by flipper 44 Replies latest jw friends
Nothing loving or spiritual about those "qualifications" eh Mr F........sad, very sad.
Clambering for positions within the organisation is more important than the message they sell......and the smug looks of satisfaction on their faces just relays their inner feelings..."I am better than you"
Best wishes you you and Mrs F x
Paula x
The WT thinks that Dicks are spiritual.
"Those who were career Ministerial Servants did one thing well, bookroom, cleaning or soundbooth. They usually weren't intellectually bright enough to meet all the "other" requirements. Those who converted and took off running usually had skills, speaking, teaching or were affable and had likeable personalities. Oddly enough they tended to have a bit more education as well. There were always those born to the breed who were on a career path who were voted in via DNA and they were usually tools. It's a mixed bag Flip. On the whole there had to be conformity but functions weren't enough in this locale."
I want to comment on one part of this comment. In whole, I understand the thought behind it and agree with the intent, but I slightly disagree with the "intellectually bright enough" bit...
I was a career MS, never made elder. I was good at my MS duties. I lacked two things, well, maybe three, that kept me from being elder... I was introverted and my public speaking ability was nil... and I didn't kiss asses. So you're right...speaking skills, being affable and likeable were pre-requisites to being fast-tracked.
But - I was intellectually bright enough (I mean, I'm no genius but I'm not an idiot either) to do everything but give public talks and sooth troubled souls. I knew doctrine...and policy... better than most of the other elders. Until I overcame my fear of public speaking, I was never going to make elder, I was told (which while true, was also an easy excuse because I didn't always play well with others and they figured I could be hard to keep in line).
It wasn't being intellectually deficient, educated or otherwise. It was other deficiencies...the same ones that tend to help people move up corporate and political ladders. Kiss asses, affable, likeable, public speaking. Those alone don't define intellectual brightness.
Okay... I'm through defending the intellectually un-bright ex-MSs... Carry on...
My understand was this:
Ministerial Servant Qualifications
A) Attend all 5 meetings, regularly (I guess it is 4, now)
B) Answer at those meetings, regularly
C) Report field service hours that meet or exceed your national and congregation publisher average
D) Be able to read out-loud well
I was a Ministerial Servant right out of high school and for nearly a decade. I had every privilege that could be extended: Parts at all meetings, CA parts, public talks, etc. The only two things I did not do that elders do is attend elder meetings and sit on judicial committees.
We had a brother move into our congregation who was an elder and was appointed in our congregation. He was my book study overseer and I was his assistant. One day we were out in service and he asked me how long I had been a ministerial servant. When I told him his eyes about shot out of his head. "We need to appoint you to elder," he replied.
He was new to the congregation and was not aware that my family and I were secretly shunned by the order of the presiding overseer. My father professed to be of the annointed ever since he was baptised. The presiding overseer saw my father as a threat to his status.
In the end, it has nothing to do with qualifications as it does blind obdience to the evil empire and it's agents. Morons, drooling fools, and door knoobs are appointed. It's just like the former Soviet Union. As long as your a faithful to the party you will be promoted to the level of your incompotence.
Flipper,
They have lowered the bar so much that just about anyone can be appointed to a postion.
We had a guy with a mental health problem that was an M.S.
Half the elders in one congro i attented were drunks they would get togeather and drink like there was no tomorrow...my father who was never a JW and was fond of a drink was supprised when he saw these guys drink.
As long as you tow the party line and be SEEN to be doing the rite thing you will be appointed.
As i mentioned in another thread we have an Elder who screwed his own sister,He was married at the time (Still is).
He is worthy of double honner while we are all mentaly diseased...go figure.
Without trying to sound like a blowhard, I used to put a lot of thought into my talks and answers, in a way I thought would help people think about their faith. I tried to make talks interesting, and used to get frequent favorable comments about them afterwards. Until I started seriously slacking, I used to put a lot of effort into preparing for FS and RVs in order to try to teach people about what I then believed was Bible truth about the impending Armageddon.
Though I'd been an MS in previous congregations, the congo in which I ended up spending the last 13 years of my JW life never did appoint me as an MS. Reason: I didn't get enough hours. I usually got 8 or 9 a month, until a smartarse young elder told me if that was the best I could do, I might as well not bother. It was advice I eventually accepted.
One elder, who was keen to see me appointed, once told me: "We need to get you a Bible study so we can boost your hours." I'd thought "hours" in that context referred to the lead you were setting in the FS groups, but if I was spending another 10 hours a month in someone's home doing a Bible study, no one would have ever seen me "setting the lead" anyway.
I'd say Flipper's statement is correct. It was all about hours.
"and back to the DMZ? Our Halls. (Disturbed Mental Zone.). ...."
Ah, HA HA HA HA HA!!!
Avocado Jake, that is GREAT!! May I use that, pretty please??
Zid the She-Devil
I didn't always play well with others and they figured I could be hard to keep in line
And now allow me to comment on this little snippet....
We had an old school (I mean old school - was being groomed for CO work back in the 50's but got too horny & got married with a steady job instead) elder who used to like to bring up that if the BOE felt that a brother would not "get along well" with the rest of the BOE, if the BOE felt his presence would be "too disruptive", that in itself was grounds not to recommend him as an elder.
Truth_b_known's MS qualificiation list is spot-on. That is exactly what the qualifications for MS have been in every congregation I've attended - nothing else matters at all.
Well maybe I'd add one more:
E) Somewhat reliable in caring for assignments given (carrying microphone, showing up to clean Kingdom Hall, taking attendance, etc.)
To karter: OMG?????!!!!!! How "mentally diseased" is the wife who would stay with a perve like that?? To undercover: Do NOT sell yourself short. You were most likely TOO intelligent for the "good ole' boys" comfort. After all, you're out-right? As a whole, I've noticed in my short time here that most posters are extremely bright and insightful. Having the right connections gives a brother a "leg up" for being appointed. However being astute is not always a plus. For instance, i know a couple of brothers (one is menza)who were passed over for years because they had more knowledge of the Bible and the WT publications than the elders. They felt threatened ....so of course no appointments until the CO forced it. Also,if the bro EVER points out an error made by an elder... Forget it . he can't be trusted.
Sorry, one more thought, It has been shown on other threads that many servants lie on their time slips. Elders inevitabally become privy to each other's wrongdoing(as well as their family's)It's ESSENTIAL that they can trust the others to keep all the dirty secrets. Consequently, rather than the cream rising to the top it is often the dregs.
