I only see this as a way to cover their tracks, in case they receive further backlash from the younger generation which exists now, in decades to come when they are old and grey.
ukpimo
JoinedPosts by ukpimo
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Reddit thread - ‘Organization Finally Suggesting to Plan for Retirement’
by LongHairGal inthis information is supposed to be in the upcoming march wt.
(i don’t go on jw dot org).
it would sound like they are hinting at a change in thinking.. in my opinion, any such change would be yet another slap in the face to faithful pimis along with those other recent changes.. there are so many heartfelt responses on that thread and a lot of justified anger.. don’t know what to say except that i’m so glad i never listened to the religion all those years ago.
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My Beliefs After Leaving the Watchtower
by KalebOutWest ini tend to keep my personal beliefs separate from my posts.. i know that is often different from others as their posts as often one and the same with their opinions.
i think that is good.
you get to learn a lot about people that way.
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ukpimo
I don't believe that as a Jew that I am in a special covenant with God that makes me far more special than any other people on the planet or that I have the true religion.
I wanted to comment on this point. I think many Jews feel this way today due to the fact that Judaism is more of a cultural identity rather than an organized religion now, similar to Sikhism. Even Islam is becoming more like this. I believe jws are also attempting to be assimilated into society as a cultural identity rather than simply a religion. You will get more joining your faith if you're more about people and less about God.
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My Beliefs After Leaving the Watchtower
by KalebOutWest ini tend to keep my personal beliefs separate from my posts.. i know that is often different from others as their posts as often one and the same with their opinions.
i think that is good.
you get to learn a lot about people that way.
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ukpimo
Thank you KalebOutWest
I do find this post really interesting and this has taught me a few new things. I'm interested in knowing your thoughts on the following matter, please don't take any offense at all. I'm simply interested.
Are there some elements of JW culture shared with Jewish culture? For instance, is the elder arrangement and how brothers view "appointed men" in the org very similar to how Jews revere their leaders?
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2025**01**15**Ages For Ministerial Servants and Elders!
by Atlantis in2025-01-15-ages for ministerial servants and elders.. see page 2. .
https://pdfupload.io/docs/1b0b5c00 .
https://imgbox.com/p3a9yjmr.
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ukpimo
LongHairGal
Well that is also true, if you can ever find real maturity and experience amongst jw elders. For the most part, in my experience, and I'm just over 70 now, all my older peers were completely inexperienced and they used their position to harm others. Some of them are in their late 80s and early 90s, completely revered by local jws. Sometimes the "Elder culture" within society can take people off guard. Indeed, we should respect the elderly for many things, but we should never congratulate or acknowledge cult leaders for what they are I'm afraid. I'm all for change, we have to stop labelling young people as inexperienced. It was the same attitude, if not worse, when I was young. They grow up fast, we just have to teach then to be responsible adults, unlike my older elder colleagues who never grew up! The key is to let youngsters be realistic rather than optimistic, and hopefully as the decades roll by we will shake off the toxic culture I had to endure whilst I was a young man.
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2025**01**15**Ages For Ministerial Servants and Elders!
by Atlantis in2025-01-15-ages for ministerial servants and elders.. see page 2. .
https://pdfupload.io/docs/1b0b5c00 .
https://imgbox.com/p3a9yjmr.
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ukpimo
LongHairGal
Somehow I cannot help but see this appointment of young guys barely out of their teens as ending in failure.
To be honest, the majority of elder bodies with men 40+ in age have already ended in failure on my side of the world. I have to say that I have come across the most narcissistic, pompous and ego driven men amongst the elders and some servants. Some of the newer younger elders are naively excited about serving and genuinely interested in helping others, but I fear their feelings won't last very long due to the enormous peer pressure from their older colleagues in elder bodies. Until these older elders are struck off, which will never happen until they die off in the next 40 years, many young elders now will be driven into depression and they will begin imitating the bad nature of the more "experienced" elders, carrying on the toxic culture wherever they serve in the org. Although it is a good thing to train up fresh and willing souls in an effort to "improve" morale, it really won't happen until certain jws are dead and buried.
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2025**01**15**Ages For Ministerial Servants and Elders!
by Atlantis in2025-01-15-ages for ministerial servants and elders.. see page 2. .
https://pdfupload.io/docs/1b0b5c00 .
https://imgbox.com/p3a9yjmr.
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ukpimo
Here in Britain, we have received our announcement through the elder bodies.
Announcement
January 15, 2025
FOR CONGREGATIONS
1. Minimum Age for Appointment of Ministerial Servants and Elders: Effective immediately, a baptized brother must be at least 18 years of age to be appointed as a ministerial servant. A baptized brother must be at least 21 years of age to be appointed as an elder. If a brother is already serving as a ministerial servant or as an elder but is younger than the minimum age, he can continue to serve.
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2025**01**15**Ages For Ministerial Servants and Elders!
by Atlantis in2025-01-15-ages for ministerial servants and elders.. see page 2. .
https://pdfupload.io/docs/1b0b5c00 .
https://imgbox.com/p3a9yjmr.
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ukpimo
hoser
I believe it would only happen if they were absolutely desperate. If it did, they would have to separate circuit overseers from their legal entities and ensure they were local elders within a circuit, perhaps making sub Cos the new circuit overseers, taking away the financial responsibility as well and focusing mainly on their real estate and missionary activities.
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2025**01**15**Ages For Ministerial Servants and Elders!
by Atlantis in2025-01-15-ages for ministerial servants and elders.. see page 2. .
https://pdfupload.io/docs/1b0b5c00 .
https://imgbox.com/p3a9yjmr.
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ukpimo
wingcommander
I am so sorry. That is a horrible experience, you and your mother didn't deserve that treatment. Considering elders back in my day used to drop anything to see a sheep in need at any time of the day, that is very weird. What a jerk he was. I wasn't surprised at all to read what you wrote concerning his funeral. Isn't it strange how hypocritical jw families where elders are all involved always receive more glory and social activity? There should never be any faction within the org regarding this, yet time and again I've always seen elders get better treatment than anyone else, even more so than pioneers and ministerial servants. I was shocked at how much brothers used to come to me, stressed about the silliest of things. They looked up to me as if I knew how to solve all their problems. I viewed it as my Christian duty to help them with anything. Now I learned the truth about "the truth", I came to realise that an unhealthy phycology was developing in the organization. This unhealthy behaviour manifested itself in seeing brothers and sisters being too open with elders about their private lives, getting themselves into all sorts of trouble. As we had a particularly evil elder body, I saw so many cruel things happen where elders raised things they should have kept to themselves. Many restrictions and reprovals occurred because 1) the publishers were too open with the elders, and 2) the elders were too open about the publishers with the entire body. Unfortunately I played my part as well, and I regretted every moment.
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2025**01**15**Ages For Ministerial Servants and Elders!
by Atlantis in2025-01-15-ages for ministerial servants and elders.. see page 2. .
https://pdfupload.io/docs/1b0b5c00 .
https://imgbox.com/p3a9yjmr.
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ukpimo
hoser
I'm really sorry to read your experience. None of what you say surprises me at all. I fully agree with your opening statement that there is an entire lost generation of jw males shut out of the program. In the early days, and even now, there have been many elders who have viewed being an elder as a form of honour and coming of age in the org. I've seen too many elders take themselves too seriously, to the point that they willingly went against what the Society (WT Headquarters) said to them in favour of their own man made direction when they didn't agree and then when the circuit overseer visited they changed some rules back to how it should have been and they always pretended to be overly encouraging, overly enthusiastic about the ministry, which was their form of ass kissing to avoid scrutiny. Then once the circuit overseer left, it was back to square one. Sometimes congregation publishers complained to the co, who always told them to have a "more positive mindset" or "wait one Jehovah". Then he would mention at our meeting with him during the visit about all the complaints to confirm if they were true. Of course, the body always denied the accusations and claimed some publishers had "mental issues". In time, we did have a brute of a circuit overseer who saw through everything and cracked the whip, humiliating all the pompous elders I worked with. Once he left, it only made them quieter, more cynical and sinister, and one of them came off as an elder due to "illness". Some of the older elders I knew still serve, and are hanging on for dear life, still believing the end will come soon and faking all the smiles and laughter to blend in with the new JW Broadcast generation when I remember quite clearly the self righteous bigots I had to work with. Their entire personality is fake and self serving, with no love of God in them. Their existence in the org is simply to keep the show running, because they have nothing else better to do so late on in their life. Leaving would not only destroy their decades long family ties, it would also probably kill them off prematurely due to the fact the idea of having "the truth" seems to keep them alive for a little longer.
I'm so glad I don't have to deal with the stupid elder politics anymore. I'm equally glad I don't have to kiss the filthy asses of those ugly circuit overseers who just caused factions for the elders. The unity thing is just a facade. The GB are splitting at the seams frantically to keep everyone in line, but they know it's impossible to completely achieve this.
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2025**01**15**Ages For Ministerial Servants and Elders!
by Atlantis in2025-01-15-ages for ministerial servants and elders.. see page 2. .
https://pdfupload.io/docs/1b0b5c00 .
https://imgbox.com/p3a9yjmr.
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ukpimo
Good. As a former elder, I think this is a beautiful slap in the face for the self righteous and pompous twats I used to serve alongside who loved to put lots of good men off being appointed for many years. Now they are gradually being forced to comply. I wonder how many elder bodies will initially resist this change until the Governing Body takes the appointment process power completely away from them and place it solely on the circuit overseer? That's my speculation as to the next organizational change to force more jws to OBEY at all costs.
Edit - Some ridiculous reasons the body I served with put men off being either ms or elder: ties were too colourful, the wife (attractive woman) was "overly modest" (in other words, we want to see her curves to see her as a woman and mother), only been married for 2 years (a big wtf moment for me). Another man was put off for appointment simply because he kept telling us he was doing everything he could for the congregation and was begging to know why he wasn't being appointed as an elder (it was sad, there was nothing spiritully wrong with the man, some others on the body just didn't like his personality and used everything and anything against him behind his back).
Another man was put off for appointment as a ms because he used golfing as a hobby (can't let him avoid putting the Kingdom first), then when he changed his lifestyle and started going to the gym, the Body authorised me and another elders to counsel him as "bodily training is only beneficial for a little" LOL.
I have more which I will eventually share.