Wonder how many elders in the South are met with saw-off shotguns at the door?
The last shepherding call I had will be my last. There were beer bottles everywhere and I had a hang-over. We had a BIG party the night before. Elder said something about some "lifestyle" changes I needed to make. I told him I was just biding my time until Armageddon so I could die. They left quickly!
The whole elder arrangement is so cliquish. One elder in my congregation molested his daughters. He was removed from the position, but never really punished. Another elder was abusive to his wife and children. Last I heard, neither of these fine upstanding men's kids are doing very well.
I really feel for people who are losing their families because of questions they have about the organization. The teenaged girls who have to answer probing questions have my sympathy too.
Probably if I would have cried, they would have extended some "mercy". They couldn't have made me cry if they had driven nails in my feet. I think they took my lack of emotion personally. Looking back, I'm so proud of myself for not crying! The "death sentence" they handed out really just gave me a new life. Just took a while to find it.