Most of us are familiar with the figures of Buddhist monks. However, because of our Western heritage we assume that they, like Christian monks, remain in the monastery for ever. But most of them do not. In many Buddhist countries, it is the tradition that quite "ordinary" people will attach themselves to a monastery for a number of years, and then leave to return to the outside world.

In the same way, Jesus dealt with the group of very ordinary followers with which he surrounded himself. It's clear that the commission to the seventy to go out "into every city and place" is the model for the Christian -- not staying in one familiar place with the fellowship of believers. The Gospel can't be "preached in all the world" if its adherents persist in remaining at home.

The Al-Anon version of Step 12 reads: "[W]e tried to carry this message to others." It is not entirely unfair to suggest that we 12-Step members tend to be a little too inward-looking. We are proud of our fellowships and of our membership of them, and we like going to meetings. The truth is, we like to think we are a little different from our non-fellowship acquaintances.

But Step 12, in its purest reading, says that this is simply not true. Like Buddhist monks, like the seventy followers of Jesus, we are urged to go out into the world not because we are different from everyday men and women but because we are exactly like them. The message we take into the world is not merely one about recovery from addiction. It's the eternal message of hope for every man and woman: "Abandon yourself to God as you understand God. Admit your faults to Him and to your fellows. Clear away the wreckage of your past. Give freely of what you find ... and great events will come to pass for you."