by Gig 14 Replies latest jw friends
yea I used to resent having to listen to some pimply 24 year old nerd ministerial servant giving main meeting parts, or just slightly older cocky pet elders. Everyone congo seems to have one, the perfect little role model young up and coming male MS/elder and/or ministerial servants school graduate.
They are about as 'elder' like as pioneers are 'FULL TIME ministers'.
I think a lot of congregations are desperate for people who are willing to do all the "busy work" of being elders and ministerial servants that they are willing to appoint younger men who don't have any of the responsibilities of family life, nor the experience to go along with it. Family men and men with careers and mortgages don't necessarily have the kind of time required to devote to Theocratic Business TM nowadays as they might have had 20 years ago.
The other factor, as far as I'm concerned, is that people are becoming wise to the fact that the WTS is not going to support elders in the event of lawsuits against the body of elders or the WTS. They are becoming increasingly aware of the fact that the WTS - to save its own skin and money - will hang the elders out to dry without blinking an eye. A family man - usually someone with a mortgage - will certainly think twice before taking on that kind of liability, particularly if they end up losing their house and everything else because the WTS wouldn't back them up. Does the WTS offer "malpractice insurance" for elders?? NOOOOOOOOO. Do they offer free legal support if an elder or body of elders gets sued?? NOOOOOOOOO. Being an elder is risky business.
That's not to say that NONE of the younger elders have the necessary wisdom and maturity and humility to be good elders for their congregation, but the ones who are good elders as young men are few and far between. These fellows are also usually the ones who naively trust the WTS implicitly, not realizing the risk of liability they are taking on if they make a judicial decision or give advice in their capacity as an elder that ends up harming someone who then winds up suing them for damages.
Love, Scully
I must say, I am very disappointed. You all show a distinct lack of respect for the “glorious ones”.
Watchtower June 1 1998 page 17
Respect Divinely Constituted Authority
8 Another problem that Jude addresses is the lack of respect for divinely constituted authority. For instance, in verse 8 he charges the same wicked men with “speaking abusively of glorious ones.” Who were these “glorious ones”? They were imperfect men, but they had responsibilities conferred upon them by Jehovah’s holy spirit. For example, the congregations had elders, who were charged with shepherding the flock of God . (1 Peter 5:2) There were traveling overseers too, such as the apostle Paul. And the body of elders in Jerusalem acted as a governing body, making decisions affecting the Christian congregation as a whole. (Acts 15:6) Jude was deeply concerned that certain ones in the congregations were speaking abusively of, or blaspheming, such men.
9 To denounce such disrespectful talk, in verse 11, Jude cites three more examples as reminders: Cain, Balaam, and Korah . Cain ignored Jehovah’s loving counsel and willfully pursued his own course of murderous hatred. (Genesis 4:4-8) Balaam received repeated warnings that unquestionably came from a supernatural source—even his own she-ass spoke to him! But Balaam selfishly continued to plot against God’s people. (Numbers 22:28, 32-34; Deuteronomy 23:5) Korah had his own position of responsibility, but it was not enough. He fomented rebellion against the meekest man on the earth, Moses.—Numbers 12:3; 16:1-3, 32.
10 How vividly these examples teach us to listen to counsel and to respect those whom Jehovah uses in positions of responsibility ! (Hebrews 13:17) It is all too easy to find fault with the appointed elders, for they are imperfect, as all of us are imperfect. But if we dwell on their faults and undermine respect for them, might we be “speaking abusively of glorious ones”? In verse 10, Jude mentions those who “are speaking abusively of all the things they really do not know.” Some will, at times, criticize a decision made by a body of elders or a judicial committee. Yet, they are not privy to all the details that the elders had to consider in order to reach a decision. So why speak abusively about things they really do not know? (Proverbs 18:13) Those who persist in such negative talk could cause divisions in the congregation.
Now brothers and sisters; take this wonderful counsel to heart and repent. Then go to the young “glorious ones” and beg their forgiveness.
.
We had a very young brother made an MS and then of course elder mainly because of who he was. He was/is VERY close to another loud mouth elder who was at that time unmarried himself (aged 50ish) and had either lived at home or for a short time shared a flat with another unmarried brother.
This loud mouth elder (LME) had a group of young brothers that he was always with.
The one who was made an elder at a very young age was part of this clique and was a bit weird himself. He kept detailed diaries of everything in the cong and from his pioneering. He would carry these diaries - and I dont mean pocket sized Letts - in his ministry bag and they where closely guarded, he even slept with them, goodness knows what he wrote but he was a nosey gossip. He is very tall and could pick up on private conversations very easily. He was also very charming and innocent looking so most where fooled by this and trusted him with things all of which where then quickly reported back to the LME who then used it.
The young brother used to regularly be on the phone in the early hours of the morning to LME. It was all a bit strange. He had also been on Prozac since his teens.
Well maybe he was ideal elder material.
As an elderette I found the best way of annoying these arrogant ones was to patronisingly and sweetly tell them after they had given an item how well they seemed to be doing especially with their background/age/celibacy/unmarried state against them.
Anglise
The young ones really do seem to try hard to do their best. They aren’t worn out, by waiting all of their life for Armageddon to come. At least they don’t try to counsel me on how to raise and discipline my children. They seem to realize that without that life experience behind them that they can’t judge others on it. I always hated the middle-aged elders that never had to raise children that would tell me to discipline my child more or that I wasn’t doing the right things to raise my children.
