The only phone call you get from an elder is inquiring about a ''field service'' report. Just mechanical, canned , repetitive, it's just exactly how they can make one feel too, ''cold, rigid and blue''. LOL!!
Passionless loveless JW.ORG. How? Why? My experience with these Pharasees.
by Witness 007 20 Replies latest jw experiences
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Saintbertholdt
When Jehovah's Witness elders take on that Watchtower personality of leadership they no longer are themselves, they are playing a role. Just as in the military: The higher an officers rank is, generally the more they will portray a caricature/role of that rank and their own personality will disappear. Also in organizations like corporations, CEO's and executives personalities disappear to be replaced by the image of the executive and so on. There are exceptions of course but that is how things generally are.
My point is that when you are playing a role, you are doing just that. How can you really and fundamentally connect with people if you are not being yourself? Because all you're really doing now is a job.
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joe134cd
I remember there was this sister in the Hall that died. She was one of these people who was always at the meetings, believed it and happy to associate but hadn't been a publisher in years. Had brought up her kids as jw of which 2 of her son's had been elders. I remember It Wasnt Until I Had To Find Her To Do Something In the cong that I was told she had died some months earlier. Couldn't believe it I heard no announcement no nothing. I remembered been troubled by it but put it down to been a big congregation at the time. Now that I look back on it I just wonder how I could not have known. -
LisaRose
Other religions keep track of the elderly or sick. People volunteer to make food, visit, take people on appointments, it's considered a part of being a congregation, it's one of the benefits of a religious community. They also help the homeless and poor, even if not part of the congregation. I remember when they used to do this a little, but even that fell by the wayside in favor of field service. Nothing is important as their ministry, even though it's now rare to make converts and most of the time spent is wasted anyway. I used to talk to one or two people a morning tops. There is no love or caring in the congregations, the elders spend their time pushing people to do more and Disfellowshiping.
As the bible says, by their fruits you will know them.
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Beth Sarim
By their fruits you will know them. Maybe it's all true then about how Elders and alike seem more and more impersonal the higher you go in the Borg. -
Designer Stubble
Sorry to hear about your mom.
My my experience is similar. My 85 year old, lifetime JW mom is in a congregation with 10 elders and more than a dozen pioneers.
With little exception, she too only sees fellow believers show up if she invites them for dinner.
True Christians, cherry-picked by God himself...yeah right...A cold Pharisee cult where your spiritual health is measured by a field service report and the number of hours knocking at not-at-home doors or standing as a zombie next to a cart - rather than displaying Christlike compassion and aiming to be the Good Samaritan.
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fastJehu
Beth Sarim
The only phone call you get from an elder is inquiring about a ''field service'' report. Just mechanical, canned , repetitive, it's just exactly how they can make one feel too, ''cold, rigid and blue''. LOL!!WRONG. There are some more phonecalls from elders.
Call from elder: "hello brother fastJehu, could you please pick up the older sister "loyal" and drive her in your car to the meeting?"
Call from elder in the fieldservice-group: "hello brother fastJehu, this week we have to clean up the kigndom hall and "we" will do it at 12 o clock on saturday after fieldservice." -
Pete Zahut
I hear ya' Witness 007. Becoming an JW Elder isn't an answer to a spiritual calling... more often than not, its done out of peer pressure and a desire for status. I can understand the predicament Elders find themselves in while dealing with their own families and their duties as an Elder but why all the hoopla about how wonderful they are compared to non JW religions in this regard ? They raise everyone's expectations with their boasting and are unable to follow through when the going gets really rough for people.
After building our lives and raising our kids to be active JW's and 25 years attending the same Hall, the Memorial of 2008 was the last meeting we attended.
3 years later a Circuit Overseer and one of the Elders showed up at our door to make a "spiritual call". I let them in and we had a pleasant enough conversation until I asked them what suddenly prompted their visit . The C.O. looked puzzled until he found out we'd been gone for 3 years and this was the first time anyone came looking for us, not even so much as a phone call. I in explained in detail our reasons for leaving and the horribly bungled disfellowshipping of our Son and daughter in law that led us to realize that something is terribly wrong with the JW organization as a whold.
The C. O. shot the Elder a look as if to say "how could you let this happen? " He was truly mortified and appologetic but it was too little too late as far as we were concerned.
Before they left, the C.O. offered me the latest magazines. I said to him "In light of all we've been through and everything I just told you, why would you think I'd ever want to read anything those magazines have to say? " He and the Elder skedaddled out of there and we've not heard anything from anyone since, which is fine with us.
Anyway, what I'm trying to say 007, iyours is not an isolated incident and if you're expecting any real follow through, for any length of time, you'll be sadly disappointed.
Best of hopes for your Mom's recovery and to you in helping her through this.
-Pete
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Beth Sarim
I know for a fact that Regular Pioneers, Elders and Ministerial Servants ''reach-out'' for such titles for image and status, an ego thing. One time years ago, on separate occasions, a former Ministerial Servant and resigned Elder told me that it does inflate their ego once they get assigned those ''titles''. -
pepperheart
This is why i have thrown almost 1000 teaching books in the trash if i can save just one person from going through the pain that the people above have gone through it will be worth it