WT is addicted to verbiage.
They went from TWO words to SIX words !
"...the designation 'presiding overseer' is being changed to 'coordinator of the body of elders.' "
They could have kept it down to FOUR words if they had made the new title: "Body of Elders Coordinator." Now doesn't that SOUND better?
lol.
BOE letter: "presiding overseer" becomes "coordinator of the body of elders
by Billy the Ex-Bethelite 113 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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abbagail
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blondie
Remember when they were called "servants" and not "overseers"?
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Gayle
And the "Faithful and Discreet Slave" are at the bottom of that preceding chart, as partaking "sisters" and partaking non-positioned "brothers," therefore basically non-mentionables.
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flipper
"Coordinator of the Body of Elders " will just be another title of the " presiding overseer ". I see. Believe me - it will be treated the same. Obviously the society doesn't make changes unless there has been a problem going on about something. If you read between the lines in Billy's letter he so kindly printed for us - the society is having problems with presiding overseers dominating not only other elders, but dominating entire congregations. Something most of us saw in our many years of being in the witnesses. You think changing the title from " presiding overseer " to "coordinator of the body of elders" is going to change any power control from these P.O. 's ? Nope. Everything will stay the same with " power control". Look- no matter what title men are given - if corrupt power mongers want to abuse the rank and file publishers or other elders , unscrupulous men will do just that. No matter what title they are given. " Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely "
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abbagail
WT wrote: "Hence, no elder is above the others in the body, and none of them should try to dominate the others."
OH how "men dominate men to their own injury"!
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(I'm surprised WT did not use that scripture in their BOE letter to back up their latest low-level outpost management restructuring.)
"All this I have seen, and there was an applying of my heart to every work that has been done under the sun, [during] the time that man has dominated man to his injury." - Eccl. 8.9 - NWT
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(I just now noticed how the acronym for the New World Translation NWT includes the acronym for the Watchtower WT. duh!)
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Great thread, thanks Billy-the-Ex. Some excellent analyzing and projection of possibilities included from so many posters. Thoroughly enjoyable read, and funny too!
And that flow chart was a hoot! ;-) -
garybuss
The only reason to take perceived power away from the old sheriff is because there's a new sheriff comin' to town. They're makin' room!
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Billy the Ex-Bethelite
During the time I was in Bethel, they would go through the motions of change. Departments would be renamed, and personel would be shuffled. They were trying to make improvements, save money, be more productive, but things would keep going back into the same old problematic routine, same old problems whether it was called "computer department" or "information systems", etc. Sometime before I left, they started cutting personnel everywhere. This was stuff that would be permanent and would produce change. As much as they hoped it would be change for the better, from my perspective it wasn't. Things were getting worse. And my job was getting more difficult since they were often losing some really valuable people. Okay, some were chaff, but I saw many leave that were top quality people, because they could go out and get a good job in the real world. They left behind some nitwits to take over their offices. Yeah, some "spiritual paradise".
Everyone knows, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Remember when Coke tried to "improve" their century old recipe and create "New Coke"? Disaster. They went back to "Classic Coke". So, "Don't mess with success." McDonald's tinkers with adding new things to their menu to attract new customers, but they won't change or rename the Big Mac. They know that change isn't always a good thing.
I'm not sure how to interpret things developing now in the bOrg. Obviously, there are very serious problems brewing to prompt the variety of changes going on. What do they think they are fixing with this renaming? Like flipper said, if a PO is a despot, renaming his position "Bambi-man" won't make him a cuddly fawn. You can rename a fart to be called a "butt burp", but either way it's the same stinkbomb. Keeping the dictators in the same position as a "coordinator" only renames the problem, and actually draws attention to it.
Blondie, you think it would have helped to rename the POs, "modest underservants"? I'm sure there would have been lots of these new MUs lecturing their congregations on how they're the most humblest Modest Underservants in the universe... and deserved unwavering allegiance and obedience of the sheeples because of their outstanding modestness.
I look forward to seeing how this mess plays out. Thanks for all your comments!
B the X
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cabasilas
Thanks, Billy, for posting this letter. Is this something that only the elders know for now? Or, is it trickling down to the rest of the congregation yet?
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Billy the Ex-Bethelite
caba,
This letter arrived earlier this week to the local PO. Our BoE knows, but the sheeples shouldn't find out until it appears in the KM sometime in the future.
No doubt in other congregations the PO will "forget" to mention this letter to their BoE until the story leaks back to their congregation... from ours.
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BluesBrother
I am late to this thread and I thank Billy and all who have contributed before.
I disagree with those who say that it is just semantics. In my time as an elder, the internal politics were everything. I cannot say how many P/O's I served with but they all wielded authority. Largely by personality but also by a recognition by the rest of us us that he was the man placed in charge, therefore it was "Theocratic" to fall into line . Of course large things would be open to a full debate, but he would take initiative and organize smaller things without reference to the rest of us.
If the P/O said to me that he wanted me to do something, I would take it as direction from the Theocratic Organization structure. Now the rest can take his suggestion on board ,or not, as they see fit.......It is like the original elder arrangement but even then we respected the temporary authority of the P/O during his year...
NB would you like to be a "Co Ordinator" when the others just sit back and say No to whatever you think needs doing??