Summer 2011/Pasadena
Two-week Intensive: August 1-12
SP519
Ryan/Russell
SP519: SPIRITUALITY AND RECOVERY. Dale Ryan and Matt Russell.
DESCRIPTION: The process of recovery from addictions is almost universally
understood to involve a substantive spiritual transformation. There is,
however, little agreement about the nature of the spiritual dynamics of this
process. For example, "spirituality" is sometimes understood to refer to
internal transformational processes, and sometimes the word is used to refer to
external activities requiring a social context. This course will explore this
and many other issues related to the meaning of spirituality in the context of
twelve step traditions. The theological and biblical foundations for the
spiritual disciplines that are embedded in the twelve step process will be
explored.
SIGNIFICANCE FOR LIFE AND MINISTRY: The spiritual dynamics of the twelve step
tradition has had a powerful impact on public discourse about spirituality in
American culture. The rapid expansion of Alcoholics Anonymous and similar
programs represents what is possibly the most spiritually significant popular
culture social movement in America since the beginning of the twentieth
century. A working understanding of the dynamics of twelve step spirituality is
increasingly understood as a basic element of pastoral competency.
LEARNING OUTCOMES: This class has three main objectives: (1) to help students
develop an understanding of the complexity and diversity of spiritual practice
within the twelve step tradition; (2) to help students develop a better
understanding of the spiritual disciplines that are structurally embedded in
the twelve steps of Alcoholics Anonymous; and (3) to help students critically
assess and develop personal perspectives about the relationship between
spirituality in the twelve step tradition and other forms of spirituality that
are common in contemporary American culture.
COURSE FORMAT: The seminar will meet for four hours a day for two weeks. Class
will include lectures by seminar leaders, discussion, case-study analysis, and
experiential processes.
REQUIRED READING:
- Kurtz, Ernest, and Katherine Ketcham. The Spirituality of
Imperfection: Storytelling and the Search for Meaning. Bantam, 1993. 304
pp. ISBN: 0553371320. List: $18.00 (Kindle: $9.00).
- Miller, J. Keith. A Hunger for Healing: The Twelve Steps as a Classic
Model for Christian Spiritual Growth. HarperOne, 1992. 288 pp. ISBN:
0060657677. List $15.00 (Kindle: $10.20).
- Nelson, James B. Thirst: God and the Alcoholic Experience.
Westminster/John Knox, 2004. 217 pp. ISBN: 0664226884. List: $29.95.
- VanVonderen, Jeff, Dale Ryan, and Juanita Ryan. Soul Repair: Rebuilding
a Spiritual Life. InterVarsity Press, 2008. 191 pp. ISBN: 0830834974. List
$19.00 (Kindle: $9.99).
- Yaconelli, Mike. Messy Spirituality. Zondervan 2007. 187 pp. ISBN:
0310277302. List $12.99.
- Required daily discussion papers. (This is a partial list, a complete list
will be distributed on the first day of class.)
- Anonymous. "We Agnostics." Chapter 9 in The Big Book
of Alcoholics Anonymous. Available online:
http://www.aa.org/bigbookonline/en_bigbook_chapt4.pdf.
- Chesnut, Glenn F. The Higher Power of the Twelve-Step Program For
Believers & Non-believers. Available online:
http://hindsfoot.org/hp1hp.html.
- Nikolaou, Aristotle, et al. Stories from Three Recovering People about
Their Amends. Available online:
http://www.nacronline.com/articles-on-the-twelve-steps/stories-from-three-recvering-people-about-their-amends.
- R., William. Cleaning House: Confession and Sexual Addiction.
Available online:
http://www.nacronline.com/articles-on-the-twelve-steps/cleaning-house-confesson-and-sexual-addiction.
- Radzik, Linda. "An Ethic for Wrongdoers." Chapter 1 in Making Amends:
Atonement in Morality, Law and Politics. Oxford University Press, 2009.
- Ringwald, Christopher D. "The Recovery Movement; Recovering God, Recovering
Self." Chapter 9 in The Soul of Recovery: Uncovering the Spiritual Dimension
in the Treatment of Addictions. Oxford University Press, 2002.
- Russell, Matt. How a Jewish Drunk Challenged My Idea of the Church:
Toward an Ecclesiology of Recovery. Available online:
http://www.nacronline.com/misc-articles/how-a-jewish-drunk-challenged-my-ideaof-the-church-toward-an-ecclesiology-of-recovery.
- Ryan, James. Four Kinds of Moral Inventory. Available online:
http://www.nacronline.com/articles-on-the-twelve-steps/four-kinds-of-moral-inentory.
ASSIGNMENTS AND ASSESSMENT:
- Required reading (1200 pages; reading log required; 10% of grade).
- Class attendance and participation (40% of final grade).
- Research papers: Two 5-7-page research papers. The first should examine in
some depth the dynamics of a particular spiritual discipline that is part of
twelve step process. The second should address the relationship between the
normative spirituality in recovery culture and the normative spirituality in
the student's current community of faith. Both the potential for synergy and
conflict should be explored (25% each x 2 = 50% of grade).
PREREQUISITES: None.
RELATIONSHIP TO CURRICULUM: Elective.
FINAL EXAMINATION: No written exam; class evaluation process.
This ECD is a reliable guide to the course design but is subject to modification. (April 2011)