Very good points , Gopher, wish you would have reasoned this to me back in the day when service was life or death..haha
Woe is me,,,,, yeah I thought of that everytime I HAD to go in service, Woe is me for the heat, the crying kids, the hot car seats, pantyhose ( you poor men with ties), and God my feet hurt.
Seriously, I always wondered about he scripture that said, "some are teachers" etc. Every time I had to get up and give a talk I felt like a fool, would have a near panic attack and hated it so bad. I did actually good, but for weeks I worked on it, and practiced, and obsessed over it. See I was not a teacher, but my hubby Wild Turkey was a teacher, he was so wonderful at it. We lived in a small congregation so the brothers had many meeting parts . Denny would come in from work at the last min. and work up a talk , or most of the time do it when he got to the meeting. Sometimes he just went up there and relied on his memory from other public talks etc. he did. I would have died of a heart attack to have to get up there like that. And his parts were always the best, lively and funny.
I know it sounds like I am braggin'. cause I am,,,, he was a teacher and I am sure the friends still at the hall miss him terribly. I can just imagine how boring those parts must be. He really did love the friends and I think that is one thing that bothers him, who will stand up for them now that he is gone. He was always one of those elders who would not get too personal when someone came to him and was such a comfort to those ones. I just hate to see what the congregations are turning to now, all the best teachers are leaving.