by twinkletoes 49 Replies latest jw experiences
The reason I heard constantly by the elders, as to one’s spiritual progress in the Organisation was,
"…Brothers are appointed by Holy Spirit."
If this is the case, why is God speaking to himself when he says in 1 Tim 3 v 6 ….not a newly converted man, for fear that he might get puffed up with pride…etc.
To re-iterate … if God appoints elders, why would he give himself this advice ???
KT
Oooops, I was logged in on "Twinkletoes" name in error.
Kaytee
Because I was a girl.
I was told by my dad (the Cong. P.O.) that I was viewed as too young to be a M.S. I had just turned 22, and had more experience in the "truth" than any other MS candidate. The real reason was that the Service Overseer's son (my former best friend) was still on public reproof for being involved with a worldly girl, and I had gotten my act together. My dad, being neutral, made no push for my moving up. I am quite thankful that I was not moved up in rank. The slight motivated me further to leave the Borg.
My reason is obvious, I was part of the underused majority - a female jw. My bf was a ministerial servant, and was in line for elder when he found out the truth abiut the wts, but there were one or two who were continually passed over for reasons no one could fathom in our hall. I can only think it was because the po didn't like them, as they seemed very willing in every way.
Because I was a girl.
Hay that was my line. Not due to my intelligence of biblical knowledge, my hours in field service, my humility, etc etc...nope simple ol sexism. Not even qualified to hand out assignment papers, do the mikes, say a public prayer, etc. I never ever once thought of this when I was active, yet imagine the silent lessons I was being taught from a young age!
Jez
: Because I was a girl.
Yes, and Jehovah made girls for scrubbing toilets...not for complex manly tasks like holding mics, counting magazines or turning sound system volumes up and down.
I got as far as MS. Not "elder". Reason: They knew I'd never wank their egos, or brown nose. I was told "I/You have a big mouth, you complain too much. And now they can kiss my rebel ass.
Dismembered
You a not going to believe this one,
For 5 years the official reason given for why I wasn't appointed was because I was not married! I was told more than once that 1 Timothy chapter three set out the requirement that all appointed to an office in the congregation had to be a "husband of one wife," thus marraige was a requirement. I was told just prior to my marraige that marrying wouldn't change a thing and that I could have all the work I wanted, but forget about any recommendations, period.
Forscher
"…Brothers are appointed by Holy Spirit."
But keep in mind that Holy Spirit only considers those that the Body of Elders recommends as Ministerial Servants and Elders, then only if the Circuit Overseer agrees with the Body (He usually wants them to be unanimous).
Nothing new here, but most Bodies will refrain from appointing a brother if one elder can apply any scriptural reason to say that he isn't comfortable with a recommendation. You can apply one scriptural reason to ANYBODY. So, if Johnny was dating his daughter but she broke it off, Elder Bob can say he is not "serious." Any elder can accuse a brother of some unknown secret then say he is not "free from accusation." A married man, they look at his wife and kids and say that he is not "presiding in a fine manner" over his household. If they are really pressed, you can get somebody to say they occasionally miss a meeting or weekend of field service, then they don't have a "fine standing." (1 Tim. 3:8-13)
Truly, it's those who get their noses stuck far up the obedience line who are appointed. Nothing new again, but as one who was an elder for many years, I am not proud to say that I was very obedient until I learned to think for myself. Some of the best brother had a very independent attitude about them and never got appointed.
