Good Morning!: Quiet Time, Morning Watch, Meditation, and Early A.A. [Paperback]

Dick B. (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1998

AAs and those in most recovery programs are urged to involve themselves in "prayer and meditation." But what does that mean? Does it mean acquiring and taking a look at the hundreds of "meditation" books that have been marketed over the past decade or so? Does it mean looking at a verse or a thought for the day or a packaged prayer? Those questions are best answered in this book about how early AAs observed what they then called "Quiet Time." This idea had been popular in the 1800's, the YMCA, United Christian Endeavor, among evangelists, and later in the Oxford Group. It took on different names--Morning Watch, Quiet Hour, Quiet Time. But not "meditation." This phrase appeared on the scene in the 1939 A.A. program. And the Big Book provides few materials that tell one how to "pray" or how to "meditate." Some have opined that prayer is talking to God, while meditation is listening to God. But this self-made religious idea neither squares with early A.A. practices nor with the Bible. Instead, Quiet Hour had some well-defined suggestions about how to observe the time. First, it was clear that the time was meant to involve Bible study, prayer, seeking God's guidance, reading of religious literature, and then obeying God's directions. Second, there were suggestions as to how and where this was to be done. There were suggestions about relaxing, getting a quiet place, setting aside a specific time, and so on. This practice was not embedded in concrete. For people observed a Quiet Time when it seemed appropriate or convenient. Dr. Bob had observed it while in Christian Endeavor as a youngster. When A.A. began, Dr. Bob would retire upstairs three times a day for about 20 minutes. At that time, he would study a favorite Bible segment, pray, ask for God's guidance, and then "go about his Father's business," as he put it. Dr. Bob's wife Anne Smith conducted a morning quiet time each day at the Smith Home in Akron. She gathered AAs and their families in the early morning hours. She would open the session with prayer, then would read from the Bible, and join the group in prayer or seeking guidance. This was often followed by her sharing from her spiritual journal and conducting a discussion about it. On the East Coast, Rev. Sam Shoemaker had frequently spelled out how he observed Quiet Time. He recommended several books that told how to have a quiet time. Oxford Group writers did likewise. This book pulls it all together. It provides an excellent guide for you to do a quiet time that comes close to the principals and practices that produced such early A.A. success rates and cures. It will suggest where, how, and when. It will suggest the early A.A. devotionals and guides that were used. It will highlight the importance of the Bible and prayer. It will cover "guidance." And it will provide you with a number of practical suggestions. It is a healthy and welcome alternative to the many secular "meditation" and "reflection" books still in circulation, but which provide little help to those who are seeking, in early terms, to "practice the presence of God." This book is a simple, authoritative guide for individuals and groups to use in establishing and observing a special time with God each day. And on Christian terms!

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Dick B. is an active, recovered A.A. member, a retired attorney, and a Bible student. He has sponsored more than eighty men in their recovery. In 1990, he began researching, traveling, interviewing, and reading thousands of pages of the books early AAs read as they were developing their program. He has now written thirty-two titles on all facets of A.A. "spirituality." In early A.A., spirituality meant dependence upon God, the Creator. A.A. was a Christian fellowship. Its pioneers studied the Bible, prayed together, listened for guidance together, listened to the teachings of Dr. Bob's wife (Anne Ripley Smith), and utilized devotionals such as The Upper Room. From this, the author has learned and written about A.A.'s six major roots: the Bible, Quiet Time, the teachings of Sam Shoemaker, the life-changing program of the Oxford Group, Anne Smith's Journal, and Quiet Time. Dick has been called "A.A.'s unofficial historian" by reviewers and by one distinguished pastoral counselor who has written many books on Twelve Step programs and the ministry. Dick's aim has been to bring back for review and, where desired, the adoption of the Bible principles and practices of the 1930's when A.A. was highly successful, had a 75 to 93% success rate, and relied upon the power of God for help.

Product Details

• Paperback: 156 pages
• Publisher: Paradise Research Publications, Inc.; 2nd edition (October 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1885803222
• ISBN-13: 978-1885803221
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #598,645 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I'm an active, recovered member of Alcoholics Anonymous. I use the pen name Dick B. to conform to A.A. Traditions. I am also a writer, an historian, a Christian, a Bible student, a certified CDAAC, a retired attorney, and A.A. with over 25 years of continuous sobriety. As of October, 2011, I had, for more than 21 years, been researching the roots of early A.A. in the Bible, United Christian Endeavor, the Salvation Army, the Rescue Missions, the Young Men's Christian Association, the evangelists of the 1800's, the life-changing program of the Oxford Group, the teachings of Rev. Samuel M. Shoemaker, Quiet Time, the teachings of Anne Ripley Smith (Dr. Bob's wife), and the roles of William James, Carl Jung, Richard Peabody, New Thought writers, William D. Silkworth, Christian literature and devotionals of the day. And published 42 titles and over 675 articles on all aspects of A.A.'s spiritual history, biblical roots, and astonishing successes in the 1930's and very early 1940's. And why? Because many in the 12 Step Fellowships tire of hearing about a 'higher power' that can be a tree, a radiator, a lightbulb, the group, or Gertrude. And they tire of seeing Biblical expressions in A.A.'s basic text and early literature and yet hearing today's literature stating that A.A. is 'spiritual, but not religious' when outsiders and the courts readily see its religious character and many therefore believe they should be able to learn A.A. Christian roots. And they tire of the fatalism that abounds in recovery writings and talk today. So I decided to find out where A.A. came from, and then pass on to the 100 plus men I have sponsored, the truth about A.A.'s roots. Currently and still today, one history after another appears in print and purports to talk about A.A.'s beginnings. Yet there is little or no mention of the Bible, of God, of Jesus Christ, of Divine healing, of redemptive forgiveness, or of deliverance from the power of darkness. Nonetheless, these unmentioned or little mentioned Christian elements were relied upon by early AAs for their astonishing recoveries. The fact is that they declared they were cured by the power of God and had a documented 75 to 93% success rate among seemingly hopeless, medically incurable, alcoholics who gave the program their best shot. So each of my 42 published titles and innumerable articles cover some aspect, and often more than one, of A.A.'s seven major Biblical and basic roots: (1) The Bible. (2) Quiet Time and the daily devotionals. (3) The teachings of Rev. Sam Shoemaker, Jr. (4) The life-changing program of the Oxford Group. (5) The details in the spiritual journal kept by Anne Ripley Smith (co-founder DR. Bob's wife) and shared with the pioneers and their families, but unmentioned today. (6) The extensive Christian literature ranging from St. Augustine to Brother Lawrence to Henry Drummond to John Mott to Harry Emerson Fosdick to Glenn Clark to Oswald Chambers, and a host of others. (7) One of the most recent finds has been the roots of Akron A.A. in the United Christian Endeavor Society. If one wants to understand the role, power, and love of God our Creator in A.A. today, that person will not accomplish much in the meetings, nor even in the "something" or "somebody" definitions that are pumped out today as a "power" to seek. Nonetheless, they can find accurate facts in my thoroughly researched and documented work of the past 21 years. For A.A. history abounds with truths from the Bible: how to come to God through His son Jesus Christ, how to be healed, how to comport yourself in accordance with Christian principles, how to pray, and how to receive guidance as one of God's kids. It's all there; and I welcome your comments and the many I receive each day. There's still plenty to learn and pass on. God Bless, Dick B. PS: Many of our latest findings are in The Dick B. Christian Recovery Guide, 3rd ed., 2010 www.dickb.com/Christian-Recov-Guide.shtml. Many are frequently posted on my blog www.mauihistorian.blogspot.com, as well as my facebook and twitter entries

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A real help for my Quiet Time, December 6, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Good Morning!: Quiet Time, Morning Watch, Meditation, and Early A.A. (Paperback)

Those of us who observe a morning quiet time (that means Bible study, prayer, thanks to God, asking for His guidance, and sometimes the use of collateral materials)welcome this nifty review of quiet time and the morning watch through the ages. It shows the real biblical roots of morning prayer and "meditation" and provides an excellent guide, not only as to what early AAs did, but what we can do today. It is a guide for morning watch and also for seeking God's help throughout the day, followed by a hefty vote of thanks to Him at night.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Authentic, Historical Guide to Recovery Morning Devotions, March 27, 2008

By 

Daxton Lyon (Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Good Morning!: Quiet Time, Morning Watch, Meditation, and Early A.A. (Paperback)

AAs seem to crave "meditation" books, "reflection" books, devotional "guide books," and the like. Consequently, there are hundreds of books, pamphlets, and guides published in the last couple of decades. Yet there has been none suited to the AAs' taste for what the founders did. Dick set about gathering the precise books--like the Upper Room, The Runner's Bible, The Greatest Thing in The World, As a Man Thinketh, The Soul's Sincere Desire, My Utmost for His Highest, and many others--that were used by the pioneers. In fact, their quiet times were a must. They were required. And Bill Wilson remarked that he always felt something was lost in the program when the quiet time periods were abandoned. Well, they are not abandoned now. This book has been used by many of my friends as a real assist in their fellowship with God. It describes what a real quiet time was. It tells who did what, how, and why. And it provides an excellent resource for those who set aside time each day to read their Bibles, pray to God, ask the Creator's guidance, and study further.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent guide for 12 Step prayer, meditation, reading, guidance, November 17, 2006

By 

John Albert Hill Jr. "Bible student in recovery" (Las Vegas, Nevada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Good Morning!: Quiet Time, Morning Watch, Meditation, and Early A.A. (Paperback)

A Key Work on Morning Meditation and Prayer
Early on, Dick B. discovered that there were plenty of meditation and prayer books, but practically none that showed what early AAs were doing with their Quiet Times. This is an excellent help to me in following the sequence of 'meditation' events: a new birth, Bible study, prayer, seeking God's guidance, studying a devotional like The Upper Room, The Runner's Bible, and My Utmost for His Highest. It's actually a guide in my own daily prayer life, and can be for anyone who wants to be in touch with God each day - just as AA pioneers were

Also recommended: The Akron Genesis of Alcoholics Anonymous by Dick B. New Light on Alcoholism by Dick B. That Amazing Grace by Dick B.