Train, Trust, and Empower Others, as Jesus Does (Luke 8:1; 9:1; 10:1)
Speaker opened by stating that there was a need for "harvest workers" and "shepherds" as the worldwide membership of Jehovah's Witnesses is now 8.2 million. He then went on to state how Jesus willingly gave responsibillity to others and that this pattern would be considered further.
He briefly examined...John 1:3 - Jesus' role in creationIsaiah 50:4 - prophecy regarding the MessiahIsaiah 50:5 - schooling of the Messiah2 Tim 2:2 - Timothy urged to entrust responsibilities to "faithful men".
Speaker stated that Jesus trained, trusted and empowered his followers. He cited Luke 8:1 as an example of how Jesus accomplished such training. He then went on to say that there is "a tremendous need" for elders due to the increase in numbers of Jehovah's people.
He cited Luke 10:1 as exemplary of Jesus having selected 72 persons in twos ahead of Him. He also referenced verse 16 as evidence of Jesus' delegation of authority. He emphasised: "Jesus was not a micro-manager." The delegation was to be accompanied by tooling, the speaker said. He claimed that Jesus has delegated authority and the preaching work to the faithful and discreet slave. For this assertion though, the speaker offered no scriptural authority and it was not difficult for me to determine why this omission was so.
Of course, many elders that I know are deeply insecure and given to heavy projection of their inadequacies onto listeners such that they are responsible for the poor meeting attedance which they so disdain! Such insecure individuals have genuine difficulty in empowering others as the speaker suggests. Rather, many elders would see the empowering of others as very threatening. They could end up inadvertently appointing someone who would then be discerned as competitive and undermining.
Further, I noted that the sole reason given for there being a "tremendous" need for elders was the increase in numbers of "Jehovah's people". Again, I noted that other reasons were avoided - such as those who are repelled by the position and step down so to speak, as well as those who are marginalised for being human beings rather than yielding to the will of the GB in all matters. I sat there thinking of the November 2011 WT (one burned into my psyche) which states: "Of course, a brother does not have to be a ministerial servant or an elder in order to help others and have a full share in the ministry." What a rear and true statement from this magazine! A fleeting sinew of candour! I used this quote as a gentle reposte to those of an inquisitive disposition who asked why I was not reaching out. In any case, who would want to jeopardise their mental health by getting closer to the very ones who actually do micro-manage, who bully, who fault find, who tear down, and who portray a corporate productivity paradigm of ministry hours rather than Jesus paradigm of a load which is light and refreshing. Their paucity of elders is sure to continue!
Speaker opened by stating that there was a need for "harvest workers" and "shepherds" as the worldwide membership of Jehovah's Witnesses is now 8.2 million. He then went on to state how Jesus willingly gave responsibillity to others and that this pattern would be considered further.
He briefly examined...John 1:3 - Jesus' role in creationIsaiah 50:4 - prophecy regarding the MessiahIsaiah 50:5 - schooling of the Messiah2 Tim 2:2 - Timothy urged to entrust responsibilities to "faithful men".
Speaker stated that Jesus trained, trusted and empowered his followers. He cited Luke 8:1 as an example of how Jesus accomplished such training. He then went on to say that there is "a tremendous need" for elders due to the increase in numbers of Jehovah's people.
He cited Luke 10:1 as exemplary of Jesus having selected 72 persons in twos ahead of Him. He also referenced verse 16 as evidence of Jesus' delegation of authority. He emphasised: "Jesus was not a micro-manager." The delegation was to be accompanied by tooling, the speaker said. He claimed that Jesus has delegated authority and the preaching work to the faithful and discreet slave. For this assertion though, the speaker offered no scriptural authority and it was not difficult for me to determine why this omission was so.
Of course, many elders that I know are deeply insecure and given to heavy projection of their inadequacies onto listeners such that they are responsible for the poor meeting attedance which they so disdain! Such insecure individuals have genuine difficulty in empowering others as the speaker suggests. Rather, many elders would see the empowering of others as very threatening. They could end up inadvertently appointing someone who would then be discerned as competitive and undermining.
Further, I noted that the sole reason given for there being a "tremendous" need for elders was the increase in numbers of "Jehovah's people". Again, I noted that other reasons were avoided - such as those who are repelled by the position and step down so to speak, as well as those who are marginalised for being human beings rather than yielding to the will of the GB in all matters. I sat there thinking of the November 2011 WT (one burned into my psyche) which states: "Of course, a brother does not have to be a ministerial servant or an elder in order to help others and have a full share in the ministry." What a rear and true statement from this magazine! A fleeting sinew of candour! I used this quote as a gentle reposte to those of an inquisitive disposition who asked why I was not reaching out. In any case, who would want to jeopardise their mental health by getting closer to the very ones who actually do micro-manage, who bully, who fault find, who tear down, and who portray a corporate productivity paradigm of ministry hours rather than Jesus paradigm of a load which is light and refreshing. Their paucity of elders is sure to continue!