Concept II

on

GB Concept II. When, in 1995, the British A.A. groups confirmed the permanent charter for their General Service Conference, they thereby delegated to the Conference complete authority for the active maintenance of our services and thereby made the Conference—excepting for any change in the Twelve Steps, the Twelve Traditions or in Article 12 of the Conference Charter—the actual voice and the effective conscience of the Fellowship in Great Britain.

World Service Long Form II. When, in 1955, the A.A. groups confirmed the permanent charter for their General Service Conference, they thereby delegated to the Conference complete authority for the active maintenance of our world services and thereby made the Conference—excepting for any change in the Twelve Traditions or in Article 12 of the Conference Charter—the actual voice and the effective conscience for our whole Society.

World Service Short Form II. The General Service Conference of A.A. has become, for nearly every practical purpose, the active voice and the effective conscience of our whole Society in its world affairs.

Application in AA:

  • The final responsibility and ultimate authority residing in the groups is hamstrung without delegation
  • Why?
    • There is no effective channel of communication between them
    • There is no way of elaborating dialogue
    • There is no way of achieving consensus
    • There is no way of making decisions
    • There is no ability to act
  • Concept II answers part of this, as Conference establishes a forum for
    • ... communication
    • ... the elaboration of dialogue
    • ... the achievement of consensus
    • ... the making of decisions.
    • The ability to act is then delegated onwards
  • How is Conference established?
    • In London Region (North):
      • Groups elect GSRs:
      • GSRs attend Intergroup
      • GSRs also attend London Region (North) Assemblies
      • Six Conference Delegates are chosen
      • They attend Conference with delegates from other Regions plus the General Service Board
  • What does Conference discuss?
    • The fellowship (individuals, groups, and other entities) submit questions and topics for Conference
    • The Conference Steering Committee selects a number of those questions and topics
    • These are published and distributed a few months before Conference
    • Each group holds a group conscience meeting to discuss them
    • The GSR then presents the group's views to the Delegates at Assembly
    • At Conference, the Delegates divide into six Committees
    • These Committees represent the 16 Regions, with one Delegate per Region
    • They draft recommendations
    • These are then distributed for review amongst the other members of Conference
    • The recommendations are revised
    • The final recommendations are presented at plenary session (i.e. one attended by all Conference members)
    • Conference holds final votes on each recommendation
    • The recommendations are then presented to the fellowship for implementation
  • The whole fellowship has final responsibility and ultimate authority comprising two elements
    • The conscience ('knowledge of God's will for us')
    • The funds ('the power to carry that out')
  • It delegates to Conference actual = immediate = effective responsibility and authority
  • This delegated responsibility and authority comprises two elements
    • Major decision-making ('knowledge of God's will for us')
    • Action ('the power to carry that out')
  • Conference discharges the major decision-making elements
  • The rest of the structure then implements the major decisions
  • The notion of trusted servant
    • Delegates serve: they are not acting on their own account
    • They serve only one 'master': God
    • This is through three channels:
      • The voice of the groups
      • The voice of the other Delegates
      • The inner voice of conscience
    • In a practical sense, a delegatee serves only the delegator
    • This avoids conflict and impasse ('double-headed management')
    • The groups must trust the Delegates
    • This means that the Delegates also have a conscience
    • This conscience may impel Delegates to decide differently than the groups
    • The groups inform but do not instruct
    • The groups do not interfere with the work of Delegates

Application in life:
  • God's will is expressed through an 'active voice and effective conscience'
    • This can take several forms
      • Individual conscience: the still, small voice within
      • Group conscience: of the AA group, of the family, of the organisation I work for, of a community organisation, etc.
      • The conscience of the ad hoc group I form with my sponsor and other advisers
    • This is how the universal consciousness crystallises in the material realm
    • If the universal consciousness is spirit, the active voice and effective conscience is mind
  • The principle of delegation
    • God has the final responsibility and ultimate authority
    • I have only delegated responsibility and authority
    • This comprises two elements:
      • Decision ('knowledge of God's will for us')
      • Action ('the power to carry that out')
    • This manifests at three levels
      • Conference (decisions)
      • The Board (planning and administration)
      • Staff and servants (action)
    • At each level of manifestation I go to God for
      • Knowledge of God's will for me
      • The power to carry that out
        • This includes the resources to carry that out
    • Since everything comes from God, God carries the burden
    • I carry only the task of the moment
    • The past belongs to God
    • The future belongs to God
  • Delegation onwards
    • I cannot do everything
    • If I cannot do something
      • It is not my responsibility: I return it to God
      • It is my responsibility, but I must seek outside help:
        • Seeking professional or expert advice
        • Seeking spiritual counsel
        • Seeking practical help
        • Formally delegating to others
          • Within the family
          • Hiring contractors
          • Hiring other professionals
  • The undivided authority of the delegating power (God)
    • I serve only the delegator
    • I do not serve my ego
      • I say no to ego requests
      • I drop other addictions and unhealthy patterns
        • Drop the other addiction or unhealthy pattern first
        • Become uncomfortable
        • Go to God for relief
        • Don't wait until dropping it is or seems comfortable
      • There is then nothing to do but serve
      • And because there is no conflict, there is peace
      • Single-mindedness manifests as dedication of action
  • How to surrender to the undivided authority of the delegating power (God)
    • Steps, Traditions, Concepts
    • Daily fellowship
    • Daily practice of pages 84 to 88 of the book Alcoholics Anonymous
    • Being sponsored
    • Sponsoring others
    • Being of service in the world
    • Surrender is progressive: if I'm not going forwards, I'm going backwards
  • Relationship to others in a delegated role
    • I serve others as the object of my service
    • In practice they may be the channel through which God delegates to me
    • But they are not the source
    • 'It's better to be a God-pleaser than a people-pleaser: there's only one of Him' (Spiritual Paul)
    • 'A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways'
  • A foot in two worlds
    • Our service is the channel for Heaven to come down to earth
    • 'We have come to believe He would like us to keep our heads in the clouds with Him, but that our feet ought to be firmly planted on earth.' (Page 130, Alcoholics Anonymous)
    • Spirituality without action is fantasy
    • Action without spirituality is lifeless
    • God and us: like the sun and the rays; not one, not two
    • Remember that the Higher World is the greater
    • The Higher World is not the oasis
      • The narrator is visiting a monk in a mountain monastery: 'Here, it's an oasis,' I said, for want of a less trite image. 'No, it's the opposite,' said my friend, correcting me firmly, as if he had already reflected on this comparison. 'The world is an oasis, and here, we are in the immense expanse that surrounds it. In the oasis, you spend your time loading and unloading caravans. Seen from here, the caravans are just silhouettes on the horizon. Nothing is more beautiful than a caravan when you see it from afar. But, when you get closer, it's noisy, it's dirty, the camel drivers are quarrelling, and the animals are mistreated.' Amin Maalouf,  Les désorientés
    • Do not fall for the optical illusion that 'the world' is the more real of the two
    • It is a shadow cast on the wall by the hands obstructing the light
    • Our identity stems from God, as the Delegates are part of the 'whole fellowship'
    • Our purpose stems from God, as the Delegates achieve the fellowship's purpose, not their own
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