Alcoholics Anonymous historian Jay Stinnett from Los Angeles

As a historian of AA, which was started and nurtured by the early members of Initiatives of Change, I was thrilled to have the opportunity to meet people who have been a part of this work for decades.

We all have our sacred places: the retreat center we frequent, a space in our home that we meditate in, the meetings we attend and the churches or temples we worship in. These structures are imbued with our spirits, actions and intent.

God planted me in Caux, Switzerland, in the summer of 2003 at Mountain House, a conference center nestled high in the Alps overlooking Montreux. It is as glorious a place as there is on the planet. Since the end of the Second World War, over one hundred thousand men and women have come to Caux to work and pray for a different world. The energy of that place is immense.

The recurring message is that you change a nation by changing individuals. This change is accomplished by having people get honest with themselves, get honest with another, make restitution and then ask God’s guidance on how to live a practical, spirit-filled life of service, starting with our homes, our communities and our nations.

As a historian of the spiritual antecedents of Alcoholics Anonymous, which was started and nurtured by the early members of Initiatives of Change, then known as the Oxford Group, I was thrilled to have the opportunity to interview a dozen people who have been a part of this work for decades.

These men and women I met had been “working the steps” for fifty and sixty years. They gave me valuable insights and anecdotes into this movement, out of which AA was launched.

What I found at Caux was a world that I had always dreamed of. It is a window through which I could see God working through individuals without any hierarchy to submit to and no dogma to ascribe to.

The evolution of my life is far more exciting than any plan I ever made.

Jay Stennett lives in California.