JC FILE NOTES - What Do they contain?
Most JWs are not aware of the JC files, or at best have a vague idea. When a JW leaves the organization and learns of the JC files they may also wonder what is typically written, what gets retained, and whether it follows any given pattern.
JC Meeting Procedure: In most cases JC meetings are scheduled for an early evening time, often on the weekend, or at least on a non-meeting night. Typically the Elders will wear suits, bring their briefcases containing the Flock book and supplements, a note pad, Bible, and a few other choice materials like the Organization book. (Although I have attended JC meetings where we met at 3 or 4 in the afternoon, and one or two of the Elders were in work cloths, smelled of sweat, and left the note taking up to me.)
I don't recall anytime where the Society provided any directions or training on this - until the early 1990s when they began to send out instructions on keeping notes very brief and when an action is complete to keep few, if any, file notes.
How Notes are Taken: Again, there is no guidance or training on how an Elder takes notes, so each is left to his own style. In my own case, I typically never wrote more than a page of notes, and I only wrote in outline form those items that seemed important at the time.
Typically I made note of:
1. Date and time of meeting
2. Names of Elders and Chairman of that specific JC
3. Name of person we met with
4. Issues discussed (i.e. Drunkenness, Stealing, etc.)
Often I noted the actual issue later on because we might not know the 'sin' or issue involved in advance.
I did not always take "blow-by-blow" question and answer notes, but it often proved to be helpful to do so. Although, at times, I wish I had had a tape recorder. Usually the person confessing was most upset, and I noted this, and I considered thier emotions as a guide to guage repentance. For example, if a young brother was confessing masturbation, he would not tell us in advance, but felt he needed to wait to meet face to face. When I would get a call like this to request a meeting, I figured that it was either masturbation or some sexual offence, otherwise the person would say a little something before the JC meeting.
When in the course of revealing the 'sin' I would note the 'circumstances' that seem to lead up to the sin. In the case of alcohol abuse, I would note what seem to trigger the drinking episodes, and what steps was the person was "already" taking to try and correct it. I heard a number of alcoholic confessions, and finally got the AA Big Book and formed a private JW AA program. The CO liked it, but some Elders felt I was running ahead of the Society. The reason I did this was because I felt that our usual organizational approach did not help the problem.
My files notes often read something like this:
1. Brother Jones feels very badly about drinking too much. Feels he may be an alcoholic.
2. Brother Jones has been struggling for about 3 years and was fearful of stepping forward.
3. Brother Smith (JC) asked Jones why he felt so fearful, and why he could not trust the Elders and Jehovahs arrangement.
4. Brother Jones said that he did not fully recognize that he may be suffering from alcoholism, and lived in some shame and denial.
5. Brother Harry (JC) ask Jones why he now steps forward to talk to us.
6. Brother Jones says that he finally came to terms with this problem, and saw some good literature in the doctors office with a questionaire. He was able to answer many questions that showed he had a problem.
7. Brother Smith asked if Jones considered using the Society Index to get helpful information.
8. Bro. Jones said that he has read "every" article on alcohol that the Society ever published, and it was all helpful, but somehow the information in the doctor's office hit him just right.
9. I ask brother Jones what he is planning to do now that he has talked to us. That is, what steps he plans to take to deal with his alcoholism.
10. Brother Jones says he is not sure, and that he was just starting with us because he knows that is what Jehovah wants. He will do whatever we say so he can get this problem taken care of.
[Note: at this point at least one Elder will bitch about why Bro. Jones waited so long to get the help of Elders, and why Bro. Jones didn't write to the Society or keep reviewing the Society publications, but instead found help in a 'worldly' magazine. Usually, I did not make a note of this type of bitching, because I had a special affection for problem drinkers and what they really needed.]
12. (I would jump in at this point) and ask Brother Jones if he would like to work with me once we are done with the meeting, and set out a program to help him to recovery.
13. Brother Jones would immediately express agreement and appreciation ... with almost a sense of desperation. (I would make a special note of this as and excellent sign of repentance.)
14. When I was JC Chairman, I would cut this short if I could and ask the other Elders if they have any more questions or comments for Bro. Jones.
15. Brother Smith would tell Bro. Jones that he appreciates his courage and concern to come clean with this problem and that he has done the right thing in seeking Jehovah's organization and the Elders for help. During the discussion he made notes of some additional Wt references and shares these with Bro. Jones. (Bro. Jone shows appreciation, but I can see that he has already read these.)
16. Brother Harry notes that Brother Jones has been a little weak in meeting attendance and service, and recommends that Bro. Jones try to focus here so as to help take his mind off of drinking.
[We now invite Bro. Jones to step back out into the Hall and wait while we talk. We will come get him when we are done. (These are very gruesome moments when a JW is waiting for the Elders to talk and make a decision. For some, thier whole life can pass before them.)]
After Bro. Jones steps out, we almost always look at one another in a sense of not being sure what to say.
17. I would then tell the other Elders that I believe that Bro. Jones is repentant, and that I am willing to spend some extra time to help him.
18. Bro. Harry is not too convinced of Jones repentance. He feels that waiting so long to get help, and then not fully using the Society's publications suggests to him that Bro. Jones might not be as sorry as he would like us to think. [I often heard Elders like this say that the JW was just crying allegator tears, suggesting a faked repentance. If they only knew what people really go through and the shear fear and pain many feel.]
19. I would note to the Elders that it was Bro. Jones that came to us, and if he had not opened up we would not have known. So it does seem to me that he came to us before matters got out of hand and he did something foolish while drunk.
20. Bro. Smith noted too that Bro. Jones, like anyone, needs time, and if he had not read the Society's publications, then perhaps the article in the doctors office might not have hit him right -- that is it's the accumulation of information over time. He agrees with Bro. Amazing that Jones definitely seems repentant.
21. Bro. Harry finally agrees, though with some reluctance, and then we discuss a course of action. Restriction from Prayer and Service Meeting parts. Bro. Jones can still comment. And Bro. Amazing will be the Elder to make the follow-up efforts to work with Bro. Jones and agree to meet again in a couple of months. [Often, these follow-ups were not done consistently or in a reasonable time period.]
[This pretty much would conclude my note taking. We would call Bro. Jones back in and advise him that we see his repentance and that Bro. Amazing will talk to him about a program. The only restriction is Prayer and Service meeting parts. Bro. Jones appears very appreciative.]
The other Elders then hand me their notes for the file. Usually, they were no more lengthy than my own notes, and often shorter with just a few comments noting the sin, and the general attitude. The other two Elders would see my notes and compliment me on my thoroughness, and say that my notes are enough for the file.
Conclusion: What you see above is often typical of notes taken and filed, but there are exceptions. Some files, as I have noted in previous Justice posts, can be several hundred pages long, but that is the exception. In cases like Bro. Jones, we almost never placed any follow-up notes in the file unless he had a relapse in drinking and we had to impose more restrictions or even Public Reproof.
The file notes are normally not too exciting. And contrary to tongue n' cheek claims, Elders do not sit around reading this stuff, not even the sexual sins of others. Most notes are rather boring, and deal mainly with whether a JW is repentant, the circumstances involved that led to the sin, and what steps were taken or not taken that affect the counsel given, and the disciplinary actions taken.
Most Elders will talk about meetings and service as recommended ways to deal with almost any sin ... as a means of focus away from the sin. Most Elders will try to reference one or more of the Society's publications for guidance. Most Elders will try to pull out a favorite Bible verse or two to encourage the JW sinner. Most Elders will also have a Bible verse or two that addresses the sin and why it is wrong in God's eyes. This is how they are trained to give 'proper' counsel.
Some Elders, expecially those that have themselves been in the JC 'Hotseat' in the past and who have a good measure of living experience will tend to be more kind and moderate as possible in the context of Society rules. Younger, newer, and less experienced Elders tend to be pricks. But, I have known some experienced Elders who remain idiots and hardhearted even into their advanced years.
It is all too sad. Often good men, with good intentions, are spiritually handcuffed by the Society from really doing what their own hearts would otherwise let them do ... provide loving consolation and reassurance of God's love, and point the person toward professional counseling where needed, and then mind their own business. - Amazing