I have been Disfellowshipped for 2 weeks. Why? My story the shortened version.

I left the Organisation 2years 2 months ago. I live 25 miles from the Kingdom Hall that I ATTENDED for 29 years, man and boy. There are 5 Congregations in the middle of where I now live and where I used to attend. 2 Memorials passed by and not one invite from my previous fellow Elders and so called friends, brothers with whom I invested so much time into…. What I am about to reveal is the absolute truth and nothing but the truth, I swear this on my fathers grave, and upon my honour, and Jehovah’s good and sanctified name.

Around 13 weeks ago I received a telephone call out of the blue from Brother Elder, who wanted to discuss certain accusations that had been made against me at the mouth of 2 separate witnesses, one was my estranged wife soon to be ex, the other was a brother that I had met in the bar having some drinks. I duly informed the Elder that I was not prepared to meet with the elders under any circumstances whatsoever to answer allegations whereby theocratic procedure had not been followed. He enquired what I meant by that? The Following:

1. You have not invited me to any memorials for 2 years therefore not recognising that I am a member of your congregation.
2. Have you encouraged the 2 witnesses to apply Matthew Chapter 5 and chapter 18? No you haven’t.
3. Have you checked your “ Pay Attention to the Flock” text book whereby it clearly states the following:
I then summarized the page when a publisher has not attended for some time and you learn of wrongdoing….

All this was to be conveyed back to the Body. I, after 1 hour of calming down rang the brother and informed him that should any attempt to contact me again regarding these frivolous and vexatious allegations was made I would consider taking Legal Advise for harassment.

5 weeks later the unthinkable happened I received a telephone call from my mother who was very upset, she stated that 2 Elders had been around to inform her that I was to be Disfellowshipped the following day, Thursday.

I was absolutely horrified, I was not even aware that a Judicial Committee had been informed, or indeed made a decision to disfellowship. I was beside myself. A P/O for 9 years, where was this new procedure coming from?

I duly rang the P/O who just happened to be the chairman of the committee. After a long discussion he physically broke down and cried over the phone, before you go off on that remember this Elder was one of my closest friends we vacationed together.. It was a very emotional time for him and me. He stated that because I was such a High Profile Brother in the district, he would not dare to make a decision without speaking to the legal desk.

They had informed him that any Bro/Sis who refuses to meet with a JC automatically disassociates themselves from Jehovah’s Org AND THE APPROPRIATE ANNOUNCEMENT OUGHT TO BE MADE.

He further stated that to disassociate you publicly would be worse than disfellowshipping you, so because of who you were and the positions you held, we are going to be kind and disfellowship you rather than disassociate you.

I informed him of Jesus’ words to Judas Do what you have to do.
My warning is quite clear, Elders have now been informed that no can leave the org and just be left alone to pick up the pieces of their lives…….. You have been warned!!!!!!!!

Riff

This is almost exactly what happened to me:

After lots of harrassment from the elders (certain ones in particular) including a 'shepherding call' where they were unable or unwilling to answer my questions I was invited one day to go for a chat at the local KH. I declined.

A couple of weeks later I got a letter shoved through my door notifying my that they had accepted my 'refusal to attend the commitee meeting' as my decision to disassociate myself.

After writing the CO to get it sorted I got to have an appeal (although I had never been invited to a JC meeting in the first place).

After a 3 hour meeting with 6 elders (where I think I did pretty well) they upheld their own decission that I was refusing to meet with them and had disassociated myself!

It was announced and as far as everyone at the hall knows, I sent them a letter.

However, I did not.

I'm thinking of going to the KH (I think a Sunday meeting of the CO's visit would be best) and demanding to know why they announced I had DA's myself when I had not. How does this sound:

"If I have DA' myself, then you will have a letter saying it and I give you permission to show it to everyone - in fact I insist that you do. If not, and you cannot produce as I know you cannot 'cause I have never written it then everyone will know I didn't and you are liars."

Should be fun eh?

"there is no honorable way to leave" proves to me that the wtbts is a cult. Behavior control, information control, thought control and emotional control.

Sorry to hear what you are going through. But you sound the wiser for waking up.

Thanks for the warning.

j2bf

Could you not REPUDIATE the DF’ing in a Legal Notice in your local newspapers? Could you not do this in national newspapers which are also available in your area?

Has not the Secular Courts of the land ruled that you can be DF’d by the use of this JUDICIAL TRIBUNAL OF THE CHURCH? (Such Precedents have been posted on this board.) Does not the Secular Court state that they are ‘not competent’ to rule on this matter? Does not the Secular court say that this is a RELIGIOUS DIFFERENCE which is thereby inadmissible for their consideration?

Would not your disagreement then also be inadmissible? Would not your public notice be a part of your religious rights??? Would not this be the same as if you were another Church, in yourself? Would not this be a case of a religious squabble that Secular Law has recused itself from being able to review??

Did they not fail to follow their own rules and are therefore not self-consistent?? Did they not expect publicity? (“...high profile...”)

Is AUTOMATIC DISASSOCIATING something that you really did?? Would it not be a matter of dispute, for someone else to make a DECISION FOR YOU?

Mustang

Very disturbing news Martin and Simon. Makes me feel like just submitting my DA now.

Never Squat With Yer Spurs On

Martin,

I can really empathise with you.

I am not df'ed or da'ed, but the events that lead to my stepping down as an elder were fairly brutal. I did nothing wrong personally but I had a fairly minor problem with one of my kids (who incidentally did nothing unscriptural). However, the hardliners took it on themselves to get after me, and I was history.

I was always very moderate in my views and extremely good at overlooking the imperfections of my fellow elders. I see things a lot differently now. There is so much politics and pulling of rank with the elders. Somewhere along the line we have forgotten the simple truths that Jesus taught and replaced them with all the things he stood up against, petty rules and regulations, class systems, bigotry and hatred.

I always followed the counsel to "wait on Jehovah to sort things out", and used to think I could work to change some of the wrongs in our congregation. I am not so sure now.

Eyeslice

Martin & Simon I feel for you both. I have to agree with Eyeslice that there seems to be a "pulling of rank and politics" amongst the elders and in the congregations. From my own observations after years as a JW I saw that a lot depended on "who you were" as to the way a matter was handled. My question is Martin, if the body of elders felt that your not meeting with them was an act of disassociating yourself, then if that is proper protocol, shouldn't they just have stated that in an announcement rather than taking it upon themselves to "be kind" and disfellowship you? My opinion is both are equally tarnishing and damaging to you as a person, but because of "who you were" this was the decision that was made? Does that sound like the workings of a United Body or rather does it sound like personal opinions and feelings of imperfect men? Once again, my point is, Who are they as imperfect human beings to sit in judgement of others and presume to be able to read a person's heart and mind? This is a matter that should be left strictly up to God and Christ! Therefore, if one wants to leave ANY religion he should be able to do so quietly without any "announcement" of sorts and ultimately answer to God!

hey! guys... i feel voiceless at these evident demonstrations of sublime ridiculousness...

maybe, when guys like martin and simon, really start to cause trouble, by appearing at the hall and loudly disputing the actions (and the lack of conformity to the rule books), and in consequence, the R & F start to get disturbed, then people will be allowed to resign or fade away and the stupid, fanciful, egomania will come to it's end.

this policy is based on one piece of paranoidal, fanciful thinking only -- and that is, these guys think they will become princes in all the earth, they think that they are above all other law, above all other standards of thinking, that they have " divine right' to act.

i have known elders that spoke admiringly of the right that the elders in israel had to stone offenders to death.

this sort of thinking can only be overcome when the consequences become unpleasant for the BOE and their congregations..

sort of sad isn't it??

POOR, POOR JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES

Eyeslice - Can you imagine any jw answering the question: Why didn't Jesus wait on Jehovah instead of calling down the Pharisees himself?

James,

man, I like reading your stuff but DAMN, would you please work on your formatting, puncuation and spelling? Sometimes it takes me reading three or four times to sort it out!

If I didn't appreciate what you have to say I wouldn't work that hard to read it.

Sean