12 Step Knoxville Recognized in Local Media

Wild times on road to recovery

By Steve Wildsmith
The Daily Times
2006-01-30

A lot has transpired when it comes to drugs and recovery over the past week -- a body found in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is connected to a drug-related murder; James Frey was on ``Oprah'' once again, only this time he was taken to task by the talk-show host instead of lavished with praise; and the Metro Pulse did a piece in its City Beat column examining 12-Step recovery and the Knox County Drug Court program.

I wanted to touch on all of those, but I'm still wool-gathering when it comes to those subjects, and frankly, with contest deadlines and special section deadlines and the daily grind of work and home, I need more time. I remember well the days when my entire world revolved around getting high and the chase after the dope to do so.

Now that I'm living life on life's terms, I'm overwhelmed by all of the responsibility sometimes. Which is why it's nice to take time out and do something for my recovery -- like checking out a new recovery-related Web site, www.12stepknoxville.com.

The organizer behind the site makes it very clear -- this is a religious-based recovery Web site. He doesn't tout religion as the only way to get clean and maintain recovery, but he's certainly a proponent of it. And that's OK. I've never said that secular 12-Step meetings, which I attend, are the only way for addicts to keep their disease in check.

The difference between my recovery and that of Tim, the webmaster of the site, is that his is centered around Christ. Mine is centered around spirituality.

In secular 12-Step meetings, we emphasize that we're spiritual, but not religious. Belief in God is not a prerequisite for recovery -- and there are many agnostics, atheists, Buddhists and persons of other faiths who attend those 12-Step meetings.

Tim and many others like him have found recovery through the teachings of the Bible and the examples of Christ. He quotes Scripture frequently on his Web site, and he maintains that the site ``is here for the purpose of bringing unity among all people who love and believe in God and individuals with a desire and passion to become the person God has called them to be. The site is inter-denominational, Christ-based serving alcoholics, substances abusers and family members affected by addictive behavior. Were here to offer a healthy support and resource network for those recovering from addiction.''

On the site, you'll find links to national recovery sites and media (including recovery radio programs), a listing of the 12 Steps and 12 Traditions of recovery, links to prayer-based and Biblical reference sites and a list of meetings, both secular and Christ-based.

``I am only a humble servant offering my personal time and efforts to aid anyone who should need a friend to talk to about recovery, and has a desire to stop drinking or using drugs,'' Tim writes on the site. ``Opinions and ideas shared here are solely those of the person saying them and in no way should be reflective of local recovery groups, churches or this Web site itself. It is further understood that this site is privately owned and maintained. 12StepKnoxville.com Web site is provided only as a service to those who seek it's information.''

Ultimately, the site is a lot of work and dedication from one recovering addict to others. Regardless of Tim's religious zeal, by maintaining this site, he's living one of the tenets of recovery -- that we can only keep what we have by giving it away.
It's another tool for recovering addicts to use in our ongoing struggle with addiction. Check it out at www.12stepknoxville.com.

Steve Wildsmith is a recovering addict and the Weekend editor for The Daily Times. Contact him at steve.wildsmith@thedailytimes.com or at 981-1144.