The Thursday night meeting I attended last week was such a powerful experience. I’m still processing the feelings. The feelings are becoming familiar as I attend regularly. I chair my home group’s night meeting. I usually show up early for some fellowship because we have a lot of regulars. As people are arriving, some of us are joking around and laughing. I welcomed some new people that I did not recognize. We all continued to chat about our day and our struggles. I started the meeting with the readings and regulars continued to arrive. Everyone at my home group helps by doing readings. It’s nice to see the participation and one less thing I stress about when I chair. I asked if anyone was new, and it turns out that two of the eighteen people were at their first NA meeting ever. We had a couple visitors and a dozen regulars. It’s always exciting to see newcomers. My group responds well with amazing unity. We collectively work together to ensure that newcomers have a positive experience and encourage them to return. The unconditional love expressed is often the high point of my day. Some do return and some find other home groups but return occasionally. Some you never hear from again.
During the height of the pandemic, these feelings seemed to occur at every meeting. We were doing nineteen meetings per week at one point. It seemed like every meeting had a newcomer or two. It really shaped who I have become. It shapes my thoughts and how I process my day. No matter what is happening in my personal life, I always seem to find a moment to reflect on these powerful expressions of love that have become commonplace in my home group. I might pray for a newcomer who was struggling or reach out to a home group member in text or conversation. When I struggle, my phone rings with sponsees or other home group members checking in. I have a sense of peace and belonging that I have never experienced before. It is breathtaking to experience the full force of recovery. There is a problem and I have slowly come to realize that it is me.
Sometimes I can just observe, and I try not to participate in every meeting. I do have this feeling that I need to share, or something might be missed. I understand that is the nature of my disease. This happens in other areas of my life. I have a feeling of frustration that meeting chairs do not fill out our ‘Chairing schedule’ so I can update www.virtual-na.org. I look for rules and policies. I try to enforce some authority over the group. I am drawn to power and control. It can become a drug.
While researching a book called the ‘Cult of NAWS’, I came across this definition of a cult;
Cult – “a system for the cure of disease based on dogma set forth by its promulgator”
[https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cult]
I had to look up promulgator.
Promulgator – “(law) one who promulgates laws (announces a law as a way of putting it into execution)”
“law, jurisprudence – the collection of rules imposed by authority; ‘civilization presupposes respect for the law’; ‘the great problem for jurisprudence to allow freedom while enforcing order’”
“lawgiver, lawmaker – a maker of laws; someone who gives a code of laws”
[https://www.thefreedictionary.com/promulgator]
Narcotics Anonymous experienced tremendous growth during the 1980’s. Many members were looking for direction with perceived problems. Some members were willing to take on authority roles. Groups formed Areas Service Committees. Area Service Committees formed Regions. Regions sent a member to participate in World Service Conferences. The first ‘global’ service structure was called the WSO or World Service Office. This morphed into the NAWS Corporation in the 1990’s. Members could easily avoid responsibility for solving their problems by drawing on experienced members outside the Group for direction. In my experience, I often go outside the group for directions when I want to manipulate other home group members.
Chuck Skinner, Chairman of the Board of Trustees was asked a question at the World Service Conference in 1980.
“what course of action on groups not following suggested 12 Step of N A. and more importantly, the 12 Traditions of N.A. ( ie . ,dissention ,non-participation at Area Service, inter-relations with outside interest groups ). “
Chuck stated that.
“any area where there is a violation of the Traditions, the 1st step would be for the Region that is dealing with that organization that is violating the Traditions be informed that they are to cease and desist. If they refuse, notify WSO who will in turn send the cease and desist information. If that fails, notification to the Board of Trustees who, with the WSO , will take any necessary legal action. Question from the floor re : this issue in which an issue such as this was brought to a Region’s attention and that things would be left as is until the Conference . Chuck stated that if a Tradition is being violated, it should be taken care of immediately . Question was what does the Region do in terms of meeting directories. Chuck stated that no assistance should be offered to any breakings of the Traditions. Remove these meetings from the directories forthwith. That would be the first action. Notifying the people as such in front. “
[https://nahistorytree.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/1980-wsc-minutes.pdf, 1980, page 15]
Tradition Two is very clear on how a Group seeks direction.
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.
Narcotics Anonymous, Tradition Two
Dissention (disagreement), Failure to support an area and inter-relations with outside interest groups were listed as causes to not only remove Groups from meeting lists but a ‘Cease and Desist’ be issued which would close the Group down. If these rules were enforced, more than half the Groups that exist today would likely be shut down. I suspect that more than seventy-five percent of groups would fail to measure up to Chuck’s standards. Thankfully Chuck’s opinions were never adopted by the WSC. You can read a full interview with Chuck Skinner here.
There is something appealing about rules and procedures. They certainly benefit organizations that deliver goods and services. The service structures that support Narcotics Anonymous Groups would not function without rules and procedures. These rules serve little or no purpose in NA where we learn to trust the God of our understanding. I believe that is why the original versions of the Basic Text made it clear that service structures do not govern, and that they are not part of NA. A prime example is the incredibly narrowminded attempt by the NAWS corporation to establish ‘geotagging’. Geotags would be used to identify where service bodies are located geographically in the world.
Instead of trying to maintain information for individual meetings in more than 140 countries, our meeting search page and app will point people to local websites and phonelines. Meeting information maintained by local service bodies is more likely to be accurate and current. To make this change, World Services needs help geotagging local service bodies so that we can map search results and making sure our data for areas, regions, and phonelines is current.
https://www.na.org/admin/include/spaw2/uploads/pdf/eblasts/NAWS%20Update%2010-5.pdf
The NAWS Corporation and the World Service Conference do not garner much support from Groups anymore. Fewer than twenty-five percent of Groups globally vote on WSC motions. After a twenty-year battle, virtual Groups were finally recognized by the NAWS Corporation. Groups do not require Geotags, (particularly virtual ones) and Groups are not required to participate in service structures.
The most successful attempt to provide accurate meeting information is on the Basic Meeting List Toolbox (https://bmlt.app) The BMLT is not a service body. Supporters of the BMLT are not part of the existing service structures recognized by the NAWS Corporation. Volunteers are simply the loving, kind, and compassionate members that NA literature encourages us to be. These volunteers are glowing examples of what is possible. The BMLT website estimate that forty-seven percent of groups are listed on the BMLT (33,976 of 72,215 – see https://tally.bmlt.app). This could be ‘inter-relations with outside interest groups’ that Chuck Skinner thought were a danger to NA. I believe nothing is further from the truth. Somehow my home group manages to host fourteen meetings per week without much concern for my ‘schedule’. One of the things I have learned about myself is that when I am able to form an opinion, develop policies and rules or simply believe something to be true, I no longer need to trust God to the outcome. When all the planning fails, I can blame God too. When I lose trust or blame God (and others) I start the relapse process. I act on my defects which seems to be a form of using. While ‘structure’ has become important to me in my recovery, I cannot impose structure on my higher power’s will. That’s the beauty of the Serenity Prayer. I wonder if Chuck Skinner ever saw that.