Sure they were, qualified window washers, drywall hangers, street sweepers.
Did You Think The Majority of Elders Were “Qualified “?
by minimus 20 Replies latest jw friends
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mickbobcat
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Fadeaway1962
If nepotism and favouritism are qualifications .
Then yes many meet them,as others have said there was always a few that genuinely did the best they could to be helpful, which often didn't make them popular among the body .
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truth_b_known
I will answer using the following definition of "qualified" -
Qualified: Having a solid knowledge of both the Bible and Watchtower doctrine, literate, strong public speaking ability, able to teach, able to keep confidential matters confidential, able to delegate workloads, general managerial skills, and the ability to give kind counsel on the previous mentioned items.
Answer: No.
The congregation I spent the most of my time in had at least 1 elder who could barely read or hold a conversation. It wasn't just his age. He was never on any committee of any type. He rarely had any parts on the meeting.
I also found it interesting that a lot of people in the congregation seemed to find out about confidential matters.
I also received a lot of anger from elders when it came to counselling. I don't mean I committed a minor or serious sin. I mean something as simple as not starting a song fast enough from the sound booth or being successful in tying in all the shut-ins on the phoneline.
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Ding
If by "qualified" you mean "company men," all the elders I knew met that qualification.
A few of them did eventually wake up, though.
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road to nowhere
Virtually all now seem to be rigid company men. And like the title and power. A few of the old ones were human but around here they have all died.
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Phizzy
The congregation I was in as young man was totally unique. When the Elder arrangement came in, NOT ONE of the guys who had been filling positions felt that they qualified !
That was wonderfully humble of all of them. Eventually the C.O visited, and persuaded the guy who had been Congregation Servant that at least HE qualified. He had been asked to move to our Congregation to try to get it to be a bit more in line. ( he struggled with that, but at least he got the guys to wear a Tie when they were on the Platform).
After another C.O visit a few more " qualified" , but still there was a humble reluctance from some of the guys who eventually became Elders.
As the years went by we had a few more "appointed" and some of them were not just not qualified, as per the Scriptures, they were decidedly dodgy !
Very few were really qualified to perform duties that would benefit the "Flock", they were amateurs dealing with things best left to professionals.
We had a couple of good "Speakers" , by J.W standards, but in common with nearly all Congregations, Pastoral Care was virtually non-existent.
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JW GoneBad
"...but in common with nearly all Congregations, Pastoral Care was/is virtually non-existent."
Most (90%) Elders, out of necessity, come across as leutenants, company men, yes-men and enforcers of WT's unscriptural doctrines. You'll see very few with genuine people skills or who excel in good-bedside-manners!
So in answer to the OP...No! Very...very few WT/JW elders quality to serve the needs of the rank & file!
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minimus
Phizzy, you came from a good Hall.
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road to nowhere
That comment about lieutenants hits home. Any old military guys here? Look up 90 day wonder. A long gone friend said it was officers, noncoms, and grunts
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shadowclone
I might be misunderstanding you but a 90 day wonder was someone fast-tracked through officer training school and given a rank above the non-coms and privates that actually knew something.