That They Be Called Shepherds

I recently put up a thread which discussed the fact that the WTS does not hesitate to promote and sell books containing "old light" to its membership and the public.  Well, that thread was about material things and to a lesser extent spiritual things.

How does the WTS feel about spiritual things?  Let's take a peek.  When are visits most often made on the ailing ones in flock?  That's an easy question.  Everyone knows the answer.  It's right before the Local Area Sales Manager's  Circuit Overseer's visit, isn't it?  At that time the wounded and discouraged "weak" ones are visited.  How often are those same people visited when the Circuit Overseer is NOT due to come and check the stats and books in the congregation?  What is the purpose of the visit?  To give aid and comfort?  NO!  It's to try to get the wounded ones to again begin producing fruits for the Printing Corporation.

These calls are called "shepherding" calls. How do they compare to what a real shepherd does to a real flock of sheep?

When a sheep succombs to an illness, the shepherd goes to the sheep and does whatever he can to help the sheep get well, even if this means staying with the sheep night and day.  This is called "shepherding" and indeed that is what it is.

When a dub succombs to an illness, how many dubs visit and do what the shepherd did in my example above?  How many elders visit and do the same thing?  How many Circuit Overseers visit and do the same thing?  How many publishers come and cook and clean and bring food and do whatever is possible to aid the sick one?

If a sheep is hungry, what does a real shepherd do.  He provides food, doesn't he?

If a dub is hungry or otherwise in need of financial assistance, what do the elders do?  What does the Circuit Overseer do?  What do the "ultimate shepherds" of the entire flock of Jehovah's Witnesses, the Governing Body do?

If a sheep is lost, a real shepherd leaves the rest of the sheep and searches and searches until the sheep is found.  If the sheep had become wounded or hungry during the time it was lost, the shepherd would attend to its needs.

If a dub is "lost", what do the elders do at their perfunctory semi-annual visit?  Do they listen to the reasons WHY the dub is lost and disillusioned?  Do they show understanding and compassion for those reasons?

Or do they in ALL examples above tell the sheep to do the following:

1) Pray more.  This takes NO effort on the part of the elders, but does take effort on the part of the lost sheep.

2) Study more. This takes NO effort on the part of the elders, but does take effort on the part of the lost sheep.

3) Attend the meetings more: This takes NO effort on the part of the elders, but does take effort on the part of the lost sheep.

4) Go out in field service more: This takes NO effort on the part of the elders, but does take effort on the part of the lost sheep.

In effect, these elders are saying, "heal yourself.  We won't help you at all."

If the lost sheep does all of those 4 steps, which takes great effort, does this bring that lost sheep back to good spiritual health, or does it merely help the statistics for Watchtower Leaders?

The Watchtower calls this "shepherding", and of course it is all Bible-Based.

I call it bullshit.

Farkel

I've found this rather interesting...we belong to a large Baptist church (no flames please)...

Anyway...I mentioned to a friend that my husband has to have shoulder surgery...within a couple of days, people called to offer to bring us dinner, take my son the day of the surgery...I don't even know some of these people...

Then I read about some of the horror stories here...where people were ill, housebound, just had a new baby and NOT A SINGLE PERSON offered any help at all...and they claim to be "True Christians"?  No thanks!

TB

The average J-dub is somewhat anxious when hearing they're going to be "shepherded". They're most likely thinking "what did I do wrong?"

Not very often do the shepherds come around to say "well done, my friend!"

How often are the "local needs" parts devoted to highlighting good deeds being done by various congregation members? More often the "local needs" parts are to scold.

The WT Society and its trained representatives do not practice much positive reinforcement. It's easier (and maybe even more fun) to point out little flaws in people.

Although I was associated with the org for almost seven yrs total, I never once recieved a shepherding call, not once.  I was the only believer in my home and a minor.  I think those may have have been extenuating factors in their decision to thier decision not to put me on the shepherding lists. 

:  I think those may have have been extenuating factors in their decision to thier decision not to put me on the shepherding lists. 

How could that possibly be?  Elders HATE shepherding calls, no matter who it is.  They don't get points for whatever they might do to help existing members.  Their salvation depends upon getting NEW members.

You may have seen me say this before, but a few years ago when I and my non-JW cousin helped my JW parents by putting a new plywood ceiling on my parents carport, I asked her why her JW "brothers" never bothered to come over and help.  After all, she had been a loyal JW for over fifty years.  She replied, "They would never help us.  They're too busy trying to save their own butts to help us."

She was quite right you know, bigboi.

Farkel

That's really sad becaue I witnessed first hand how much seeing an elder during a time of need can help.

I had been in my newest and last congregation for about 2 months.  I was with a newly appointed brother who decided after service to visit an elderly sister who has served for years and was recovering from surgery of some sort.  We purchased her some flowers and card and stopped by sometime around lunch.  She was so genuinely  happy to see us. I was a bit taken aback by it really.  However a lot fo witnesses have deep respect for elders and other servants.  It's a shame the society holds people back from really focusing on basic human compassion and love.Indeed!

I recently spoke with a fellow local inactive jw who echoed Farkel's words when describing an instance in which her family got a call from the elders.

Having experienced both sides of this, I'd like to point out that as an elder I was so busy running around doing all the stuff that the wts demanded from elders that frankly, I had no time to care - as in doing things to help other bros and sis's. In my mind it's the wts that creates this problem and must be held responsible ultimately for it. The elders, sadly, in many cases simply mimic what the wts says that the flock should do, as in the quote above. It's easier for them that way. The problem is, it throws the burden of getting "healthy" right back on the sheep who are ailing.

I never received calls from them - sheparding or otherwise - unless they were either going to give me shit for something or try to extract something from me . If someone needed help moving they called me. Same thing if they wanted money, food, or computer assistance. But when I had an injury followed by surgery and the loss of my apartment I never got a call in three months. I had to move what I could on my crutches and leave the rest behind. When I finally did hear from them all they did was criticize my financial situation. Oh yeah, they also suggested that I get out in service? more.

Walter

 

Farkel, you wrote: 

The Watch Tower Publishing Corporation is a multi level marketing company. The only real emphasis is to distribute more product and to recruit new distribution people and more downline recruiters. All Witnesses have a downline. Some only have their children as downline. Some have dozens of recruits establishing their own downline. Sales meetings and pep rallies where new product is introduced to the sales force have an established priority.



Disillusioned workers can not merit much time of the managers. If the managers gave too much time to the discouraged workers, they will fall behind in their quota of new members and product distributed. Their ego reward system is based on product distribution and new members recruited. The failures of the workers who tire in their wait for the again postponed, promised reward, is viewed by upper level management as the fault of the failing worker.



Love bombing new members is much easier than trying to reestablish rapport with an established worker after social or product failure. New workers still don't know what questions to ask. Disillusioned workers know the questions and they tend to have many questions and they often want objective answers. Management sees this as unproductive and unfun.



Pyramid marketing corporations such as the Watch Tower Publishing Corporation have profit as their only motive. They function by finding people to buy the dream, whatever that is, and work to their own benefit. Only really, their benefit is a part of the dream and after well over 100 years, no one from this corporation has yet realized the goal. 

 

 

      

What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost, until he finds it?

Answer - proponents of the wtbts   ( See "silent lambs")    

WT philosophy:  "Better that we sacrifice a sheep now and then, than for the rest of us to be effected in a manner that we find unreassuring"

They even have a (so-called) "Theocratic" word for it, so in Borgese it's called "sifting".

Farkel writes:

In my experience, the effort the congregation puts into rallying around and helping the sick among them is directly related to how high up the food chain the sick person is, or whether they are someone who is Studying? and Making Progress? in The Truth? and are still in the process of being love-bombed by the congregation.  If you're just a Publisher? and your spouse (if you have one) is just a Publisher?, and especially if you're just a Sister?, you're $h!t-outta-luck, they have no effing time for you.

Love, Scully

Lost sheep   =  Aaaahhhmmmust have been a goat 

Great post, Farkel! This is defiantly a keeper. JW's are so busy trying to get people into the "front" door that they don' t have time for those going out the "back door."

I know in my case if someone would have shown a little interest in my family (we were all just Publishers) when we were going through a rough time I would still be a JW. When my daughter just stopped going to meetings not one of the "loving shepherds" asked about her.  It was like she never existed, and she went to that Kingdom Hall since she was a newborn. It hurt like heck at the time, but they did me and my daughter a huge favor.

We had an Elder drop buy with an invitation to this years Memorial.  He acted like he didn't even know me and proceeded to invite my hubby to the Memorial gave him an invitation, told him the time of the service, the whole bit.....and my hubby is an active Witness.  He couldn't leave fast enough.  I was going to invite him in for a cup of coffee :-)  So much for the "Shepherds" recognizing their own sheep.

Hapgood

Farkel, there is one thing that the WTS and shepherds have in common.



They both have an affinity for mutton stew, even if it is made from

the flock they are caring for.



Goshawk

Sheppards maybe, but not elders. Elders don't bother cooking you. They eat you alive if they can.

Walter

You know, I have not heard it put so well.  The dammed assholes didn't give two shits about me leaving, and it was always a source of incredible hurt for me over the years.  Not one phone call, not one visit, NOTHIN'.  After how many years of faithful service??? 

At last someone puts it into words that I can understand. 

Thank god I am away from the stupidest 'religion' in the world.  Goodbye, WTBTS. 

   This explains the REAL REASON that Russell was put to rest with a pyramid shaped marker nearby. He knew he was involved in one of the first muli-level marketing companies and was proud of it. It's too bad people are still slow to AWAKE? to the real TRUTH?

Also, the Elders will also show up when you are sick in the hospital --- to make sure you don't take a blood transfusion!

But I do remember when some JW friends of ours contracted infectious hepatitus during the 1971 District Assembly.  Shortly after their kids spent the night at our house during the infectious stage.  We were so sick we could barely crawl from bed to the toilet. Several sisters descended on our house like the Queer Eye guys and brought dishes of food, cleaned the sheets, cleaned the house, and sanitized the bathroom and kitchen. They also did this for the other families in the congregation that had contracted this illness. So in all fairness, some JWs show the same concern as other church groups do.

Also in fairness, we received not one elder's visit during that time.

Tammy