In response to Kathy’s question…
I hope this helps – “AA’s Service Manual”
“This is AA’s Service Manual – an outgrowth of the “Third Legacy Manual” which served the movement so well beginning with Bill W.’s first draft in 1951. All of the basic service principles and procedures outlined in that document have been retained. In the interests of convenience and completeness the material has been edited and rearranged.
The Conference Report and Charter Committee is responsible for reviewing and approving the updating and revision of The A.A. Service Manual/Twelve Concepts for World Service. This revision was approved by the 1999 General Service …read more

“The Twelve Concepts for World Service provide a group of related principles to help ensure that various elements of A.A.’s service structure remain responsive and resonsible to those they serve.”
From the discussion on the Concepts Checklist;
Concept IX: Good service leadership at all levels is indispensable for our future functioning and safety. Primary world service leadership, once exercised by the founders, must necessarily be assumed by the trustees.

Do we discuss how we can best strengthen the composition and leadership of our future trusted servants?
Do we recognize the need for group officers? What is our criteria for election? Do we sometimes give …read more

“The Twelve Concepts for World Service provide a group of related principles to help ensure that various elements of A.A.’s service structure remain responsive and resonsible to those they serve.”
From the discussion on the Concepts Checklist;
Concept VIII: The trustees are the principal planners and administrators of overall policy and finance. They have custodial oversight of the separately incorporated and constantly active services, exercising this through their ability to elect all the directors of these entities.

Do we understand the relationship between the two corporate service entities (A.A. World Services, Inc., the A.A. Grapevine) and the General Service Board?
How can the business …read more

“The Twelve Concepts for World Service provide a group of related principles to help ensure that various elements of A.A.’s service structure remain responsive and resonsible to those they serve.”
From the discussion on the Concepts Checklist;
Concept Vll: The Charter and Bylaws of the General Service Board are legal instruments, empowering the trustees to manage and conduct world service affairs. The Conference Charter is not a legal document; it relies upon tradition and the A.A. purse for final effectiveness.

Do we act responsibly regarding the “power of the purse?”
Do we realize that the practical and spiritual power of the Conference will nearly …read more

“On behalf of A.A. as a whole, our General Service Conference has the principal responsibility for the maintenance of our world services, and it traditionally has the final decision respecting large matters of general policy and finance. But the Conference also recognizes that the chief initiative and the active responsibility in most of these matters should be exercised primarily by the Trustee members of the Conference when they act among themselves as the general Service Board of Alcoholics Anonymous.”
From the discussion on the Concepts Checklist;
Concept Vl: The Conference recognizes that the chief initiative and active responsibility in most world service …read more

Going back to last month and then following up…
From the Service Material at the Alcoholics Anonymous web site.
Concepts Checklist – III, IV and V
Concept III: To insure effective leadership, we should endow each element of A.A. —the Conference, the General Service Board and its service corporations, staffs, committees, and executives—with a traditional “Right of Decision.”

Do we understand what is meant by the “Right of Decision”? Do we grant it at all levels of service or do we “instruct”?
Do we trust our trusted servants — G.S.R., D.C.M., area delegate, the Conference itself?

I was just perusing through the archives here and came across last years entry on Concept IV which led me to this once again…
Concepts Checklist – Service Material From GSO
Most worthy of being passed along;
Concept I: Final responsibility and ultimate authority for A.A. world services should always reside in the collective conscience of our whole Fellowship.

Does our group have a general service representative (G.S.R.)? Do we feel that our home group is part of A.A. as a whole and do our group’s decisions and actions reflect that?
Do we hold regular group conscience meetings encouraging everyone to participate? Do we pass …read more

Concept XI
“While the trustees hold final responsibility for A.A.’s world service administration, they should always have the assistance of the best possible standing committees, corporate service directors, executives, staffs and consultants. Therefore, the composition of these underlying committees and service boards, the personal qualifications of their members, the manner of their induction into service, the systems of their rotation, the way in which they are related to each other, the special rights and duties of our executives, staffs and consultants, together with a proper basis for the financial compensation of these special workers, will always be matters for serious care …read more

The resource may have been unknown to you also, so here it is again.
From the Alcoholics Anonymous web site… a break down of the Concepts for discussion – good stuff!
Concept V
“Throughout our world services structure, a traditional “Right of Appeal” ought to prevail, thus assuring us that minority opinion will be heard and that petitions for the redress of personal grievances will be carefully considered.”

Do we encourage the minority opinion, the “Right of Appeal”, to be heard at our home group, district committee meetings, area assemblies and the Conference?

What does our group accept as “substantial unanimity”?

Has our group …read more

“Throughout our Conference structure, we ought to maintain at all responsible levels a traditional “Right of Participation,” taking care that each classification or group of our world servants shall be allowed a voting representation in reasonable proportion to the responsibility that each must discharge.”
Hmmm… now, what exactly does that mean???

From the pamphlet “The Twelve Concepts for World Service illustrated;”
“Finally, there is a spiritual reason for the ‘Right of Participation.’ All of us desire to belong. In A.A. no members are ’second class.’ The ‘Right of Participation’ therefore reinforces Tradition Two, that no member is placed in ‘ultimate authority’ over another. …read more