by stillAwitness 84 Replies latest members private
If an elder had DA'd or been DF'd the same announcement is made as for all JWs, publicly at the service meeting, "so-and-so is no longer one of Jehovah's Witnesses."
I have been out 3 years, but it used to be that on a separate night previous to this announcement, it would have been announced that so-and-so had been deleted (removed?) as an elder.
Blondie
In my congregation the deletion of an elder, ministerial servant, or pioneer wasn't announced if they were disfellowshipped. There was no point. If they are no longer Jehovah's Witnesses even the dumbest JW would probably assume they no longer have a "position" in the congregation.
W
Instructions on Handling Deletions of Elders and Ministerial Servants:
Reason for Deletion: Society Approval Req'd? Announce Deletion to Congregation?
Moving or Death NO NO
Resignation for Personal reasons YES YES after receiving approval fr. Soc.
No longer meets scriptural requirements NO YES after receiving approval fr. Soc.
Judicial reproof NO YES
Disassociation or Disfellowshippment NO NO
If someone "no longer meets scriptural requirements", they do not require the WTS's approval to go forward with the deletion, yet, they have to receive the approval of the WTS to make the announcement? Sounds a tad confusing.
As much as I resented the fact that the WTS put more weight on whether an individual had a penis rather than their actual intelligence in order to qualify for responsibilities in the congregation, now that I see how frikkin difficult it is to get out of these VOLUNTARY positions, I'm kind of glad it was never possible for me to be an elder.
stillAwitness....It's good to see that in your first post here that you spelled "circuit" correctly for the first time ever even though it was misspelt in your subject title.
Refer back to my earlier post one page 1 (last item) where your computer skills improved tremendously...............hmmmmm.....Wombat
This is correct, you can't just "resign" as an elder, they have to "approve" your resignation!
I know this arrogance to be true because it happened to me. It's by the book.
metatron
I was able to do some snooping one time- I read a copy of a letter sent to the society ratting out a former member of the Congregation. That sister was disfellowshipped. After I quit the JW's a few years later , I called the former sister and told her it was her brother-in-law in another state who turned her in. She was glad to have that information. Every little bit of information helps us.
good luck on your next secret mission- say, could you go to Bethel for a visit?
Moshe
An elder or ministerial servant can not simply step down/aside (however you want to word it). If the brother doesn't want the position anymore it MUST be approved by WTS.
Once you're appointed you can be deleted for wrongdoing or having some other problem ("bad" kids, low field service hours, etc.). If you're simply tired of the position/burnt out the CO or WTS will recommend that you take a "break" for a few months...take some of your responsibilities away, but you still keep the title.
I know this happened to a brother serving on a foreign branch committee. He got burnt out and wanted to step aside serving as elder. WTS sent the brother home (no longer serving on Branch Comm) for about 6 months he didn't give talks, didn't have any assignments. After his R&R he was back to doing things on a circuit level (he wasn't reassigned to Branch Comm). A similar thing happened to a City Overseer I know too.
Damn, I'm jealous,, I'd slip something into their drinks so that I could dig through their files all night. I'd photocopy it and upload all of it to this site.
Hey,good work Stilla! The only problem is if it really is dated from 1999,it's getting pretty old by WTS standards and has probably changed 2-3 times since. Have another look in his stuff ,see if you can get something more up-to-date...LOL
Goldminer
When I resigned as an elder, the CO was involved and pretty much begged me not to do it. My mind was very made up. (BTW, he even had me conclude with prayer after his Sunday talk). The Society's position is that you can't simply resign-------without their approval. If they don't accept the resignation you are removed (deleted).
