Did You Think Elders Should've Been Able To Be "Elders For Life"?

minimus

Some of the stupidest Witnesses are elders. I've known more than a few that were basically "nice guys" but as dumb as a stump! Some never knew when to keep quiet and the other elders always had to cover for them. Some were simply too old or even senile to be able carry any responsibility. I think Charles Taze Russell had it right. Elders should've been "elected" so that they just didn't get to remain on "the body" and be do-nothings....What's your opinion from your experience???

crazyblondeb

The elders I had to deal with shouldn't have been allowed to be elders for 24 hours, much less, "for life". They were all pompous!! One had an affair with a teenager. They all let the "power" go to their heads!! Personally, I wish the R & F had impeachment powers!!

drew sagan

I have a friend that made a very good point one time. She said once...

"It's not the strongest men (spiritually) that become Elders, it's the weakest".

While this isn't totally true in all cases, I agree that this is in the majority. Many of these men are actually the most spiritually weak and physically minded people in the congregation. They are organizational men, not spiritual men. The ones that become Elders are the ones that let every little thing bother them. They are stumbled all the time. They need an organizatinal answer for everything and can never make a decision on their own.

What I find amazing is that the organization is so business like, expect when it comes to Elders. What business would ever let people in charge without producing results??? But that is what you have in so many congregations. This 'Elder for life' rule is so inefficient, but yet it is the status quo.

fullofdoubtnow

I agree with Drew, if you are a good "company man", you have far more chance to become an elder these days. The wts wants elders who will follow their rules to the letter, and enforce them rigidly. Whether they shepherd the flock with kindness or not is a side issue.

OnTheWayOut

I agree with Drew, but it is not just spiritual weakness that made many elders, it is "unquestioning loyalty".
That sounds like a good quality, but the "unquestioning" part really makes it a poor quality.
Elders, for the most part, were deep students of WTS literature. That's what would make them more
spiritual, they thought, so they did that. That means they usually are not independent-thinkers.

It's just sad that we were encouraged to think these were good things.
WTS has to bend over backwards to keep some "elders for life." Many want to step aside for various
reasons. They beg some to stay on, because they are finding it harder and harder to get newer people to
remain that loyal to doctrine and procedure.

From an ex-JW viewpoint- It would be great to remove the "bad elders." They might start to question the borg.
Better for the congregation that the bad elders stay in place and the members question the borg that puts
bad elders in such responsible positions. People who are less loyal and better at independent thinking will
often leave the borg because of the elders.

minimus

If elders were regularly "reviewed", I'd bet you'd see a different attitude, especially if they had to account to the local congregation.

Seeker4

Yeah, Min, the best elders, the one's that really care, either burn out or step down, in most of the cases I've seen. A good company man is the typical elder, and some really are dumb.

I remember that some of the elders that I'd served with, when they saw I was leaving, made a few shepherding calls with some of the new elders in my old congregation. One of these new guys (I see him around town quite often - he's my age but looks like a crippled, fat, old man), simply had nothing to say at all. He just sat through the whole discussion with his jaw dropped open. He literally didn't have one sentence in response to any of the questions or issues I raised.

The one thing I found with the elders I talked with, was that I was starting where their knowledge of these issues ended.

When I started researching, I began with an in-depth understanding of how the WTS dealt with all these issues, and it didn't take long to see how faulty WTS thinking was.

So, any argument or idea they used in dealing with my questions was stuff that I was already very familiar with, in fact, far more familiar than almost any elder that I knew. So, it was child's play at the time to talk with them - though often highly emotional for me.

S4

purplesofa

They beg some to stay on, because they are finding it harder and harder to get newer people to
remain that loyal to doctrine and procedure.

The PO at my congo is like 85, and wants to step down. The CO won't let him do it, asked him to stay on another year. The PO is not in the best of health and his wife has Altheimers and deteriorating pretty fast. He is the dearest man, moved here where the need was greater many many years ago. He is tired, the constant problems are just too much for a man of this age, plus he pioneers.

purps

minimus

Before I resigned as an elder, I was "begged" by the Circuit Overseer not to "step aside". He even said, "If being Secretary is too much for you and handling judicial cases, you won't have to resign." But, I was hell bent to get out when I had the chance. The day I went on record with him and the body that I was done with it all, the CO actually welled up with tears in his eyes! He had me say the final Sunday prayer which the CO would normally do........And to think---I soooo badly wanted to be an elder when I was young.

free2beme

I know of a lot of elders that were so keen on the position, that they would not take jobs that transferred them to new location with more pay, because they were worried they might loss their appointment when they moved. Telling these people, it would be anything but a lifetime position would kill them.

Did You Think Elders Should've Been Able To Be "Elders For Life"?

Share this