by Amazing 35 Replies latest jw friends
Very interesting on "How it should be done". But in my old congregation in was a case of the Elder who was supposed to co-ordinate public speakers. He would get the outlines and just give them out to who he saw fit or was available on the date.
I remember after one public talk. The Elder said to the speaker "That wasn't the one you were supposed to give"
The speaker a respected Elder said "I know but I didn't like it so did a different one."
Tell me more about the auxiliary counselor....I know nothing about it!
Amazing,
Are public talks chosen according to the needs of the congregation?
It supposedly is for cong. needs but realistically, it was be happy you got a good speaker and try not to have the same talk twice within a year.
Tell me more about the auxiliary counselor....I know nothing about it!
It got started about the same time that JWs shifted from the old, small "Theocratic Ministry School Guidebook" to the newer, larger "Benefit from Theocratic Ministry School Education" textbook (might have one or both names slightly off), in the year 2003.
Since the elders & MS who gave the old "Instruction talk" and "Bible Highlights" never got counsel from the School Overseer, they created the position of "auxiliary counselor" who was supposed to give them private counsel after the meeting.
In my experience, it rarely amounted to more than a "good job on your talk tonight". It's one of those positions in which not much is required, so not much is done.
Is this position considered on par with the TMSO?
I was a talk coordinator in the eighties and again in the nineties...I never heard of such a structured approach to it, not here in the U K
I used to keep a personal "little black book" of records that showed me what I thought of a speaker. If he was rubbish then I did not book him back again.
The idea of checking that he stuck to the outline is totally new to me . If they had done that to me, no doubt the congo's I visited would have struck me off immediately. We would never tell a speaker that his talk was lacking in any way. I do not think that we would have had the courage.. We only ever complimented him and thanked him for coming and said that Sister So and So was expecting him for tea.
Only on one ocassion can I remember a talk that riled the elders so much that we sent a letter to his congo..and another occasion when a speaker turned up with a beard and the other elders would not let him speak..
Mind you, judging by what I hear these days, many of them would not have made the Public Platform in my day...dull as ditch water !
Minimus: When I was in the organization, there was no specific title of auxiliary counselor. The TM School overseer would privately counsel the No. 1 speaker. And, as Talk Coordinator, I or the PO took it upon ourselves to counsel the Public speaker if it was needed. Sometimes, another Elder may follow along if he had the same outline. I would sometimes get comments on the speaker given to me for consideration in rescheduling ... a common comment was: "The speaker is a nice guy, but he is boring, don't have him back unless you are hard pressed. Or some would say the speaker was a clown and used too much humor. Or the speaker uses poor pronunciation and is hard to understand, let's put him on the D of F list. Or the speaker is good, but he barely followed the outline, so lets not have him back until we talk with his PO.
Blues: The outline monitor concept was by direct instruction from the CO, but was not a special position. It usually was the job of the PO or me. I believe that we later received a letter from Brooklyn. It may have been an 'American' thing, as the fear of Apostacy in the USA ran very high for a long time, especially given the popularity of Ray Franz, and the impact his departure had on the organization. I left in 1993, and was DA'd in 1995. So, the Society may have backed off from monitoring the Public speakers as strictly.
Sir82: What does COTBOE stand for, as this is new to me? Am I correct to guess: 'Chairman of the Body of Elders?" The new 'A, B, C' system is something that is also new. Our A,B,C,D,and F grading system was a local invention.
Is this position considered on par with the TMSO?
No, not at all. It is virtually unknown outside of the BOE. Peons, er, publishers, don't get counseled by him, so they don't usually even know who fills the position. Thus, since it carries no promise of recognition or prestige, nobody particularly wants to do it.
Typically it is assigned to someone who doesn't have the skills or talent to handle other positions like secretary or WT conductor or whatever.
What does COTBOE stand for, as this is new to me?
As of 1/1/2009, per BOE letter, the postion of "Presiding Overseer" is now known as "Coordinator of the Body of Elders". The letter said this was done to "avoid the false impression that one elder is superior to the others" or something like that.
I had the auxiliary counselor job for awhile. I think the BOE just liked to give me the $hit jobs. I told them, "now, don't give me this job and complain when I come and give you counsel. You know I will." I didn't give them counsel every time, nor did I give commendation every time. Frankly, as secretary, CBSO and talk coordinator at the time, I didn't have that kind of time. Some elders liked the counsel, others hated it.
When I went through MTS, the new TMS guidebook had just came out and we were still using the old guidebook. So much for new light. But the position was discussed and what it required. Tact was one of those things. Why in hell any BOE in their right minds would give me that job is beyond me. I think they were trying to set me up for failure. They had me as TMSO in 2 congos right after MTS....not a good fit. I also had the TMS job the last year that counsel was offered from the platform...I told that tale here...
As to me following with the outline. I didn't do it with every speaker. I did it if I knew they liked to go off on tangents. I did it more for my own concentration than anything... but again, not all the time.
Snakes ()
