The Name

I went to my first AA meeting last night. I can hear what you're thinking. "What?!" I went not as a member but as a visitor. One of our guys here at Mosaic Church is a recovering alcoholic. He and his wife and son have been coming for about a month and a half now, every Saturday night. Pete goes to an AA meeting just about every night of the week. The last couple of weeks, Pete has asked me to go with him to one of their open meetings. I really want to be a support for him, so I told him I would go. So on Sunday night we drove to Madison, about 15 miles away to a Presbyterian Church and there I attended my first AA meeting with a group of mostly men and a few ladies. Pete introduced me to several of his friends and then we went into the church fellowship hall and found a place to sit. I kinda felt like church...since it was in a church, and we were sitting on the back row. They took an offering to cover their expenses and even prayed. A couple of things really struck me as the meeting began with a few announcements and then the introduction of the night's speaker. One was the use of the terminology of "higher power". I could tell that the speaker was very religious. He spoke about growing up here in America and about having parents from India. Yet, I'm not sure which God he was referring to. Was it "Allah", one of the many thousands of Hindu gods, or Jesus? Another thing that struck me was that the name of Jesus was never mentioned. It's amazing to me that people can talk and talk and talk about God and "whatever that is to you", yet when one brings up the name of Jesus people get offended and controversy breaks out. I'm not saying it does at AA meetings. I don't know, I've only been to one. But that's what the name of Jesus does. It divides. There's no gray area. His name either excites you or offends you. Now don't get me wrong, I think that AA is doing a great job of helping people get sober and stay sober. In fact, they're doing what the church should be doing. They are accepting, they hold each other accountable, and they welcome you back even when you mess up. Sounds like a church, but its not. AA has done a wonderful job helping my friend Pete and I'll go back with him sometime to show my support. As a church, we should model acceptance, accountability, and welcome each other with open arms even when we've blown it. But what makes Mosaic different from AA is the name of Jesus. He is the healer of our diseases. He is the comforter of broken hearts. He is the grace-giving God of mercy to those who blow it time and time again. He is the name by which we are saved. Without Him it doesn't matter if you gain your whole life but lose your soul.
Duane