by minimus 18 Replies latest jw friends
They are touted as real spiritual men. The have knowledge, understanding and wisdom. You should consult with them before you make important decisions.
Most of the elders I knew were very very ordinary men. Not necessarily the brightest men! Certainly not very educated except for their Ministry School qualifications.
Were the elders exceptionally wise men that you believed were “special “ because of their office of overseer?
The fragile determination of intelligent men can rapidly be dashed to shards on the stony-headed foolishness of goons.
If there are bright and/or intelligent brothers in a body of elders, they soon learn to dumb themselves down to the mean level of intellectual functioning. This is truer of brothers who would ever hope to be called upon to serve on a body of elders:
Our Elders.....always with the "Elder dramas". Bickering over silly things, mostly. Met a few wise older MS, though. Maybe just more humble.
The Watchtower study conductors genuinely impressed me with how they spoke and dressed and carried themselves, they came across as charismatic and kind and pretty quick with an answer to anything. The other Elders, not so much. Most came across as ordinary men, some seemed pleasant enough, some gave off a kinda... petty, arrogant vibe, I don't know how else to put it.
had a school overseer that had a degree in journalism, was a tv personality. wt overseers? They are the ones that pick what sister is to comment next. that is >85 % of the time.
Of the 6 men who were elders, (I was not an elder at this point); ... 2 had dementia one of which still conducted a book-study. We did some paragraphs twice in a row. It was a trial of faith. Another of the 6 was illiterate, in his 40's. He was a yes man until it came down to a lynch mob and then he was a hell of a guy.
The (PO) at that time was a self entitled man in his 4o's. He had the most hypocritical record of all. He gave all the parts on family study and never conducted one himself. He often spoke of how much he HATED the ministry. I wouldn't tell him if I had athlete's foot. What an AH. Once I was an elder too, I contradicted him so often because he was full of sh*t.
Another was very educated. Was a student of Koine Greek at Berkley. A true white collar guy. He was very shrewd, very wise, patient and caring. So humble. I could tell him anything. Loved the guy. So I've known good men on both ends of the spectrum.
MINIMUS:
Maybe two or three elders were what I would call intelligent and whose opinion I would respect. Can you guess that these were men somewhat more educated than the other elders?
I was never really the type to confide in elders and I generally kept my business to myself. But I was able to discern what I did from having conversations with them on different occasions.
As far as what you say about “seeing any of them as ‘special’ because of their office as overseer’” 🙄: No.
I have noticed that some men begin to THINK that they're wise once they have been appointed. All of a sudden, they have little pearls of counsel to offer from the platform and a new tone of voice in conversation.
One observation as someone who was an elder for 20 years.
The most important things elders are suposed to do is Shepard the Fock, which means help people who are having problems and issues.
Many times these problems are serious. Deaths, Health Issues, Mental Issues, Marriage Problems, Problems with Family or Kids....
These are all REALLY hard to deal with.
1. ELDERS and NO training that helps in any way. NONE. Often what they say makes the problem worse.
2. NO elder wants to handle these issues, which is why more times than not after a meeting or a shepherding call, the elders expect the person to be FIXED, and don't bug me again.
Now think of this. In the REAL world - counselors of different types CHOOSE to get into a career where they are dealing with these problems! And these people go to college for years to learn the skills to help people. These people have this as their FULL TIME job, and a focus of their lives!!
Elders not only don't have the SKILLS need, but they DON'T have the desire.
This is why people are always hurting in the congregation. And why so many problems escalate too.
IT IS A HORRIBLE SYSTEM
