Equals
From "What is
sponsorship?"
"Alcoholics Anonymous began
with sponsorship. When Bill W., only a few months sober, was stricken with
a powerful urge to drink, this thought came to him: 'You need another alcoholic
to talk to. You need another alcoholic just as much as he needs
you!' "He found Dr. Bob, who had been trying desperately and unsuccessfully
to stop drinking, and out of their common need A.A. was born. The word
'sponsor' was not used then; the Twelve Steps had not been written; but Bill
carried the message to Dr. Bob, who in turn safeguarded his own sobriety by
sponsoring countless other alcoholics." "In A.A., sponsor and sponsored meet
as equals, just as Bill and Dr. Bob did."
1983, Questions &
Answers on Sponsorship (A.A. Pamphlet P-15), page
7