>keep in mind that for each DFing they avg around 2-3 private or public reproofs,, while a large percentage do come back
They published the numbers for Germany only once in a special brochure to be distributed after many media reports. They said for 1994 that 1,335 (which was then given as 0.8% of total) were DF/DA and that 378 were reinstated that year.
If attending meetings: Are brothers still "reaching out" ?
by truthseeker 21 Replies latest jw friends
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GermanXJW
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willyloman
It had gotten so bad the wts said the borthers have to do background checks at your previous halls...before you are recomended for elder to the wts.
If I were still active, I'd applaud this policy. Years ago, a guy moved into our congo with his wife. He was from a few states away and their kids were grown. They were out in service constantly, at all the meetings, very involved, talked a good game. He had been an elder some years back but stepped aside to take more time with his teenagers who were having problems, according to him.
There was something "not quite right" about him (and his wife, in her early 40's, was partaking at the memorial) but there was no trail. They had moved four or five times in the past 10 years due to changing jobs (he said) and the letter from the previous congo was quite complimentary and said they were using him for various jobs (mikes, attendant), and were considering appointing him as an MS when he left.
A dominant elder in our congo took him under his wing and they became "service partners" and good friends. It wasn't long before he was apptd MS. A year later, his elder friend started agitating for the body to make him an elder, given his sterling 18-month performance and his "past experience."
As a body, we took a pass but agreed to consider him six months later at the next visit of the CO. About a month later, we had visitors one Sunday morning at the hall. Two couples, along with their children, showed up as the meeting was starting. Afterwards, introductions were made. They turned out to be the grown children and spouses of the aforementioned couple, who were absent from the meeting that day.
The of the visitors asked to meet with some of the elders and were escorted back to the library where two other elders and I chatted with them for 15 minutes. We assumed they were visiting their parents, but they told us they made a special trip here to let us know that their father had abused them and, while he had never been busted for it, that was the reason he quit being an elder all those years ago. They told us they finally complained to someone in the congo, who took it to the elders, and the body hauled the brother in for a discussion and the next thing you know, he was no longer an elder. There was no announcement or anything. The kids, then teenagers, both later moved out of the house; the abuse had stopped some years earlier.
It was a shocking story, and really carried the ring of truth. We thanked them for coming forward. The PO was with us, and that night he called all the other elders and set up a meeting where we discussed the matter. The elder who had developed a close relationship with the MS was really pissed and discounted the story. The rest of us took it seriously. A meeting was scheduled with the MS with three elders, at which he denied the kids' accounts and said they were unruly teenagers looking to cause trouble when they made up this story back then. Most of us didn't believe him. We had invited his wife to attend the meeting and she just sat there with her head down the whole time and never said a word. We left just knowing the charges had basis.
Despite the objections of the alpha male elder in this story, we removed the man as a MS and agreed we would never consider him for a position again. He quit pioneering and within months he and his wife moved away.