by Room 215 37 Replies latest jw friends
Ex-Elders Outnumber Elders In My KH; what does that suggest to you?
It suggests to me that more elders are realizing that the cult is full of shit. Many of these former elders will eventually fade entirely, they're just taking it slow in order to save their families.
Personally, I'd be interested to know how many former elders are now x-jws. It would not surprise me to learn that they outnumber current active elders.
W
Some time ago it was posted on the forum that elders who had children attending college were being asked to step down.
I agree with the politics pov and I think economics may be playing a role. Do elders even get reimbursed for all the driving around they should be doing for field service and shepherding calls?
It's a thankless and never-ending job, from what I saw. But there's usually always someone who desires the prestige, to become a tool. SOmething I read a while back" "If the job involves prestige, that's a good indication it probably sucks."
It suggests ex-elders are smarter than present elders.
The WTS uses and abuses those who reach out and work for free.
From my own experience. The very moment you are appointed you are now being critically reviewed and judged by others. "How is he an Elder?! Don't they know the truth about him?" And that was from other Elders.
The 'truth' was enjoyable until I was appointed, then it became discouraging, if not oppressive.
The body of Elders, you would think, should be the best the WTS has to offer. But what you see behind closed doors, what the avg. JW doesn't see, is apalling. The back biting, un-Christ-like love, and lies that goes on is the norm, not the unusual.
Not only were you judged but your family comes into an extraordinary amount of judgement. Its very hard to watch you wife cry because of the cruel treatment by the so-called good ones in the JW congregation. Its not hard to see why so many will not reach out for such priviledges on JG's organization of lack of love.
I hear that in many parts of my country, fewer and fewer young males are even wanting to put themselves "in line" for becoming elders. Increasingly, the composition of elders is much older males which, in a literal sense, is what elders are. Long gone are the days when Kingdom Halls were replete with relatively young males being appointed elders - at least in New Zealand.
I think this is becoming a common problem.
In the wt 8/15/09 there was an article titled, "Did You Once Serve? Can You Serve Again?" and was entirely about former elders and ministerial servants serving again.
I know OnTheWayOut has posted some comments about an official policy that even allows elders to maintain their positions in some cases of wrongdoing. OTWO, could you post some details, maybe a reference, here?
No doubt this is why the WT of 15 August 2009 (currently being studied) carried a subsidiary article "Did You Once Serve, Can You Serve Again?"....Reaching out to ex elders and inviting them to consider putting themselves out to be used again..
I read into it that it is a general problem. We also have commented that it is a long time since I saw a young looking elder or one that had been newly appointed.
(Hmmm.. Jaberwock pipped me with this comment)
I think that most of the good elders end up realizing that they do not have the training, skills, deep bible knowledge to be spiritual leaders. They are not provided training on how to provide real assistance to depressed ones, in cases of severe depression they do not have qualified professionals that they can recommend and rely upon. They are not trained to show real love by feeding the hungry, comforting the sick, helping with life skills and leading thinking on caring for the environment and their communities. Rather, they are hampered by the lack of training from the WT – both spiritual training and social/life training to do anything meaningful. The only training they get is how to follow flawed procedures.
Would you stick with such a job?
I think that Zarco has just about summed it for me.
Only rarely as an elder did I feel that being an elder was truely Christ like. Perhaps I would still be there if elders really did tend to the sick and those in need but the sad reality is that the whole set up lends itself to politics, back-biting and back-stabbing. After a life time in, I was glad to get out.
