Workshop: Steps - Sponsorship (Chris R and Peter M) 7.5 Hours

Workshop: Steps - Sponsorship (Chris R and Peter M) 7.5 Hours

Curious about how others cope with the challenges of staying sober? This marathon AA workshop brings together Chris R and Peter M for more than seven hours of straight-talking experience on the 12 steps and, especially, sponsorship. Rather than a cosy chat, you’ll hear old-school AA: big book in hand, no fluff, and plenty of humour and hard truths.

Chris shares how 20 years without a drink doesn’t make him special, it just gives him a front-row seat to help others, stressing that, “If this was a self-help programme, I would have stopped long before I ever got in the dumpsters of Houston, Texas.” Peter adds his story of being taken through the book by an “awake” sponsor who challenged every belief he had about AA, family, work, money and attachments. The heart of the workshop is sponsorship.

They talk about what real sponsorship looks like – qualifying the newcomer, moving them through the steps at a decent pace, and taking responsibility for the message carried in meetings. You’ll hear the hosts describe 12-step calls at 2am, picking people up off the floor, and the joy of watching someone “get rocketed” when they finally follow the directions.

They also spend time on the three-part illness – physical craving, mental obsession and spiritual malady – and how the steps are meant to bring a practical spiritual experience, not just a string of meetings. There’s plenty on amends, daily inventory, 10th and 11th step practice, and how service and sponsorship keep long-term sobriety from going flat.

This one’s made for AA members, sponsors, sponsees and anyone who feels stuck, sick of hearing about “weed eaters” in meetings, and hungry for clear, big-book-based guidance. It might leave you asking: am I just staying dry – or am I aiming to be happy, joyous and free?