I love the committee process, which wasn’t always the case. When I was three years sober the Salt Lake area was just putting together its corrections committee and a friend of mine convinced me that they couldn’t do it without me. After a great deal of persuasion I finally agreed to attend their meetings. All I saw was a bunch of alcoholic egos snarling and snapping at each other. After attending a couple of those meetings I told my friend that I felt like I was going to drink if I kept going. So for the next 17 years I did my service work in my home group.

Then in 2002 I heard that the Area had approved the development of an Area website. That’s the kind of work I did for a living so I made my way down to St. George where they were holding the Pre-Conference Assembly and I was selected as the first Area Webservant under the Public Information committee. It was at that assembly that I fell in love with the committee process. At that roundtable I literally saw God’s consciousness being expressed. Our leaders truly are trusted servants. No governing. No one is in charge. That same beneficent, loving, caring and all powerful being that restored me to sanity when it came to drinking and living a sober life continues to express itself in the group’s conscience. That’s one of the reasons it’s so important that your group is represented and participates in the committee process.

Bill said it very well in his essay on leadership. “Good leadership originates plans, policies, and ideas for the improvement of our Fellowship and its services. But in new and important matters it will nevertheless consult widely before taking decisions and actions.”

And of course I love the definition and contrast between and “elder statesman” and a “bleeding deacon”. The elder statesman is one who sees the wisdom of the group’s decisions, whose judgment, fortified by considered experience, is sound. The bleeding deacon is one who remains convinced that the group cannot get along without him, who continues to can be consumed with self-pity.

My hope is to continue to become that elder statesman and learn to trust more and more.

Thank you for allowing me to serve!

—Doug R.