by RULES & REGULATIONS 22 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
Elders are very busy before and after the meetings. They have many parts during the Ministry School. They have Elder meetings after the meetings are over. They have families to contend with and most Elders are the last to leave the Kingdom Hall.
With so much going on,do they pay attention to who's not there? When do they notice someone is missing too many meetings? Do they make a list of who missed the meeting?
in my last hall they did- we got a phone call every single time we missed a meeting-
our book study conductor even made it a point to find us at the assembly and if he didn't, we'd get a call from him saying he didn't see us.
in my hall before that, I could light myself on fire, run out of the hall screaming and not one elder would come out to see if I was ok
Depends on the elder.
You're right, they ae usually quite busy before & after the meeting. Sometimes they will get up and walk around in the back to see who might be missing from their book study. Others don't care at all.
They tend to notice if you miss the book study because it is a smaller group with one elder assigned. If you miss those, they tend to notice other meetings.
In my hall every book study conductor had to look out for there group.
I once missed all the meetings for three weeks straight. The only call I got was at the end of the month for my field service report. Lilly
I haven't been to a meeting for five years BUT at our group study the study conductor would fill out a register book of who was there, and then who was missing. He then had to find out why they were missing and fill in the appropriate reason.
Each elder would be responsible for his own members at the main meetings and would fill out the register book with the same reasons for absence!
Talk about control freaks. Ours was a very old cong that went back to the beginnings of the Bible Students. As long as I had been at that KH they had the register system! Don't know if they did the same anywhere else though!
I love the expression WT Wizard uses for elders: Hounders.
A really conscientious "hounder", especially if he's a CBSO, will take note of who's absent from the meetings. If he's really, really conscientious he'll follow up with a phone call inquiring about the sheep's welfare.
I always hated those phone calls when I was a young JW adult going through a "spiritually weak" phase. So once I got my "hounder" hat, I resolved to never call anyone unless I KNEW they were ill and would APPRECIATE a phone call. Otherwise, it would take a week or two of "no shows" to prompt a phone call from me.
Open Mind
(of the, never was a very "good" elder, class)
Our cong used to just notice missed book studies, but as i made my self known as depressive they werent particulary good at finding out why i was missing
In my cong it seems to depend on who you are. For instance, there are some who are reaching out for MS or elder. Depending on who you are (and, I think, whether the PO likes you or not), you might be able to miss a meeting here and there without risk of losing the chance to be appointed. There are others, however, who will not be considered if they miss one meeting by the next CO visit.
Another example- There is a certain DF'd person who seems to think their chance of getting RI is pretty good despite this person's lack of attending ANY bookstudies and frequently missing the School/Service meetings and the Sunday AM meetings. The last time this person met with the elders, they just told them that they're doing good, just wait a little while longer! (This person committed SERIOUS sins over and over while concealing it for YEARS, hence the "wait a little longer"). Do the elders notice/care if this person misses meetings? Will this person's meeting attendance factor into their bid to be reinstated? Evidently not- cronyism at its best!
Yet another example- There is a man who is a racial minority and a single father of two young children who has struggled financially over the last few years but has attended meetings (comments, too), been through the Knowledge book, the require brochure, The Daniel book, the Worship book, and the Bible teach book. He told me that he has already made his personal dedication to Jah, but the elders keep declining to make him an unbaptized publisher because of his meeting attendance. THIS GUY HAS NOT MISSED ONE SINGLE MEETING SINCE MAY and missed very few before that! While this bothers the guy somewhat, he is still loyal to the org. Go figure!
I also had a conversation with an elder who is of the "annointed" once about MS and elder appointments. He said that there are some who just won't "cut it" as a MS, and he actually named a brother as an example! Quote; "Brother <so-and-so> will never be a ministerial servant". What a crappy thing to say about someone!!! Especially since this elder just moved to our cong a few months ago and doesn't really know anyone that well yet! It makes me wonder if he's just repeating what some of the other elders have said. The thing is, Brother <so-and-so> once WAS a MS years ago.
So I guess it just boils down to what the elders' agenda is. If they have a personal reason to notice your attendance, they will. Otherwise, you're just a number on the attendance count!
