Narkissos,
I don't doubt it. Everyone seems to have trouble with these verses. I was confused for years myself. I am sure that others tried to correct something that was seemingly in error long ago. But the verses make perfect sense as they stand as long as we know the context, the background, the story about the problems that existed then that most miss and what Paul did about them. It was so bad that Paul had to lay hands on Timothy and others to go around, investigate and appoint elders in such places where the problems existed to put a stop to it. And Paul trained Timothy in his letters so that he knew exactly who and what to look for and who to pass over. They were not appointed for the purposes that the WT uses them for, that's for sure.
Joseph