Can you advise the WTS on what to do about travelling overseers?

by ozziepost 26 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  jwfacts

  "The structure in the 1st Century was broadly like the JWs today"

  Not really, not in regard to CO's. Paul did not go to a Governing Body to get an assignment. After his conversion he went immediately to the congregations without consulting with some head organisation. He did not go to Rome and the GB till a number of years after his conversion. Holy Spirit guided Christians, not men.

  I once 'advised' the WTS on a CO. We had a self opinionated CO that would go at least half an hour overtime every meeting. I sent an anonymous (yes gutless) letter saying that everything he made mockery of everything he said about following the Organisation when he could not follow a simple instruction such as timing himself. I don't know if he ever was spoken to about it.
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  ozziepost

  He did not go to Rome and the GB till a number of years after his conversion

  Not even then!

  In his epistle to the Galatians Paul refers only to the apostles and "those who seemed to be leaders".

  The expression "Governing Body" is not, despite what the WT teaches, something taken from scripture. The only scripture it's taken from is the bound volume of the WT!

  If the term "Governing Body" was indeed Bible-based™, then you'd expect to find it in the WT's own Concordance. It ain't there.

  We don't have to wonder why - it's simply an invention of the false teachers of the WTS
• 

  greendawn

  The JWS are a very hierarchical organisation far more than the early Christian Church that they claim to imitate. Bishops then were only responsible for just one church and not on ten or twenty, that developed later.
  
  Obviously a high control organisation like the WTS needs to have overseers everywhere to ensure that things don't get out of hand. They can't trust just the local elders.
  
  I remember the dubs were very excited when a CO would visit as if he was a very spiritually blessed person.
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  blondie

  Up until 1972 the COs visited the congregations 3 times a year.............
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  Jourles

  OK folks, stop bringing the bible into this discussion. The WTS is a huge sales corporation. Let's look at it this way --

  Any corp which is involved in selling something nationwide/worldwide breaks down like this:

  • Corporate officers (GB)
  • VP's (Bethel department overseers)
  • District Sales Managers (district overseers)
  • Regional Sales Managers (circuit overseers)
  • Store Managers (body of elders)
  • Assistant Store Managers (ministerial servants)
  • Salesmen (publishers)

  You cannot take away two chunks of the food chain in a corporate structure. Store managers do not communicate directly with the VP's of a company. There must be a chain of command. Problems/issues that arise locally need to remain local issues. You cannot bombard your VP's with everything that happens. The body of elders may ask for guidance from the CO, but if the CO doesn't know what to do, then he elevates the issue up the ladder. But typically, the elders can handle just about any infraction that may come up.

  This is easy. Match the same titles up within your own company and then try eliminating those positions and see what happens. It's not likely that the the WTS will do away with those positions, but rather, increase the size of the "regions" while cutting back on a few CO's.
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  stillajwexelder

  Up until 1972 the COs visited the congregations 3 times a year............. Yes I can see the move to once per year and larger circuits
• 

  IP_SEC

  Each circuit has about 20 congregations and two assemblies are held anually. Why not make it 25 congregations and three assemblies. I mean why push CO's to the edge when with a little extra effort we could send them right off.

  At the number of congros servered by COs they are already at the edge.

  With CAs, Pio schools, CO schools, Vaction time, and DCs most COs already do not have time to service all their congos twice in a year. We were 12 months between visits one year and 9 months twice. These were with different COs too. One CO only visited our congo 4 times before he had to move on.

  I was seeing more depressed, discouraged COs before I left than you would believe. The thing is they seemed to take their discouragement out on the elders. Real hard asses.

  Thats cool though because the more discouraged they get, the more positive (for us) the effect on the congos.