When Elder's Fade

by zack 43 Replies latest jw friends

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  avidbiblereader

  Excellent comments BROTHERS, as an ex elder the closer to the top, haha, the more you see. You can run for so long but eventually you can't hide from yourself and your conscience. As an elder you know so much more that the publishers don't know as far as hypocrisy, jocking for positions on the body or assignments, brown nosing the CO's, the ineffectiveness of all the whop la, If you have any conscience at all, you just cant do it and the longer it goes on the more you have to tell lies first to yourself then to others.

  James 1:22-25 22 But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. 23 For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. 24 You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. 25 But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.

  abr
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  kerj2leev

  Count me in as one who faded, sort of. I started having panic attacks and got really stressed out. It's interesting that the GB might atribute the loss of elders to stress. In my case I now realize that the stress was a DIRECT RESULT OF FEELING OBLIGATED TO PARTICIPATE IN A SYSTEM I DIDN'T AGREE with. They were the cause of the stress. I would probably have fine if I had never become an elder. We hauled people in front of committees for the pettiest stuff and as a young elder I really could go along.

  It's amazing when you realize what was really making you have such stress! I was in the same boat, now I have been out haven't experienced one panic attack! It was such a weight of my shoulders, something I will never take on again!

  Great thread by-the-way! When will the GB realize they are the cause of the decrease and not the flock!!
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  Seeker4

  Wow!! They've lost over 1/3 of their elders in the US in the last decade or so! That's really remarkable. I have said for several years that I think 1994 was the beginning of the end for the WTS - but I had NEVER heard this figure. I'm still shocked.

  I'm one - elder and circuit star also.

  Doubting Bro - Congrats, though I know what a big step that was. I remember your first post was on a thread I started a few months ago that pulled several active elders onto the board. I'm glad you were one.

  I was never so relieved as I felt the day after I told the brothers I was stepping down. It was like this huge weight came off me and I was euphoric.

  The thing I wonder about is what you wrote - that the most caring brothers, and usually the best qualified, are often the ones they lose the most quickly. They are concerned with the flock and thoughtful, and often the quickest to see that the WTS is not what it claims to be. So, I would guess that as the number of elders goes down, many of those left will be the kind of elders we all feared and detested - the mindless company men, the power hungry and the power abusers, the poorly qualified who will see being an elder as the only evidence they've made something of themselves.

  Thanks again for this information. I'm still reeling...

  S4
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  Doubting Bro

  Thanks guys. Knowing that others went through the same thing certainly helps. They really tried to make me feel like a loser when I resigned but seeing your comments and the drastic decline tells me who the losers really are.

  I do feel as if a weight has been lifted. Not necessarily happy, more like relief. I'm still upset at myself for wasting the time and resources I did, but what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right?
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  moshe

  I looked at the Social Security website and it appears to me that, if the median age for elders was 50 in 1994, then about 12,000 of that group would have died after 12 years time. ( assuming none left the KH on their own) In 10 more years another 20,000 would die. If they don't find replacements for these older elders soon, they will be down to less than 50% of the 1994 numbers of elders who were age 50 at that time in only another 5 or 6 years. I expect that MS will have to take over many of the duties of the elders on the platform - like say the WT study conductor. Age is a big factor in the decline and then add in the ones who leave on their own, it is going to get real bad real soon for the average KH.
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  willyloman

  I do feel as if a weight has been lifted. Not necessarily happy, more like relief. I'm still upset at myself for wasting the time and resources I did, but what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right?

  Happy comes later, but it comes. How soon depends on how much of the "work" you do to bring yourself to recovery.
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  blondie

  About 4 years ago when Irreverent was still an elder, the CO said that about 1 in 4 elders had stepped down or been removed. They were more concerned about the ones that asked to stop being elders. The WTS has tightened up that avenue and BOEs have to give "permission" in order for elders to step "aside." I'm sure this trend has continued. With fewer JW boys staying after 18 and fewer men becoming JWs, there has been a declining pool to draw elders from.

  Blondie
• 

  SirNose586

  It's amazing when you realize what was really making you have such stress! I was in the same boat, now I have been out haven't experienced one panic attack! It was such a weight of my shoulders, something I will never take on again!

  Great thread by-the-way! When will the GB realize they are the cause of the decrease and not the flock!!

  There's one elder in my hall who has had a problem with panic attacks for quite some time now. He can't get anywhere near the platform. He can't conduct a bookstudy. The best he can do is offer prayers. He is a company man, yet it affects him quite deeply.

  As for the shortage, my hall is feeling the pinch. Many nights I conduct, I give those 20-minute parts on the school...basically they use me as an errand boy. They are probably going to give me my own bookstudy.... ( )

  This decrease is fantastic news. Not for MS's like me...but yeah. Still good to hear.
• 

  codeblue

  Excellent thread, thanks for sharing this much needed information
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  Doubting Bro

  Blondie,

  They were more concerned about the ones that asked to stop being elders. The WTS has tightened up that avenue and BOEs have to give "permission" in order for elders to step "aside."

  I ran into that first hand. Much pressure for me to take back the resignation. The guilt trip was pretty heavy. I was told to hold on for another month, or maybe until the CO comes. Even that I couldn't just step "aside". I laughed and said so this is what it feels like to be in the mob? I didn't back down even though it took a few weeks to even get agreement from the BOE to send the deletion into the society. I've turned over all assignments but have no idea how long it will take for the society to respond. I actually wonder if it will be like OnTheWayOut and not even had the letter submitted until the CO comes through.

  I was really suprised at the reaction since in years past, the BOE I was on never gave a person stepping aside a hard time. But, the pool is getting thinner.