Inappropriate "shepherding" calls. (page 5)

bem

The ones that stick out in my mind: When bro. neva'donenuthin'tohurtnobody came to visit at work and cried,yep tears. was really ignorant, I didn't feel sorry for him nor did I forgive him for the transgression he was asking/begging forgiveness for, one of those times I truly hope, that whole mill stone around the neck and tossed into the sea thing for stumbling people is really so.

Then when my baptised daughter and her new husband <non-jw) began a family"study". and the elder chastised them for not having mowed the lawn, for having not done the breakfast dishes, and asked if they studied before hand 'cause they sure were struggling with their answers. all on the same visit. That was their last "study" and another one of the straws that broke the camels back for me.

mrsjones5

The last time I got a shepherding call...well the call wasnt for me, it was for my parents. I happened to be housesitting for my parents, who were away on a cruise. I get a doorbell ring (my parents dont have a peephole - darn them!!) and I opened the door. Low and behold it's an elder and the PO! I dont bat an eye, I dont even crack a smile when they tell me who they are. I dont remember what they said exactly other than they were there to encourage my parents. I told them they were out of town and would be back in a few days (just in time to miss the PO's visit ). I'm so glad they didnt try to engage me (maybe it was the look on my face? ). I wouldnt have let them in anyway since I was alone in the house with my kids and there wasnt any men in the house.

Josie

katiekitten

I always make a point of answering the door with a nylon babydoll negligee on just in case its the elders - you cant be too safe can you?

CoonDawg

Two occasions stick out in my mind.

1) My first wife and I were having a FAMILY disagreement with my parents. People in the congregation knew some about the whole thing and they began taking sides. My dad, being an elder, was pretty well liked...and me, being a young go getter also had my crowd. Well, one night my dad and one of his (YOUNG elder) admirers show up on my porch wanting to have a shepherding call. We let them in, but I hadn't spoken to my dad for quite some weeks. It was a clear misuse of his position to force me into discussing the situation with him. I dressed him and the other elder down for showing up unannounced at a fairly late hour and then for using this, not to "shepherd" my wife and I, but to hash out a family dispute.

2) My wife (now ex) had been pursued by a married elder who used his confidential communications with me about the problems in our marriage to exploit the weaknesses in our marriage. This came out and that was the beginning of my decline as a JW. This guy was kind of a whacko and the problem dragged on for years. I had only a month or two before told the elders involved that I wanted no more to do with their meetings (judicial or whatever) unless it was a JC to kick me out. I knew that this wasn't coming because I'd never done anything to merrit one, other than call the offending elder a "bastard". Well, one Saturday afternoon, these clowns decide to stop by. My policy was "if you're going to visit, call ahead" Since I wasn't expecting visitors, I took what at the time were normal precautions. You should have seen the looks on their faces when I met their car with a very mean looking assult rifle with a 40 round magazine sticking out the bottom and a 9mm in a holster on my side. They asked why I was so heavily armed. I just told them "Hey, I've told you before to call before you come. If I'm not expecting anyone and someone comes up my drive, I don't know who it is or what they want. You should have called." They still wanted to stay and chat. I told them I didn't have time that day and they should remember...I'm done with meetings about this matter.

It was priceless.

Ern

ESTEE

under the guise of "shepherding",

Three men I barely knew came by to ~~shepherdTM~~ judge me ... I didn't know it was really a judicial committee.

Gone dancin'!

Love

ESTEE

potleg

When I started missing a lot of meetings one of the elders called me up and asked if they could come over and give me some encouragement...I said OK, when do you want to come? He said he'd get back to me with a time...Fine

Over a year went by ( I kid you not) then he calls again to set up a time. I told him no way you obviously couldn't be bothered in the past...now it's too late, I'm not interested. I also told him that I thought they were rotten shepheards.

After that 2 other elders called to try to meet with me, they even wanted to bring the CO.. I finally told them to leave me alone. They did for a while...

One Sunday morning 2 of them show up while i'm working in my garage...I launched into them...how do you explain this or that...I had them reading scriptures and tying temselves in knots. I remember asking one of them about the change in the Awake...about god's promise that the 1914 generation would not die before the big A...Smart ass elder said he'd check into it and get back to me..guess what? He never did, but then after a while I saw him in Borders bookstore...so I asked him if he'd found the answer to my question about the Awake change...He told me that he did some research but his notes were at home, I asked him if he could give me a hint...No, he couldn't... He never got back to me.

Darth Yhwh

I personally have never had any unuasual sheparding calls (or did I ever have any at all?) but one thing I can tell you for certain. If anyone put their foot in my door and attempted forced entry into my home I wouldnt hesitate to put a pistol in their face until the decided to leave the premisis.

the_classicist

My family has only had one shepherding call in my life. They don't give a f*ck about my family and that's good (though they ask alot).

Carol

Oh how appropriate this topic.....I've mentioned in other threads that my address is in the territory map as a do not call at this house note! Life has been so peaceful..........until this morning! When two older male JW's stopped by....they introduced themselves and asked if they could come in....I said no I wasn't really interested in hearing what they had to say. They proceeded to tell me they stopped by because is seems several months ago, two sisters had stopped at my house when I was not home...my daughter (aged 17) was and she answered the door, explained her grandmother and aunt are pioneers and that her mother used to pioneer many years ago and that we were no longer interested. The sisters asked her why.....now you have to picture my 5ft 7in daugher with jet black spiked hair (she was born blonde) big blue eyes with an eyebrow piercing and a labrai (lip) piercing......dresses totally in black (this was a gothic day...other days she's a little redneck) explaining to these two, very prim and proper JW's, that she is presently reading the book "Simple Wicca"...and that she wants nothing to do with a religion that wouldn't allow her to worship God in their KH and would tell her mother that she could not love her daughter or talk to her daughter because she was gay!

The brothers felt I should be aware of this, as my daughter's having such literature in my home could leave me vunerable to demonic attack! and that because of her age it wasn't to late to change her (I guess they feel you choose your sexual orientation instead of being born to it) I calmly explained that I purchase and/or pay for all of my daughter's books of Wicca, homosexuality and anything else she might choose to read and that she was only repeating what she had heard at home.

Soooo, I guess I have not really faded quietly and will probably be hearing from the JC .....I don't think I'll be going to any meetins with them...I'll just let them DF me by proxy.

Preston

Preston, poor guy. I could not have handled that. They love creating drama--no small understatement.

Thanx for your thoughts Dark, they're more theatrical and dramatic than...well...most friends I have

- Preston

Inappropriate "shepherding" calls.

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