i am 20 minutes away from a sheparding call........

by oompa 45 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  oompa

  first one in at least 5 years.......wife does not want to sit in and i just told her if she does not, then i am not either.....this loss of faith thingy has really been rough on our marriage.......I have decided to not bring up a single issue i have........i will relate to them my illustration of the taxi driver who keeps giving out bad directions I posted yesterday.......I think what will surprise them maybe is that my loss of faith goes way beyond WT.......i have lost virtually faith in the bible and god......one has already told the "first place to start is to get going to the meetings again!"....LMAO!!!........

  i hope their programed brains can grasp that maybe you need faith in a God FIRST.....then find out what method (or book) he is using to educate us if he wants to....and THEN if you feel the need....look around to find out if there is a group of folks who all have similar beliefs.........this should be interesting...........oompa
• 

  yknot

  Um..... make her be a good JW wifey and command her under headship to be present (when she balks point out she is picking and chosing but not fully complying with her faith).

  Seriously .... I just want yall to find a healthy place....

  Those Elders don't wanna be their either I bet.

  If they don't get it tell them your are spiritually exhausted and in need of a spiritual vactation.

  Thank them for their time (no reason not to be polite) and send them packing

  Good Vibes to you ...
• 

  SnakesInTheTower

  I have little advice... they have already determined their goal for this SC. You have to figure out what that is. Depends on the mindset of the BOE and the individuals elders coming to see you.

  Figure out who is good cop and who is bad cop...it goes a long way to dealing with it..

  well...7 minutes to go.... I wish you well oompa....

  Snakes ()
• 

  SnakesInTheTower

  just seen the other post ahead of mine....I wouldnt go with the spiritual vacation part.. that will get them down your throat..as will saying you are spiritually exhausted..they have "answers" for that.... but regular exhaustion and depression might... of course...meetings are the cure for depression right? NOT

  Snakes ()
• 

  purplesofa

  I remember when I first was fading, I got my sheparding call. It took all I had not to jump off the chair and choke the life out of this puffed up elder. And want to scream at his wife, WHERE IS YOUR SPINE????

  But, I wanted to fade..........Jehovah sent the right elder to help me continue to do that.

  good luck

  purps
• 

  Quirky1

  Sounds like you need a BS to bring you around. LOL That's what my wifey told me the other day..
• 

  j_homebrew

  You'll have to let us know how it goes. I rememer feeling the same way when I was trying to fade. Now I would pretty much just bust out on them with the facts. But I understand that if you are still offically in, this may not be the wisest thing to do. Have fun!
• 

  yknot

  Listen to the Snake in the Tower........ wise and expereinced advice as usual.

  I normally have lazy Elders who hate hate SCs, FS, or anything beyond the KH.

  Hope it turns out well, all are pulling for you.
• 

  I quit!

  One of the beliefs that a lot of people have that I find very strange and for that matter stupid is that there is something wrong with a person who doesn't believe or have faith in God and that they should somehow force themselves to believe. I came to this conclusion when I was a JW while in a doctor's waiting room reading an article about Charlie Chaplin's daughter who said she used to get mad at her father for telling her he just couldn't believe in God as she was a firm believer, I believe a Catholic but now (at the time of the article) she was in the same boat as her father was and could relate to how he felt. It was like an epiphany to me. Thinking back it might have be the first time I admitted to myself my doubts about the Watchtower and that is why I remember the experience so well. I have met wise clergy who understand that a belief in God can't be forced and it doesn't make someone an evil person but I don't think you will find a JW elder who understands this and if he did I don't think he would admit it.

  On the other had maybe you need to do what I was told to do when slacking off as a JW. The prescription the elder's gave me for my spiritual weakness was to read more Watchtowers and go out in service more. I'm sure that would have cured everything had I listened.
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  Olin Moyles Ghost

  You've got to let us know how the sheep-herding call goes. Did you or Mrs. Oompa ask for this call? Or is it a result of the recent WT about trying to re-activate those who have drifted away? Or perhaps they were just so excited to see you at the meeting a couple weeks back!

  I have one concern: Can they DF you for saying that you have lost faith in the Bible and God? From reading other people's experiences on this site, it appears that they can DF you if you say that you don't believe the GB/WTS is the Faithful and Discreet Slave...and it seems to me that if you don't have faith that the Bible is God's word, then you probably don't believe in the FDS, right? Then, couldn't they DF you for that?

  Gotta be "cautious as serpents" in these situations if you want to fade...