Concept XII

GB Concept XII. General Warranties of Conference: in all its proceedings the General Service Conference shall observe the spirit of the A.A. Tradition taking great care that the Conference never becomes the seat of perilous wealth or power; that sufficient operating funds, plus an ample reserve, be its prudent financial principle; that none of the Conference members shall ever be placed in a position of unqualified authority over any of the others; that all important decisions be reached by discussion, vote and whenever possible, by substantial unanimity; that no Conference action ever be personally punitive or an incitement to public controversy; that though the Conference may act for the service of Alcoholics Anonymous, it shall never perform any acts of government; and that, like the Society of Alcoholics Anonymous which it serves, the Conference itself shall always remain democratic in thought and action.

World Service Long Form XII. General Warranties of the Conference: in all its proceedings, the General Service Conference shall observe the spirit of the A.A. Tradition, taking great care that the Conference never becomes the seat of perilous wealth or power; that sufficient operating funds, plus an ample reserve, be its prudent financial principle; that none of the Conference Members shall ever be placed in a position of unqualified authority over any of the others; that all important decisions be reached by discussion, vote, and, whenever possible, by substantial unanimity; that no Conference action ever be personally punitive or an incitement to public controversy; that, though the Conference may act for the service of Alcoholics Anonymous, it shall never perform any acts of government; and that, like the Society of Alcoholics Anonymous which it serves, the Conference itself will always remain democratic in thought and action.

World Service Short Form XII. The Conference shall observe the spirit of A.A. tradition, taking care that it never becomes the seat of perilous wealth or power; that sufficient operating funds and reserve be its prudent financial principle; that it place none of its members in a position of unqualified authority over others; that it reach all important decisions by discussion, vote, and, whenever possible, by substantial unanimity; that its actions never be personally punitive nor an incitement to public controversy; that it never perform acts of government, and that, like the Society it serves, it will always remain democratic in thought and action.

Application in AA

The General Service Conference is governed by the Conference Charter

There is a Great Britain version (in the Structure Handbook)
There is a USA and Canada version (in the AA Service Manual)

The General Warranties of Conference are extracted from the Conference Charter
They can be changed only with the written consent of three-quarters of all the directory-listed AA groups who would actually vote on any such proposals

This important qualification is not well understood: you do not need a three-quarters majority of all groups, just a three-quarters majority of voting groups
This is the same ranking as given the Twelve Traditions

They formally govern only Conference

They specifically oblige Conference to conform to the Twelve Traditions

They traditionally govern all decision-making within the service structure (including at group level)
As with all other Concepts, they convey general principles of general application
Overt general principle: it is the spirit of AA tradition which counts:

'Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.' (2 Corinthians 3:6)
The spirit of AA tradition is to take the Traditions and to apply them to situations, not to take a foregone conclusion and to fit the Traditions around it
Exalted above all AA Tradition is God

'Grace bats last'
Consciousness—the channel through which God communicates—always has the casting vote / right of veto

Do not argue points legalistically

This lends itself to manipulation of the Traditions to suit ego purposes
Ultimately, it is how the various Traditions interrelate in relation to an issue that counts, not the individual arguments
Wisdom, experience, and judgement must temper any argumentation based on the Traditions
You can argue the most arrant nonsense using the Traditions if you are so minded (let's not give examples here!)

Underlying principle: 'prudence'

The midpoint between fear and recklessness

Warranty One: 'Conference shall never become the seat of perilous wealth or power'

The GSB (General Service Board) accepts no outside contributions
Individual gifts to AA capped
These two safeguards make it much less likely that excess funds will accumulate
Rotation (Concept XI), voting participation (Concept IV), and 'careful chartering' (Concept XI) prevent excess power accumulating in one individual
Concept VII provides a financial check over errant spending

Warranty Two: '... sufficient operating funds, plus an ample reserve, be its prudent financial principle'

Individual AA members should be as keen to give their money as their time to ensure good service provision
The cost of centralised services is minimal when calculated as a cost per head
Keep one year's worth of operating expenses at call
In practice, some operating capital needs to be kept aside to cover cash flow fluctuations throughout the year
Group contributions are insufficient so literature sales (which generate a margin) have to cover the difference

This was true in around half of the years up to the time of writing of Bill's essays in the 1950s (and is still true now in GB)

The combination of literature sales plus the prudent reserve sees AA services through 'lean years' without redundancies or reductions in service
The principle of 'paying your own way' is established all through AA and should apply to book sales as well
If people cannot pay for literature, individual group members usually help out in any case, and there are always ways of acquiring literature for free
This should not be the responsibility of AA as a whole through subsidised literature, or of the group (although many groups give away AA literature for free)
The mark-up on books is not a profit in the ordinary sense of the income of ultimate investors but a contribution to cover services

Warranty Three: '... that none of the Conference Members shall ever be placed in a position of unqualified authority over any of the others'

This is ensured by:

Concept IV: Voting participation (i.e. the principle that delegatees also form part of the delegating committee, e.g. Board Members are members of Conference)
Concept V: Right of appeal (minority report / petition)

Warranty Four: '... that all important decisions be reached by discussion, vote, and, whenever possible, by substantial unanimity'

This is a bulwark against the 'hasty or overbearing authority of a simple majority'
Continue discussing until you have substantial unanimity
General definition: two-thirds for major decisions
Conference may stipulate three-quarters or more for categories of question or specific questions
The decision on the majority required can be made by simple majority
In any case, aim for more than two-thirds
Allow the minority voice to speak
Revote if anyone has changed their mind
But still 50:50 where the decision is binary and has to be made one way or the other

Warranty Five: '... that no Conference action ever be personally punitive or an incitement to public controversy'

Do not attack or punish individuals
Any real alcoholic who strays too far morally will be 'cut down' by alcohol
Avoid public controversy
Do not engage in public defence
Sometimes actions needs to be taken to protect the fellowship (e.g. treasurers who run away with the money: other groups may need to be warned)

But this should be done in a manner which is ...

... not punitive
... not aggressively controversial

What happens if there is public attack?

Remain silent
'Unreasonable people are stimulated all the more by opposition'
They usually subside if left alone
If attacks persist and appear based on misinformation:

Correct them factually through back channels (rather than through official channels)
... but not in such a way as to constitute a springboard for fresh assault
Do not question motives etc.: stick to the facts

If criticism is partly valid:

Acknowledge them and thank them
Do so privately not publicly

In any case:

Do not exhibit anger ...
... or punitive / aggressive intent

Abuse of the AA name

Privately inform Traditions violators
Follow up with 'other resources of persuasion as we may have, and these are often considerable'

Bill does not indicate what these are!

Engage in public education about the nature and purpose of the Traditions
Inform the general public or third parties, where necessary, of the Tradition violation
This is usually enough to dissuade people: it will affect their reputation and pocketbooks
Such 'information measures' do not represent a 'government action' as we are not actually preventing anyone from doing anything

Internal disputes

AA's 'World Headquarters' (read: any general service office) cannot resolve such disputes but can offer to mediate
Encourage participants to keep the dispute internal
When disputes are at a local level, they should be resolved locally, however
(Such disputes are usually relatively minor and concern genuinely grey areas where differing views, typically split between strict and lenient approaches, are valid)

What if schism looms?

Two possible ways it could be triggered:

Secession
Alliance with an outside agency or ideology

Hard to imagine because of the obvious personal stakes we all have in the unity of the fellowship
The advised route for Conference:

Complete non-resistance
No anger
No attack

This is happening the whole time at other levels:

Individuals rebel against aspects of AA
People go and form other groups
Groups try to set up clubhouses
Groups try to restrict membership or expand membership
We leave individuals and groups to do what they want
Most experiments, at both individual and group level, are time-limited
People and groups decide of their own accord to return to the original principles

Therefore:

Do not attempt to dissuade dissenters
If people want to secede: wish them well
If they do well, learn from them
If they do badly, they'll come back

General principle: watch and wait

Use of the AA name

Request that other agencies, if they use AA principles, do not use the AA name
If the AA name is misapplied, the General Service Conference should press for the discontinuation of such a practice
... short of publicly quarrelling about it
The AA name could be protected by incorporation
But that would require incorporation of the fellowship
This would be inconsistent with the notion that AA groups are autonomous and answerable to no one but their own conscience (for which, read the 'Higher Power')

Warranty Six:

'... that, though the Conference may act for the service of Alcoholics Anonymous, it shall never perform any acts of government'
'... and that, like the Society of Alcoholics Anonymous which it serves, the Conference itself will always remain democratic in thought and action.'

Government not needed:

Individuals drink if they do not abide by spiritual principles
Groups dissolve if they breach the Traditions

Nothing should curtail 'Freedom under God to grow in His likeness and image'
General principle: 'acting in the spirit of mutual respect and love'
Take no actions in anger, haste, or recklessness
Respect and protect all minorities
Apply Warranties Four (discussion, vote, and substantial unanimity) and Five (not personally punitive)
Prudently on guard against tyrannies

Great and small
By the majority or by the minority

Application in life

Principles

Apply the spirit of the law not the letter of the law

Adapting sponsorship to each person I sponsor
Recognise that God will continually reveal more over and above established structures, ideologies, and routines
Love and tolerance override all

Prudence: the midpoint between fear and recklessness
Capping of individual gifts: avoidance of excessive reliance on individuals

Spread emotional / spiritual support amongst a 'team' of people
Do not over-rely on a sponsor

Avoidance of excessive accumulation of funds / power

Have what you need to fulfil your function and no more
Funds and power bring attachment
Attachment gets in the way

Operating funds (to cover ups and downs) plus an ample reserve (one year's expenses as savings at call)
Empowerment rather than charity

Help people help themselves
Charity debases the value of the gift in the eyes of the recipient
Literature given out is more likely to be thrown out than literature paid for and therefore worked for
Encouraging people to rely on God rather than people

Individual responsibility for the whole

I'm responsible for my part
But no more than my part

"We try not to indulge in cynicism over the state of the nations, nor do we carry the world’s troubles on our shoulders.' (The Family Afterward, Alcoholics Anonymous)
But some will have a more prominent role to play in AA, the community, or society

And certainly no less

Discussion, vote, and substantial unanimity

Aim for full consensus
Be prepared to compromise greatly
If in doubt, yield

Warranty Five: handling criticism and attacks

Do not punish
Do not attack
Do not argue
Avoid public controversy
Trusting the universe's self-correcting mechanisms
Limit yourself to correcting errors of fact
Privately acknowledge valid criticism
Schism: if someone wants to go, let them

True for relationships
True for sponsees
True for sponsors

Freedom under God

Once, while travelling on a train, the Alter of Novardok (R' Yosef Yoizel Horowitz) found himself in the company of freethinkers. Taking note of the Alter's rabbinic garb, they attempted to draw him into philosophical debate. The Alter told them, "You people call yourselves 'free', for you have liberated yourselves from the restrictions of religious belief. In fact, you are slaves. I have disciplined myself to the extent that I am prepared to do whatever my Creator asks of me. You, on the other hand, are ruled by your passions and desires. That is real slavery."

First 164

Search This Blog

Concept XII