by juni 21 Replies latest jw friends
The elder arrangement was a mess for many years. One of the disasters they nearly created was recognizing that the C.O. was "just another
elder"! They jumped that one quick! Rotation didn't work in part because so many elders were simply incompetent. Take a look at most
congregations and what do you see? 3 - 4 elders actually do the work and the rest are useless. That was my experience, anyway.
metatron
Most congregations had had a congregation servant usually a brother who had controlled the congregation for many years.
Our congregation servant had been there from the beginning of time. He lorded it over people and was extremely self-righteous and overbearing. Then we had the BOE w/many loving brothers. It was refreshing when one of these ones became POs. But when they changed back, quess who got the appointment?
The rest of the BOE would fall in line w/this dictator. He eventually moved to a different state and the elder who he and his wife vacationed with became the new PO. Hmmmmmmm.
Thanks to all of you for your input.
Juni
Keeping a permanent P.O., Secretary and Service overseer made a lot of sense, they got to be efficient at those jobs.
Keep in mind by the time you got to be good in one position, it was time to change and start retraining at least 3 new brothers and it did not make sense.
It did make sense keeping them permantely
willyloman said:
As someone said, above, they weren't too concerned about a permanent PO because the position was largely ceremonial, stripped of the power that the old Cong Servant had. But over time, the PO became a powerful position, one in which the holder of it set the tone for the entire BOE and the congo itself.
This is exactly what happened when this original congregation servant was appointed as permanent PO. The "nice BOE members" were put in their place. One died, one experienced clinical depression and stepped down and eventually moved, one moved, and one stayed on but was reasonable. The others were replaced w/new blood, but it didn't take long for them to become jerks.
And like willyloman said, it set the tone for the entire cong. There was so much backbiting, gossiping, and scrutinizing I felt like I was being choked and slowly dying.
Juni
Blondie,
My 1985 comment was a typo. I corrected it just before your post went up. However, when the Society announces these kinds of changes, they usually do not take affect right away. The Elder arrangement was actually intorduced at the summer convention in 1971, but was not implemented until September-October 1972. When they announced the PO rotation change in 1983, it did not get implemented until 1984.
Jim Whitney
As someone said above with the rotating of the PO you sometimes got someone who just was not suitable for the job.
In my congregation a brother would become PO and change everything the previous PO had done. Then when he went, the next one would change it to how he thought it should be run and so on.
I rotated into PO the first year. I was very young at the time and it was exhilerating to have that power. (26 years old is too young to even be an elder, most cases)
The trouble with the rotation has already been addressed, but to summarize, what happened is there always seemed to be the wrong men in the wrong jobs all the time.
Later years, when I was a PO by appointment rather than rotation, I set a goal that after 5 years, I would step aside as PO and do another job. I always felt that power tends to corrupt and I didn't want to get in a position that I was 'wielding power'. So, at 5 years I resigned. I was glad to do so. I felt it was better for the body of Elders and the cong to have the variety, but I do feel that 1 year was not long enouhg for a brother to really learn his responsibilities.
The rotation really was a nightmare, but the continuous PO in one person is likely worse.
Brant
I remember what you mention. I dont know why they stopped the rotation. I would guess the light got brighter there for a while.
I was the PO, Ministry School servant, WT study conductor, congregation book study conductor all at the same time as well as assigning all the parts on the Service Meeting. That was in 1971. I quit and moved away to DC. I never went back to the JW life, although I moved back to the old congregation and attended a few meetings before a year went by.
I don't remember the rotation arrangement, I guess I left before it started.
Ken P.
WHY WAS THE ROTATION OF THE PRESIDING OVERSEER DISCONTINUED?
Maybe he got dizzy?
