Describing your personality in writing is a challenging task. They say that body language represents 85% of our communication, obviously you can’t see my face as I give this account. The following might probably make me sound like a prideful person, but I’ll like to say that I’m far from that. But I’m a confident individual, I work hard at what I do and I like to learn… having said, that my story continues as follows…..
(I’ll call the elder I was fond of Sudden Change elder)
Remember my father’s background, taking the lead is in my genes. I can’t help it. The skills that I developed as a result of a very inquiring mind, coupled with my secular background and teaching experience (at HS level) gain me the reputation of being good JW cong. teacher. I always strived to give good parts, and my objective always was to show balance and love in my words, even when the material was very hard, I’ll find ways to soften the message. The brothers and sisters showed loved and respect towards me, many viewed me as an elder way before being appointment as such.
It latter became evident to me that instead of seeing me as an asset, some member of the BOE where harvesting negative feelings towards me. I’m not going to portrait my self as a victims, in retrospect I feel that at times I should of tame down the way I used to defend myself when I was right, I cornered older elders many times in some discussions regarding policy and procedures. The duplicity found in the WT publication provides with a weapon that can be used against old procedures and stiff shepherding. Quite too often I used this to my advantage, obviously to the dislike of some elders.
The “Sudden Change” elder became the PO, one day he approached me with a decisions that he made that affected me and my wife. Without going into the details, the decision that he made was intended to make my life unreasonably more difficult with demands far beyond the ones called for in my position as a MS. I had a discussion with him, after supporting that I felt that I had the right to object to his demands, the elder went ballistic to the point I got the feeling that he was going to physically hurt me. This episode broke my heart, I cried and felt terrible because he was the last person I expected a reaction like this toward me. I called another elder, explained he situation, arranged a meeting and I apologized to the elder I was fond of (even dough I was right) I did so hoping that we’ll continue having a good relationship. Boy was I wrong…the years that followed this elder embarked on a personal mission to crush my reputation and spirit, in his position as the PO he felt that he had the power to push me around as much as he could. One night after a MS and elders meeting, some of us were hanging around in the KH parking lot, one of the elders said to me in a playful tone “if I were you I would not stand in from of bro. “Sudden Change’s” car, you know he doesn’t like you too much and could run you over”. It was a known fact to the congregation’s “in-the-known” crowd that this brother actually hated me.