A few years ago a friend, a

recovering alcoholic, invited me to join him at an Alcoholics Anonymous

meeting. He was to be honored for 25 years of sobriety, and he wanted

me to come to celebrate with him. I was happy to go.

The meeting took place in the

musty basement of an old church building. The diversity of the participants

amazed me. In the room were rich and poor. Politicians and the unemployed.

Black, white, Latino, Asian. Some wore expensive suits, others wore T-shirts

that revealed needle scars on their arms.

Introductions went like this,

"Hi, I'm John, and I'm an alcoholic." Instantly everyone responded

warmly, "Hi John!"

Different people stood to report

on their progress and their battles with addiction. The room was thick

with compassion and warmth, laughter and tears. Everyone enjoyed being

around other people who could see into their souls. There was no reason

to wear masks, no room for superficiality. Everybody was in the same boat.

Philip Yancey, a Christian

writer, interviewed a young alcoholic who had formerly been an active

church member, but had allowed AA to take the place of church. When questioned

why, the young man responded, "Mainly I'm trying to survive, and

AA helps me in that struggle far better than any local church."

Yancey explored further, "Name

one quality missing in the local church that AA somehow provides."

The young alcoholic stared

at his coffee, watching it go cold. Finally he looked up and whispered

one word: Dependence.

He explained, "Most church

people give off a self-satisfied air of piety or superiority. I don't

sense them consciously leaning on God or on each other Maybe God is calling

us alcoholics to teach the saints what it means to be dependent on Him

and on His community on earth."

Maybe He is.

Church is the last place most

people would feel comfortable standing and declaring, "Hi, I'm John,

and I'm an alcoholic." Or, "I'm addicted to pornography."

Or even, "Our marriage is on the rocks and we need your prayers."

As a minister, this troubles

me. God designed the church as a community in which Christians "carry

each others burdens" (Galatians 6:2). The Bible admonishes believers,

"Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that

you may be healed" (James 5:16). And, "If one part suffers,

every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices

with it" (1 Corinthians 12:26).

How might we reclaim this purpose,

this sense of community?

Alcoholics Anonymous originated

when Bill Wilson, who'd been sober for six months, found himself out of

town on a business trip. The deal fell through, leaving Bill depressed,

wandering through the hotel lobby. He felt himself drawn toward the bar,

thinking, "I need a drink."

Before reaching the bar, though,

a new thought stopped him in his tracks. "I don't need a drinkI need

another alcoholic!" Instead of the hotel bar, he headed toward the

telephone, where a sequence of calls put him in touch with Dr. Bob Smith,

who would become the cofounder of Alcoholics Anonymous.

Reclaiming God's design for

the church community begins when each of us say, unashamedly, "I

don't need to sin. I need another sinner. I need you to keep me accountable.

I need you to help me stay on the path of Christian growth."

Hi. I'm Daniel. I'm a sinner.

I need your help.

Daniel Overdorf is the Sr.

Minister of Fayetteville Christian Church, located at New Hope and Hickory

Roads in Fayetteville. He may be heard each Sunday at 10:30 a.m. as a

part of the church's weekly worship. Daniel may be contacted at the church

office770-461-8763, or at [email protected]

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