Who else thinks something is afoot with this? Is the GB deciding to go back to pre-1971 times with perhaps the COBE as the man in charge and the rest just ministerial servants. So for this reason they want younger men in those postitions? The COBE in my Cong. is in his late 30's and was placed there by the CO about 4 yrs ago. Anyone else been seeing this happen elsewhere? Any theories?
80 Year old COBE Layoff Conspiracy
by XBEHERE 23 Replies latest jw friends
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OneEyedJoe
I think the idea presented in the other thread that seems most logical is that they're getting rid of the older folks who remember the most lies/dissapointments from WT, and replacing them with younger ones who will be more likely to be loyal through big changes to come, since they've not been through it before.
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XBEHERE
So what about some of the current GB, they've got to be pushing 80 sooner than later. Will they "retire"?
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Make Lemonade
In my former congregation, the last two men appointed to the office of C.O.B.E. had far less experience than everyone else on the body. One was removed at a very questionable time when compared to the events going on in two overlapping abuse cases. The inexperienced elder's deletion left the C.O.B.E. position open. The next appointed man was also young and inexperienced. Both of these young elders complied unquestioningly to the WT. lawyers directions. While these young elders new of the directions from the lawyers, more experienced elders on the body were kept in the dark. At least that is what they told me when I refused to deal with the compromised COBE and went to them. This is not a theory but simply a factual report of actual events. The current COBE still presides over elders with far more experience. I know this to be not in harmony with past policy. The newest and least experienced elders would be given time to become "seasoned". It just goes agianst basic common sense for this to have taken place. Add the drama of Wt. lawyers in the background and you really begin to realize the depth of manipulation that has gone on behind the scenes in our experience.
I will follow this thread with great interest wanting to find out if any other elder has gone thru what our group of family and friends has and is enduring.
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DesirousOfChange
With the Organization going headfirst into the internet age with JW.Org etc they need younger, IT savvy guys at the helm. The 70- and 80-year old guys can't be relied on to download and print all the Kingdom Ministrys and other docs. They need someone at the helm who can keep the communication pipelines open. The 30-something COBE is online every day. He's accustomed to checking several email accounts, updating Facebook, getting the weather, news, etc online. Easy for him to do one more thing -- check in at JW.Org and download the Congregation's Orders from Mother each day.
His 80-year old Grampa can still visit the nursing homes and visit the older widows to make sure they keep their fingers in her Cookie Jar.
Doc
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Magnum
Well, there has to be some reason. Nobody just arbitrarily comes up with decisions like that without having thought about it and discussed it. Why won't they just say what the reason is?
This might be the initial step towards something bigger. I think bigger changes are ahead. Maybe they're just laying the changes out gradually - in smaller pieces - so they'll be easier to swallow. They let the rank and file get used to the changes a little bit at a time.
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A.proclaimer
I think the reason for this is because of 1) age and 2) experience. 80 years old is a pretty old age, some may not be able to function to capacity or as efficiently as a younger person. It's a buiness move, out with the old, in with the new. People at that age are very experienced, they know how the system works and it's limits. To retire those over 80 would allow new opportunites to bring in young people, but young people lack the experience. The younger ones will most likely follow what is being said since they do not know the limits of the system or how it completely works. It may be easier for them to follow directions. And like it was mentioned before, all the new changes could cause problems for the older ones who need to keep up. The younger ones won't be as well aware of or use to the old system so all this new stuff wont be as much of a problem and they're more adaptable than the older.
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Magnum
If what DesirousOfChange said is true, then I find it ironic that now what qualifies brothers is tech-saviness, not experience, spirituality, record of service, etc. A few years ago, those who were tech savvy might have been viewed suspiciously, as being worldly.
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JWdaughter
soon it will be like "Logans Run" and all JWs over the age of 30 will be required to immolate themselves on a pile of old literature:) They know too much about the "ancient history" (over 3 years of stuff) and might go rogue.
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Apognophos
I think the OP sounds pretty plausible.