by XBEHERE 23 Replies latest jw friends
Guys, everyone needs to step back and gain some perspective.
79 is not young!
Also, the GB is only limiting the age limit on the COBE position.
Who knows their reasoning, they probably don't. A lot of their recent changes resemble rearranging deck furniture on the Titanic.
Also, they are constantly tacking, going this way and that without any clear direction or long-term plan. The only thing they DO seem clear about is seizing as much money and real assets as possible.
I'd be more inclined to think of "conspiracy" if the requirement was, say, "can't even be an elder after 80" or if the COBE cutoff was lower, maybe 60 or 65. You can still have 95 year old elders and 78 year old COBEs.
I suspect it's just a way to give BOEs an "honorable" way to can 90-year-old Brother Bumble from being COBE, without "embarrassing" him.
It does send a message, though, that the WTS doesn't think much of older guys' ability to handle the job, since the requirement is strictly age-based and has nothing to do with actual ability.
On the other hand, as some have intimated, this may be just step 1 in some sort of "grand plan".
I'm more likely to believe that some of the older elders are pushing back against all the recent flurry of changes that have been made -- and are about to be made -- by the relatively new Governing Body. Many of the changes are done without strong (or any) scriptural support. Some of the older elders who grew up listening to Franz, Klein, Schroeder and Jaracz may not appreciate what's going on, i.e., fewer meetings during the week, fewer days of assemblies and conventions, frequent and unreasonable changes in the "Generation" doctrine, turning over all the congregation's money to the "earthly organization", sex abuse coverups, etc. ... Of course, it may just be that there are SO MANY changes lately, that these older ones can't keep up.
Oubliette that is true. However the JW.org always does things for a reason, the fact that there is not a scripure to support the statements in that letter is very telling. Perhaps this letter is a way to "test the waters" so to speak with a minor change, allbeit without scriptural backing, and see who if anyone notices or bothers to complain about it. if no complaints then they can slowly move on to other changes with no backing.
I'm with XBEHERE...while I'm hesitant to say that it's definitely a part of a master plan, I think the fact that it's only one position that's affected (and notably the position with the most authority, not the position that requires the most time/effort/thought) and a relatively high cut-off is evidence more for it being part of a larger picture than against. If this was something done in isolation, it doesn't really make sense. The CO could evaluate the COBE on visits, and if he's senile, remove him or ask him to step down. If, however, they're planning something bigger, it makes sense to start small and work your way up. Afterall, that's how you boil a frog.
D of C said
With the Organization going headfirst into the internet age with JW.Org etc they need younger, IT savvy guys at the helm.
I think that really nails it. Talking to an elder recently he said that you cannot be a COBE or Secretary these days without computer skills and equipment. The COBE position is more admin than anything else these days and that is via a keyboard. If a situation should develop in a cong an alert COBE may be able to nip it in the bud whereas a a lesser one would let things slide... I also gained the impression that The Society wish to assign elders to congs where there is a need (in cities anyway where they can easily travel) rather than have them just go where they live, like the r and f. Younger men would do that.
Having said that, I know an elder in his nineties who spends all spare time on his computer and has a facebook page...and of course Moses was 80 when he led the Israelites out of Egypt and we are told that
Deut.34 ;5
" After that Moses the servant of Jehovah died there in the land of Mo′ab just as Jehovah had said. 6 He buried him in the valley in the land of Mo′ab, opposite Beth-pe′or, and nobody knows where his grave is down to this day. 7 Moses was 120 years old at his death. His eyes had not grown dim, and his strength had not departed."
I guess that he would be overlooked as a COBE today
I still tend to think it is part of a strategy for retirement of the GB and perhaps retirement for all elders at some point in the future. To paraphrase the Princess Bride, "the fear of the Dread Pirate Roberts was more in the name than the individual"...so as long as the Governing Body is revered the acutal members can retire (or die). None of the current members of the Governing Body were on the Governing Body working with members of the original Governing Body from 1971. That was just 43 years ago and some of the members of the Society's Board of Directors have held that position for more than that long as individuals. If they are just a figurehead then having a retirement age prevents any one individual or group of body members from amassing too much power and makes it easy to always insert new members whenever it is deemed necessary. I suspect many more changes to come after September 1
If the mandatory put-to-pasture rules applies to the GB (and that's a big "if"), one could reason it's an effort by the current GB to avoid situations where GB members were barely lucid and wore diapers yet still held sway over the body.
If it doesn't apply to the GB, your guess is as good as mine.
There's obviously more here than the GB is saying. I find it hard to believe it's simply because those 80 and older may not be tech savvy. Samuel Herd is about 80 and several other GB members are right behind him. It's not likely many of the GB know much about new media either. It used to be, not long ago, that the organization said it focused more on spiritual things rather than material, or for that matter, technological. (Remember the rantings about the Internet, bulletin boards, chat rooms and more recently Facebook?) Because there is no scriptural basis for this move, there must be more going on here than meets the eye.
I think it gives people hope. Most of the COBE's are a pain in neck/ass. I think that this birthday will be celebrated behind closed doors with the greatest of glee.
