let's say they attend a dozen circuit assemblies. that's only 12 weeks they spend with a congregation. what about the rest of the year? just chill at bethel? i know some are used to teach the schools, but not all. and you only ever see them at your circuit assembly and maybe your DC, what the hell else do they do?
What do DO's do when not visiting assemblies?
by Richard_I 10 Replies latest jw friends
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Iamallcool
Good Question (bookmarking)
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SloppyJoe
Actually they attend most circuit assemblies covered in their district. It's more like 30+'weeks of circuit assemblies. When they have no assignment they can attend any congregation they choose.
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blondie
They work with COs and their wives training them.
They work with brand new COs.
Don't forget that DOs organize and coordinate the DCs. And has parts in the circuit assembly as well as visiting the host congregation.
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Badfish
They only come into existence when they are being observed.
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OnTheWayOut
They receive green handshakes, apply brown to other people's noses, enjoy their rockstar status.
Seriously, they are supposed to visit congregations similar to C.O.'s but they visit during a C.O. visit mostly.
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NewYork44M
I can recall a few occasions where the DO joined the CO for a congregation visit. I had always assumed that is how they spent their down time.
As a side question, I always wondered what the wife of a DO does. Listing to the same CO week after week has to be painful. Do they have alternate plans?
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RottenRiley
Enjoy being treated like a Rockstar, JWs can't get enough men to worship in the same way the ancient Jews craved Idol Worship.
Looking through the Ancient Jewish Religion, you realize we have more titles than the Jews had for their rulership class! I got burned by a D.O., I have no use for men who are really don't know the Bible but Parrot the Watchtower's Theology, I would love for a DO to go up against Greg Stafford or Blondie or Billy-the-Ex, they would roast the DO back to their Thetan Retreat!
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XBEHERE
They police the CO's and elder bodies within a district. I know this because a friend of mine was on a body several years back and he told me that they had numerous problems...internal fighting, backbiting, slandering, you know the usual elder stuff but this one got out of hand.
The CO tried to deal with it without success so letters were written back and forth to the WTS he said and the end result was the entire body, along with the CO would go before the DO. He said people were removed, some moved, other elders were sent in. Apparently this type of stuff happens more than publishers realize.
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committeechairman
So they do a variety of things:
- Attend Circuit Assemblies - so this might take around 10 to 15 weekends a year
- Attend a Special Assembly Day - so would take 1 weekend a year (they do not organize SAD but usually are the visiting speaker for one)
- Serve as Chairman at one or more District Conventions - this would take 2 weekends roughly
- After some Circuit Assemblies they serve with the CO the week following a Circuit Assembly for a workweek where they assist, formally shepherd, and complete a PQR report on the CO and his wife if he is married. The PQR is like an annual performance evaluation on an employee. It is used to determine if someone should stay in their assignment (are they still qualified) or if they should be removed or should go on to an assignment with more responsibility. This would be an additional 10 to 15 weekends a year.
- They do teach the School for Congregation Elders. Since these are mostly complete, some US DOs are going abroad to teach as well.
- Special projects for the Service Department/Governing Body/Branch Committee. DOs (and some experienced COs) work on special projects while in the field. Sometimes they work on these projects and do not serve congregations during particularly busy parts of the special project. An example of a special project might be a new procedure the branch office wants to get input on or have drafted, assist with other new organizational initiatives. In some cases, they return to the branch office temporarily to work on these.
- Special Committees - when a particularly nasty issue arises (especially where it is a judicial issue where more than one appointed man is involved) they might serve as the chairman of a branch-appointed special committee in the field. This might involve some weeks of time to handle.
- Regional Building Committees - each RBC is assigned to a DO who oversees it and performs an annual review with the committee, usually in the December - March timeframe.
You can see that all this fills a "service year" up pretty much. You might notice that you get a substitute DO more often than a sub CO. This is why, especially the special projects and special committees part of this.
Sorry if the post was too long. Just wanted to share what I know. I'm looking forward to your comments on all of this, some of which you may not have been aware of. Someone commented about DOs being "rock stars" - they are indeed very very powerful in the organization. If you hack one of them off, you can generally kiss your "spiritual career" goodbye.