This article reminded me of something I read about a BGF prison gang member testifying on behalf of a couple Aryan Brotherhood members who were on trial for the murder of two DC Blacks prison gang members. The BGF basically laid the fault on the DC Blacks as they initiated it. His words were that, "only the young and the foolish and the uninitiated would start something like that in prison."
That's the same way I feel about young brothers reaching out in the congregation. Although it can still be said that only the young, foolish, and inexperienced reach out for privileges in the congregation, plenty of young brothers have wised up to the foolishness that comes with the territory of reaching out for and becoming an elder, or Ministerial Servant. This is especially so for those who've had relatives that served the congregation in such a capacity, because the young ones coming up have seen firsthand what's involved and they wisely say, "screw that."
There's times I've sat in on elder meetings and said to myself, "how the heck did I end up in this nonsense? Oh yeah, that's right, the idiot sitting next to me encouraged me to reach out." Had I remained a Ministerial Servant, there's a good chance that I wouldn't have ended up on this message board, but being elder forces one to examine doctrines and policy on a level that that dictates personal honesty, and only the mentally lazy, self willed, or those prone to being dishonest with themselves would come to the incorrect conclusion that everything the WT says is right, is right. This is especially cumbersome when expected to enforce policies that you disagree with.
We've got a couple ex-elders in our congregation, and one of them I overheard say to another brother that he's thankful he doesn't have to go to elder meetings any longer. We've got another brother who's told us that he absolutely wants nothing to do with being a Ministerial Servant. When his name comes up in the elder meeting prior to the CO visit to discuss any brothers worth recommending, the COBOE mentions his name and then says, "well we all know his situation, so we can just move on." My father relayed to me a 2nd-hand conversation relayed to him about a brother who turned down being appointed as an elder. The individual replied to the two brothers asking him about being an elder, "You think I want to sit in extra meetings arguing with you?"
On the subject of time cards, our body recommended a brother recently, and the CO shot that boy down like he was in a No Flight Zone prior to the second Iraq war. The reasoning being was that when he looked at the brother's card, he felt that the brother's time wasn't diversified enough. The brother is averaging multiple Bible studies and well recieved and respected within the congregation, but because at least one of those studies is his family study, the hours studying with his family shouldn't be counted. The thing that surprised me the most about this situation is, and I'm sure it's going to surprise the CO too when he gets wind of it, if he hasn't already, is that by his shooting this brother down, he's created distrust and animosity on the elder body. Some brothers have begun to express privately with brothers they trust that somebody said something negative about up and coming brother to the CO. The body is starting to turn into something that resembles the TV Show, Survivor with all the intrigue, alliances, badmouthing, and resentment. It's going to be interesting how all of this plays out in the next few months.