I remember some men getting appointed and wondering what the hell were they thinking???
Likewise when I came to someone being appointed a presiding overeer or whatever they are called now!
Were You Ever SHOCKED That Someone Got Appointed As An Elder?
by minimus 28 Replies latest jw friends
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sparrowdown
Yes and no.
Yes I was shocked when some "unspiritual" brother was chosen by the obviously blind holy spirit.
No I wasn't shocked because the main criteria for appointment appeared to be "do we like him" and "who are they related to."
Nepotism and favouritism was rife in every cong I was ever in.
I would also add "is he a successful business man or professional" to that list of criteria because that seemed to impress most elders also.
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Londo111
I remember being shocked that one guy (and his wife) was invited back to Bethel simply because he was a conniving sort of person. I assumed all appointments like this were made by holy spirit. Later he was dismissed from Bethel and DFed for having an affair.
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moreconfusedthanever
Certainly no holy spirit evident in the entire process and it surprised me how this alone does not wake people up.
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OnTheWayOut
Yeah- ME!
I was baptized in 1988 and was appointed an elder in 1994. Awful quick ladder climbing.
While I was fully in believer-mode and did underline in my Watchtower and all that jazz, I have heard that really just doesn't happen.
I had the advantage that I was not a born-in, so my history was not an issue. I married right after being appointed an M.S. without getting into any trouble. I think the local elders and a new C.O. liked how I stood up to the C.O. at the time of my engagement because he said that "mixed couples" don't do well in the truth.
But the biggest factor was that I studied with an elder who wanted another feather in his own cap, so he pushed for me to be appointed.
I was appointed in a U.S.southern state and then moved in early 1995. I heard that there was a huge argument in my next congregation among the elders about appointing me again because I still hadn't been "in" for 10 years and they just didn't appoint under those circumstances. But they did appoint me. It was strange because I was in the congregation for 8 or 9 months and was not an M.S., was not given any responsibilities at all in the congregation- not even microphone handling, and had only had two five-minute "talks" in the Theocratic School. So I was surprised again. The whole congregation was surprised too, because I was still fairly new and then appointed an elder. Apparently, that congregation was chewed out for not "using" me. I was enjoying the break. -
minimus
Amazing what that Holy Spirit does sometimes
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DesirousOfChange
Yeah- ME!
Ditto
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scratchme1010
Not really. By the time I was paying attention I was quite aware of the behind the scenes behavior of may of the elders.
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ToesUp
Oh....we have seen this soooo many times. I love it when they appoint a young Elder who has no kids, no steady job, no education, no home (still living in parents basement) and NO CLUE! So I'm going to take my problems to this guy and have him tell me what to do? Really? It's laughable!
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Diogenesister
OntheWayOut do you mean 'mixed' religiously? When the Witnesses use that word that's usually what they mean, but I thought your wife was still in?
Appointed someone with severe learning difficulties in my cong. He was an M.S. for a lifetime! They prayed about it, and thought it unfair not to appoint him elder, in the end!