsorship” (November 2008): This narrative emphasizes a seasoned sponsor’s firm yet compassionate approach in helping a newcomer establish a strong foundation in sobriety. It aligns with the structured guidance promoted in 1728 Sponsorship. (https://www.aagrapevine.org/magazine/2008/nov/unbending-sponsorship).

These articles, along with the foundational AA texts, provide a wealth of knowledge and practical advice for both sponsors and sponsees, helping them navigate the complex journey of recovery while maintaining the integrity and principles of the AA program.