The Silent Sponsor

I HAVE heard certain members of AA say that they were able to make the program without feeling the need for a sponsor. Others contend that they have never played the part of a sponsor, although they admit to being active in other ways. These are honest statements and represent a large number of AAs, perhaps even a majority, who have been able to find sobriety either without knowingly picking a sponsor or being picked, or both. However, I believe that sponsorship may also be an unspoken phenomenon--a natural result of the newcomer's need for guidance and the older member's sense of responsibility toward the newcomer.