by Pathofthorns 16 Replies latest jw friends
ozzzie said:
"Stepping down" from what?I the States they changed the terminology to being deleted as an elder. Do notice I never capitalize elder or bethelite. Since it's not supposed to be a title.
Is there really no clergy class?
Crazy is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
DB writes:
I also feel that the better term is "step aside" or simply "resign", but the step down term seems to be entrenched in jw jargon.
Yes, I agree with Imbue. The mot-du-jour from at least the early/mid 90's is "delete". IMO, "delete" has an even worse feel to it than "stepping down"; maybe it's meant to discourage elders from resigning/ retiring/ stepping down/ stepping aside from their duties. It kind of reminds me of the phrase regarding disfellowshipped people: "they are dead to you". "Deleted" has that same feel.
Love, Scully
Forgetting the semantics of words.
The direction from a service department is that an elder can remain an elder, whilst sorting out any personal problems, for an indefinate period of time
He would still attend elders meetings, seminars etc but could put his service privleges on hold such as talks, taking a group, sheperding etc this could even be announced at a meeting.
Jem
They are desperate to stop the exodus of elders so they try to make it
difficult. They offer to keep you as an elder with no responsibilites.
You must get PERMISSION to resign from the body! (Can you say
arrogant?)
The best thing to do is tell them you are depressed, put in an
hour a month and stop going to meetings - then hand them your
resignation.
metatron
The direction from a service department is that an elder can remain an elder, whilst sorting out any personal problems, for an indefinate period of time
He would still attend elders meetings, seminars etc but could put his service privleges on hold such as talks, taking a group, sheperding etc this could even be announced at a meeting.
And if they do fully step down for reasons that do NOT disqualify them from being an elder, they can usually step back up rather quickly as long as they maintain their biblical qualifications. I don't think there are any secret agreements to continue giving them the "respect" of an elder. People will do that on their own accord if they still view him as a source of guidance. I've known elders that were removed against their will but many in the congregation still went to them with their problems because they were so approachable and always offered sound advice.
They still used step down in the late 80s.*** w88 1/15 27 A Convention That Increased Our Trust in Jehovah ***
Powerfully underscoring all these principles was the drama that immediately followed. Entitled Loyal Submission to Jehovah and His Organization, it contained much food for thought as it portrayed how an elder felt compelled to step down because his daughter was exposed as one leading a double life. The drama elicited many enthusiastic expressions of appreciation.
In 1993 when I was going through my whole thing, my dad offered to "step down" (the term at the time I guess) as an elder so that he could spend more time concentrating on his family; clearly he felt that he had been shepherding the rest of his flock, to the detriment of his fleshly family.
I declined the offer and left the org.
Katie
"Too bad closed minds don't come with closed mouths."
