Tradition 4 · April 11

The World Is Waiting

Daily Traditions · April 11

The threat

The third sentence of Tradition Four is there because one member was ready to speak for all of A.A. on national radio. Bill W. told it (A.A. Comes of Age). A pioneer member had started a group with local radio lectures that mixed A.A. with his own religious ideas. Then a company offered to put them on a national network, under his own name, with a fee for him. The trustees advised against it. His reply: "To hell with the trustees, the world is waiting for my message. I've got the right of free speech, and I'm going on the air whether you like it or not." One man's choice would have told a whole country what A.A. was. The Long Form (Big Book, p. 563) closes that door: "And no group, regional committee, or individual should ever take any action that might greatly affect A.A. as a whole without conferring with the trustees of the General Service Board." Conferring means talking it over first. The trustees are the people A.A. made custodians of its Tradition (p. 565). Nobody used force; he was told every group would hear of it, and the broadcast never aired. Today one person on a podcast, or one program's website, tells the world what A.A. is. Test it tonight: ask who in your area speaks publicly for A.A., and who they asked first.

Sit with

One member nearly told a whole country what A.A. was, without asking anyone. Who speaks for A.A. in my town, and who did they ask?

Grounded in: Long form, Tradition 4 (Big Book, p. 563); long form, Tradition 9 (Big Book, p. 565); A.A. Comes of Age (Tradition Eleven: the radio lectures).

Tradition 4

"Each group should be autonomous except in matters affecting other groups or A.A. as a whole."

Read the Long Form (pp. 563–566). The short form on pp. 561–562 is the one everybody quotes — but the Long Form is where the Traditions actually say what they mean. Tradition 3's "no other affiliation" clause, for instance, exists only in the Long Form. That single clause is why no treatment centre can own an A.A. group. Most of what circulates online skips it.

And a distinction worth keeping straight: the Traditions are governance, not theology. They bind A.A. groups and the Fellowship — not individuals, and not outside businesses. They were adopted in 1950 to keep A.A. from being owned or co-opted. They are not a rulebook for your personal life.

What the Traditions actually say → The Long Form, p. 563 → Search the Big Book → Every day this month →

Ask Recovery Einstein about Tradition 4 → Get the app →

← April 10A Center of Service Tradition 4All of April April 12 →Every Group Argument

Daily Traditions is an independent educational resource from Recovery Starts — not official A.A. literature, not affiliated with Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, and not medical advice. The Twelve Traditions are the property of A.A. Page references are to Alcoholics Anonymous (the Big Book), 4th Edition: short form 561–562, long form 563–566. If you're in crisis, call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline).