by forzaitalia 22 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
Circuit overseers.
Here's a guy who has likely never worked a day in his life or had a real job,,,ever.
Probably never changed a tire on a vehicle.
Nor applied for a loan.
And the $heeples fear and listen to this guy like he's a God send???
I just don't get it.
i dont because that is helping to kill off the watchtower faster.in 2012 the watchtower closed 20 branch offices around the world,in may 2015 stephen lett said they had got more money going out than coming in.They also sold all watchtower property in new york and moved out to warwick they also sold all the jw property in central london and moved to chelmsford.they used to have a printing shop in central london but they have closed that as well.So ALL the magazines for europe are printed in germany.They also have been closing many many kingdom halls all around the world
Pepperheart;
Bankruptcy and chapter 11
My words of advice to any GB, Elder, whatever, Get a Job!
"My words of advice to any GB, Elder, whatever, Get a Job!"
That is very good advice, especially for Bethelites and COs and all the "special full-time servants" who don't have a place to live, since the WTBT$ is going to be gone soon and there are the full 3 1/2 years of tribulation ahead. There isn't going to be the WTBT$ corporation or the FD$ pyramid scheme extorting funds from religious people to pay for an unscriptural clergy class anymore. The "special full-time servants" won't be able to live at Bethel and the BOE/CO/Branch/ServiceDept/FD$ hierarchy will be gone, and with it the former arrangement with the "rent-free" apartments at KHs and the "provisions" of autos and insurance and food etc won't be available either.
Advice to anyone at Bethel or other "SFTS" right now: get out ASAP, start filling out applications for jobs, try to find a way to save for first and last months rent and security deposit somewhere or ask to stay with someone while saving up. Bethel's getting closed down soon and the KHs won't be available for the CO apartments either.
""Bethel's getting closed down soon and the KHs won't be available for the CO apartments either""
KH's with built-in baptism pools, built-in kitchens can easily be converted to a homeless or community shelter.
Beth Sarim, or house illegal immigrants!
Thanks for this post, forza. I agree.
Here is a post of BoogerMan on the subject:
"Career Christians" ignore these Scriptures
https://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/5940059249836032/career-christians-ignore-these-scriptures
And thanks to Belisem for reposting that link. Fascinating thread which reinforces the principle, and shows that the current CO arrangement is yet another area where the GB have (supposedly) aimed to "imitate the first-century Christian congregation" but got it badly wrong, with lots of dire consequences (misuse of donations, unnecessary burden placed on circuit congregations, COs and their wives thrown aside with no skills when they're removed, etc).
The problem with this that I see now is that the org would have to recruit more COs to allow for the fact that each individual would have fewer hours available to serve the congregations. That wouldn't have been a problem up until the early 2000s, when numbers of experienced brothers was ok, but with it getting harder to find men who are willing to work for this current GB, I doubt that could happen. Also, in many cities especially, the cost of living means earnings from part-time work barely cover a person's weekly expenses for food, bills, etc, so a CO would have to spend many more hours in secular work (a problem the R&F such as regular pioneers are already experiencing). And the biggest single cost for most is accommodation, but the org has been closing halls with circuit flats and selling off other residential properties.
So it's an arrangement that they could and should have put in place while it was a "favourable season", but it's now too late to start that. Another sign the org is reaping the results of flawed past decisions.
What is beyond ironic and hypocritical is how the Borg can sell any KH or a$$embly that was dedicated to Jehovah,,,pull the rug out from under its $heeples and sell it to some "worldly" organization.
At face value, I would agree, but you have to consider that:
When you read his letters, you read them back to back, but fail to remember that they cover a period of 30 years! Not that I expect everything to be reported, but 3 trips over 30 years!! Compare that with today's Circuit Overseers (COs) who spend their lives, along with their wives, on the road. Sure, some of them have semi stable places like an appartment linked to a convention center or a kingdom hall, but a great deal of them need to move from one place to the next on a weekly basis. Then are expected to be in field service full time reporting their hours and preparing talks and organizing meetings for pioneers and elders and field services and the list goes on.
And with all this, they only get 2 or 3 weeks of vacation per year! Imagine, you have a job that pays so little that the government don't tax you, makes you work around 50 hours a week with a schedule spread through evenings and weekends and no retirement plan.
I find it difficult to complain about them getting too much money when these people are probably the most dedicated and selfless individuals on the face of the Earth.
That being said, are they needed? Nope. They could do as much as the Apostle Paul did, which isn't that much compared to everything they do. The reality is that true Christians don't need that much control. However, religions, any religion, desire greater control over people, and controlling people takes time. So they end up paying individuals to work full time for them!
