This series covers how vital each concept is for our world services to function.  

The “Twelve Concepts for World Service” were written by Bill W. in 1962. Sexaholics Anonymous has adopted these concepts as guides for our service structure. The Twelve Concepts of Sexaholics Anonymous are presented here. The essays that follow are intended to expound upon these simple statements, based on the experiences of several members with international service experience.

Concept One: Final responsibility and ultimate authority for SA service should always reside in the collective conscience of our whole Fellowship (Step Into Action 213).

This means that our Fellowship, as a whole, determines our course. As Tradition Two states, “Our leaders are but trusted servants; they do not govern” (SIA 211). The first of the two principles means that the members exercise this authority by electing trusted servants to serve the group and the Fellowship. This is in line with Tradition Nine, which states, “We may create service boards or committees directly responsible to those they serve” (SIA 211). If the trusted servants ignore the will of the members and the group, they can be replaced. 

The second is “the power of the purse.” Tradition Seven states that Sexaholics Anonymous is “fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions” (SIA 211). If the trusted servants throughout the service structure fail to attend to the interests and will of the individual members, they will likely find that voluntary contributions dry up quickly. 

To Be Continued…