I seem to remember somebody saying that since the 90's the number of Elders has declined from 90000 to 60000. Does anybody have any hard figures regarding this?
The Organization is desperate for "qualified" men. But their standards are much too high, especially the monthly field service hour requirements tagged on to endless meetings and congregational busywork. Elders of conscious who see the politics, the ruthless effects that judicial committees have on people's lives, the procedures that go beyond what is written in the Bible sometimes step down.
A few years ago, before I awakened, I overheard one elder talking to another saying, "The brothers are just not stepping up to the plate." Afterward, I've heard this expression several times. If this truly were God's Organization and the last days truly started in 1914, Psalms 110:1-3 would guarantee there would be no shortage, rather " Your people will offer themselves willingly on the day of your military force" and " You have your company of young men just like dewdrops ". Indeed, Holy Spirit would empower these men to overcome whatever was holding them back to qualify them. How could the most powerful force in the universe fail to work on hearts and minds?
But objectively, those who have awakened know, the leaves of the tree are still green, but the rot has begun from within the tree. Unless the Organization lessens the heavy burdens it has put on its adherents, the number of Elders will keep declining until there is a breaking point. And from where will the future circuit and district overseers come?
Today, elders are mikerunners. Tomorrow, a few decades from now they will be a memory.
...OUTLAW