How does an elder become an elder ?

by Drwho 37 Replies latest jw experiences

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  Drwho

  Hi . I was never a JW , so have millions of questions .

  Please, how does an elder become an elder and how much trust does or should a JW put in an elder .?

  Thanks

  Simon
  
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  berrygerry

  Demonstrated belief that the Watch Tower Society has been exclusively chosen by God as his earthly organization.

  Commitment to do whatever WT says. Appointment first as a Ministerial Servant for a period of years.

  After proving commitment, appointed, usually not before turning 30 years of age.

  Expected to trust them? With blind obedience.

  Should one trust them? Absolutely not.
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  Tameria2001

  I don't know what they have to do to become an elder, but I do know this for sure. First and foremost, do NOT ever put any trust in any elder. They are not there to help, but to judge, and they are not even qualified to do so. I say this because a few years back, my husband and I were having some marriage troubles. He had committed adultery.

  Anyways, while my husband was going through the judicial meeting with them, they had actually had me there for one of the times. They asked me all kinds of things, that I had no knowledge of, because I was not at home when the deed had went down. Anyways after it was all over, they had put my husband on private reproof, and that was it. I thought that at least they would help me in how to deal with my feelings of betrayal, and all the other feelings that a spouse goes through when their partner cheats on them. But all I got from them was not a dam thing, no counseling, nothing. The next seven years after that was pure hell for both me and my husband, because I was left to figure out how to deal with this whole mess all on my own.

  Also there are double standards when in comes to elders. What I mean by this is from what I also saw. There were two elders, and both had gotten a divorce. The first one met and married a woman, and he did everything to make the marriage work out, but she left him anyway. They had no children, and weren't married very long. He lost his position as an elder.

  The other elder, he had been married for several years, and had 2 children. He treated his wife like crap, and finally she had enough of him, and divorced him as well. I know the awful details of what his wife when through, because I had worked for him, and had spent quite a bit of time at their home. He never lost his position as an elder.
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  TheFadingAlbatros

  They are appointed as elders only once they are very keen to see to it that no member of the flock of JW.Org does feel like getting rid of its ankle monitor.

  
  
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  stillin

  Too many elders think that what they advise a common publisher to do should be the final word on the matter. They forget that others have been pondering the matter, and the principles involved, more intensely and longer than the elder has been. But they feel that, somehow, their thoughts carry more weight because of their position in the congregation. In other words, they are full of themselves and they take themselves too seriously.

  And all it took for them to have this elevated view of themselves is the fact that the other elders knew that if they could appoint another elder, their own workload in the congregation would be lightened. Easy-peasy
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  OnTheWayOut

  To become a elder, a male first becomes a ministerial servant. To do that, you have to kiss the elders' asses and do whatever is asked of you- handle chores at the Kingdom Hall, take the elderly to and from the meetings, and highlight all the answers to questions in your study materials.
  
  Beyond that, to work toward being an elder, you have to get plenty of recruiting time in every month, not have any incidents of being too drunk or going to R-rated movies or getting into any trouble of any kind, be very careful about how you talk to women whether you are married or not. One extremely important thing is for you to be able to spew out doctrines from the platform in various talk assignments.

  If you are the son of an elder and are squeaky clean, you can make elder faster. If you directly kiss ass to the Circuit overseer and donate money to him (the green handshake), you can make elder faster. (I wish I was kidding.) In many cases, if you do all kinds of ass-kissing to the local elders and act like you don't really think you are qualified to be an elder, you will typically make elder faster.

  Even when I was an elder, I told people not to tell the elders everything, not to confess to everything you do that is against JW rules. Now, I would say it stronger. Say nothing much about anything personal or beliefs to them. Learn to say "I am fine. No, I will call you if I need you."
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  polish clarinet

  just two things to become : an ass-kisser and a perfect yes-man.

  and nothing else!
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  Drwho

  Very interesting , thanks all ..

  How is en elder qualified to give advice , to maybe someone who is fading, not attending meetings ?
  
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  eyeuse2badub

  In my first stint as an elder, when the 'elder arrangement' was first introduced in 1972, I was a mere 24 years old. I was "appointed by holy spirit" as an elder because there were only 3-4 men in the congregation that could even give a coherent talk to the congregation. lol

  i.e. elder by default

  In my second stint as an elder, I truly believed that I could do some good in the congregation and could help the young people find god. lol

  i.e. elder by good intention

  In my third stint as an elder, I wanted to be a voice of reason on a body of men that thought they were actually "appointed by holy spirit". lol

  i.e. elder with a real purpose in life

  It's easy to appointed as an elder if you know the formula and have a few years to waste. Holy spirit (if you believe in suchan abstract concept) has nothing to do with it.

  just saying!
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  Giordano

  Also keep in mind that women are not allowed to become Ministerial Servants nor Elders.

  Even a mature and knowledgeable women........ say someone who puts in many hours going door to door, great meeting attendance etc is never permitted to serve on a judicial committee even if a child has been abused or a women raped.

  The Elders have few people skills and simply no training in how to deal with mental issues especially serious issues, a failing marriage, a problem teenager etc.

  The WT has many rules and regs. that can be used to disfellowship a member but no real way to help a person.