You're right, Debaucher, in that those things alone, without any other action, will not keep a person sober. I can go to meetings and sit in the back, not sharing and not really listening. I can make it miserably through one day without a drink. I can get a home group and not show up for group conscience meetings, refuse to do any service in my home group. Lots of people have sponsors in name only.
BUT....
All those things guide newcomers to the place where they might, if they've really had enough, be willing to go to any lengths to stay sober -- meaning working those pesky steps. We suggest those things in the opening of our meetings, with the addition of "Work/take the steps." We don't preach in my home group. We share on those steps from our own personal E, S & H. We don't make glittering generalizations that are hard for the newcomer to swallow. We try to make recovery from alcoholism more appealing than the wallowing hell they've come from. And in encouraging them to keep coming back to meetings, in offering them sponsorship (we maintain a list of home group members ready to sponsor others), in welcoming them into our home group, and in emphasizing the "don't-drink-one-day-at-a-time," I've seen a lot of people come, stay, take the steps and, with the grace of their HP & some elbow grease on their part, change their lives.
We're dealing with sick folks, and Dr. Bob, on his death bed, suggested keeping things simple. That's what we try to do. If a newcomer is willing, if a sponsor is vigilant in carrying the message rather than her or his message, recovery will follow.
Peace & Love,
Sugah