The Governing Body has decided to launch a pilot program of shepherding District Overseers and their wives. Why is this needed? Everyone has an arrangement for personal shepherding except District Overseers and their wives. Everyone needs to be built up. Bethel representatives will be sent out from the branch to spend a week with them. They will join the District Overseer when he serves the host congregation from Tuesday to Friday, enjoying time at the meetings and in service. On the weekend they will join them at the Circuit Assembly. Who will be the representatives? Brothers who have a keen understanding of what the traveling work is all about and have deep love and empathy. This will include Branch Committee members and others, especially those who have spent time in the traveling work. When will this start? Right after the Kingdom Ministry Schools have concluded. This will be a pilot program tested for 2 years in the United States. If the Governing Body feels it should be continued, it will be implemented worldwide. A special meeting will be held with the traveling overseers in conjunction with the Kingdom Ministry schools.
news about the DO Shepparding program!!!
by seenitall 28 Replies latest jw friends
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yesidid
Bet the DO's will be looking forward to that.
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cameo-d
And will these extra shepherds be counting on the flock for their meals and accomodations?
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WingCommander
I wonder if this is some sort of spying program to check up on the DO's? Have some recently left, or even become *GASP* Apostates, or part of the ever-increasing "Conscience Class"?? We all know the GB doesn't do anything without a good reason, so what's up? Maybe this "shephard" will talk to the Elder bodies in private to get a feel for how the DO is doing? Maybe they can weed out the imposters and trouble makers and keep the "company men"????
Yeah, I'm sure the burden of feeding and hosting these Bethel or Branch Committee Spies will all fall upon the already weak shoulders of the congregation. Way to heap more burden upon the Flock, Governing Body!!!!!
- Wing Commander
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designs
Even the Pope has a Priest
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baltar447
Maybe this is a GOOD thing, taken from another perspective. How many times have we seen real inconsistencies between DOs, COs, and the particular counsel given at assemblies? Maybe they want to crack down on all the personal opinion on the parts of DOs and COs. Perhaps a CO or DO effectively "banning" Facebook for example makes the Org look too whacky and they want to put a stop to personal opinions and rulemaking by these DOs and COs.
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carvin
Maybe it is a way to see if they can eliminate another level ofpeople between the congragation and the GB. Distance themselves from any legal troubles and not have to pay them for the services they are suposed to do.???????
Or it could be a combo of all the ideas mentioned.
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life is to short
I makes me wonder. When I first learned what the true stand on pedophiles in the truth was I went straight to the DO and asked if what I was seeing was true. He said in a round about way yes, no one is to know who a pedophile was in the hall, I was like why? He said the elders would take care of it. But he did say he had a letter that someone from Bethel had given him that helped victims of child abuse, I started crying so hard at the time and said I did not understand why child molesters were being kept hidden in the truth.
He mailed me this two page letter but forbid me to give it to anyone ANYONE and I mean anyone not even an elder in my hall no one was to have it. Well when things fell apart even more I mailed that two page letter to everyone of the GB I said someone hear at Bethel wrote this someone cares about the victims of rape who is it, who cares because I do not see it in any of the halls, why was I forbidden to show this letter to anyone not even elders by the DO.
So all the GB know the DO gave it to me. I wonder if that could have something to do with all of this. I do not know I doubt it. Just wondering.
LITS
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freddo
D.O.'s are "out of the way" generally. Congregation problems that cannot be dealt with by the elders go to CO or Bethel direct. I reckon they are reining in the D.O.'s by using Bethel heavies to follow the party line.
Not too long before resigning as an elder in about 2003 there was one time I was aware of a pedo problem that I was involved with as a "concerned elder" (but not directly in the loop) which resulted in the CO and DO meeting with me to hear my views.
My CO had hardly said a word and blew me off when tackled by me previously but I went to the DO and he granted me a meeting with him and my CO. When the DO was there the DO led and he was very open about inconsistencies in how the org. handles child molestation. The CO kept looking at him in a "Wow, are you really saying this to a mere elder?" sort of way.
It was all done in a hand-wringing way but it made me see that there are good intentioned but fearful men among the CO's and DO's.
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Nickolas
A history lesson, if only a little over the top.
The seeds of the Roman Catholic inquisition were suspicions amongst the Church hierarchy that there were those in Christendom who professed faith, particularly those who had been converted, who were actually heretics, Satan worshippers and non-believers. It was moot at the time that anyone who openly professed otherwise was subject to horrible retribution and all mouths were clamped shut in fear. As a consequence it took extraordinarily brutal measures to exact confessions out of those who fell under suspicion. Terrified people attempted to deflect the possibility of the spotlight falling upon themselves by turning in others, often at random or on the basis of differences in behaviour or appearance. The Inquisitors themselves demonstrated the absoluteness of their own faith through the zeal with which they meted out torture and punishment, lest they themselves should fall under suspicion. History repeated itself with the witch hunts in the early American colonies, precisely the same dynamic.
There is an old French saying which translates "The more things change, the more things stay the same."
