Concept 02

(short) 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.
(long)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.

1. Primary principle(s): Group conscience, unity, responsibility, delegated authority
2. Other principles: trust, patience, faith, forgiveness, generosity, good nature, hope, justice, love, patience, perseverance, positive thinking, selflessness, service, tactfulness, understanding, unity, willingness, democracy

Readings:

• Twelve Concepts for World Service pp. 10-12
• AA Comes of Age pp. 223-228
• AA Service Manual - Appendix B - pp. S95-96
• “Everything You’ve Always Wanted to Know About Service But Were Afraid to Ask” - May 2002 AA Grapevine
• “The Incredible Tapestry” - February 1993 AA Grapevine

At a recent regional service meeting, an active Trustee said that, if there is a “crisis” in A.A. today, it is that the membership has never taken Concepts 1 and 2 seriously.  That, in their hearts, they (really “us” - the members of the fellowship) never really accepted “ownership”of A.A. when handed off from Bill and Bob.

Interesting perspective…

I am in a position to hear a great deal of what has and does happen at the General Service Conference, the various Board Meetings, and many of the different service functions in our fellowship.  What I think I glean from that is that there are some definite tensions between the conference and the board, between the staff and the board and the  conference, between our several functional entities (publishing, grapevine, the General Service Office, the local Central Office, the groups, the club board and manager, etc.) — lots of tension on the surface.  Even more tension underneath these relationships.

The first thing that I’ve had to get over in my service experience is the old idea that tension is a bad thing.  It’s not only a good thing, it’s what makes the whole system work as Bill, Bob, Bernard Smith and others have laid it out.  We’re really not supposed to always agree at first blush.

I’ve had the opportunity to serve with a number of folks over the years who are still sensitive to tension.  Most of us are — especially when we’re new to AA service work.

Some of these folks have, with the best of intentions (who likes to see or risk conflict eruptions?), called for either a vote or a time out long before we were done talking about whatever the item on the floor is.  As a former service sponsor of mine used to say: “…the group conscience stops when the vote is taken…”.

My observation is that this (stopping the dialog before enough is said) often causes issues to come back up — sometimes for years!!!

While I have all kinds of respect for the seemingly glacial pace at which A.A. makes decisions or sets new directions, it seems that the “true” conscience (if there is, in fact, such a thing) needs time and transparency to develop.  I’ve seen one person with a minority opinion turn a large vote over once the minority opinion is stated.  I’ve also seen one person obstruct the development of the conscience of a service entity for a decade or longer (I’ve even been that person on at least one perennial issue ).  I think some key principles around this are patience, honesty, responsibility and delegated authority.

• Patience - that the group conscience will evolve if we wait for it
• Honesty - that we don’t “settle” for anything less than the best for A.A.
• Responsibility - that we truly do take ownership of our society
• Delegated authority - that we empower the process to work for the operations of the organization.

Of course, delegating the authority does not absolve us of responsibility…

Presuming the best of intentions, I think that’s how some people dismiss all the “politics in New York” rather than understanding and supporting (either with agreement or argument) the decisions and directions set in motion via the conference.  How can the conference truly be our delegated authority when less than 2 in 100 members (my guess based on what I see - wildly unscientific and biased) even know what the conference is and  how it works?

I guess one answer is, “…it works pretty well - so far…”  A.A. has survived, at times even thrived, for over 74 years to date.  Yet as I look at this great organization, I think our future is far from assured - we aren’t, in my opinion, always sending our best and supporting them adequately as a fellowship.  Too often, at Delegate elections as much as at GSR, we are running beauty or popularity contests, or are sending the soul who has the least objection to the inconvenience of service.  Worse, in my opinion, we’re sending non-alcoholics - folks who, in their heart of hearts, really aren’t part of this organization because their lives depend on it.

The solution?  I need to pay attention.  I need to understand the complicated issues and offer my support when it feels impossibly hard or inconvenient.  I need to say “…I don’t understand…” when that’s the truth.  I need to belong to A.A. and support those around me in service as either the Elder Statesmen or, even better, as a Member — who truly owns a part of the responsibility for the whole organization.

The 12 Concepts Checklist (a service piece from the General Service Office), asks these questions about Concept 2:

• Do we have an understanding of the history of the General Service Conference (the “Conference”)?
  • Principles:
• What is a Conference Advisory Action? Does our home group’s G.S.R., D.C.M., area delegate report back to the group on the highlights of the Conference and Conference Advisory Actions?
  • Principles:
• Is our group meeting its wider Seventh Tradition responsibilities?
  • Principles: