by MARTINLEYSHON 48 Replies latest jw friends
Hi Martin,
My husband was also a PO and was assigned parts at the assemblies but never under the circumstances you describe. There were a few COs who never should have had the job, but for the most the brothers we came to know were sincere.
We are not long out, so this isn't ancient history!
In fact there were quite a few who went out of their way to show us kindness at a time when we really needed it, and this when my husband was not an elder.
Just wanted to add our experiences.
IW
Positions within any org. can be abused. Just like police, there are sincere ones that are really doing their job to protect and serve and then there are the other ones that are in it for the power over other people's lives. Same with elders and po's and co's. Some are sincere in their job to serve and some are there to be served. But us "regular" people put these people on a pedestal and tend to treat them as though they are some kind of "Gods". When I was in the org. and it was time for a co visit, people were stumbling all over each other to out do the next one with what they could do for him. With some, it is bound to go to their heads. Just like with the police, the elders,the po's, the co's are in the position and have the capacity to destroy your life.
People think if they kiss police, elder, etc., butt they might be spared. And some of these guys take advantage of their positions.
COs are a pretty mixed bag. Some are good and some are bad, and there are a whole lot that are just time servers. I've bought some (some amazingly cheaply) and not bought others. Didn't seem to make a whole lot of difference as to whether I got parts or not.
I'll say one thing about District Convention speakers, that takes a recommendation from the Circuit Panel and the CO doesn't have much if anything to say about that, though getting along with some of the guys on the panel helps quite a bit. You may get one talk at a District Convention through influence but it's pretty hard to get a second one unless you're reasonably competent, and usually better than that.
There are some exceptions, substitute COs and Pioneer/Elders get a little more lee way on the competency. Not to be racist, but, my experience has been that a black, Pioneer/Elder, substitute CO can be pretty awful and still get District Convention parts. I know of one that survived several conventions until a GB member heard probably the worst baptism talk in the history of the organization and that was the end of that dude. But no one else would pull the plug.
G'day Martin and welcome aboard! You've come to the right place, so please let us hear from you whenever you're able.
On the matter of the COs, I suspect that soon out of the borg our nerves are still raw, and anger may at times be the driving force behind our opinions. So may I commend to you the comments here of singsongboi and IslandWoman. They may help to add a balance to what is said.
Cheers,
Ozzie
Hi - We had the truly bizzar and unbeleivable situation of having -wait for it... it really is true... two consecutive COs DF'd while still serving our circut!
We'd gone through a funny patch where COs weren't staying long - family problems, ill health etc etc. So there wasn't a regualr CO for about 2 years.
Then they got a guy from a well known family who'd been in corporate life in the past. Legend has it that he started doing odd things like just showing up at meetings without an invitation. He was DF.
The replacement was a true gentleman. He was a kind hearted sort of a guy, but his wife was a cow. Unfortunatly it all got a bit much and he succumed to the charms of an old lady friend and was DF too.
The third guy was too boring to ever put a foot wrong and was creepy too. I never talked to him in the four visits he made before I left! His MS/E meeting were like pulling teeth.
But he was one of only about two COs I didn't like. The other was when I was small. He scared me from the platform. I saw him years later, and he still scared me in a creepy way. Like a tingle up the spine.
Oh well... that's how it was. And all that really is true... I don't have the imagination to make it up or the inclination to sprout nonscene no-one would believe.
Take care, Max
WISCHUK
have you ever known a COs mother? We had one in our congregation and we never stopped hearing about "My son the Circuit Overseer".
Whenever she met new JWs she brought it up.
Then there was the Co's wife who knew every beautician in the circuit. She carried her own scissors with her at all times and when she would see one of us at an assembly, she would drag us off to some corner and get her free haircut.
In my thirty years on the Borg, there was only one CO who I really liked.
We had one who was Chinese. I won't say his name, but the Awake did an article on him and his whole family. He was really a jerk.(I don't mean he was a jerk because he was Chinese. I just gave that information as a reference for anyone else who knew him)
So now I know why our PO gave so many talks at the assemblies. Yep, it explains a lot of things.
Target
I find this all very interesting. I must admit that I really looked fwd to the CO visits. I would say that most of them were all pretty nice. Of course there were your exceptions.
I remember one who was scheduled to have lunch w/ a pioneer sister and her study (at the study's home), well he told the elders that he did not have lunch at any study's home. That they had to be baptized and in good standing. Well no one would volunteer so an elder ended up taking him and his wife to a restaurant. This CO was not liked at all in both Spanish and English circuits. He was very cold. I heard so many complaints about him from both sides. I was always surprised why this man remained in this position. BTW he serves in the english circuit in Oregon.
What about those who had strict diet restrictions? That used to get my mom. Not only are they getting hospitality bestowed unto them but they will tell you in what way. We used to have them all the time but after that it stopped. Off to the buffet with you.
Or what about the CO's wives who would bring their dogs with them? I guess some needed the companionship. After all the Society kept these men so busy could you blame them?
I also knew of a few who had a child with them, back in the 70's. Talk about spoiled.
I would say that there are those who are 'company' men and if the Society said to jump they would say how high. These are the men the Society sends into circuits when serious problems arise. These men cannot be trusted. I would say Paducah area might be in store for one of these types.
As for talks at the District convention the CO picks certain elders in the circuit to make selections as to who gives these. I used to serve on this committee. In fact the District convention Admin. has more to say on this than a CO, and that is where I saw more favoritism, like the Convention Overseers son-in-law. Never gave a talk at the Circuit Assembly but was there at the District. The CO does hand pick those for circuit assembly talks and I would say that depending on the individual and how much he can be bought. But the ones I dealt with for the most part seemed pretty fair.
But I also know for a fact that there were those who were trying to make a positive change for the better. Unfortunately for them they are caught in a system that does not foster such change. I remember as an elder having private discussions with some of these men and to see their frustration was so disheartning. I can see why now. It is corrupt from the top down. No matter how hard they try or what they do it will not have any measurable success.
Very interesting thread, worth bringing back to the top again.
For the last 10 years before I left, every CO that ever visited our congregations seemed to have some kind of diet restriction. Some could only eat certain types of protein, others couldn't have salt, sugar, preservatives, etc etc. It made it hard trying to work out a meal to serve them if you weren't familiar with what they could eat. One I knew actually gave out a printed list with do's and don'ts for their meals.
