My old congregation that I used to attend threw a farewell party tonight for the DO who is being relocated to another district out west. I went along with my wife just to see old friends in the hall. All the elders know about my situation, yet continue to treat me cordially, at least for the time being. To make things worse, the fist thing I did even before getting introduced to the DO was to spill his glass of wine on his tie when I accidentally backed into him.
There were a lot of visitors from other parts of the district that came along. After eating dinner, the congregation PO asked the DO to say a few words and here are the jist of them;
The DO drew attention to the event of September 11 and how that event proved more "meaningful" towards JWs than the rest of the world. (JWs self-centeredness has no bounds). He pointed to the rising level of governmental intolerance to organized religion especially with the latest Catholic Church pedophilia problems and how this is fulfilling bible prophecies. I wondered if the DO is aware of the Society's own problems with pedophilia also, are not JWs an "organized religion"? I always had a problem understanding the Society's view that Governments will one day stand up against organized religion and after destroying them, they will then come after JWs. But the Society IS an organized religion. Why would governments destroy all other organized religions and keep JWs for last was beyond me.
He then compared the relative lull before September 11 and the near chaos afterwards to what can occur during the great tribulation and that this should make all JWs more active in serving Jehovah and constantly having a sense of urgency. (Keep beating the same old drum.)
Finally, he gave the congregation a passing grade in its preparedness for the great tribulation and Armageddon. I am not kidding.
Then, he asked for questions and one brother asked him to relate an extra ordinary experience he had while serving for many years in different capacities. I thought this should be interesting. The DO thought for a while and the only experience he came up with was his teaching role in the Kingdom Ministry School. He went into some details as to what the students training regiment was, the number of days and hours spent and how they prepared and studied. (The Society is in love with two things: "numbers" any kind of numbers and "study of their own literature"). Needless to say, that almost half of the listeners wandered off. Then he went on to explain that the students devote several sessions on studying the organization history and how such study increased faith in the organization and not as the "opposers" say when using the organization own history against it. I wondered how he came up with this assertion, at the same time thinking if this remark was intentionally thrown towards my general direction. I devoted more time and effort than any student in any Kingdom Ministry might have into studying the organization history and my faith in it vanished rather than being strengthened.
After digesting the bountiful physical food that was laid out in honor of the DO and the spiritual tidbits he managed to bestow upon us, I cannot but notice the emptiness and the utter lack of any real spiritual value in all that he said. He never once mentioned Jesus Christ. After all, is he not supposed to imitate Christ's evangelical lifestyle by being a DO? Is not the "Kingdom Ministry" a service for the King of the Kingdom Jesus Christ?
Sadly, all those who listened to the DO gave him an enthusiastic hand afterwards, myself included, although I did it for a totally different reason.