It kinda reminded me of this old quote:
Those 21 yo elders will have all the answers.
What a blessing from Jehober!
2025**01**15**Ages For Ministerial Servants and Elders!
by Atlantis 39 Replies latest jw friends
-
-
St George of England
Here in Britain, we have received our announcement through the elder bodies.
Likewise ukpimo. Interestingly, it was read at the midweek meeting this week but also today after the Public Talk. Such announcements, or any others come to that, are never made on a Sunday. They must think this is "important", probably at the insistence of the Legal Department.
George
-
LongHairGal
Somehow I cannot help but see this appointment of young guys barely out of their teens as ending in failure.
I am long gone out of the Witness religion but I have to say I would never approach some youngster elder about anything. I wouldn’t even ask him what time it was. Back in the day I remember they had appointed somebody in their early 30s. Well, I certainly never went near that guy!
-
Ron.W.
I wonder if one of these barely potty trained 21yr old elders wanted to shepherd you, you could politely request a genuine 'older man' came around instead??
-
ukpimo
LongHairGal
Somehow I cannot help but see this appointment of young guys barely out of their teens as ending in failure.
To be honest, the majority of elder bodies with men 40+ in age have already ended in failure on my side of the world. I have to say that I have come across the most narcissistic, pompous and ego driven men amongst the elders and some servants. Some of the newer younger elders are naively excited about serving and genuinely interested in helping others, but I fear their feelings won't last very long due to the enormous peer pressure from their older colleagues in elder bodies. Until these older elders are struck off, which will never happen until they die off in the next 40 years, many young elders now will be driven into depression and they will begin imitating the bad nature of the more "experienced" elders, carrying on the toxic culture wherever they serve in the org. Although it is a good thing to train up fresh and willing souls in an effort to "improve" morale, it really won't happen until certain jws are dead and buried.
-
LongHairGal
UK PIMO:
You make some good points.
However, you just cannot substitute good intentions for maturity and experience.
Regardless of how much you hate the attitudes of certain men there of a certain age and wish they were ‘dead and buried’, an elder should be just that: an OLDER person.
It has been this way in all societies since the beginning of time.
-
hoser
LongHairGal
In North American indigenous tribal elders are just that. Older tribal members and include (gasp) older women.
-
Bangalore
Thanks Petra. -
ukpimo
LongHairGal
Well that is also true, if you can ever find real maturity and experience amongst jw elders. For the most part, in my experience, and I'm just over 70 now, all my older peers were completely inexperienced and they used their position to harm others. Some of them are in their late 80s and early 90s, completely revered by local jws. Sometimes the "Elder culture" within society can take people off guard. Indeed, we should respect the elderly for many things, but we should never congratulate or acknowledge cult leaders for what they are I'm afraid. I'm all for change, we have to stop labelling young people as inexperienced. It was the same attitude, if not worse, when I was young. They grow up fast, we just have to teach then to be responsible adults, unlike my older elder colleagues who never grew up! The key is to let youngsters be realistic rather than optimistic, and hopefully as the decades roll by we will shake off the toxic culture I had to endure whilst I was a young man.
-
truthlover123
My husband was out when the phone rang... could be 11 at night, 3 in the morning- family crises, folks who didn't have anyone to talk too, people loved him. His friends who were made elders at that time, were the same. That was when the elder arrangement was instituted- so you know the years between. If you heard laughter, you knew where he was, in the middle of it. No prude either, liked his beer and rum, dancing and fun,. lobsters. Helping when a house being built or garage around the community. You could see them all there. I could say he was all around average joe. Of course, I tagged along and was the "assistant", like the other wives. That was "back in the day!" Current elders - whitewashed graves as the bible speaks off. Some may be good smiling with a hi. No contact though so what can I say?