not intending a hijack, but the answers to the questions may relate to this or other cases...and certainly gives you background on why I resigned de facto (was forced out when I refused to resign).
jabberwock:
Snakes, why exactly were you removed? What qualifications did you not meet? Was it related to them relieving you of your position as local building chairman and secretary?
There are catchphrases that elders can use that end up being all-encompassing nets. One of them is "loose conduct." Another is "unreasonableness." The BOE gave several reasons that I wasn't qualified under the term "unreasonableness."
I was considered unreasonable because I had engaged in a dating relationship online (I was introduced by the wife of a MS in another congo to his out of country JW sister), so it must have meant I was "internet dating," when in reality we were using IM, web cam, email, and telephone to communicate. We were not able to meet in person for 8 months..when we did, she ended it because of her depression issues (and ironically, I think her brother also didn't ultimately approve). The elders did not approve of that relationship (yet the BOE would have been fine if I had dated a sister in the congo who had depression issues and had already been locked up once but had a huge crush on me.....)
I was also considered unreasonable because I refused to appear at a Quarterly Elder's Meeting with less than 24 hours notice of the actual agenda, leaving me no time to prepare for the meeting. The elders also did not appreciate my throwing things in their face (tactfully or otherwise) organizationally or scripturally. The "Good Ole Boy Network" was in full swing. Jackass elder, his PO son, and the porno sniffing SO were all in cohoots. I didnt stand a chance. I am surprised I lasted 3 years there as an elder.
Can elders be removed for turning down responsibilities or giving them up after taking them on?
If an elder is seen as shirking his responsibilities then yes. Who defines shirking? Whomever has to take on those responsibilities. If an elder is well liked, well respected, then he can drop responsibilities without retribution. If an elder is like I was, hated by the BOE, but loved by the elderly, then turning down responsibility gives them additional ammunition when going to the CO to remove an elder. Ironically, I was always willing to take on additional responsibility.... which was seen as threat to others who had those titles (but did not do the actual work or did it poorly.)
Snakes, you also mentioned that one of the elders in your congregation was allowed to continue to serve even though he got caught viewing pornography. Isn't that a disfellowshipping offense?
It certainly can be a DFing offense. At the very least, it is an offense that normally leads to the loss of privleges.
You see, it has to do with how he is viewed. A 25 year plus regular pioneer, who takes the lead in the ministry, means that the other elders do not have to take the lead in the ministry. At the time, this elder was also the only one (other than myself) that could conduct the morning Book Study group (ie, the elderly group), and no one wanted to face the wrath of 20 old (mostly sisters) by removing that elder as CBSO (and they certainly did not want to move me from my tiny group to the big one). The offense was not widely known, only the elder, his wife, the cousin that discovered the porn on the computer, and the elders knew about it.
When I asked the porn-surfing elder in our meeting with him (and subsequently with the CO) how he could serve as an elder "with a good conscience" going forward when for two years he had served as an elder with a damaged conscience, he could not come up with a good answer. I told him I had difficulty with him continuing to serve as an elder and pioneer when he had attended multiple assemblies where the topic of pornography was brought up and yet he could still go out in service (including placing literature that talks about the so-called "harm of viewing pornography") and be on the platform talking about good morals. Neither he nor the other elders could give me an answer.
I then asked him directly if, had he not been caught, would he have come forward? He admitted he would not. He claimed shame (which may be true), but it did not excuse him being an elder on one hand and committing "loose conduct" repeatedly on the other.
The elders dismissed this guy from the meeting and we voted individually. I was the only one to vote against him staying an elder. I was persuaded cooerced to change my vote in the "spirit of unity." I had asked the CO to put my objection in his report. Instead, the weasel CO (who I found out later enjoyed a golf outing with the porn surfer and the PO earlier that day) put in the report that the BOE was unanimous in its decision to retain the elder. Three years later, he is still serving as an elder and regular pioneer in good standing with responsibilities at the circuit level and with the RBC.
I knew then my days were numbered... mene mene tekel parsin.....or some such crap...
Snakes ()
PS...to those of you in my old congo .... who may recognize who I am.... you know who I am talking about. I would publish their name but my mom is still a dub.... and if you are lurking and reading (as this is the public part of the forum)....you can throw me under the bus if you want..but if I get DFd ........I will go public with names if you do. Then lets see how much bad publicity "Jehovah" the Society likes....
