Taking a look around

“I’m glad that he pointed out how different AA actually is; AA is nothing less than old fashioned Christian repentance placed in 12 steps, and is something churches need to encourage, not discourage.”

I really appreciate the fact that Michael mentioned AA in his post this week. I’ve been thinking for some time about why AA works so well. How can it be that a total stranger could come into a new place with new people, sit down, and share about their entire disturbing past and their hopes for redemption? And perhaps more troubling, why can’t we find this honesty in many of our churches? Shouldn’t the Church be more like an AA meeting, where openness and humility are the markers of the community? Why are people more willing to share at an AA meeting than in a Church service. I agree with Michael, the Church needs to encourage this sort of thing, and perhaps even adopt some of the aspects of AA that have made it so effective at changing lives.