Things That Drove You CRAZY About The Elders

minimus

I was always amazed by the certain elders that really got into giving heavy counsel, while, they themselves, needed to take their own advice.You know, the elder that ALWAYS picked on the families that weren't perfect, and was the first to volunteer to give the local needs talk on how to bring up your kids. Meanwhile, the elder's own children were smoking and dating "unbelievers". And I always smirked when the Theocratic Ministry School Overseer gave tough counsel on timing and the use of word-whiskers and pronunciation, while always violating his own criticisms............What drove YOU crazy???

songmistress

I was a sis with an unbelieving mate who had drug and alcohol problems (addictions which for the most part dissapeared once I left the organization, hmm very interesting), severely depressed, bordering on suicidal and prone to panic attacks. The elders were always "ENCOURAGING" me by telling me what a blessing and encouragement I was to the congregation to be dealing with such adverse conditions by continuing such faithful service to Jehovah. Near the end of my time with the org, I very blatantly told an elder that if I heard that one more time I thought I would scream because I did not care about being an encouragement, I was in serious pain and needed encouraging myself at which point I got as I always got the "Go out in Service more, study more, pray more, etc speech.

AAARRRRGGGGHHHHHHH. No wonder I have been in therapy and needing drugs for the last few years. It did drive me crazy.

Blessings

Cheryl (of the it's more fun to be crazy than sane class)

blondie

I can only pick one?!

How some elders could lie to your face even after you presented them with irrefutable proof and eyewitnesses that what they said was a lie. All I could think was this was what these elders were thinking and who they were like:

Ezekiel 8:12

12 And he proceeded to say to me: "Have you seen, O son of man, what the elderly ones of the house of Israel are doing in the darkness, each one in the inner rooms of his showpiece? For they are saying, Jehovah is not seeing us. Jehovah has left the land."

Isaiah 29:15

Woe to those who are going very deep in concealing counsel from Jehovah himself, and whose deeds have occurred in a dark place, while they say: "Who is seeing us, and who is knowing of us?"

Ezekiel 9:9

9 So he said to me: "The error of the house of Israel and Judah is very, very great, and the land is filled with bloodshed and the city is full of crookedness; for they have said, Jehovah has left the land, and Jehovah is not seeing.

Blondie

minimus

We had an elder in our congregation that regularly lied. When confronted, he would always blame the accuser. Eventually, the lying caught up with him and he was deleted as an elder because he wouldn't own up to his mistakes and constantly blamed others for "lying" about him. Not only was he a liar, but he was also a prophecy nut. If the Watchtower alluded to something that he read into, he would announce to everyone about "that new point in the WT." When he was proven to be wrong, he would always deny saying it in the first place. One other thing.....he was a real pain in the ass.

SPAZnik

there was this one bro that always said "fateful" when he meant "faithful". he pronounced all his other "th"s just fine. it urked me that he was too lazy to speak properly.

i'm still not sure if i find that funny or annoying.

beepers

I always enjoyed it when Brother so and so told me what it was like to be a single sister, alone in the "Troof".

Amy

Mac

Had an elder that always pronounced Satan---Saintan. This same brother also commented from the platform about the proliferation of "R" rated television shows! (Guess he didn't understand what reruns were)

mac, of the ya gotta love 'em class

Warrigal

My husband and I were sitting in the KH behind an elder and his wife during the Ministry School segment. Throughout the meeting they whispered back and forth to each other, not once paying attention to what was going on from the platform.

This same elder got up and gave a talk in the Service Meeting about how the meetings were so important to him!!!!

My husband and I looked at each other, smothered a laugh and walked out of the meeting. He never went back. I stayed for a month or two and left also. I was trying to find out why the meetings were so important.....ha ha ha ha

RAYZORBLADE

I could pull the hair right out of my head; trust me, I don't have much left.

Reading your anecdotes on here, I really got a chuckle out of them, then it hit me. I remembered one elder in particular who annoyed the hell out of me.

He was a father of 3 boys. His wife (a sister) was a nice woman, but she was occasionally in the Psych ward of a local hospital.

This elder, was a constant joker, teaser and one you just didn't know if you could take him seriously. He'd really tease you, or make fun of you. I mean, it's OK now and again, but this guy's switch was ON all the time. ENOUGH!!! already!

So, one day, we decide to have some fun back with him. Toss some teasing and so forth directed at him: HE WAS NOT PLEASED! And boy oh boy did we hear about it.

I still remember him giving some talk involving 'public reproof', and ironically, one of his sons was no better. NO, not hearsay, things we all saw with our very own eyes. Oh well!

But that used to drive me batty. One set of standards to treat others; but don't do unto him.

GRR!

email

Meanwhile, the elder's own children were smoking and dating "unbelievers".

I got a lot of elders like that... giving you a lot of "friendly advice" on bad associations...etc... meanwhile his daugther was dating an "unbeliever"... that drove me crazy....

Also, counseling you about putting more hours when I KNOW they weren't doing squat or putting enough time themselves.

Things That Drove You CRAZY About The Elders

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