The two oldest elders in my childhood gong were like an old married couple. They often weren't on proper speaking terms for weeks. Always some elder drama.
Of course everyone lapped it up.
Serious Problems Between Elders
by ZindagiNaMilegiDobaara 19 Replies latest jw experiences
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blankspace
Where I grew up, I saw elders come to blows outside the hall while the meeting was in progress. The r&f didn't know what was going on. I found out because I was a curious 5 year old who suddenly found her daddy missing and sneaked away to find him. And I found him held back by two "brothers" while one was getting ready to hit him. I later found out that was because dad was the circuit account servant and had found irregularities in the books. And those were the brothers fudging the numbers.
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Giordano
I've sat on a number of voluntary boards usually for the communities I've lived in and or worked for. Because we are volunteers we are encouraged to speak our minds...... share our experience and contribute to the greater good.
The same ego's emerged, the wanna be's, the unenlightened, the ignorant most often concerned with petty issues.
Sometimes it's frustrating.....but most times it works out and good things emerge.
When I was a JW before the elder arrangement we depended on a Presiding Minister, the Assn't Presiding minister and a third person who, if I remember correctly. was the Bible Study Servant who also conducted the Sunday Watchtower study.
These Servants were appointed by the Circuit Servant. In most cases they were a little more qualified then the average JW. For instance........ Brothers with foreign service, former Bethelites, People who were honest and reasonably competent.
The three would also be the Judicial committee when needed.
There were abuses with this system, favoritism....... traces of ignorance......... total preoccupation with the Society.
This is all pre internet even pre 1975. After my wife and I left...... I heard about the new or reinstated Elder system and from a far......... thought it was going to be a better system.
It turned out as, many things do re the WTBTS........... a disaster. The less worthy were appointed....... given equal status with more experienced brothers. Men who were filled with petty ideas and intentions. Men puffed up because they were now included at the Elders table. Which helped to put an even higher wall between the congregation and their now called overseers.
A servant was a person who served the flock........ an overseer is a person who uses a whip to dominate the flock.
Family units took over those Elder positions and managed to form a family run obedient old boys club.
You were now judged by 5 or 7 or 9 brothers of varying intelligence.
Elders now meant that they had a special bond with Jehovah and they were spirit appointed.
I consider the Elder arrangement a total failure. We were once totally accountable when shepherding the flock. Now things can be hidden within a larger body like the JW pedophile problem. The Elders know but they don't break ranks.
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OrphanCrow
Giordano: I've sat on a number of voluntary boards usually for the communities I've lived in and or worked for. Because we are volunteers we are encouraged to speak our minds...... share our experience and contribute to the greater good.
The same ego's emerged, the wanna be's, the unenlightened, the ignorant most often concerned with petty issues.
Sometimes it's frustrating.....but most times it works out and good things emerge.Me too. I have sat on a lot of boards in the past. However, none of the board meetings ended up with swinging fists, shouting, or loud prayers being said to silence dissenters. None of the board meetings that I have been involved with came even close to what has been described here. Mind you, most meetings had clear rules on behavior - Roberts Rules of Order prevailed. Always.
When I was a JW before the elder arrangement we depended on a Presiding Minister, the Assn't Presiding minister and a third person who, if I remember correctly. was the Bible Study Servant who also conducted the Sunday Watchtower study.
I was around when that system was in place. It seemed like the presiding minister was always the JW male who gave the most $$$ to "the Society". Every congregation around was set up like that. The big poobah was the most wealthy.
I left on the cusp of the elder arrangement being implemented. It was so weird - up until that time the lack of elders was bragged about - only "christendom" had such an archaic set-up. The JWs were so proud of being different. Sort of along the same lines of..."oh, but we are not a religion! we are just people who join together to study the bibble"
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sparky1
Your comments are spot on, Giordano. Everything that you said was (supposedly) why Nathan Knorr was dead set against the Elder arrangement.
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kairos
but, but... They're just imperfect men.
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Amelia Ashton
I have no idea why but all 3 of our elders got a 6 month timeout and did nothing in the congregation while 3 elders from other congregations took over.
The only thing I was aware of was the elders got approval for the new KH by lying about how many of us lived closer to the potential new hall than the shared hall. That was 2005. It has since been sold and they are back sharing again at the original hall.
I've since made friends with an ex witness from their original hall in Carlisle in UK and she was aware they committed fraud while living in Spain.
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OrphanCrow
Amelia: ...they committed fraud while living in Spain.
You might find their names on this page:
http://jwemployees.bravehost.com/NewsReports/2054.html
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Amelia Ashton
That's some list of dishonest Jehovah's Witnesses.
I don't think the ones I knew were on that scale but there was certainly scandal regarding "missing money" with one elder and tax fraud with the other (his father).
There were 3 large families all originally from Carlisle who moved first to Tenerife and then all 3 gradually moved themselves and their businesses over to Fuerteventura which was just beginning to become popular. One family imported British food and opened a shop, one family distributed British food to shops, the airport and hotels (that's the business I bought and discovered they had been running it illegally for 10 years) and the second generation a brother and sister set up an estate agency offering 110% mortgages in off plan properties that were never built and people's deposits went missing.
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Esse quam videri
i was treading on eggshells around that elder for weeks.
i would have been the same way when I attended. Now? I would have ripped a strip off his hide and he would be treading on eggshells around me, for a very long time.