Before the Elder Arrangement

bavman

For you "old timers"...lol! What was procedure if someone seriously sinned and needed to confess? Who would they go to? Also, was there less disfellowshipping going on?

Each congregation had a Congregation Servant = Presiding Overseer , and a team of Servants who covered the key positions , the same as now. There was no Secretary. Appointments were made by the Circuit Overseer with input, no doubt from the Cong Servant.

There was not the structured Min Servant role, some jobs, Mags, Accounts etc had a "Servant" others were just given to a willing male.

Judicial committees were the same and were always made of, I beleive , the Cong Servant , Assist Cong Servant & One other whom I forget.

In reality it was not much different to now. The big change came in 1971, or was it 1972? when the Elder arrangement was introduced . All elders, it was emphasised were equal , the positions rotated annually and it was far more a team effort.

Gradually a lot of that was discarded and the P O today is again in charge and teaching positions do not change around. The only real advance is that all the elders endorse new appointments ... At least that is my recollection . I would appreciate other comments..

onacruse

For you "old timers"...lol!

I've lived longer than you have...I've lived longer than you have!! roflmao

What was procedure if someone seriously sinned and needed to confess? Who would they go to?

First, they would confess their sin in prayer, and thereby consider themselves fully forgiven. If their conscience compelled them to do more, or if their sin was of a more public nature, then the elders would be "involved," but more in an advisory and supportive role. If need be, any "hearings" were by the entire ecclesia (or company, depending on the time period), and an open vote rendered by every member (not a private decision by some committee).

Also, was there less disfellowshipping going on?

Df'ings were very rare, until the early 50's.

juni

Just a minute off thread please. onacruse, how do you c/p a number of times without editing? Do you use MicroSoft Word? * referring to your last post. PM if you wish.

Thanks. Juni

I don't know if my memory is correct, but is that 3rd person for the "war room" the field service overseer?

It has been so many years, BluesBrother you explained it so good. We had such a stick up the butt presiding overseer who thought he was the second Moses. He would take phone calls literally, when he wasn't at work, day and night from sisters (hee hee) must've been the only ones who needed help. He would offer them "comfort" - gag me!!

As far as more/less DFing? Can't remember. There were always ones sitting in the back who were DFed.

Juni

HEY BAVMAN!! You fellow cheesehead! Didn't realize this was your Topic. I thought you were an old-timer too?? Have a good one! ~~ Juni

proplog2

The old arrangement was cruel and wacked except:

1. More confidentiality because the judicial committee was made up of the same three brothers all the time.

2. There were fewer things strictly defined as disfellowshipping offences. A brother and sister could engage in everything short of inserting the penis without a need to confess. You weren't disfellowshipped for smoking. Underage drinking wasn't an offense.

Basically sexual intercourse with someone you weren't married to was bad.

Stealing was bad.

Murder was bad.

You had to be really really bad to get disfellowshipped. And you didn't get reinstated quickly either.

metatron

Before Nathan H. Knorr came along, a whole lot of stuff was quietly allowed. The Toronto Bethel was run by a group of homosexuals

( "Percy's Boys") and some brothers were told to go apologize to sisters they happened to fornicate with! ( "and then get back to work").

Knorr put a stop to this stuff, Stalinist that he was.

metatron

uninformed

the three brothers on the comittee were:

Congregation Servant

Assistant Congregation Servant

Bible Study Servant

These three made up the 'congregation committee'. To be on the comittee was a real power deal for young brothers. I was on the "comittee in 1969 when I was just 23 years old. How would you like a 23 year old deciding your everlasting future? Back in those days, disfellowshipping was not viewed as 'discipline', but rather a turning of the person over to Satan for destruction.....HONEST!!!!!!!!!!!!

The congregation servant had a lot more power in those days. The other two did not share his status or equality, therefore his opinion usually was the final opinion.

There were lots of df'ings but less people in the org so less people in trouble.

It wasn't better back then.

Brant

juni

uninformed said:

Bible Study Servant
These three made up the 'congregation committee'. To be on the comittee was a real power deal for young brothers. I was on the "comittee in 1969 when I was just 23 years old. How would you like a 23 year old deciding your everlasting future? Back in those days, disfellowshipping

How do I trust an answer from a cat w/sunglasses???? Anyways. Was the Bible Study servant the precursor to the Field Service servant? I came in in 1970.

Juni

restrangled

I remember something different than stated by the above posters.

We had just the Overseer. He was a very wealthy, powerful German. If there were problems he was called in alone.

My mom at one point was very upset with my Dad who was working 6 days a week, with at least a 40 minute commute each way. Apparently, she was tracking his service hours and felt he was padding the amount to meet requirements.

She called this overseer and they met in the living room, we were sent outside as kids. I'll never forget the tension, and my brothers popping up in the living room window making faces at the big meeting.

Anyway......the bottom line from this overseer was the statement to my mom....."Who are you, the spiritual police?"

It was left at that. Pretty funny in my opinion.

r.

TheOldHippie

I was in the committee 2 years after having become a JW.

Before the Elder Arrangement

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