by pontoon 34 Replies latest jw friends
Negative! Not spirit directed. Rather directed by pride, jealously, ambition, need for power, need for this & need for that and at times directed by the whim of the wives of the BOE. Absolutley!
I see it happening that way right now.
Good question Pontoon.
I served as a elder for 24 years. I saw all of the above that was mentioned and then some. Most notable was a almost fist fight between two elders over who was right. Are the body of elders spirit directed in the three congregation I served in I never saw it. Totally ADD
Simon M said: the majority were spirit directed - Jack Daniels, Johnnie Walker and Jim Beam were all part of our BOE.
But come on Simon.........that's what made it tolerable! Plus break out the good stuff (Single Barrel or Blue Label) when the CO comes through!
Nugget said: It seems that good men either step down or leave bad men stay in place and become worse.
Sad but true. Anyone with principles can't tolerate it forever. Or, they hit burnout and continue to just stay on the bus for the ride.
I remember one particularly long and nasty elders meeting. A pre CO 'why aren't you doing more you lazy bastards?' meeting. This was the PO (CoBE) in powertrip mode.
We were all doing our best but he wanted to show off like the twat he is.
I drove home fuming with anger, listening to the Sex Pistols really loud, got pissed on lager and refused to go on FS the next day!
I am SO glad to have read this post; I thought I was the only one who distrusted elders!
They are NOT spirit directed, neither are they spirit appointed as is often quoted in the Watchtower.
There may well be a few genuine ones, who have the best intentions!
but NOT the majority, who are generally on a power trip.
A big factor in a lot of our doubts about the holy spirit directing the elders was getting to know them personally. Knowing them well taught us that there is no possible way their thoughts, actions, and decisions were directed by holy spirit.
Is it any wonder the GB members choose to remain cloistered relatively anonymously, only crawling out from under the rock to travel for a talk now and then? Once you know them as men you know what they are.
The WTS like to bandy around the phrases "Spirit appointed" etc re the elders and themselves, ... the small print seen occaisonally in WT studies (and I think the OM book and Elders manual as well?) says different, but it seems not many pick up on it.
Basically they weasel out of it by saying that in so far as the person meets the "scriptual requirements" for the position of Elder as given in the "Spirit Inspired Word of God" they can be said to "Spirit Appointed". Yeah right, ...... The Bible is Spirit Inspired, therefore appointments of men made in harmony with said bible can be said to be "spirit appointed"? Now hang on a frickin minute! How exactly would that follow? Clearly it hasn't and doesn't.
This really bugged me whenever I saw it as it's a clear case of over statement.
If they were spirit directed......
How come one Elder got appointed wile he was ripping off people??
He was an accountant for alot of brother & sisters and got cought for stealing millions .
He was made an elder while doing so!!!
Before I was appointed an elder, I thought the BOE was spirit directed. But as an elder I also saw power struggles, heard arguments, seen mistakes. It eventually became a nightmare in my life, that resulted in freedom from the WT ideas.
The body of elders of JWs are no more spirit directed than are other spiritual leaders such as the Mormons, Billy Graham or your average Catholic priest.
Sorry, but the congregational BOE and/or the GB do not have a monopoly on the HOLY SPIRIT! They are just full of........... themselves.
