You Preach, and You Still Drink

You are the one who preaches, and the bottle is still in the picture. Maybe it is in the office after the last person leaves. Maybe you have been careful for years, and the carefulness is collapsing. You are ashamed in a way that has a job attached to it. People trust you. You do not trust the drive home.

The pamphlet on the desk looked, at first, like something for other clergy. Then you realized you are clergy, and you are also the person who needs a chair. Faith Leaders Ask About A.A., pamphlet P-25, is an introduction for clergy unfamiliar with the Fellowship, and further discussion for those who want a greater understanding. It is for people in your kind of work. It is not a verdict that people in your kind of work cannot sit down.

The introduction is not a bar

You may have handed this pamphlet to someone else last year. You may have meant well and felt like a fraud. That memory can burn. It does not change what the paper is. P-25 introduces A.A. to faith leaders who do not know it, and it keeps talking to faith leaders who want more. An introduction to a role is not a ruling against the person who holds the role.

You do not have to be unfamiliar in order to go to a meeting. You can know the vocabulary, know the objections your colleagues raise, and still be shaking. Knowledge of the questions is not sobriety. The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking. If you have that desire, even under a calendar full of services, you meet the requirement. If the desire is mixed with terror that someone from the congregation will see your car, the desire still counts.

Your body of faith may have opinions about you. A pamphlet introduction does not settle them. What you can use tonight is smaller and kinder. Membership is voluntary. You can try one meeting without filing anything with a board, a bishop, a council, or a congregation.

Profession and religion are already included

You are welcome regardless of profession and regardless of religion. The welcome also names race, gender, sexual orientation, and income. A collar, a robe, a title, or the absence of all three does not move you outside that line. There are no dues or fees. If you are used to being the person who gives, a basket is still optional. Giving or not giving does not make you the chaplain of the meeting.

You also do not have to pastor the room. People share what drinking did, the actions they took to stop, and how they live now. The point is experience, strength, and hope. You are allowed to receive that instead of supplying it. Introducing yourself is not mandatory. You need not join a prayer. That may feel strange if your whole life is public prayer. You can sit through it, or you can be in a meeting where you simply do not add your voice. Afterward, talk is optional. You can leave before anyone asks what you do.

The group sets the format. You might find discussion, a speaker, beginners, or an hour on a Step, a Tradition, or the Big Book. You are not there to keynote it. Some groups prefer a stretch of continuous sobriety before a person speaks. That is a group preference, with no national number, and it is about speakers. Listening has no such bar.

A small town does not cancel the chair

Closed meetings are for members, or for people with a drinking problem and a desire to stop drinking. Open meetings are for anyone interested, and nonalcoholics may attend as observers. If you are afraid a congregant will be in an open meeting as a guest, you can choose a closed meeting, or a different night, or a meeting that is not down the street from your building.

Meetings are in person, online, or by phone. Video off lets you hear voices without putting your face on a screen. A dial-in lets you skip the doorway entirely. aa.org is not a meeting finder. The meetings search is a place to start. Those listings are not verified, so confirm the time before you promise yourself you will go. Online and phone options are real meetings, not a lesser excuse for people with public jobs.

You might feel you should have fixed this in private prayer. Private prayer can be yours. It is not a substitute for the chair if what you need is other people who have stopped drinking. And a meeting is not your congregation. You are not on duty.

If the next service is closer than the shakes

Call 911 if you are sick, confused, or cannot breathe. Call or text 988 if you are in a mental health crisis. NIAAA says alcohol withdrawal can be life-threatening when a person who drinks heavily over time stops suddenly. Do not preach through that. NIDA says mutual-help groups such as A.A. are peer-led, not led by healthcare professionals, and not a substitute for treatment. The hour is peer support, not detox. FindTreatment.gov lists programs. SAMHSA's National Helpline, 1-800-662-HELP (4357), is free, confidential, and available 24/7 in English and Spanish.

Sit down off duty

Tonight, pick a meeting where you are not the person in charge. Confirm the listing. Go and listen. You do not have to announce a church, a mosque, a synagogue, or any other house of worship. You do not have to master P-25 before you are allowed to be new. A desire to stop drinking is enough. The introduction was for your role. The chair is for you.

Call (800) 653-9376 if you need treatment; the call is free to you, treatment providers pay for the referral, the line is not an intergroup, and the line is not A.A., and it is not SMART Recovery.

Additional Resources

Sources cited on this page:

• A.A. World Services: 2025 Literature Catalog
• A.A.: The Twelve Traditions
• A.A.: What to Expect at an A.A. Meeting
• A.A.: Need help with a drinking problem?
• A.A.: Find A.A. near you
• NIDA: Treatment, including mutual-help groups
• NIAAA Core Resource: Alcohol Use Disorder, From Risk to Diagnosis to Recovery
• SAMHSA National Helpline
• SAMHSA FindTreatment.gov
• 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
• SmarterRecovery meetings page (public meeting search; listings are not verified)
• SmarterRecovery about page (calling is free to the caller)

Common Questions