servants meeting with CO...

by stillin 11 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  stillin

  boring and irrelevant or what?!

  When I was appointed, I thought that I would share in building up the congregation. The CO is usually a company man making reports and passing

  along "mandates and directives" that have little to do with spirituality and more to do with proceedures in the literature room, maintenance of the

  hall, etc.

  What a disappointment.

  I really felt that it was a beautiful religion for some years and that there was "necessary business," ofcourse. But there

  was absolutely no discussion like I had pictured in my mind.

  Then, with the onset of problems of my own, I realized that the "support" of the congregation amounts to the support of the few close friends I've

  made and that if they knew I had posted here, they too would turn thier backs on me.
• 

  leavingwt

  Everything you've posted is very true, IMHO.

  It sucks that we wasted so much time and energy in what amounts to (mostly) a loss.
• 

  Londo111

  Whatever you do, don't let them know! It'll be a world of pain if you do.

  As Micah says, "Do not put YOUR faith in a companion. Do not put YOUR trust in a confidential friend."

  I believe one can subtlety do much good while in. Like researching the recent articles on 607. Asking about Jeremiah 25:12...maybe, "If someone says this scripture says that 70 years ended in 539 and not 537, how could we reason with them? Let's do some research." Maybe tracking down some of the quotes in these articles in the publications they are pointed to and saying, "The quote says this, but this is the author says this, hmm. What do you make of this?" Maybe that's too bold...
• 

  No Room For George

  When I got appointed, for the first couple of years I meticulously took notes during the elder/MS meeting with the CO. After a couple years, it dawned on me that I was taking the same notes every visit, which took me long enough to figure out by the way. All those years sitting there with the OD book, going over 1 Tim 3 and the qualifications of someone reaching out. It's worse when you get appointed as an elder, then you have to sit there for the MS meeting, and the elder meeting right afterwards. Every visit, the CO talks about shepharding and the various ways it can be done, and taking the lead out in field service, and its pretty much the same outline over and over again. The only time I can recall the CO getting away from the typical outline was for one reason or another the branch directed them to talk about business arrangements. I'm guessing that year quite a few business dealings in congregations went sour, and they felt the need to address it.

  On another note, last year we hosted the DO along with the CO. The DO gave a special talk, which I was looking forward to as I thought it would be something different, something spectacular, kinda like that one or more talks you year at the district conventions that are a knotch better than what's typically heard Sunday mornings at your average KH. Boy was I disappointed watching him fumble along attempting to encourage us to read the WT's latest publications. It was like a Tubberware party on steroids, only instead of plastic containers, it was the new Jeremiah book, or the See The Good Land brochure, or the Faith In Action DVD. This religion is all one big hey to do over nothing at times.

  Whatever you do, don't let them know! It'll be a world of pain if you do.

  I second that motion. All in agreement at JWN who've been in similar situations will raise their hand.
• 

  wha happened?

  I hear ya on the notes. Their visits are at best redundant and no productive. Same general talks given over and over, followed by empty promises at the end of the visit by the elder body on the "adjustments" suggested by the CO.

  I see little purpose in their visits other than giving a company man a semi comfortable living.

  Wasn't the CO arrangement getting replaced by an elder in each circuit?
• 

  Mr. Falcon

  Truth be told, the last CO servant's meeting I attended, I sat toward the back and read the Qu'ran on my kindle app on my phone. true story.
• 

  straightshooter

  When I was a MS I thought the CO visits were fun and instructive. When I became an elder I started to hate the CO visits. The CO wanted to be the "boss" of the body of elders. Though he told the cong to support the "hard work" of the elders, at the CO/elders meeting he would condemn the elders for not doing enough. The CO made me sick of volunteering my time and energy as a elder.
• 

  Open mind

  C.O. Visit = Inspection
• 

  Mr. Falcon

  .
• 

  bnybyt

  Well there was this youngish CO named Palen who equated apostate literature with a menstrual blood stained rag.

  And said aloud during his first meeting with the local BOE, "Well this is what they are offering!", and he thrust his right hand out and swung it with pinched thumb and index finger, left and right, as if he were holding a rag and shaking it in front of our faces.

  "Well, what are you going to do? Aren't you going to recoil in disgust?" he said, "Well, that's what your response needs to be to apostate literature!"

  Day after on Sat. morning he held up the WT and Awake! in the same manner while talking about presentations.

  Strange thing is I immediately got a mental picture of him holding a WT and Awake! and put that together with what he was saying to us elders the previous night about the blood stained rag.

  He sure had some very vivid illustrations.