If you are asking about religious beliefs, "Beliefs in a higher power" in AA means you believe in something more powerful than yourself. That can be the AA group or your sponsor in the beginning, of course those people can let you down, they are only human! Therefore, It is important to develop an individualized understanding of a "higher power." I call it God, you don't have to. You can call it Mother Earth, El Diablo, Shiva, or Zeus!!! No one in AA should ever push their understanding of "higher power" upon you. The Big Book of AA speaks of a personal, customized belief in a HP. Although, admittedly, the groups in my area seem to be very Christian, which is reflective of the Bible Belt in which I live.
If you are talking about only taking bits and pieces of the program, I would say that is unlikely to be effective, and perhaps you aren't truly ready to quit. This is Bill's (AA founder) thought for today: "Few people will sincerely try to practice the A.A. program unless they have "hit bottom," for practicing A.A.'s Steps means the adoption of attitudes and actions that almost no alcoholic who is still drinking can dream of taking. The average alcoholic, self-centered in the extreme, doesn't care for this prospect--unless he has to do these things in order to stay alive himself." Bill Wilson
I hope this is helpful.