12 Step Programs (Abstinence

Sobriety is not the same as deliverance.

For decades, the 12-Step Program has offered hope to the addicted-teaching them to admit powerlessness, surrender to a "higher power," and walk the path of lifelong recovery. But for all its structure and success stories, the program stops short of the one thing that truly sets people free: the power of Jesus Christ.

In The AA Step Eleven Abstinence: Yes, Deliverance: No, author and minister Larry D. Washington speaks from experience. Delivered from addiction in 2003 after three years in the 12-step system, he discovered firsthand that abstinence without Jesus is spiritual survival-not freedom. This book is his call to expose the religious spirit in recovery culture, confront the deception of neutrality, and point the broken to the only true Deliverer.

With bold clarity, Larry unpacks:

• Why Step Eleven's "God as we understood Him" is a dangerous counterfeit

• How unclean spirits operate behind addiction, relapse, and spiritual torment

• Why recovery groups and Christian counseling cannot replace biblical deliverance

• The difference between temporary abstinence and total transformation

• The biblical model Jesus gave for casting out demons and sealing freedom with the Holy Spirit

• Real-life testimonies of people who broke free-not just from substances, but from the spirit of bondage itself

This book is not an attack on recovery-it's an alarm to the Church. It's a challenge to believers who've settled for maintenance instead of mastery, who've been taught to cope instead of conquer.

If you've ever said, "There has to be more than this," this book is your answer.

It's time to stop managing the demon and start casting it out.
It's time to stop identifying as an addict and start walking as a new creation.
It's time to break the cycle for good.

From abstinence to deliverance-from the meeting to the Messiah-freedom is waiting.