Hey Superman,
More of the COs are becoming hate-worthy hard-liners. I think their schooling at Patterson reinforced the attitude that they were far superior to the ordinary sheeples. In the pharisaical tradition, they would rather be feared than respected, they are "overseers" not "servants".
Here's a quote regarding elders with unbaptized kids:
*** w90 9/1 p. 25 par. 7 Are You Qualified to Serve? *** 7 Presiding over his household in a fine manner, with children in subjection. (1 Timothy 3:4, 5, 12; Titus 1:6) Some may feel that elders must be at least 30 years old, but the Bible does not set a minimum age. Yet, the person must act as an older man in a spiritual sense. Ministerial servants and elders should be old enough to have children. If married, a man does not qualify if he acts in a godly way elsewhere but is a tyrant at home. He must have earned respect for presiding over his household according to Bible principles, and his objective should be to have spiritual success with every family member. As a general rule, an elder who is a father should have well-behaved minor children who are "believing." Either they are progressing toward dedication to God or they are already baptized as Jehovah’s Witnesses. A man unable to build faith in his children is unlikely to do so in others.
It is left for the CO to interpret this Watchtower rule and the methods they will use. A soft CO will mention it to the father and encourage him to take steps to be sure the kid doesn't get destroyed by Hojovah for not getting dunked. He won't bring down the hammer to remove the elder unless the kid is involved in wrongdoing. However, the hardline CO will step right in with the ultra-orthodox interpretation that the child must be baptized by 18 or daddy will be removed. Either way, it is expected that the kid will buckle and get dunked so that the family will be "exemplary".
IMO, the hardline approach can be effective for the CO in the short-term. Fear can be a strong motivator, getting the humble locals to toe the line. But over time, things start coming unglued because fear is NOT a good motivator. But the COs don't care about "over time", they just want to see immediate results with good numbers and clever wording on their reports to the branch. They're only in that circuit for a few years and then they're off to start scaring a new circuit. As mentioned already, this situation with the elder can backfire since the kid may bolt for the door and move out. Or, as I've seen, the brother does get removed... and a short time later he finds that he is relieved to be free of the constant stress and doesn't wish to be reappointed.
And since you're superman and can see through walls and everything, you probably also realize that your dad may be removed anyway, even if your sister moves out of their house. If the COs a real hardliner, he'll inform pop that he's not exemplary since more than one of his kids have left da troof.
Can't you just feel the Christian love there?
B the X
