Who's in Charge?

What separates AA from nearly all other organizations is the fact that no humans hold any real authority within our structure. Only God does. Through our Second Tradition, we seek God's guidance for our groups, and for our Fellowship as a whole by developing group consciences in which no member's voice carries more weight than any other. The connection between God and a group conscience is directly linked to the humility of the group's members, and the democracy among them. Though at first glance this may appear flimsy or unorganized, having no human leaders has enabled our Fellowship to continue and grow humbly in God's grace. A late trustee wrote ". . .we, more than all others, are conscious of the devastating effect of the human urge for power and prestige, which we must insure can never invade AA." (AA Service Manual, page S42). In this spirit, and for the sake of preserving our Fellowship, I believe we need to bring out into open discussion the fact that there are cults of personality growing within AA.