Had the Circuit Overseer

by KW13 38 Replies latest jw friends

  • KW13
    KW13

    Downstairs yesterday we had the Circuit Overseer. I hate how they are supposed to be humble men, yet they have everyone worried. Its more like the boss checking on your work.

    Mum had made him and his wife e.t.c Fresh Coffee, got the nice plates and cups out lol.

    Were your C.O's this bad??

    This guy is all 'smooth'. Before him we had a Scottish bloke called John Black.

  • blondie
    blondie

    Having "had" COs for 50 years, I can say that they used to be less programmed than they are now. The WTS has instituted a 2 month training course to make sure they know what the "track" is and refresher courses for older COs to make sure they are still on the track.

    I have seen COs that had not been raised JWs and had raised families, working in the real world; I have seen COs that were raised as JWs, went to Bethel, then hit the road as COs, never having been married, had children, or supported themselves in the real world; I have seen COs that were elders for many years in the same congregation, married, no children or children who are adults, who were recruited by the current CO who obviously were stunned and discouraged by the info they learned after becoming a CO and left after only 3 circuits.........

    Elders/MS

    COs/DOs

    Bethelites

    All reach higher levels of access to information...and conversely have more to lose if they walk away.

    No, I don't categorize COs or DOs into automatons with no personality. Until we walk in someone's shoes or at least have walked closely by their side, I try very hard not to assess their motives.

    I have seen many COs discouraged who leave for "health" reasons, theirs, their spouse's, or older parents'. It is harder and harder to recruit brothers who want to be full-time COs that are physically healthy (don't want a drag on WTS health resources), "obedient" to the WTS in all things (spiritual qualifications). I can see the WTS solving part of this problem and the lack of elders problem by cutting Bethelites loss and sending them back to the local congregatons.

    Blondie

  • blondie
    blondie

    BTW, the CO has someone checking his work closely too, the DO and by extension the WTS. If their forms or reports don't say what the WTS wants them to say, the CO is held responsible for any failures on the part of the elders in the circuit.

    Sounds much like a business, eh?

    Blondie

  • Maverick
    Maverick

    Keep in mind that these guys are just corporate inspector generals. Their first order of business is making sure company policy is followed and the WTs gets their cut off the top. They are the personal link to the Society and only act like your friend. Most of the ones I knew lived for Monday, that is when they played golf!

  • vitty
    vitty

    My husband couldnt stand the Cos visits. Many that we had were just plain rude ,you barely got a hello out of them. My husband used to hate the servants meeting they used to have.

    I used to try and defend them saying things like "Oh it must be awful for them, going round the all the congs being nice with everyone" LOL

  • KW13
    KW13
    Sounds much like a business, eh?

    Wow, thanks for the info blondie! Sad really, it would be better if they were just 'human'. Sad that its all done like this.

    They are the personal link to the Society and only act like your friend.

    Its the C.O's Wife!! She is a dead giveaway. Their distaste at your cheap livingroom e.t.c

  • LittleToe
    LittleToe

    John Black was a pretty good guy. I knew him well. He was a CO in East Anglia, where I did most of my Quick Builds when I lived in England in the 80s, and then our CO when I returned home to Scotland in the early 90s. Poor guy must have thought we were following him around

    So what did your latest CO taste like, other than "smooth"? Did ya baste him with a mustard sauce?

  • KW13
    KW13
    John Black was a pretty good guy. I knew him well. He was a CO in East Anglia, where I did most of my Quick Builds when I lived in England in the 80s, and then our CO when I returned home to Scotland in the early 90s. Poor guy must have thought we were following him around

    So what did your latest CO taste like, other than "smooth"? Did ya baste him with a mustard sauce?


    LOL!! you had John to. "if i was tae say tae yoooo"

    The smooth one...Well i knew him from previous visits here, he tried being nice to me "Hey Karl, what are you up to" when clearly him and the folks had just been talkin' about me and also trying to make me think 'wow, how kind they are...i want to be a JW right NOW'

  • LittleToe
    LittleToe

    If I recall corectly, his wife was Liz (Elizabeth). She was cute

    The thing to remember is that they are just doing their job. Some get perverse pleasure out of it, some genuinely are trying to do what they've been told is right, some even dare think out of the box (though they don't tend to last long...).

  • KW13
    KW13

    ah yes, Liz. she actually seemed ok, we only spoke twice i think.

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