15 Things AA Can Teach the Church about Renewal

15 Things AA Can Teach the Church about Renewal

by | Feb 24, 2026

Alcoholics Anonymous may be one of the most effective church renewal models of the last century — and most congregations have hosted it without fully recognizing what it gets right.

Founded in 1935, AA has helped millions experience lasting spiritual transformation through small groups, shared stories, disciplined practice, and radical humility. It has built one of the most successful self-duplicating spiritual movements in modern history — largely in church basements.

AA did not set out to renew the church.

But it reveals powerful principles of church renewal that congregations today cannot afford to ignore.

Here are 15 things AA can teach the Church about renewal.

 

1) Stick to Your Primary Purpose

AA has one clear purpose:

To help alcoholics achieve sobriety.

That clarity fuels effectiveness.

Churches often diffuse energy across competing priorities — programs, property, politics, preferences. Renewal begins when a congregation reclaims its primary purpose and aligns everything around it.

For United Methodists, that means remembering why we exist in the first place — to have  open hearts, open minds, and open doors

Church renewal always starts with focus.

 

2) You Can’t Keep It Unless You Give It Away

In AA, recovery is sustained by helping others recover.

Bill W. and Dr. Bob, the two co-founders of AA, stayed sober by sharing the message. That principle remains unchanged.

Discipleship is built into the structure.

Healthy church renewal works the same way. Faith deepens when it is shared. Spiritual maturity grows through multiplication, not maintenance.

 

3) Everyone Needs a Sponsor

No one works the Twelve Steps alone.

Each member has a sponsor — someone further along who walks beside them. Then they become a sponsor to someone else.

This is discipleship in motion.

Church renewal accelerates when every member is both being formed and forming someone else.

 

4) Insist on Experiencing God

AA speaks of a “Higher Power” and invites members to grow in lived spiritual experience. The emphasis is not doctrinal precision but transformation.

Churches sometimes focus more energy on defining belief than facilitating encounter.

Renewal movements insist that spiritual awakening is real, personal, and possible.

 

5) Promise a Spiritual Awakening

The Twelve Steps culminate in a spiritual awakening.

It is expected.

Many churches promise belonging or participation. Fewer clearly promise transformation. Church renewal requires the courage to say: changed lives are not optional — they are the goal.

 

6) Measure Spiritual Growth, Not Just Attendance

In AA, growth is measured by sobriety, amends made, humility practiced, and lives restored.

Numbers are secondary.

If church renewal is reduced to attendance or budget metrics, depth is lost. Vital congregations measure maturity, courage, generosity, and justice.

Renewal shifts what success looks like.

 

7) Buildings Are Tools, Not the Mission

Most AA groups meet in borrowed space.

This frees energy for purpose instead of maintenance.

The early church grew without property. AA thrives without owning space.

Church renewal happens when buildings serve mission — not when mission serves buildings.

 

8) Be Self-Supporting

AA is self-supporting through member contributions.

This builds ownership

Renewal movements cultivate shared responsibility rather than dependence on outside rescue. When members invest personally, transformation deepens.

 

9) There Are No Stars

Anonymity ensures humility.

No celebrities. No platform culture. Just shared commitment to transformation.

Church renewal requires humility. Personality-driven leadership may attract attention, but humility sustains movements.

 

10) Don’t Shoot Your Wounded

Relapse does not equal rejection.

Those who fall are welcomed back.

Grace is practiced, not preached.

Congregations committed to renewal cultivate mercy. Judgment — even subtle judgment — erodes trust and stalls transformation.

 

11) Have Joy

AA meetings are often filled with laughter.

Honesty and joy coexist.

Spiritual depth and delight are not opposites. Renewal restores joy alongside accountability.

 

12) Let Structure Serve the Local Community

AA’s General Service Office exists to support local groups.

Authority flows toward service.

Church renewal requires denominational and leadership structures that empower local congregations rather than control them.

Healthy systems serve mission.

 

13) Share Your Story

Storytelling is central to AA.

Transformation spreads through testimony.

The early church grew through shared witness.

Church renewal accelerates when people tell the truth about what God is doing in their lives.

 

14) Focus on the Newcomer

In AA, the newcomer is the most important person in the room.

They are welcomed immediately.

Renewal movements prioritize those just arriving, not only those who have always been there.

Church renewal requires courage to make space — even when it disrupts comfort.

 

15) Expect Resurrection

People come back from the dead in AA rooms every day.

Lives are rebuilt.

New life is not merely hoped for. It is expected.

Christian faith centers on resurrection. Church renewal requires that we expect it — not nostalgically recall it.

 

Why This Matters for Church Renewal

AA demonstrates that spiritual renewal thrives when it is:

  • Focused on mission
  • Relational and accountable
  • Humble in leadership
  • Self-replicating
  • Experience-driven
  • Rooted in transformation

In many ways, AA models principles of church renewal more consistently than many congregations.

That should not discourage us. It should clarify what works.

If we long for renewal in our churches, we do not need novelty. We need clarity, courage, spiritual depth — and structures that support transformation.

This is precisely the work of building a culture of renewal.

The question is not whether AA can teach the church something.

The question is whether we are willing to align our life together around transformation.

 

 

Adapted and edited from June 2015 article.

Copyright © 2026 rebekahsimonpeter.com.  All Rights Reserved.

We Can Rise Again

We Can Rise Again

by | Feb 9, 2026

I first wrote this article back in 2020 as “Can We Rise Again?”; at that time I’d hoped that we were nearing the end of the Covid pandemic and that Easter would see us gathering again without fear or masks. That was not to be.

Six years later, our nation faces other trials – immigrant families terrorized in our city streets, the history of minorities – of our very beginnings as a nation – being eradicated from public places and school books, LGBTQ rights being questioned, and women’s voices and those of religious minorities being silenced or ridiculed.

As with the Covid pandemic, disappointment has given me pause. I’m no different than the disciples—they, too, hoped for a quick Kingdom victory. Instead, they lost Jesus to crucifixion. The disciples feared they had no future—we are consumed by constant bad news. The disciples did not know about Jesus’ resurrection; we are agnostic about when and how this ends.

We say we are an Easter people, but the persistent question is, can we rise again?

I say we can.

It’s not easy to maintain a strong belief in possibility in the face of frightening news. Even the disciples had a hard time with it.  

But, Jesus believed that he would rise again. In other words, Jesus believed in possibility.

 

Jesus Believed in Possibility 

Several times in the Gospels, he confided in his disciples that things would get very dark, very bleak. However, the light would dawn again. Jesus told them, “The Son of Man will be delivered into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days He will rise.” Mark 9:31

Not only did Jesus believe in the possibility for himself, he thought it for his disciples. He told them that even though they would all scatter once he was threatened, he would still be there for them. “But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.” Mark 14:28 Indeed, he met them on the path as they headed back to Galilee.

 

Soulful Step 

Right now, right here—amid disappointment and discord—it’s time to up your faith in a positive, albeit unseen, future. The bleaker the circumstances, the more critical it is to believe in possibility. Besides making your voice heard, standing up for the oppressed, taking real action to help others both in your community and in the nation, thinking in opportunity is the most critical thing you can do right now.

 

Embrace the Belief  

As your soul makes room for this new level of belief in possibility, use the DARE model to embrace and embody the idea. Adapted from Dream Like Jesus: Deepen Your Faith and Bring the Impossible to Life, this model invites you to use your imagination to call forth something new into being.

 

DARE to Dream

DREAM:

  1. Begin to dream now of what a positive future could look like.
  2. Focus on your future habits, gratitudes, family life, or congregational structure.
  3. Allow the Holy Spirit to shape your vision and guide your thoughts and actions.

ALIGN: Align yourself with God by receiving divine courage, comfort, and confidence to dare to dream. Then invite others into your dream of a new future by sharing it out loud.

REALIZE: We have realized just how precious our human connection is. Reach out to those who might be feeling neglected, or even fearful, at this time. Show them by your actions that you’re there for them.

EXPAND: Watch how one good idea expands into others. Watch how spirits rise, buoyed on the life-giving stream of possibility. I know many people who had never taken to the streets to practice 1st Amendment right who are now speaking out for others without fear. As clergy leadership, it’s especially important to be on the front lines of fighting injustice.

 

Apostolic Action

Build your resilience to fear, resignation, and hopelessness by carrying good news on your lips. The time to act is now.

I know it’s not easy to maintain a strong belief in possibility in the face of frightening news. But as the late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. famously said, “I was not afraid of the words of the violent, but of the silence of the honest.”

We can rise again, and we WILL rise again. As Jesus did. Join me on that journey.

 

 

Adapted and edited from “Can We Rise Again?”, March 29, 2021.

Copyright © 2026 rebekahsimonpeter.com.  All Rights Reserved.

 

 

A Force to Be Reckoned With: Overcoming the Superhero Myth

A Force to Be Reckoned With: Overcoming the Superhero Myth

by | Dec 19, 2025

In my last post, I invited you to step out of the boat and practice “Water Walking Faith.” Yet, even with the best intentions, you might still feel small when looking at the problems you face. As we approach Epiphany, the season of light, I promise you this: You don’t need to wait for a savior to swoop in and fix the world. When you embrace the faith of Jesus, you realize that you are the force to be reckoned with.

It is increasingly hard to find a good movie to watch these days without stumbling into a superhero flick or a horror film. I’ve often wondered why these genres are so popular. I think it’s because people are living in fear about what’s coming next. Evil seems to be on the loose, and it’s almost become natural to be suspicious. Deep down are feelings of helplessness and a secret hope that someone else—a superhero, a politician, another leader, God—will fly in with incredible strength to vanquish the evil and save the day.

 

The Myth of the Superhero

The myth is that you are helpless in the face of the world’s chaos. You might believe the lie that you are just an extra in the movie of life, waiting for the main character to arrive. This leads to a passive spirituality where you pray for God to fix things while you sit on the sidelines.

The bad news? No comic book superheroes are coming to save us.

The good news? You come from a long line of miracle workers. You are the hero the world needs.

 

Help Me Overcome My Unbelief

Consider the father in Mark 9 who brought his possessed son to Jesus. He said to Jesus, “If you can do anything, take pity on us.” Jesus threw the ball right back to him: “If you can? Everything is possible for one who believes.”

The father’s response is one of the most honest prayers in scripture: “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”

Like that father, you might be standing in the middle of a mess—a sick child, a polarized community, economic instability—feeling a mix of faith and doubt. You want to believe change is possible, but you are afraid to hope. Jesus didn’t wait for the father to have perfect faith; he worked with the faith the father had. He healed the boy, proving that your agency, even when mixed with doubt, is powerful when you bring it to God.

 

A Force to Be Reckoned With

As an apostle, you are a spiritual superhero. Jesus didn’t align fully with the political parties of his day (Sadducees, Pharisees, Zealots). He kept his own counsel and preached a vision that transcended party lines.

  • Test Your Faith: You need to check your “Water Walking Faith.” Do you believe your life has a unique purpose? Do you believe in a miracle mindset? Do you believe like Jesus?
  • The Shift: Alice Walker wrote, “We are the ones we have been waiting for.” When you stop looking for a hero and start looking within at your Divine Partnership, you activate your agency. You stop complaining about how bad things are and start carrying the message of the Kingdom.

 

Dos and Don’ts

  • Do confess your doubt like the father in Mark 9 (“I believe; help my unbelief”) rather than pretending your doubt doesn’t exist.
  • Do realize that you are the plan. God is waiting on you to act.
  • Do transcend political polarization by focusing on the Kingdom vision, just as Jesus did.
  • Don’t wait for a superhero or a politician to save the world; that is a recipe for despair.
  • Don’t let the horror movies of the nightly news convince you that evil has won.
  • Don’t be a “faithless” generation; be the one who believes.

 

Next Steps/Takeaways

You are one of the spiritual superheroes Jesus is calling on. This Epiphany, don’t just look for the light—be the light.

Answer the Call: Stop waiting. Step into your spiritual power.

Practice: Read this statement aloud today: “Jesus invites me to believe that my life has a unique and irreplaceable purpose. I matter.”

To solidify this transformation and step into your role as a miracle-maker for the New Year, register now for Epiphany: Manifesting the Miraculous. We will spend our time together unlocking the spiritual resources deep inside you, so you can go back out into the world and move mountains.

 

Copyright © 2025 rebekahsimonpeter.com.  All Rights Reserved.

A Force to Be Reckoned With: Overcoming the Superhero Myth

Stepping Out of the Boat: Cultivating Water Walking Faith

by | Dec 10, 2025

In previous weeks, I challenged you to believe your prayers have power and to stand firm in your Divine Partnership. Now, as the calendar turns toward the New Year and the season of Epiphany, it is time to put those internal shifts into radical external action. The world feels increasingly like a storm-tossed sea, and it’s tempting to hunker down. You might feel safer staying in the “boat”, the familiar, the comfortable, the status quo. You might think that staying quiet and keeping your head down is the best way to survive the waves. But deep down, you know that clinging to safety is not the same as living with purpose. The problem isn’t the storm; the problem is the fear that keeps you paralyzed within it.

I promise you that if you are willing to shift from merely believing in Jesus to believing like Jesus, you can transcend the “politics of grievance” and navigate the storms of this life with a power you didn’t know you had.

 

The Myth that Believing in Jesus is Enough

A common myth is that “faith” just means intellectually agreeing that Jesus is the Son of God. You might think, “I believe in Jesus, so I’m good.” But Jesus calls you to more than just spectator faith. He doesn’t just want you to watch him walk on water and applaud; he wants you to get out of the boat and do it, too. Believing in Jesus might keep you safe in the pew; believing like Jesus gives you strength to step out onto the waves.

 

Water Walking Faith

Reflect on the well-known story of Peter in Matthew 14. The disciples are in a boat, terrified by the wind and waves. Jesus walks out to them on the water. When Peter realizes it’s Jesus, he asks to join him. Jesus says, “Come.”

And then Peter actually does it. He swings his leg over the side, puts his feet on the water, and walks. But then, he sees the wind. He loses focus, gets scared, and starts to sink. Jesus catches him, but he asks, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?”

I don’t think Peter doubted Jesus. I think Peter doubted himself and his ability to believe and act like Jesus. He got into his head, felt the pull of gravity (the way things “usually” work), and pushed the miracle away. Like Peter, you have moments of water walking faith, but when the winds of life kick up, you might let doubt sink you back into the ordinary.

 

Stepping Out of the Boat into the Impossible

To move toward Epiphany—the manifestation of the divine—you need to adopt a “Growth Mindset” regarding your faith.

  • Faith of Jesus: This is the upgrade. It means tapping into the same source of power Jesus did. It requires you to see the world through Jesus’ eyes.
  • The Lesson of Sinking: It’s important to remember that sinking isn’t failure; it’s part of the learning process. Even when Peter sank, he was still the only one brave enough to get out of the boat.
  • Epiphany is Action: Epiphany isn’t just a date on the calendar; it is a call to reveal God’s light in the world. You cannot do that while hiding in the boat. You must be willing to step out into the “impossible.”

 

Next Steps/Takeaways

God is asking if you are ready to advance from disciple to apostle. You are being invited to resist evil, injustice, and oppression not by complaining, but by rising above the waves with water walking faith.

Answer the Call: Don’t just watch Jesus work. Ask him to call you out onto the water. And then take the action you are called to with the same faith of Jesus.

Practice: This week, identify one area of your life where you are “staying in the boat” out of fear. Take one small, concrete step onto the water.

To fully activate this “Water Walking Faith” and start your New Year with power, I invite you to join me at my upcoming retreat: Epiphany: Manifesting the Miraculous. It’s time to leave the safety of the shore and discover what you are truly capable of.

 

Copyright © 2025 rebekahsimonpeter.com.  All Rights Reserved.

Stretching into the Miraculous: Practicing Your Divine Partnership

Stretching into the Miraculous: Practicing Your Divine Partnership

by | Dec 8, 2025

In my last post, I talked about the vital importance of Divine Partnership in navigating darkness. But how do you actually live that out? It’s one thing to say “I am one with God,” and another to feel it when you’re stuck in traffic or frustrated with the news. I promise that by using two simple tools, Words and Works, and by embracing the spiritual practice of stretching, you can break through resistance to make your partnership with the Divine a tangible reality.

The fact is, change is hard. Even when you want to up-level your faith, you bump up against your own ego and the “status quo.” You become what the Bible calls “stiff-necked” or “hard-hearted.” You get set in your ways, resistant to new ideas, and closed off to the promptings of the Spirit. Miracles and change are possible with Divine Partnership.

But before the fullness of change can occur, a common myth needs to be dispelled.

 

The Myth of the Static Soul

A common myth is that spiritual practice looks only like sitting quietly in a pew or reading scripture. This is separation of the “holy” from the “physical.” You might think stretching is just for the gym and creativity is just for artists. But your body and soul are connected. Stiffness in the body often mirrors stiffness in the spirit.

You cannot be an apostle of change if you are physically and spiritually rigid.

 

Stretching into the Miraculous

I decided recently to take on a new practice: the spiritual discipline of stretching my body. It sounds simple, but I realized that to “stretch” spiritually means to grapple with new ideas and push outside comfort zones.

As I reincorporated daily stretching, something interesting happened. Not only did my stiff neck loosen, but the hard-heartedness that had crept into my life softened, too. I began to yearn for creativity. I started attending musicals, symphonies, and art exhibits. Sure, I had enjoyed these things before, but never craved them. I even undertook a creative project with a friend.

This newfound openness became a lifeline when my mom passed away. Because I had “stretched” myself open spiritually, I was able to receive the compassion of new friends and offer deeper compassion to others. By loosening my grip on the status quo, I allowed God to reinvent me from the inside out.

 

Words and Works 

Here are two practical ways to move from disciple to apostle using the tools of Divine Partnership.

  1. Words: Say It and Make It So

Words have creative power. God, for the ultimate example, spoke the world into existence. The practice here is to address yourself in the third person. Instead of “I am one with God,” say, “Rebekah, you and God are one.” (Insert your own name!)

Science shows that third-person self-talk helps detach you from your ego and emotional regulation. It gets you out of your head, the headquarter of fear, and into the miraculous faith-filled space in your heart.

 

  1. Works: Do It and Make It So

You often think your good works are things you do for God. The shift I want you to make is to think of your good works as things that arise from your oneness with God. Make a list of the good works you’ve done. Kindness to a stranger, standing up for justice, or helping a neighbor are good examples.

Celebrate them as evidence of your collaboration with the Divine. You couldn’t have done them without that spark.

 

Dos and Don’ts

  • Do talk to yourself in the third person (e.g., “Jane, you are one with God”) to bypass your ego’s doubts.
  • Do celebrate your good deeds as proof of God working through you.
  • Do stretch your body to help soften your heart and open your mind to new ideas.
  • Don’t limit spiritual practice to just prayer; treat caring for your body (stretching, sleep, proper nourishment) as holy work.
  • Don’t self-sabotage by denying yourself basic self-support like new experiences or creative outlets.
  • Don’t cling to being “stiff-necked” or set in your ways; rigidity blocks the miraculous.

 

Next Steps/Takeaways

Believing in your Divine Partnership is active. It requires you to stretch, literally and figuratively. When you do, mountains move, and the world becomes a brighter place.

Use your words to name your truth. Use your works to demonstrate it.

Practice: This week, commit to a daily physical stretch. As you reach, ask God to stretch your heart and mind along with your body.

To learn how to fully manifest this partnership in your life, I invite you to register for my upcoming spiritual retreat: Epiphany: Manifesting the Miraculous. This is your invitation to stop treading water in the status quo. If you want a deeper personal partnership with God, you have to be willing to stretch into it.

Join me, and let’s practice the spiritual disciplines that will loosen your stiff neck, soften your heart, and prepare you to co-create miracles with God.

 

 

Copyright © 2025 rebekahsimonpeter.com.  All Rights Reserved.

You Are Not Alone: Finding Strength in Divine Partnership

You Are Not Alone: Finding Strength in Divine Partnership

by | Nov 19, 2025

In our last series, we explored how your prayers have the power to move mountains, even when the world feels chaotic. Today, I want to take that a step further. As we enter the season of Advent, a time of waiting in the darkness for the light, the struggles of life can weigh heavy. I can assure you that you do not have to face it alone. When you embrace your Divine Partnership, you realize that the Infinite Power of God is not just “out there,” but right here, within you, ready to meet this moment.

The sheer scale of the problems you see when looking at the news or social media can make you feel incredibly small, and the discrepancy can be paralyzing. You might feel like a single drop in an ocean of trouble. The pain point here isn’t just fear; it’s crippling isolation. It’s the sinking feeling that you are separated from the power needed to make a difference, left to fend for yourself in a hostile world.

The truth is, you are never alone.

But before you can fully accept this truth, a common myth needs to be dispelled.

 

The Myth That God is Separate from You

The biggest myth that keeps you small is the idea that God is separate from you. You may often operate with a “dualistic” mindset: God is the holy being up in heaven, and you are the flawed human down here on earth. You might think you have to be perfect or sinless to be close to God. This belief severs your power source. It convinces you that you are disconnected from the Divine until you “earn” your way back, leaving you feeling powerless exactly when the world needs your spiritual strength the most.

 

Finding Strength in Divine Partnership

Recently, I attended an international conference to share my work with delegates from around the world. Standing there, I suddenly felt small, intimidated, and completely disconnected from my spiritual power. I doubted that “little old me” could rise to the occasion among such impressive figures.

During some downtime, I sat to meditate, seeking an anchor. A new image came to me: I saw my soul enveloping my body. It wasn’t a small spark hidden inside; it was a warm, vibrant green presence that surrounded and embraced me, lifting me up. I realized in that moment that I wasn’t just a human trying to connect to God; I was a soul supported by God. That shift changed everything. I went back into that conference with confidence, connecting soul-to-soul with every person I met. I wasn’t alone; I was in partnership.

 

Logos, Inseparable Unity, and Advent Hope

To face a world in turmoil, you must move from believing in Jesus to believing like Jesus. And Jesus believed he was in a Divine Partnership with God.

  • The Logos: The Gospel of John identifies Jesus as the Logos—the divine reason and wisdom that gives the world order. But Jesus didn’t keep this divinity to himself. He said, “On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you” (John 14:20).
  • Inseparable Unity: You are not a human being having a spiritual experience; you are a spiritual being having a human experience. At the very root of your existence, you are in constant, immediate contact with the Infinite Power of God.
  • Advent Hope: This is the true hope of Advent. You aren’t just waiting for a baby to be born in Bethlehem; you are waiting to wake up to the Christ light already burning within you. When you accept that you are one with God, the “impossible” work of justice and healing becomes possible because you are not doing it by yourself.

 

Next Steps/Takeaways

The world doesn’t need more terrified disciples; it needs apostles who know their source of power. You are surrounded by, and suffused with, Divine Power. Stop trying to do it all on your own strength. Acknowledge your Divine Partnership.

Practice: This week, when you feel overwhelmed, repeat this mantra: “I am one with God.” Let it remind you that you are part of an unshakable team that is larger than any human power.

To learn how to fully manifest this partnership in your life, I invite you to register for my upcoming spiritual retreat: Epiphany: Manifesting the Miraculous. If you are tired of the isolation and the fear, this retreat is where you will finally experience the “Logos” logic—the Divine Order—in your own life. Come and discover how to dissolve the separation between you and the Divine so you can face the world not just with hope, but with power.

 

Copyright © 2025 rebekahsimonpeter.com.  All Rights Reserved.