We also read a scripture, Matthew 15-17. 15, “Moreover, if your brother commits a sin, go and reveal his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. 16, But if he does not listen, take along with you one or two more, so that on the testimony of two or three witnesses every matter may be established. 17, if he does not listen to them, speak to the congregation. If he does not listen even to the congregation, let him be to you just as a man of the nations and as a tax collector.
Disfellowshipped ones are not the only ones shunned. They (rank & file members) will shun people who have "poor" meeting attendance. They stop calling. They don't come to their homes. No one inquires about their health or anything else.
The elders will directly tell rank and file members that they (the elders) alone will handle speaking to that person (1st hand knowledge). The "congregation" in that scripture is the elder body, more simply, the judicial committee (JC) that is formed to hound that unfortunate person. The whole of the congregation does NOT know the half of what goes on as far as individuals being disciplined goes. They are kept ignorant to many things, including when active and untreated pedophiles are in their midst. Most JWs don't know about the Candice Conti case, nor the Gordon Leighton one, and countless others.
Read up on the Gordon Leighton case. It's the one that woke me up. Here you have a confessed pedophile, who was simply reproved (NOT disfellowshipped) for what he did to another couples child. He confessed to the elders, but it was never reported to the police by them. The victims were told it had been "handled". Fast forward, and it goes to court. The court deliberated while the 3 elders from the congregation held off telling the court about the man's confession, claiming "clergy-laity" privilege (a lie. Remember, there are no clergy in JW). It goes on for 3 (three!) years, with the elders standing alongside this disfellowshipped, confessed (guilty) pedophile. Meanwhile, the pedo himself was LYING to the court, too.
Lies, obfuscation, wasting everyone's time and valuable resources, all to protect one man... one man who was NOT innocent of the crimes he was being charged to begin with. He was found guilty when the elders were finally forced to turn over the confession.
• Were the elders serving the interest of that man's victim(s)?
• Why did they (the elders) make a stand alongside a known pedophile, especially one who was standing in court lying to everyone present about what really happened? They (the 3 elders) knew he was guilty. They knew he was lying (ten commandments much?). They lied, too (ditto). Oh, and he was also disfellowshipped at the time. He was DFed for "violence" after he was reproved for child molestation.
And yet, if you were to miss meetings and not go out in field service? Shuns-ville for you!