I'll call him Bear, like teddy bear because he's big and nice. Bear's the COBOE, an intelligent but jittery man who suffers from a host of anxiety disorders. He 'just happened' to be driving down my street after the group, and 'just happened' to notice I was at home, tending to some animals.
We made small talk about my pets, and then he told me he'd come because he was concerned about me and wanted to help me. He asked if he could do something for me to help me, and I said I just needed a friend. He said he was my friend and understood me a lot better than others because he too suffers from anxiety. So we chatted a bit, and he brought up the various issues, namely the Facebook one and my being inactive. I told him I appreciated his concern, and was on sabbatical and would return to the KH when I was ready.
What was really telling though, was how he described most JWs. He described them as being incredibly narrow-minded, and hence they think I'm an apostate because I have different opinions on things. Bear told me he certainly didn't think I was an apostate. Even the elders are narrow minded, he told me.
When he mentioned the GB, I said nothing and gave no opinion. Bear told me I could only work things out for myself, irrespective of what the Org says, and that the Org supplies a way for people to approach Jehovah, but there may be other organisations too. He'd met many spiritual people in his ministry, who had organisations in which they could worship Jehovah. Bear also told me a lot about how the Org has disappointed him over the years, and no one had the right to judge me.
Mind you, here we are standing amidst my animals, feeding them! He finished by reassuring me of his friendship and care, and if any elder ticked me off, to let him know about it.
Could Bear have potential to wake up? People are waking up in droves, elders too.