How many Witnesses face judicial committees each year?

by slimboyfat 8 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  slimboyfat

  I wonder if there is any way to work out a rough figure for how many Witnesses face judicial committees every year?

  I guess one way would be to estimate what proportion of judicial committees result in disfellowshipping and multiply that by the official estimate from the Watchtower that around 1% of JWs are disfellowshipped every year.

  Can any elders give a rough idea what sort of proportion of judicial committees result in:

  a) disfellowshipping

  b) public reeproof

  c) private reproof

  d) no action

  Is there any outcome I have overlooked?
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  sir82

  My experience is a tiny tiny portion of the trenches along the western front.

  But in my experience, I'd say about 1/4 - 1/3 of the committees I served on resulted in DF. The rest were all reproof.

  Of the reproofs, about 90% are private, 10% public.
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  slimboyfat

  Interesting, I thought it might be about a quarter or something.

  You never experienced anyone "exonerated" as it were? Or is that not how it works?
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  Oubliette

  Interesting question, Slimboyfat.

  I think all you could do is conduct an informal survey like this. I served as an elder for about 20 years. Although I did not keep a log, I have previously estimated that during that time I was on 40 - 50 judicial committees (JCs).

  The result was generally private reproof. Public reproof and DFing were the minority

  My recollection is that that there were less public reproof than anything as that would only be the case where the person was "judged" repentant, but whatever "sin" they committed was well enough known that we felt that it needed to be announced to the congregation so they knew we (the elders) had "handled it." It's all about appearances, as I'm sure you know.

  There were often JC's happening which I was not involved with. My recollection is that I served on roughly half of them. Of course I'd have no way of knowing if the congregation I was in was typical or not.

  To put some rough numbers to your categories:

  a) disfellowshipping - 25%

  b) public reproof - 5%

  c) private reproof - 69%

  d) no action - 1%

  I can only recall two situations that resulted in "no action." The only way that would happen was:

  1) the individual was unavailable and/or refused to meet with us and we did not have sufficient "evidence" to DF them in absentia, or

  2) the individual denied the accusation and there was only one "witness" against them. (No it wasn't a pedophilia case. I never served on a JC involving allegations of that.)

  If enough current/ex-elders comment on this thread, you may be able to estimate the number of JCs each year.

  Paul Grundy has this statement on his jwfacts.com website:

  Disfellowshipping and Shunning

  For every 100 Jehovah's Witnesses more than 1 is disfellowshipped each year; over 70,000. (1) Two out of every three are never reinstated. (2)

  - - - - - - - - - -

  1 - "In recent years disfellowshippings worldwide have been approximately 1 percent of publishers." Watchtower 1992 Jul 1 p.19
  
  2 - Statistics provided in Watchtower 1974 Aug 1 p. 466 and Watchtower 1960 Dec 1 p.728 indicate that roughly only 1/3 return.
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  Oubliette

  BTW, I was writing my post before I saw sir82's response. Interesting our numbers are pretty similar. You now have a consensus of two!
• 

  Jeffro

  slimboyfat:

  Is there any outcome I have overlooked?

  Public stoning?

  Sorry, wrong millenium...

  *** w52 11/15 p. 703 Questions From Readers ***
  The law of the land and God’s law through Christ forbid us to kill apostates, even though they be members of our own flesh-and-blood family relationship.

  Makes you long for the good ol' days.
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  Oubliette

  But how many current, active JWs are secretly committing "sins" for which they could be hauled before a JC, yet no one knows? I'd say that's a pretty high percentage, probably more than 50%.

  By definition, being in a cult forces a person to live a double-life as their authentic self must be denied. I have become convinced that in reality there is only a very small percentage of "True Believers" that completely live by WTBTS "standards."

  Most pretend to but never completely live up to it.
• 

  Sammy Jenkis

  But how many current, active JWs are secretly committing "sins" for which they could be hauled before a JC, yet no one knows?

  My answer: 100%

  They're all pretending.
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  westiebilly11

  when I was 'in' I knew of some who engaged in heavy drinking, gambling, lotteries, adultery, and pornography. I said nothing as I reckoned there was so much nepotism going on that a jc would prove a sham.....