Are Circuit Overseers Getting Discouraged? (page 4)

A good friend of mine who came into the organization around the same time I did also achieved his goal of becoming a CO. The sad thing was he was also very smart and had a management position in government earning well over 70K/year. He had to drop his job to accept his new CO assignment but I can recall talking to his wife one day in service and she distinctly gave me the impression she was not to eager to go into the circuit work but nevertheless resigned to this fate to be a good obedient CO wife. Now after 15 years later I hear thru the grapevine they both have health problems and are leaving the CO work. I can only imagine their financial situation now with no savings, no pension, disability pay etc. and now with this brother in his mid-50's and having been out of the real job market for 15 years where he will end up working. Probably doing janitorial work or window cleaning for minimal pay if his health can still take it. What a waste and tradegy! No wonder so many COs and their wives are depressed and miserable. Many of them do not have anything to fall back on once they leave the work! I would be depressed and miserable too! The Society has certainly conned alot of people. I hope their day of reconning comes all the more sooner.

Confucious

Wow...

It's been a long long time since I've written in this forum.

But this thread just about made me cry.

My now ex-wife and I pioneered all through our 20's.

My goal and and hers was to become Circuit Overseers.

I wish I could relate how PURE this desire was in my heart.

I REALLY wanted to serve.

There was no ulterior motive.

In the "world" I was already prominent. I was making good money.

I had this plan to be competely debt free by 35 - with our own paid off condo and money in the bank that we wouldn't touch unless we had to come off the Circuit work.

Everything was going as planned. By age 30 I was right on target. No kids... Pioneering 10 years. Good back up money.

But the jealousy of local body of elders was so unbelievable unrelenting.

It bothered them so much that someone could be both successful in the world and yet - also successful in the organization.

The loved to nit-pick me.

Anyway, one of the last straws was they appointed the guy I studied the Bible with when I was 20 - to be come an Elder BEFORE me.

Basically, I studied with the guy. The guy gets baptised. Never pioneers. And becomes MY ELDER.

Meanwhile, I was pioneering since the day he got baptised.

Both me and my wife both pioneered.

Anyway... long story short.

Looking back now at age 36. I am no longer going to the meetings.

I have a new life now.

But I look back at the gusto I had as a young man.

If I may talk about myself in the third person...

Here you have this young man with all this zeal to choose a life that would be undoubtedly tough. And yet the elders did NOTHING to encourage me.

Basically, I was a young "superstar" with abilities for the hard job of a CO and they derailed me.

To give you an idea of my speaking abilities... today, while I'm not a speaker.

When I do decided to give a lecture - I get $250 per head and people pay it.

SAD. Just SAD.

Today, I am a free man - my spirtuality is deep - and I see through all the hypocrisy of the organizaiton.

And I guess it's a good thing this happened... if it didn't - I wouldn't have investigated the organization like I did.

But it's just sad.

You take a young man with a lot of heart. And you railroad him.

Nice going.

Highlander

Are Circuit Overseers Getting Discouraged?

I certainly hope so!!!

I am not sure but this may be a guy that I crossed swords with in about 1980 or 1981 when I left. I saw that Balsam, VirgoChik, No Apologies, and Pistoff all mention him with details that I remember except I can't recall him being British.

Lets see if it is possible: I think he was C.O. or maybe about to be brand new D.O. in 1980 in Oklahoma City. Little short shrimp of a guy. Kind of effeminate if might say, but very bossy. Made a big deal about being a vegetarian. He would have been late 30's or so back then.

If it is not the same guy, I apologize - but my C.O. guy (and he really was named Bennett) did the following in just one visit-

1. This was the idiot that made the statement that God's purpose for the Dinosaurs was to produce the oil reserves. I called him out on it in the elders meeting afterward and he defended his position by pointing out that Sinclair Oil had a big green Dinosaur on their company logo. No Joke!!! He really thought oil was squished down Dinosaur goo. Not to my knowledge society stuff, he just made it up. In the same talk he also went way off the deep end about hypoglycemia for kids (no sugarbars or drinks!) and advocated all of us to follow his lead as a vegan! WTF? Asked him about that too, and he just said he felt very strongly about those issues and needed to say so for out own good.

2. Same Visit - Some of the early teen kids got caught by him and the D.O. in the bar in a Steak and Ale during the visit. The elders got a royal upbraiding about how they were partying in there and having drinks.! So, being the young cool elder with a sports car, I got the teens off to the side for a little heads up before they were to get their butts chewed upon. Question came up, how did they find you in the bar? Well, turns out that the D.O. and wifey + C.O. Bennett and wifey as a foursome were also in that bar having drinkies!!. Now, an interesting legality was that in Oklahoma at the time we did not technically have liquor by the drink. (but it was usually ignored by the authorities) So all of them, including D.O. and C.O, were kind of breaking the law. Dear Brother Bennet, the health freak, cleared HIMSELF of it by claiming that D.O. + wife, plus his own wife were in fact drinkiing alcohol but did not know there was a law. He, of the super-health movement, only had Tomatoe Juice that just looked like a bloody mary. Needless to say, the kids skated on this and he had to apologise to none other than Marion Dunlap and the other city elders!

3. Same Visit - Bennett knows that young elder Mr. Woods has about had it with the WT Society and with him. Just sensed it, I guess. I got a little personal counseling session over the way I had conducted the previous memorial. (more on that next month) He wanted to know what was wrong with my attitude. I made the the statement that I had come to recognize the society as being quite "monolithic"...exact word. Bennett did not know what monolithic meant. I kid you not. I am getting the "near apostocy" lecture and had to define this word for him. I resigned as an elder on the spot. Needless to say, this was the last circuit overseer visit that I put myself through during the vanishing.

I really kind of think this was your same Bennett, ladies and gentlemen!

James - and I am now so into this I may just make a new thread.

Dune

Our CO hates our congregation. The rotation is 6 montths and he waited 9 months before coming back. When he DID come back, he left in the middle of the week.

He comes back in April :-D.

Elsewhere

Our CO hates our congregation. The rotation is 6 montths and he waited 9 months before coming back. When he DID come back, he left in the middle of the week.
He comes back in April :-D.

lmao! How the hell does a body of elders manage to run off a CO?

Justitia Themis

Dear Cbew:

Don't cry for them too much. They get pensioned and medical for the rest of their lives. My very best friend's mother and father just "retired" from the circuit work.

Dune

I dont think it was so much as they ran him off as it was that he was disgusted.

I have a very interesting congregation.

We have two post-1975 elders who have gotten Oppression and intimidation tactics down to an Art. Those who were in their favor one day may find themselves at the bottom of the barrell the next.

The ministerial servants have such a disdain for the body of elders that if i could liken this to the real world, i'd say that the elders are dictators and the ministerial servants are a military coupe waiting to happen. There is a particular minsterial servant that convinces some of the publishers to send letters to the CO about problems they've been having.

The congregation is split into two factions, one faction being the piooners who are elder's wives and their entourage and the people who consider themselves to be strong spiritually but arent pioneers.

I'm expecting our congregation to go through deletion or rotation next month.

cbew

I am not crying to much for them Justita, just saddened because they sacrificed so much for nothing. I didn't realize their medical needs are looked after by the Society when they retire from circuit work. I suppose to receive their "benefit package" they still have to tow the organizational line. I just remember how zealous this brother was to reach his goal to be a CO. He pioneered for nearly 5yrs all while working at his job. I know on many occassions he passed on more than a few promotions and even cut the number of days he had to work to continue pioneering. This brother was very smart and intelligent and could of ended up being head of the city planning department making well over 100K/yr with a nice cushy pension to boot. Gave that all up to be a glorified CO ( guess he wasn't too smart from that standpoint ). I'm not trying to say that money should be everything in a person's life but it sure does help nowadays to meet living costs and raise a family. Anyhow, one has to live with his/her choices and we all to some degree gave up much to be a JW.

yesidid

Don't cry for them too much. They get pensioned and medical for the rest of their lives .

Justitia,

I am sorry to bring to your attention that you have no idea what you are talking about. . They get nothing, nada, zero, nill, zilch, naught from the society, on retirement and forever after.

Trust me, I do know what I am talking about.

Are Circuit Overseers Getting Discouraged?

cbew

Confucious

Highlander

james_woods

Dune

Elsewhere

Justitia Themis

Dune

cbew

yesidid

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